Blaine squirmed.“Hey, whoa, what the fuck?”
Inferno held the torch level with the kid’s eyes.I nodded to Inferno, just the smallest gesture.
He brought the flame closer, just under the right zip tie at the prospect’s wrist.The kid started screaming before a single flame licked him.The plastic softened first -- edges greying, beads of chemical smoke drifting up.The scent of burning flesh wafted around us, and I nearly blanched.This was why I hated working with Inferno.
“Wait, wait, wait!”his terrified, pain-filled screams echoed through the room.“Goddamn -- God, man!Fuck you!FUCK!I’ll talk!I’ll fucking talk!”
Inferno didn’t blink.Torch stayed in place.The plastic melted at his wrist and his skin reddened and began to blister.
“Who’s on the shipment?”I asked again, raising my voice to be heard over the guy’s continued screams.“When does it move?How many?”
His breathing turned ragged.“Tomorrow night!Two cages -- one’s an SUV, one’s the brown box truck.Same ones as before.I swear!Iron’s got a crew handling it!Guys I don’t know, a couple prospects, some freelancers outta Memphis!Route is west!I don’t know past the roadhouse!That’s not for prospects!”
I nodded again.Inferno snapped the torch off with a loud click.Blaine whimpered, staring at his wrist.
“How many women?What’s the list say?”
“Six, maybe seven.Manifest had five written in, two added last second, special handling.That’s all I got!Please!Please, man, I told you --”
“What kind of special handling?”I stayed on him.
“Shit that don’t go up for sale.Buyer don’t show his face at the club.Club moves ‘em directly.”
I leaned in.“Who put the bounty on Veda?”I already knew, of course.I needed to keep the guy honest.If he told me wrong, I’d know which way to direct my questioning.And how hard he would die if I found out he lied to me.
“Iron,” he answered immediately.“Said she walked out ofÉclipsewith something he wanted.Price is twenty-five large.Don’t care how she’s delivered, just wants her back alive.”
“How’d they know it was her?”
“He found a city camera catching her jump from the second-story window.”His head tipped, a grimace of pain.“She’s dead, man.Iron don’t let things like that go.”
“Names,” I demanded.“Who’s riding on the cages?”
He shook his head, then winced at the movement.“I swear, they don’t tell prospects that.All I got was the manifest call.Not even full names.I can give you road names.Ratchet, Lou, something with a J --”
“Tell me about Tessa Garrison,” I said.Calm as I could fake.
His mouth worked, then dropped open.He saw something in my eyes he didn’t like.“I don’t --”
“Don’t bullshit me.Tessa.Is she on the shipment?And before you try to lie to me, I should warn you, I already know the answer to that question.”
Blaine closed his eyes and let out a long breath.“Iron knew it was about that girl.I overheard him tellin’ someone he never thought the sister would keep coming after the bitch.”
“Who’s the buyer?”
“All I know is what the manifest says.‘I’ for buyer’s initial.That’s all I got.”
“Who’s ‘I’?”I pushed.“What does that letter mean?”
His head jerked left.“We never know.Prospects never get buyer names, never see the trade.Only patched members know who touches that shit.”
“You telling the truth?”
He let out something between a sob and a laugh.“You can burn my fucking hand off if you want.You already know everything.Everything runs throughÉclipse.Hand-off point for the whole southeast in Iron’s operation.”His head dropped.
Then the door swung open.Veda stepped into the room, a gun at her side, face blank and set.The way she held herself… I moved without thinking, cutting her off with my body.
“Don’t,” she bit out, her gaze locked on the prisoner.
