91. Vox Moretti
Jesus fucking Christ.
She can’t be as bad as Cal…
So much for that.
As predicted, Cassandra had left me with a string of bodies to clean up. Though I wasn’t necessarily mad about it per se, I did wish she’d been a little cleaner about it.
Especially the second guy.
Holy shit, I’d never seen anything like that.
Okay, maybe I’d seen similar shit while working with Callum… I just hadn’t been expecting that level of violence from his buttoned-up, Ivy League sister.
She’d completely changed into someone else. It was almost like she shifted into a weird trance-like state. It was similar to what happened to Callum when he was triggered, but more… calculated? It’d been the strangest thing to watch.
After I shot the guy she’d manically mutilated in the prayer room, she’d almost calmly stood up and mechanically reloaded her gun without even looking at what she was doing.
The switch from pure, unhinged violence to the deadly, lethal focus of a calculated predator had unnerved me, and I worked with some of the most fucked up people on the planet.
She’d already been drenched from the chin down in blood and gore before I shot the dude in the head, though the explosion of brains certainly hadn’t helped.
This version of Cassandra didn’t seem to mind that she was dripping in brains and body matter.
She almost seemed to revel in it.
When I tried to tell her not to rush out into the hallway like a dumbass–which was also very Cal-like behavior, by the way—she ignored me and unloaded another clip into that dude’s face, too.
She was lucky none of these assholes had been armed with anything more serious than a can of pepper spray.
They weren’t professionals, and I’d known that going in, or I would have made sure we had more backup. These dudes were just hired security, so basically glorified mall cops.
The most evil mall cops on the planet… but still. It typically wasn’t smart to assume your target wasn’t armed, especially in an uncontrolled situation where you’d lost the element of surprise.
But nooo.
No one ever listens to Vox.
Instead of waiting for that dude to come to us, Cassandra had gone all John McClane on me and lit the hall up like it was a Die Hard Christmas.
Idiot.
Don’t get me wrong.
I was glad these fucks were dead, and I didn’t have much of a leg to stand on when it came to judging people for messy murders…
just… I would have been hella pissed if I’d had to somehow explain to Callum that I’d got his sister killed on a mission that a toddler with basic motor function could have pulled off if they’d just put their damn listening ears on.
Ugh.
Even if I could talk… that conversation would have sucked.
So… I was more than a little annoyed with her as I duct taped her guy’s hands together once I was sure the chloroform had done its job.
Now that she no longer seemed to be possessed by the spirit of John fucking Wick, she was much more open to suggestion.
When she’d asked me what she could do to help, I’d gestured toward the hall, indicating that I needed her to go check on the survivors while I got her victim into the car for her.
She nodded and left to gather up the girls, and I’d finished ensuring the dickhole reverend wouldn’t be a threat if he woke up before Cass was able to get him back to Fairview, where Cal would be waiting to help her with the rest of her plan.
I’d messaged Logan on our encrypted chat before we arrived with a single knife emoji, which he knew meant I needed a hand with something illegal. He’d told me he’d round up Ronan and Dakota and head over as soon as he could.
The survivors added a layer of complexity to this snatch-and-grab that I hadn’t originally anticipated, and I had a feeling none of them were going to feel super comfy getting in a vehicle with a man after all the shit they’d been through.
So, I’d added Ronan’s sister, Ember, to our chat, hoping they all got the hint that it would be helpful if they brought a woman too.
The boys were pretty good at figuring my shit out by now.
It always took a while with new people, but Logan, Ronan, and Dakota had caught on pretty quick, so I wasn’t surprised when I heard them bust in through the back door, bickering with each other the way they always did.
“Don’t just barrel in without a plan, Shorty! What the fuck? It could still be an active situation!” Logan’s voice echoed down the hall, and my lip twitched.
“What do you mean? There’s a dude with no face lying out in the hallway.
I’m sure they’re done by now,” Ronan quipped back cheerfully.
“Bet you’re glad you’re blind as fuck, eh, Ember?
Trust me. You do not want to see what this guy’s brains look like.
” Ronan cackled, and his sister let out a long, suffering sigh.
“Jesus, Ronan. Thanks for painting a damn picture for me.”
I bent down and carefully rolled the reverend’s body into a position that would make it easier for me to lift as the voices got closer.
“You think there are survivors?” Dakota asked. “I’m assuming that’s why Vox added Ember to the chat.”
