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weak.”
I huff out a dry laugh. “Wrong. I didn’t suspect the abused wife only because I couldn’t imagine one victim actively victimizing other innocent women and children.”
She smiles wickedly and bends at the waist, leveling her green eyes with mine.
“And I can’t imagine a man that puts his life on the line to save these victims forcing an innocent woman into a relationship.”
She assesses me closely while I stare at her, searching for any emotion. I only give her one—I tip my head back and laugh.
“Have you been stalking me, Claire?” I ask with mirth, meeting her glare once more.
Her lips tip up further. “We’re all hypocrites, Z,” she says, ignoring my taunt and straightening. “The only difference between you and me is that I chose to profit off of the pathetic men in this world. They’re never going to stop abusing those they deem weaker. And they’ll never stop raping and killing them. So, I decided that if that’s the world we're going to live in, then I’ll be damned if I don’t gain something from it.”
I smooth out my face, only clenching my teeth when the twinge in my back worsens.
Fuck. I really need a hospital.
But I need Addie more.
“You could do so much good in your position,” Jay fumes, disgust twisting his features. “You have immense power. And you choose to feed into the patriarchy rather than changing it.”
She snarls, whipping the gun to him and pressing it into his temple. Jay stiffens, but he doesn’t cower. My muscles lock, the throbbing pain fading as I watch her finger dance over the trigger.
If she pulls that trigger… I will crush her throat beneath my boot before that bullet finishes passing through Jay's brain.
“You’re wrong.” She looks at me. “Let’s say you did destroy all the rings, Z. Let’s say you accomplished what you’ve set out to do. Do you honestly believe, for one second, it’ll stay that way? Ha! The second the dust settles, evil will already be rebuilding their empire, this time stronger and better than before.” She stares at Jay and me as if we’re delusional.
“You'll never get rid of evil. Never.”
She’s not wrong, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put a massive dent in the cesspool of rotten souls and create a power vacuum. I’m not under any delusions that I’ll be able to erase human trafficking in my lifetime completely. But that was never the fucking point. Saving these girls—these children—and giving as many of them a second chance at life as I can is the goddamn point.
My plan has always been to dismantle the government's shady control of the people and their hand in the skin trade. That alone will make a significant difference in the world.
It will be an ongoing battle long after I’m gone. The sun will explode, and the earth will deteriorate before a perfect world ever exists. Humans will kill themselves off before that can happen.
But Z? Z isn’t going anywhere, even when I’m buried six feet under. I will raise a generation to take over, and they will do the same.
Claire looks over her shoulder then, and I notice a man approaching with a deep hood over his head. I can only tell his gender because he’s built like an upside-down Eiffel Tower. Massive, broad shoulders stretching the robe, the seams nearly bursting, and then dramatically tapering down into chicken legs.
Dickhead skipped leg day so often that he can’t even see them anymore because they’re so skinny.
“Car is ready,” he announces, his voice deeper than the Mariana Trench.
Claire faces me, lowering her gun as the man’s raises, and flicks her pointer finger up and down.
“Up,” she snaps, her tone sharp. “Now.”
Blowing out a steady breath, I force myself to move, gritting my teeth from the aches in my body.
Grunting, I stand fully and train my glare on the red-headed snake before me. She’s brave enough to meet my gaze head-on without an iota of fear. I’m sure she’s used to men looking down on her, intimidating in nature. But Claire has never dealt with a man like me.
“What do you think you’re going to do with me?” I challenge, staring at her with condescension like you would a small child who believes they can win an arm-wrestling match against you. “I’m a lot to handle, Claire.”
Her lips tip up in a secretive smile, unconcerned as she draws near, a display to show me how unafraid she is.
“Patrick here will be taking you to our interrogation room. We're going to ask you some questions.” She pats my cheek, returning the condescension. “You’ll be useful and give us all the information we need. How your organization operates and the illegal technology you use, along with all the intel you’ve collected in your years as a terrorist. And then, I will make you watch your little girlfriend with her new master before I kill you myself.”
I stretch my lips into a feral smile, baring my teeth as I lean in and show her exactly why she should be very fucking afraid.
