Page 47 of Heist in Paradise

“Walk me through it,” Madoc purred. “Slowly.”

Kane jerked, and that small movement caused the blade to slip into his wound and blood to gush down his face. He quivered and groaned, his words thick and stilted. “T-they pay me to f-find girls to bring to the island. M-most of them are willing, I s-swear. They k-know what’s g-going to happen, some even want to come back!”

Madoc’s bicep flexed, and the blade dug in just enough to make Kane scream. My heart palpitated at his admission. My fingers twitched on my gun.

“And the others?” Madoc asked.

“W-What?”

“The unwilling ones.”

Kane balked, his naked legs flailing out, slippery with blood and piss. “T-They a-always come around. O-Once I explain it to them.”

I stepped forward, my voice guttural. “Explain what?”

“The r-rules.” Kane’s eyes wheedled to mine, watery and pain-hazed. “I-I don’t m-make the rules. T-They do. I just b-bring them here.”

“Why?” Madoc asked softly. At Kane’s hesitation, he twisted the blade like a screwdriver, straight into the bloody lump of his nose. Kane screamed again, the sound echoing from the tiles, likely traveling through the mansion. My thoughts drifted briefly to Olivia before I dismissed them. She had no place here.

“Say it,” Madoc urged when Kane’s voice grew hoarse and whimpering. “Why do you bring them here?”

Kane sobbed wetly. He was so pale, he looked almost alien in the wooden tub, an unsightly creature. “T-T-They…”

“Yes?”

“T-They t-take turns…w-with them.”

My gut rolled and my vision wavered. Everything became dreamlike for a second. I knew the details were important—we owed the victims that much—but the more Kane spoke, the more detached I felt, and the harder it was to resist putting a bullet between his eyes. I’d only ever killed two people in my life, both of them in self-defense, but I knew I was more than capable of acting out in anger. Sensitive, my old man would say, right as he drove his fists into my ribs.

I was drawn back to Madoc, who, aside from the faint sheen of sweat on the back of his neck and shoulders, appeared utterly unbothered. Not even Callum achieved such stoicism; the larger man squinted every few seconds as sweat dripped into his eyes. Nate was vibrating against my shoulder, muttering “dogs” under his breath.

The bitter tang of blood and piss and sweat became unbearable, even through our face masks.

Finally, when Kane regained consciousness after briefly passing out from shock and pain, Madoc yanked his head back at an unnatural angle and pressed the blade under his jaw. “Where does the old man sleep?”

The question was odd, so much so that Callum and I exchanged a quick, puzzled look. “I-I don’t know. P-Probably downstairs,” Kane gasped out.

“Why?”

“I-I don’t know, man.” Kane started to wail. “P-Please. I-I’m nobody. D-Don’t kill me.”

Madoc sneered and jabbed the knife harder into his tender jugular. “Did you join in?” Kane blanched as Madoc started to twist. “Don’t lie.”

“I-I didn’t w-want to, I swear.”

“Tsk.” The blade pierced the skin, a rivulet of fresh blood streaking down Kane’s chest.

My tongue was thick and uncooperative. “Wait.”

Immediately, Madoc released him and stepped back, causing Kane to sag in weeping relief. For a split second, I almost pitied him. He looked ruined, his face mangled, his blood pooling in the tub and dripping slowly down the drain. Then I thought about Olivia, who was likely the same age Molly had been when Kane “scouted” her. I wondered if Kane would recognize Olivia. Then I wondered if Kane had his turn with Molly, and I saw fucking red.

“Where did he keep the girls?” I asked, trying and failing to remain as cold as Madoc, but I was burning up from the inside. “You said downstairs. Where?”

Kane hiccupped wetly, his eyes shooting fearfully to Madoc. “The basement.”

Madoc didn’t react, but Callum shook his head. “The git’s lying.”

“N-No, wait!” Kane frantically thrust up his hands toward Madoc, who wouldn’t move an inch unless I told him to. “I’m not—I’m not lying. There is a door in the basement, behind the wine racks. I—if you let me go, I’ll show you.”