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My arms tighten around her, and I choose my words carefully. “Are you ready to help me break this Black Company motherfucker?”
There’s a pause, and I think maybe she can see through all the hardened layers that protect my heart. But she just rests her chin on my chest and looks at me with determination.
“Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
KIRA
Chun Leung’sgaze is wild, flickering around the room as he sits bound to a chair in the dimly lit basement. His chest heaves with ragged breaths, eyes wide with terror. Strapped securely, he looks every bit the cornered animal he is, sweat matting his hair and darkening his shirt.
I step forward and tilt his head back gently, offering a stream of water from the bottle to moisten his parched lips.
Maxim’s men ran him through the ringer—he looks like he’s been dragged behind a train. I’m sure he expected the torture to ratchet up, which is why what I’m doing is so much more effective. I’m playing good cop. This isn't about force—it's about strategy.
His relief is evident as he gulps down the last of the water, the rise and fall of his chest slowly steadying. I’ve only been at this for two hours, but his will is slipping. I can feel it.
"Just give me a name, that's all," I coax gently. "Then this all ends."
The name of the Black Company's leader lurking somewhere in the shadows of Hong Kong is crucial for tearing down the syndicate that has become a relentless adversary for Maxim.
Leaning in, I make sure my eyes meet Leung’s, offering a reassuring smile—one that I know is reflected in the two-way mirror for Maxim and his crew to see. Maxim is the boss so what he says goes, but I doubt his crew was very supportive of me taking the reins on this interrogation. Still, I know what I’m capable of, and soon his men will too.
With a steady, soothing voice, I press, "I understand your loyalty to the Triad. It's expected, honorable even. But let's face it—they've abandoned you. You've been trained to endure, to protect secrets at all costs. I admire that. But at what point does personal sacrifice become senseless?”
Leung's stoic expression doesn't waver, but I notice the slightest flicker in his eyes—a sign of doubt, maybe? This is when the good cop turns bad.
I press on, my voice soft but insistent. “It’s your family I feel bad for.”
Leung's eyes flash with a raw, untamed ferocity.
I continue to circle him. “Even if you stay silent … we'll spread the word that you sang like a canary. That you caved and laid bare every secret of the Black Company.” I lean in, my words laced with threat. "Consider what they will do to your family then. Their retribution will be ugly, won’t it?”
Leung's anger ripples through the room, as tangible as the tremble of his hands straining against the cuffs. He pulls against the plastic ties, his breath coming out in ragged snarls. "You wouldn't dare," he spits, his voice rough. "The Triad knows loyalty."
"You think you're a hero? A martyr? Let me tell you what a hero is. A hero is willing to protect his family. The people who love him. Not some nameless, faceless organization like theBlack Company. To them, you’re nothing. A dime a dozen.” I pause, letting my words sink in.
I don’t actually know what family Leung has, but I’m taking a gamble that there is someone somewhere on this earth that loves him. Someone whose death he would do anything to prevent.
His face is stoic, but the slight twitch in his jaw tells me I've hit a nerve.
"They’ll come after my family either way," Leung finally says, his voice less certain than before.
I tilt my head, crossing my arms in front of me. “If you give us what we want, we’ll keep it under wraps that you talked. You’ll go to your death honorably. Don’t make the people you love suffer for your silence. Is the code of the Triad worth more than their lives?"
He looks away, a silent war raging behind his pained expression. I can see the walls he's built starting to crumble, brick by brick. It's a subtle shift, but it's there. The rise and fall of his chest becomes more pronounced, and he dips his head in surrender.
"He goes by the name Lai King," he confesses, the name emerging like a dark secret unfurling into the dim light of the room. “But he’s not in Hong Kong right now.”
“Where is he?”
“He has houses all over Europe, moves around all the time, so no one but the top Black Company officials know where he is. He does have a daughter in Paris. Kind of a bohemian type, refuses to take Dad’s money or take part in the Triad, but he keeps a close watch on her.”
Interesting. Very interesting.
My head snaps up to face the mirror. I'm aware of every inch of my posture, every breath I take as my eyes meet the reflective surface. Through it, I feel Maxim's intense gaze on me.
A small, triumphant smile forms on my lips.
