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“Snuff films.” Revulsion burns up my spine.

“I thought those things weren’t real.” Delilah shudders against my chest.

Warren leans forward in his chair. “The legend comes from somewhere, doesn’t it? You can’t convince me there aren’t wealthy individuals trading and buying snuff films out there on the black market.”

“My guess is this guy has a payroll of men he hires to abduct women”—Syd nods at Delilah—“like your Sammy, then they bring the girls to Please, where he does his…dirty business.”

“Not fucking dirty business,” River snarls, looking more enraged by the second. He’s lit a cigarette and leans against the wall next to the closed door. “That’s rape. Murder.”

As dark as my heart might be, this person deserves instant death. Men who rape, who hurt women, are a fucking cancer that need to be wiped from the face of the earth.

My gaze drifts to the folder labeled PROSPECTS. “Fuck.” My voice is a scratch, my mind a mess.

I turn away from the screen, torso twisting, taking Delilah with me. I feel sick. Like I could throw up. I imagine Delilah being taken the day of her abduction, not being quick enough with my gun. She could be gone right now. Dead.

The thought is a knife to the fucking chest.

Ezra yanks the USB from the computer, and the screen goes black. “What the fuck do we do with this?”

“Burn it.” Warren jerks his chin.

“Hell, I’ll eat the goddamn thing,” River mutters.

“We know what to do with this,” I interject before my brothers can start squabbling. “We give it to Langford. Get it out of our fucking hands.”

“Good,” says Warren, looking at Delilah as he rises from his chair. “Then what do we do with her?”

Delilah lets out a sob, her entire expression fracturing.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, rubbing my fingers through her silky hair while I work to comfort her. “Shhh, darlin’. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

I pull her in closer. Her touch is the only thing that keeps me from losing it right now, when my entire mind, my world feels clouded in that dark inhuman shadow. I take in a sharp breath as reality sets in, fear and rage making my heart plummet.

Delilah’s not safe.

The most important thing in my fucking world and a monster wants to take it away.

40 Delilah

Cole’s kitchen is lit in light and awash in whiskey. Open whiskey bottles are strewn on the counter. The radio plays at a low level. To an onlooker, it’s a celebration. To us, it’s a war room.

I stand at Cole’s kitchen island, we all do, like the weight of the day is just now settling in. It all feels like a bad dream I can’t wake up from.

Wells, who by now knows what’s been going on, flashes a smile. “When I’m stressed, I’m gonna empty the cabinets.” The chip bag in his hand crinkles as he leans down on the island. “Gonna cost us money as a household.” He nods at Cole, pacing across the room. “But Cole, he’s just going to punch things.”

I give him a weak smile, keep my gaze on Cole.

He’s gone quiet, tense after what we saw today. Doing his best to hide his anger, his worry from me, but he’s on edge. We all are.

“Bottoms up.” River comes up beside me, slides a glass of whiskey my way.

I slam back the whiskey, trying to get the burn of those images out of my eyes. Cold-blooded, cruel, disgusting images that haven’t left me since we left Syd’s. It takes a bad man, a monster to drug, to rape, to kill. A weak piece of shit who’s always gotten his way, who’s never been stopped. Well, I intend to stop him. However I can. Whatever it takes.

Langford, an ex-deputy from Tempest, sits on a barstool. The USB drive glitters in his gnarled fingers as he examines it. “Something tells me this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“It’s rough.” Warren grimaces, shaking his head like he can’t erase the images from his mind either. “Warning you now.”

“I want you to give it to whoever can find this motherfucker. Whoever can stop him.” Cole’s tone is deadly, and I hear his unsaid words. Before I do.