Page 9 of Ghost Among Lies

The guy––and I used the term loosely because I wasn't sure he was much older than twenty––whimpered. I would've felt bad that he got caught up in a shitty situation if it weren't for the fact that Nyx was right. There was no way he didn't know what was happening here seconds after he showed, and instead of getting the hell out of Dodge, he chose to continue to make money from someone else's death.

"So what's the plan here?" I looked between Nyx and Anita. Torture was their forte, and given the heinous crimes, I assumed they would want to make these guys suffer.

"Just how close are you two?" Nyx pointed to the others and asked conversationally.

Both men were late twenties to early thirties. If I had to guess, they were related in some way based on their physical similarities.

"Cousins," the one on the left spat. Unlike the quivering kid, the cousins weren't happy we had them tied down to tables.

"Cousins." Nyx nodded. "I guess that makes sense. You would have to trust the person you were working with, and who better than family? It does beg the question though. How did you get into the organ harvesting business? Did one of you wake up one day and decide killing people sounded like a good idea, and then you casually brought it up to the other? Or did you stumble upon it? I'm genuinely curious."

All the while she was talking, Nyx moved from person to person. Tracing her knife along each one. Effectively playing with her victims.

It was the one difference between Nyx and Anita. Anita you saw coming. She made sure you knew when she would strike. Nyx, on the other hand, dragged it out. Made her victims feel relaxed like she might let them go, then she struck.

"Fuck you, bitch," the same asshole spat. "We're not telling you shit."

"You're awfully cocky for someone who's about to die." Anita sounded bored. but it was only a facade. These assholes were pieces of shit, and Anita wanted nothing more than to end them in a horrific way.

"You wouldn't be saying that shit if we were untied."

I guess he already forgot how he got in his current position. Although to be fair, they had been distracted by the body.

"Nyx, cut the cousins loose." If they wanted a fight, then I would give them one. I had some pent-up frustration to work through after seeing Hayes.

"This should be entertaining," Beckett said from where he stood in the far corner with his arms crossed over his chest and one leg kicked over the other. He looked relaxed, but I knew if shit went sideways, he would step in to help.

Lilith, on the other hand, was stationed in front of the door. She had her phone in her hand as she watched Krista through a camera set up in the plane.

Yes, we compromised and brought her along.

Did that make us horrible guardians? Probably, but none of us claimed we would be the best at it. And still, Krista wanted to stay with us. It was probably a testament to her poor judgment.

Nyx sliced the binds that held the cousins strapped down. At first, neither of them moved. They exchanged befuddled glances. They were probably thinking this was a trap. In a way, it was. They wouldn't be able to beat me even with both hands tied behind my back. In all honesty, it was an unfair fight, but it's what the guy wanted, so who was I to deny him?

"Are you going to lie there all day, or can we get this started?" I taunted.

The cousins exchanged one last look, and then it was on. They all flew off the tables like their lives depended on it.

The cocky one, who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, was the first to get to me. His wild swing was the first indication he wasn't properly trained to fight.

This was going to be easier than I thought.

I sidestepped his second punch, then immediately dodged another punch from his cousin. Both attempts were weak as fuck.

The third attempt to make contact with me pissed the loudmouth off and had him spouting shit again. "A pussy bitch just like I thought. You don't have what it takes to beat us."

Was he for real right now? Talking shit even though he hadn't landed a single blow.

"You hear that, Sloane? He wants you to fight back." Nyx chuckled.

The punk was about to get exactly what he wanted. I waited for the second cousin to take his next swing. While he was mid momentum, I landed a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, dropping him to the ground like a ton of bricks.

That apparently got the first cousin’s attention. With a roar, he charged at me linebacker-style. Unfortunately for him, it put him in the perfect position for me to wrap my arm around the back of his neck and spin so that he was thrown halfway across the room. He was lucky I didn't snap his neck.

Both guys lay sprawled out on the floor as they tried to make sense of what just happened to them.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Beckett sighed.