6. Obi
OBI
I was wrath incarnate.
As furious as a raging storm. As destructive as a wildfire.
The world would burn until we got her back.
“Which Clan took her?” I asked the bound Albanian cowering before me. This strip club was the third location we’d visited. First, an Albanian owned liquor store. Second, a pawnshop. Neither had returned any promising information, but both were now smouldering embers.
The Albanians operated through family Clans.
Similar to the Italian mafia, the Russian Bratva, and the Irish Mob, the Clans ran on a strict hierarchy of vertical leadership.
Except there were dozens of Clans with varying ranges of power.
Unlike the mafia, the Clans operated mostly independently of one another, which spread out their power and kept them from growing into formidable threats like other large-scale criminal organizations.
It was how the Camorra had maintained its practical monopoly over Europe.
The Albanians could never consolidate enough power to present a genuine threat .
We knew Leona’s kidnappers were Albanian, but we did not know which Clan targeted her.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he spluttered.
Ryuji and Caspian matched my rage. We were covered in blood and ash from our rampage.
We left dozens of bodies in our wake. I’d barely wasted time calling in cleanup crews before moving onto the next location on my list. It didn’t matter.
We had to get her back. None of us had slept, and we’d need to return to the penthouse soon, but not until we got something we could use.
Behind me, my brothers were dousing the entire building in gasoline.
We’d quickly dismissed the dancers—most looked thankful although frightened—along with the regular employees, and rounded up the men clearly in charge.
In the back, we’d found sedative drugs we suspected they were using to loop women into trafficking.
Two of the women were high out of their minds, practically begging for a fix.
It was a common ploy. Get them addicted, force them into debt, promise them a way out if they worked in the trade. Despicable.
“I will not ask again.”
The man was barely conscious. His blood, and the blood of the other men who worked here, coated my knuckles. I pressed the blade of my skinning knife to the soft skin under his jaw. It had already found plenty of use tonight.
“I’m going to kill you either way. Give me an answer I can use, and it will be quick.”
He looked up at me through swollen black eyes. “Not my Clan.”
I sighed, pressing the knife firmer against his throat. A line of red dripped down his skin. “Who?”
“Just kill me.”
“Give me a name.”
He closed his eyes, decision made .
I pulled my knife from his throat. After a few moments, the man opened his eyes, confused that he wasn’t bleeding out yet.
“You’re not going to kill me?”
I nodded to Ryuji, who dumped the rest of the gasoline in his tank over the man’s head. We both stepped back while I pulled a lighter from my pocket.
“Oh, I will. You will burn.”
We didn’t have time to waste on men who would give us nothing. I tossed the flame onto the trail Caspian had made, and together the three of us watched the strip club go up in flames.
I relished the screams.
“Any news?” I asked Ciel on the phone.
“I’ve narrow—I’ve narrowed down the trajectory of their ship, but I don’t have exact coordinates.
The ship has disabled its GPS tracker, which I thought might happen since they’re trafficking illegally.
The s—The satellites are not in alignment, so I can’t visually confirm yet.
” His frustration echoed down the phone.
Ryuji and Caspian looked at me with hope in their eyes, and I shook my head. “Understood. We’re arriving at the next location now. We’ll head back to the penthouse after this one. Any other news?”
“I’m still trac—I’m still tracing which Clan owns Adriatik, and I’m still trying to reestablish connection with her tracker.” He took a deep, slow breath. His words were careful. “They’re blocking it somehow. I don’t know if I’ll be able to find her while the jammer is active.”
My hand dragged down my face. I was doing my best to maintain control over this situation, but if there was a signal jammer near her, it was firmly outside my control.
I’d never felt so unmoored.
So frightened .
I hadn’t even felt this way when the boy of my past died in my place, or when my sister accused me of becoming a monster. I’d spent my life cultivating control in even the most high-pressure situations, but I felt like spider-cracked glass. One wrong move and I’d shatter.
I had to regain my control. The Shadows needed their leader.
We needed our queen.
“You can find her, Ciel. I know it. Tracker or satellite, keep up your search.”
“And hurry the fuck up!” Ryuji called, his hands fisted at his sides. Blood stained his clothes, just the same as mine. We were hunting for vengeance, and he was the bloodthirstiest of us all.
I shot him a glare while Caspian clasped his shoulder. “Ryu is just?—”
“I—I know,” Ciel said from the other side of the line. “I know how much he loves her. We all do. Trust me, Obi. I can do this.”
“I trust you, Ciel.”
“Come on,” Caspian said while reloading his guns. We had just pulled up at the next location on my list. Another strip club that was bustling with customers. “Before they catch wind of us coming.”
I ended the call with Ciel and followed my brothers around to the back of the building.
Caspian kicked the back door open, and Ryuji followed him in immediately.
It was easy to get control of the club. The employees and customers ran quickly, just like the last ones.
The men running the club tried to fight, but we made quick work of them.
We tied them all to chairs and lined them up in front of the dance floor.
I went through the same set of questions as the last three businesses we’d burned to the ground. The first two men didn’t respond immediately, so I shot them in the head without hesitation.
When I reached the third, I finally got some answers.
“Leona Vero. Which Clan took her? ”
The man grinned. “The Vero woman. She will fetch a high price.”
Ice filtered through my veins. Caspian and Ryuji paused beside me. All three of us gathered closer. I held out my hand to stop Ryuji from immediately stabbing him.
“Tell me where she is.”
He shrugged. “Don’t know.”
“Sounds like you do know, you cocksucker,” Ryuji seethed.
“I didn’t take her.” The man sucked his teeth. “Don’t know.”
“What’s your Clan name?” I asked.
The man spit at my feet. It landed in a glob on my boot. “Vokshi. No more Clans. Just Vokshi.”
I frowned. “Explain.”
He shook his head. “Kill me and be done with it. You have what you want.”
“Fine.” I called Ciel just as I aimed my gun at the man’s head. Ciel picked up right after I pulled the trigger. “The Vokshi Clan.”
He hmm’ d. “I’ll look into it.”
He hung up, and I looked to Caspian and Ryuji. Ryuji slit the throats of the other men with a feral fury on his face, while Caspian got the rest of our gasoline from the back of our armored SUV. Death surrounded us on all sides.
It was only the beginning.