Chapter 40
BELLA
Queens, New York.
“Where’s Krolek?” I don’t yell. I don’t bark. I ask calmly. Which is exactly why both men strapped to those folding chairs start to sweat a little harder. Their gazes shift from the body slumped on the ground, to each other, and to the blood soaking into the concrete.
They don’t answer. Not even a stutter. They look at him. Tex. Then at Laing. And that’s their first mistake. Laing cracks his neck and steps forward.
“Yeah,” he says, voice casual and almost cheerful. “You’re gonna want to answer her.”
Tex doesn’t say a word. Just walks over to the wall, crosses his arms, and leans back against it like he already knows how this ends.
Our guests still don’t say a word.
“Fine. Guess we’re doing this the fun way,” I say.
BANG.
My gun kicks back, smooth and sharp. Left shoulder, just a little love tap. He screams.
Scarface, the other one with the jagged gash cutting across his brow shouts at me,“You crazy bitch!”
Apparently, he’s not a fan of me shooting his buddy.
“Laing,” I sigh, bored.
BANG.
Laing fires without hesitation. Scarface’s kneecap. The snap echoes, followed by another round of screaming.
“Call her a bitch again,” he says, voice low and deadly calm. He nods toward the guy that I love tapped. “We’ve got a spare. You’re not exactly necessary.”
“Aww, thanks honey.” I smile sweetly and blow him a kiss.
Behind me, I hear Lex mutter under his breath. Something about a dragon dick. I don’t turn around. I step closer, cock my head, and speak again.
“So. Let’s try this one more time, shall we? Where is Krolek?”
The one with the hole in his shoulder coughs, voice ragged. “You kill us now, fine. But if we talk? Krolek… he kills us worse.”
“Well yeah,” I say casually, circling them like a shark. “You may be right.”
I strut over and drop into his lap like he’s some dirty little throne. Straddling him. Owning the moment. I feel his whole body freeze under me—whether it’s fear or arousal, who gives a shit.
I lean in, voice dropping. “Chances are, Krolek’s still hiding somewhere safe in Poland.” I wave my gun in the air like I’m about to give a TED Talk. “But last I checked?” My eyes lock on his. “You’re not in Poland.”
Then without a blink, I shift the barrel right toward Scarface’s temple.
BANG.
My lap buddy screams like a little bitch.
“Now, you might want to give me what I want,” I say, wiping some of the blood off my cheek with the back of my hand.
Laing mutters behind me, “Fuck, Iz…”
His eyes dart to me, confused. Probably trying to figure out if I’m going to shoot him or strip him.
Good. Let him spiral.
“See, our little arrangement doesn’t have to be all bad.” I stand up slow like I’m dragging the threat across his skin with every movement. I walk over to Nate, but my gaze doesn’t leave Lex.
He’s leaning against the wall, arms crossed, that deadly body all relaxed and lethal. And when our eyes lock? Icy-blues and that damn smile. He’s loving this.
Fucking psycho.
Takes one to raise… well, to know one.
“So,” I say, tearing my eyes away and turning back to our guest of honor, “I have an idea instead.”
I gesture casually to Nate, who’s been quiet up until now. “You see this man here?”
The guy with the bleeding shoulder lifts his head slightly.
“He’s really good at making people disappear.” I pause. “Not like your buddies here.” I nod to the corpses. “No, I mean safe. Tucked away. New identity, new life. Far from Krolek. Rich. Happy. Healthy. A whole new beginning.”
I say it soft and slow, like a lullaby laced with poison. And I can see it, he’s eating it up. The desperation. The delusion. The part of him that wants to believe there’s still a way out.
He glances at the bodies beside him and licks his lips like they’ve gone dry. “What… what do you have in mind?”
Got him.
I tilt my head and smile. “Tex you’re up.”
Tex steps forward, boots hitting the concrete slow and heavy. No rush. Just that calm, deliberate weight of a man who’s about to ruin someone’s week.
Our guest stiffens. I glance at him as Tex stops just in front of him.
“Now, this is Tex,” I say lightly, almost sweet. “He’s very, very good at making sure that you’re not going to lie to me. Micro-expressions and all that shit.”
The man’s breath catches.
“So, here’s the deal,” I continue, crouching just enough to meet his eyes again.
“As long as everything that comes out of your little mouth from this point on is one hundred percent the truth,” I pause, letting the silence press on his chest. “We’ll patch you up and have you on your way before the sunrise. ”
His eyes dart to Tex, then back to me.
“But…” I add, straightening. “If even one syllable feels off?” I look up at Tex. He cracks his knuckles. I look back at the man. “Well then… your new beginning turns into a closed casket.”
Tex grins. “Let’s have a chat.”
He squats in front of the guy, elbows resting on his knees. Calm. Professional. Fucking terrifying. “What’s your name?”
