43. Zombie
FORTY-THREE
ZOMBIE
I threw my phone onto my bed after sending yet another text message that I knew Lennie wouldn’t read. This was driving me mad. I had no idea what she was doing because I hadn’t had the chance to install a camera in her condo.
Georgy perked up at the motion and tilted his head.
I’d grown surprisingly close to him; he was all I had left, after all, and I didn’t have much to do other than train him and take him on walks.
Toby had everything taken care of at the coroner’s office and told me that there was no need for me to come in.
Although Chief had said it was okay to gather intel but not go undercover, I’d made the executive decision to continue business as usual.
Had I stopped abruptly communicating and showing my face to Sarah and her team, it would look strange and potentially put the whole mission in jeopardy.
I knew it was risky, and could lead to me ultimately being permanently removed from the squad, however I needed to see this through.
I needed to see all of them taken down and watch the Ricci Empire crumble.
I walked into the bathroom and glanced at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t shaved in weeks, which left me with an unkempt beard, and the circles under my eyes were prominent.
Sarah was still in rough shape, and only alive due to my interventions after the blast—burn care, fluids, and lots of antibiotics.
It had been easier than anticipated to be welcomed to the throne of the Ricci empire.
I had received lots of comments like, “Glad to see you are taking over the family business” and “I see why they want you in charge.” The comments made me sick, but I had gone along with them for the sake of the bigger picture.
I’d sent my team countless calls and texts with no response. I understood why no one was talking to me, but the silence was killing me, eating my insides like a cancer.
I picked up my phone from the bed and sent a message to Chief.
DANTE:
Large shipment coming in tonight. Buyers will be coming as well.
Seconds later, a read receipt appeared on the message.
The day dragged on as my nerves grew. Tonight, I was going to do one of the craziest things I had ever done.
I was going to take down Sarah and save the women and children from the heinous crimes that were committed against them and save my little girl and Cassie.
Later that evening, I walked into the falling-apart warehouse where a box truck was sitting outside. Men were dragging several women and children out of it, their mouths gagged and hands tied in front of them. They looked at me pleadingly, and I couldn’t stand seeing the pain in their eyes.
I continued to walk past them and into the building where Sarah sat in the middle of the room with an oxygen tank. She was moving a lot better now. As she had been healing, she’d stepped down from her position like a puppy obeying their master. She knew that she was lucky I hadn’t killed her.
Now that I was in charge, I had full knowledge of all the “shipments” of women and children coming here.
I had even arranged for Ryann and Cassie to be here now that I had no one questioning my authority.
Even though I hadn’t gotten a response from him, I sent Chief all the contacts I had for everyone involved with the operation.
It was the least I could do to try to show that I was on their side and always had been.
I strode over to Sarah, who gave me a weak smile before she watched the men put the victims in cages that now lined the far wall.
“Are you ready for the big event, brother?” she asked coolly.
I’d planned the evening to a T. Not only had I organized for all the shipments to arrive at once, I also demanded that buyers take their “property” in the same night.
I was signing my own death wish with what I had planned for all of these psychopaths, but I didn’t care.
“Dante?” I heard my voice echo in the large room.
I turned to see that Cassie, with Ryann in tow, was being led into the main area. It was intense seeing them in person now after all this time. I walked over to them, keeping a cool expression. Inside I felt like I was going to break into a thousand pieces.
“Are you in charge of all this?” Cassie asked, looking deeply wounded.
I waited for the guy holding her to walk away after I gave him a nod of “I got this.”
I led her to the side of the warehouse where there were no listening ears. Sarah was busy talking to some of the buyers who had walked in so this was my chance to set the record straight.
“Yes, but not in the way you think. I can’t explain it all right now. But just know I am getting you out of here. And then you and I need to have a serious talk about Ryann.”
Cassie gulped. Even though she had been captured she still was clean and looked like she had been fed. Her brassy hair was in a ponytail and her clothes were way too big for her small frame.
“Dante, I’m…” She paused when she heard Sarah call over to us.
“Alright lovebirds, reunion is over,” she said in a hoarse tone.
One of the guards came back over and wrapped an arm around Cassie’s and led her to where the rest of the women and children were. I walked back over to Sarah with a stern expression.
“Was that really necessary?” I deadpanned.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “Just didn’t want you to get too comfortable.”
I wrapped a hand around her partially healed burned throat and put my face millimeters from hers.
“Don’t forget who is in charge Sarah, because it sure as fuck isn’t you anymore.
” I pushed her away and stalked several paces away from her before whirling around.
“How did you even get into this business? You are a kid yourself.”
Sarah scoffed and crossed her burnt, bandaged arms over her chest. “Daddy told me I was meant for great things in this world. And gave me this opportunity on a silver platter. Who was I to refuse this power, the ability to be set for life financially, and the privilege of never having to be on the other side of the business.”
She was absolutely delusional. Just downright bat-shit delusional. She was ruining women and children’s lives with no care in the world.
“But you realize what you’re doing, right?” I asked tentatively, not wanting to give away how much I despised her.
Sarah sat down in one of the chairs for the guests.
“I am fully aware of what I am doing, brother. But it was an easy decision. It was either become the nightmare, or live the nightmare. Daddy told me as much. Call me whatever you want, but I did this to protect myself. I learned everything I needed to so that way I could make sure that it never happened to me.”
For the first time, I actually could understand that logic. It was the first humane thing I had heard her say.
I didn’t respond, only looked at her, taking in her young features that were now covered with burn scars.
“Don’t look at me that way Dante, I don’t need your sympathy. Sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis.”
My eyes shot up at the joke and it surprised me when a chuckle came out of my mouth. I reminded myself that she was the enemy. She was the problem that needed dealing with. I schooled my expression and turned to watch the entryway. The main event was about to start.
Over the next hour, all of the shipments arrived and buyers began filtering in. I met their beady eyes as they took their seats.
One large man especially caught my attention. Steven Bysworth. He was one of the top buyers from Ricci and was known for his prostitution of women and children. The pedophile was on the top of my kill list tonight. Too many lives had been affected by him, and I wouldn’t let him hurt anyone else.
He walked up to me with his belly sticking out of the bottom of his dress shirt. His clothes were too tight, and he smelled of cheap cologne.
“Dante, how good to see you in the flesh,” he said, holding out his hand for me to shake as if we were old friends.
I shook his hand. “Nice to see you, Steven. It will be quite the show tonight.”
He gave me a sinister smile. “Glad to hear it. Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us.”
I walked away with my heart beating faster than it had ever before. Within minutes, everyone was seated, ready to listen to what I had to say. It was time for the end to begin.