Page 97 of Nanny and the Beast

“It doesn’t give me joy. It gives me peace. There’s a difference.”

“That doesn’t sound any better, dude,” Alaric says. “But to answer your question, there is actually something you can help with. It could get a little messy, however.”

“The messier, the better,” I say. “You have no clue how much I need a distraction.”

“I’ll send you the details shortly, my beloved sociopath.”

He hangs up. A few seconds later, I receive confidential files from the Resistance.

Alaric works full-time for the organization, so he has access to things I don’t. My Bang & Olufsen speakers read out the details of the case to me, turning text to audio.

To my surprise, it’s related to the dark web case discussed in New Orleans.

There’s a new lead. The Resistance found a small-time gang in New York City exploiting children to make pornography for the black market. They’re suspected to be one of the many players in this sick operation.

My blood starts to simmer as I listen to the details.

Alaric calls me right as I get to the end of the file.

“Did you go through the report?” he asks.

“Yeah, I just finished reading it,” I say. “Tell me that this gang is mine to handle.”

“I need to get approvals from a few people, but I don’t think they’ll object,” Alaric says. “You’ve done good work in the past, so they should be happy to hand over the case to you.”

During my military training, I learned that I’m an expertinterrogator. And since the Resistance doesn’t shy away from extreme measures, I have complete freedom in how I choose to get the job done.

It’s just what I need right now.

“When are we leaving?” I ask.

“For the record, I want to say that I’m completely against how you use these cases as a substitute for therapy,” Alaric says.

“Save your judgment for later. You have no idea how much I need this,” I say.

“That’s the fucking problem.” He sighs. “But fine, I’ll go easy on you.”

“Come over for dinner tonight,” I say. “If it’s alright with you, I want to leave right away.”

“Fine,” he says. “But can you ask Helena to make those fried dumplings I like?”

“Done,” I say, feeling some sense of relief for the first time today.

“You’re the best. Toodles.”

After we hang up, the grim reality of the case settles over me again. There’s a lot of evil in this world. People like Alaric work for the Resistance because they want to make the world a better place.

I joined for other reasons.

Selfish reasons.

Over the course of my life, I learned something about myself—violence soothes something depraved inside me.

I belong in the darkness.

23

KLAUS

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