Page 104 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

“Put ‘em in a jar. Buried them in the woods.” He flashes the first playful grin I’ve seen since this all began today. “Planted a tree right over top, then I told Laine I put it here to commemorate her freedom. She waters it.”

Laughing, Spence points a finger and shakes his head. “You’re a sick motherfucker. Seriously fuckin’ sick.”

“That tree brings her peace,” he says. “It grows each day and shows her life is still worth living. She won’t ever have to know what we did to Graham, but she feels the freedom anyway. I won’t ever be sorry for making her feel safe.”

“And you shouldn’t.” Turning back to the man in front of me, I tilt my head to the side. “A man hurt his girl. A man who had ties with the very same organization you’re working for. So please tell me your name, or I’ll take a leaf out of his book and plant a tree in your honor.”

“Take a leaf,” Spence snickers. “I see what you did there.”

Turning the knife in my hand, I toss it from the left, to the right, then back to the left as I contemplate how far I’m willing to go for this. “So here’s the deal, Randolph. I’m gonna call you Randolph until you give me your real name, by the way. The deal is, you work for someone I’m trying to find. You came here today looking to kill someone we all care about, but worse than that, the man you work for had my baby sister raped and murdered.” Without overthinking my actions, I stick my blade into his thigh and grit my teeth when he screams. “There is nothing you can say or do that’ll make me feel bad for doing this.” When he doesn’t stop screaming, I push my hand up under his jaw and snap it closed. “So tell me who you’re working for, and I’ll be a little kinder to you.”

“I don’t know.” His body shakes so hard against the wall, his shackles rattle. “I’m given orders.”

“You lie.” I pull my blade out and push it back in again until it stops against the back wall. “I’ve done my research. I know what the types of men who run those clubs look, speak, and act like. You’re not one of them. They’re suave, wealthy, and arrogant. They wear silks and too much oil in their hair. You’re more of a soldier. Unimportant. And in their eyes, a dime a dozen. Now, please try again; who do you work for?”

“Does anyone need to step in and do this for Soph?”

Kane’s whispered words register in the back of my brain, but I don’t turn. In answer, I spin the blade and tear Randolph’s leg open. “I don’t need help, Bish. I’ve been waiting for this for eight years. Tell. Me.” I spin the blade. “Who. You. Work. For.”

“I don’t know!”

“CAB! CAB! CAB! CAB! Who is CAB?”

“I can’t tell you!”

“He’s a high-ranking officer; he’s middle-aged, and he has a hard on for Bishop men. Why? Why does he have his sights set on those men?”

“Because they know his business!” the man screeches. “They dig too deep.”

“I’m digging too deep, too. Why the contract on them and no one else?”

“Because they were placed undercover on an op they were never supposed to touch.” His howling sob echoes off the walls of the small room we’re all huddled in. “They were never supposed to be put on that assignment.”

“Someone was going to be put there,” Jay says. Stepping forward, he stands so his shoulder touches mine. “If it wasn’t us, it would have been someone else.”

“Hayes was never supposed to be infiltrated,” he screams. “And if he was, it should have ended there. Take Infernos out, but the rest stays intact.”

“But I was too smart for that, wasn’t I?” I pull my blade from his leg and press the dripping steel against his throat. “They were just a couple dumb cops who were placed undercover. But it was supposed to end there.”

“Right.” He swallows and breathes heavily as though he’s going to be sick. “The clubs are separate entities. They’re not connected.”

“But they are.” I step forward when Jay’s hands come to my hips to pull me back. “They’re all connected. I found the connections.”

“Exactly,” he cries. “Only a skilled hacker could find the connections. And the connections were never being made until they started working in Infernos.”

Because that’s when I started communicating with Jay.

“He had Jay taken out because he was getting intel.”

“Yes.” With dry lips, parched throat, but soaked cheeks, he nods. “Yes. Bishop was getting intel, so my boss had him taken out.”

“But you figured what one Bishop knows, they both know?” I press my blade harder against Randolph’s throat. “You searched their homes, Riley’s home, Spence’s home, in case they stored information there. Right?”

“Right. Please let me go now.”

Laughing, I shake my head and revel in the heavy tears that slide over his cheek. “You’re never being let go, just so you know. You’re not leaving this room, so don’t worry about retaliation from your CAB.”

“So why would I give you information, slut? Why help you if I’m dead anyway?”

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