Page 75 of King of Cruelty

Debra shrugged. “Regardless, that day marked the changing of the tides. The first of our serious investors pledged their support and membership, and now the brothers and sisters of the inner circle are due their reward.

“Of course, they all can’t have a piece of you. Hence, the auction. Revenge goes to the highest bidder.”

“Inner circle?” I repeated. “Highest bidder? But what about all those brothers and sisters outside the inner circle? The ones who’ve been cannon fodder for you? Who were cut down and killed for your fake rescue!”

Debra looked at me in amusement—as if I was a cute little puppy that kept yapping.

“Don’t they get their revenge?” I asked. “Isn’t that why they joined you?”

“It’s so cute that you’re worried for them, but you don’t need to be, they will also share in our victory. In fact...” She tipped her head to Natalya. “Send for them all. Every brother and sister in the lower tiers.

“The Fairfield is now theirs. Their home. Their reward for our victory.” She turned that smirk on me. “Also let themknow that their new apartments are currently filled with all the gangbanger trash that threw their lot in with the Merchants. If they want to move in, they’ll have to shoot the previous tenants.”

“No!” Sunny shouted.

“We’ll supply the guns,” Debra finished, ignoring Sunny completely.

“You—!”

“Enough,” Debra cut me off. “Bring everyone upstairs like I said, but use the stairs and go one at a time—keeping the knife on their throats the whole time. Be ready for them to try something, and kick them down the fucking stairs with a slit throat if they do.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for Abraham’s toy soldiers to get here?” Wilson asked. “They would’ve warned their people to be ready to attack the second they got this girl’s warning. And they would’ve deleted those warnings off their phones so we wouldn’t see them.”

Considering, she nodded. “You’re right, but we can’t hang around here like sitting ducks either. Not with only a couple of steak knives to defend ourselves. There are guns stashed all over this hovel, and we need to get our hands on them. Now.”

“What about the old servants’ entrance?” Yumi spoke up. Underneath all the bruises, I could see she was an attractive woman with bright, mahogany eyes; full lips; and skin that was black, blue, and green, but otherwise didn’t know a single pimple, pockmark, or blemish. “There’s a servants’ staircase and elevator too. I bet they didn’t let any of their hired thugs near either. Anything to protect the location of their secret tunnel.”

“Good idea,” Debra replied. “Take them that way. And remember, if you find anything living in Bellis— Excuse me, make thatmynew apartment, kill them. We’re all going to get nice and comfy until the auction begins—”

“No.”

Debra went very still. “Excuse me?” Slitted eyes burned me. “What did you just say?”

“I said no,” I repeated. “None of this—not a single thing you’re doing—makes any sense. Why in the hell would you want to hang out for hours in a building filled with your enemies that just had all of its defenses taken offline? Especially after you just acknowledged that the Merchants likely put out calls for help far and wide?

“The door to the parking garage is literally behind you. Why wouldn’t you shove them all into trunks, drive out from under the noses of half the Cinco police force, take them to some secret location that you control, and have your precious auction there? Why—?”

“Wilson, gag that bitch. I’ve had enough of her running her mouth.”

“Don’t—!” That was all I got out before he clamped his hand over my mouth.

I shouted, argued, and struggled as loud as my guys as the dragging began—hauling them none-too-gently to the doors leading to the hidden servants’ entrance.

“Wilson, leave her with me,” Debra said when he tried to yank both me and Bane by our bad arms. “Take Alexander to his floor first and make him turn over his stash of weapons and ammo. Go by elevator, so you can meet us in the staircase with the weapons. Break his kneecaps if he tries anything, but don’t kill him.

“He’s the smartest bastard Redgrave popped out. He’ll go for a higher price than his siblings.”

“Why can’t we all use the elevator?” Maryann asked.

“Too dangerous to be alone in an enclosed space with them. Plus, for all we fucking know, pushing all the buttons on the elevator releases the poison gas.” She jerked her head at Wilson. “I’m only letting him go alone because he’s a black belt,Alexander will be tied up, and the Blaine girl is staying with me. Alexander might try to fight back, but if everything isn’t how it should be by the time I get up to my new apartment, I’ll slit the girl’s throat without a second’s hestiation.

“Now, no more arguing. We need to move.”

Wilson shoved me down in the desk chair. I was forced to watch while they took the people I loved away. River was last to go. Forced out of the closet, Natalya wrapped his dreads around her forearm and pressed her blade to his throat, dragging him hunched-over and shouting across the room.

“Stop that!” I screamed. “You’re hurting him.”

“His pain is the least of your problems right now,” Debra hissed, turning on me as the door swung shut—leaving us alone in the prettily decorated lobby. “You know, when the name Mackenzie Blaine appeared on our radar, I looked into you and found the disappointing, embarrassing history I expected to find of slum trash that offers her ass to be passed around among the Merchant boys.

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