“Piotr,” the man says, voice rough with pain.
“How long you been working for Krolek, Piotr?”
He hesitates, then chokes out, “Seven years.”
Tex nods slowly. “You got family?”
Piotr’s eyes flicker. “Yes. Wife. And a son, seventeen.”
“Back in Poland?”
He nods.
Tex raises a brow. “Yeah, I’m going to need a verbal response, Piotr.”
“Yes. In Poland,” Piotr says quickly.
“You ever personally hurt one of the kids Krolek brings?”
“No. Never. I… I don’t touch kids.”
Tex tilts his head. “Did you ever watch it happen and stay quiet?”
Piotr hesitates. “Sometimes… I look away. But never help. Never.”
“Did you ever deliver one of them? Take a kid from one place to another and know what you were doing?”
Piotr swallows hard. “Y-y-yes… I knew. I don’t touch, I swear on my son. But I know where I take them.”
Tex studies him in silence. Just long enough to make him sweat.
Then he glances at me. “So far, so good. He’s telling the truth. He’s guilty as sin, but he can be useful.”
I cross my arms, watching carefully. I nod.
“Okay, Piotr,” Tex says, voice suddenly all business. “Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to call Krolek. Tell him everything went smoothly. The transfer is on the way right now.”
He nods to Knox. “Knox, send the funds.”
“On it,” Knox replies from behind me already tapping at his screen.
“And,” Tex continues, leaning in, “you’re going to tell him the wife was way wealthier than expected. Loaded. Filthy rich. And she needs girls.”
Piotr frowns slightly, but Tex barrels on.
“Tell him she’s a madame. Runs a private elite operation and needs high-quality girls to train. That there’s no budget cap. Whatever the fuck you need to say to get that bastard into the States.”
Piotr swallows hard. “Understood.”
???
The van ride back is deadly quiet. Not unusual. Missions always leave a kind of stillness in the air, like everyone’s trying to breathe without disturbing whatever just got left behind.
When we finally pull up near Lex’s bike. Tex throws the van in park and turns around.
“You want us to stay? Take you back to Rosethorne?”
Lex cuts in before I can even open my mouth. “I can take her.”
I glance at the matte black bike.
“You don’t like bikes?” he says, cocking his head.
I lift a brow. “Didn’t say that.”
He turns back to Tex, cocky as hell. “I’ll take her.”
“Didn’t ask you. I asked her.”
I look between them, fighting the curve tugging at my lips. “I’m good. Go on, I’ll see you guys later.”
Tex nods but he’s still giving Lex the side-eye. We walk toward the bike, my heels scraping against the rough, chalky gravel. The second the van disappears onto the road, tires humming into the distance, Lex grabs me.
His strong arms wrap around my waist, lifting me clean off the ground.
His hands slide under my ass, holding me in place as his mouth crashes into mine.
All tongue and teeth. He claims my mouth like no one ever has before.
My breath catches, heart thudding in my ears.
I push my hands against his shoulders, dragging my lips away. Barely.
“Lex?” I pant. “What are you doing?”
His voice is low, wrecked, like smoke wrapped in thunder. “What I’ve wanted to do since the second you licked my neck back at The Pit, baby. You’re fucking amazing do you realize that?”
“Put me down.”
“Never,” he smirks, then kisses me again, harder this time.
I laugh against his mouth, “Lex. Seriously. Put me down.”
“Make me.”
“Lex,” I say, more stern. “Down. Now.”
He finally sets me down. His arms stay locked around my waist like letting go would be some kind of loss. My hands are still on his shoulders. He clearly has no intention of letting me move them.
“You can’t just do that,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Do what?” he says, all faux innocence.
I glare at him. “I don’t know. Pick me up. Kiss me. Hijack my missions. Completely disregard protocol.”
He pulls me closer, one corner of his mouth twitching. “I’m sorry, baby. It’ll never happen again.”
“Yeah, right,” I roll my eyes. “Like it won’t happen again.”
He leans in, grinning. “It will, but you’ll forgive me.” Then kisses my forehead.
“Cade warned me about you, you know.”
“Oh yeah?” he says. “What’d our boyfriend say?”
“Our boyfriend said that you’re impulsive,” I say, lifting a brow. “Reckless. A psycho with a serious anger problem.”
Lex puts a hand to his chest like I physically just wounded him. “Ouch.”
“But,” I add, narrowing my eyes at him, “he also said that you can be very sweet when you want to. He said you are the most loyal person in the world as long as they’ve earned it.”
“What else?”
“How do you know there is more?”
“Because I know Cade more than anyone, now what else?”
“That you love harder, faster, and deeper than most people. And that when you attach yourself to someone, you never let them go.”
“Well, he’s not wrong.”
I tilt my head. “How are you so okay with all of this?”
“All of what?”