Hoisting the reverend’s heavy ass body over my shoulder, I exited the office to meet the crew of killers as they approached.
“There he is! Hey Voxy!” Ronan beamed at me.
He was a good-looking dude, and he was dressed in clothes he clearly didn’t care about getting dirty. My smirk flattened as I realized he was holding a fucking chainsaw at his side.
Jesus Christ.
If we were planning on cutting up the bodies before we moved them, it was going to be even more of a bitch to get their guts out of the shitty carpet.
This was going to be a long-ass night.
Logan lifted his signature ballcap off his head and ran his hand through his hair as he eyed up the unconscious man I had slung over my shoulder.
Plopping the backwards hat over his sandy waves, he let out a low whistle.
“Man, I was wondering if this was who you were after when you dropped the pin. This guy’s been all over the news.
We were thinking of coming out of retirement just to pinch his ass. ”
I shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t currently weighed down by a comatose pedo.
“Where you taking him? He’s not dead, right? Of course he’s not. Why would you bother taping up a dead guy like that? If he’s not dead, can I kill him?” Ronan asked. Curiously, he took an eager step forward, as if he wanted to snatch the body from me so he had something to dig his chainsaw into.
I shook my head just as Cass came out of one of the ‘prayer’ rooms holding the hands of two of the survivors. The girl from the first room appeared to be the oldest, and she was clutching the third girl tightly with the hand that wasn’t securely wrapped up in Cassandra’s tight fingers.
“Oh hey! It’s the lawyer! Wasn’t expecting to see you here. Hey, do you know anything about real estate? Micah wants to open an animal sanctuary, but they’re worried it’ll count as a zoo, and they’ve been looking for someone to–ow!”
Ronan’s rambling was cut off by a sharp cuff to the head from Logan, who was glaring at him with a mixed look of affection and annoyance.
Cassandra frowned, blinking at Ronan in confusion.
“I’m sorry… who?”
Ronan beamed. “Micah. Can I tell them to call you for advice? It’s the least you can do, considering we’re apparently doing your wet work for you.” He held up his chainsaw as if to say, ‘See? See the things I do for you?’
“God, Ronan, would you shut up?” Dakota growled. “There are children here. They’re clearly terrified, and you’re waiving a fucking chainsaw around. Put that shit away.”
To our surprise, the oldest of the three survivors spoke up.
“It’s okay,” she said softly. “You… You’re here to help us, right?” she asked, and Ember stepped forward, tapping the floor lightly with her cane as she moved.
“Yes. We’re here to help. How many of you are there?”
“Three,” Cassandra replied, and Ronan’s sister nodded, smiling warmly at the girls.
“Perfect, we’ll all fit in the truck. Do you three have somewhere safe to go? If not, we have connections with a wonderful shelter that’s great at helping people just like you.”
“Sarah has a mommy. But… Kara and I… We came here because we didn’t have anywhere to go. We thought… We thought it would be safe here.”
The brave girl’s eyes filled with tears, and I gritted my teeth in rage.
She reminded me so much of a young Naomi, and this whole conversation was triggering the shit out of me.
I shifted the reverend, who was only getting heavier by the minute, before making my way past the group and heading back out to my car.
“Don’t worry! Ember can drive you to the shelter!” Ronan beamed, only to let out another annoyed ow as his sister smacked him with her cane.
“I’m blind, you idiot. I can’t drive them.”
“I’ll drive you guys,” Dakota said easily, and soon, the five of them were following me out of the church and into the parking lot.
Once we were outside, I popped the trunk to my Aston Martin and dumped the reverend in next to my murder kit… Well, it was more of a torture kit now.
I couldn’t help but grin at the flash of red patent leather that peeked out of the bag as I slammed the trunk shut on the bound and gagged unconscious man.
Cassandra was creative. I would give her that.
“You all good here?” Dakota asked as Ember helped the girls climb into Ronan’s truck. I gave him a sharp nod, and Dakota smiled, and his freckly cheeks looked like they were dusted with glitter in the silver light of the moon.
“Great. You know how to reach us if you need anything else.”
I nodded, noting how much Dakota’s stutter had improved since I’d first met him.
I wondered idly if he had a speech therapist or something as I made my way back into the church.
If he did, they seemed to know what they were doing.
Not that I wanted a speech therapist or anything like that. It was just good to know.