Page 34 of Dangerous Command
“Tina. She worked for Muro once. She’ll know where he is.”
I nodded in thanks, then pulled the trigger. The blast was hushed by the silencer. Ray crumpled to the ground.
I kept my eyes focused on the corpse, but from my peripherals, I studied Maddie. Her hands were on her hips, her gaze fixed on the body. It wasn’t the first time she had seen a corpse on our property, or even in the last few days. But this time, she stared at the body as if she wanted to face it head-on. Axe picked up Ray’s head and shoulders, and I lifted his feet, moving him to the metal table. Maddie went to the wall and found the cleaver on one of the magnetic racks. She faced the handle toward Axe, offering it to him. He stared at her.
“You have to cut him up, right?” she asked. She lifted the cleaver, asking him to take it.
“Why don’t you do it?” I asked. She bit her lip tightly between her teeth, then took the handle in her hands. He stared at her.
“And how exactly do I do this?” she asked.
“With force,” Axe said.
“A lot of it,” I added.
“They’re not kidding,” Demi said. “Seriously. Put your back into it.”
Maddie brought down the cleaver, and though she chopped through most of the arm, she was stalled by bone. She tried again, this time going through; the metal slicing the bone. Blood pooled out. She quickly moved her hands, getting out of it.
“Again,” I said. “Lower this time. Below the elbow.” She did the same, but again, was stopped by bone. Axe met Demi against the wall. I stood behind Maddie, holding her arms, her body pressed against me.
“Don’t be afraid of it,” I said. “He’s already dead. You’re just making the body smaller for transport.”
“Transport,” she said to herself. “Got it.”
Guiding her hands, her hips against me, we brought down the cleaver together, this time on his thigh. It broke through in one clean motion.
“You feel how much force we used?” I asked. “Do that again.”
I gave her some distance, watching as she hacked Ray’s body into movable pieces. Axe got heavy-duty black trash bags out and slung the flesh inside. Sweat beaded on Maddie’s forehead, but she never strayed from the task. It must have made her uncomfortable to think of what I was willing to do to protect my family’s legacy, especially when it came to my brothers and mother. But by doing this, she was showing that those discomforts didn’t matter. She knew what had to be done.
I admit I liked it. I enjoyed that she wasn’t afraid to argue. She wasn’t questioning me, per se, but making a point she wanted to prove to me, even if I was still right in the end.
We took the trash bags to one of the extra work vans. And though this was usually Axe’s territory, I nodded to him, signaling that I wanted to do it with Maddie, alone. He bowed his head then took Demi’s hand, bringing her back to the workroom.
We took the van to a storage facility we owned and operated, containing large vats full of acid. We handed the trash bags over to one of the workers. The man lugged the bagged body parts over his shoulder. Then, silently, we headed back to the Adler House. I kept my eyes on the road, considering my next move.
“Do you know anything about this Tina?” I asked.
“There are a lot of Tinas,” Maddie shrugged.
That didn’t answer my question. “Does it ring a bell?” I asked.
“It’s a big city. I’m not going to know every Tina that lived or breathed in Brackston, especially if sheusedto work for Muro. I haven’t lived there in years.”
“What did you know about Muro, exactly?” I asked, glancing at her for a second. We pulled into the neighborhood, then cruised to our property. “When we were dealing with the Skyline Shift, youknewMuro was bad news. Why?”
“I’ve been working for your family for years now,” Maddie quieted. “I don’t think it’s that hard to pick up on a few things.”
“What did you know about him from your time in Brackston?”
She took a deep breath, then looked out the window, leaning her elbows against the door. “Everyone in Brackston knew about Muro,” she said. “It’s one of those things. Like the boogeyman. You sleep with one eye open. Or close them both shut, hoping it’s all a bad dream. That he doesn’t take your family while you’re asleep.”
“Why would he take your family while you were asleep?”
She huffed out a breath. “I don’t know, Derek. I’m trying to paint a picture for you. He was bad. And there was not a single person in that city who didn’t know his wrath.”
We finished the drive in silence. We parked around the Adler House next to the other work vans, then went inside. Maddie went to her guest bedroom, and I went to the study to call Kiley. She had gotten Maddie’s phone number; she would likely find Tina, whoever she was.
