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Satisfied I had everything I needed, I grabbed a small pistol from one of the chests pushed against the wall, and stuffed it in my waistband. I was confident I could subdue Colin without it, but it never hurt to be careful. A dead flunky wouldn't draw the Jackals out as much as a live one, but he would still serve a purpose if he decided to act rashly and get himself killed.

I whistled as I strolled from the apartment, locking it behind me. The halls were still empty, most of the residents working at this hour, their children at the youth center. It wasfor the best. I couldn't afford to be slowed down by residents wanting to chat. The walk to Colin's shitty condo would take long enough. I could've taken my bike, but then I'd have the headache of figuring out where to stash it while I packed the man off to another safe house, one where I could interrogate him without interruption.

About twenty minutes later, I was in the most rundown part of Southside. At one point, some developers had tried to buy up the land and build high-end condos to entice the rich to gentrify the neighborhood. Unfortunately for them, the criminals of Southside were all too happy to snatch the things up before any of the wealthy could genuinely commit. As a result, every condo was in disrepair, the sidewalks and roads were unmaintained. It had become a crackhead haven rather than the hoity-toity community the developers wanted, and he'd quickly abandoned the project, leaving more than a few places partially built.

I went to the address Craig had given me and began circling the outside. The lights were out, the interior pitch black as far as I could see through the few cracked blackout curtains. As far as I could tell, nobody was inside, but that didn't mean the place was actually empty, considering one side of the condo was inaccessible from the outside due to the other condo it was attached to.

Carefully, I tested one of the windows, biting back a cheerful giggle at finding it unlocked and easy to open. I poked my head inside, listening for any noise. When I didn't hear anything, I hoisted myself through the window and began moving from room to room to ensure I was alone.

The condo was an even bigger shithole than the exterior would have had me believe. The flooring was ripped up in places, trash and drug paraphernalia scattered throughout. Colin was a destructive slob if the state of the residence was any indication.Still, I was in a hurry to get back to the manor and didn't want to waste more time waiting to catch him out elsewhere.

I closed the internal doors as I worked my way through the condo until only the living room and kitchen were open. Dropping my backpack on the worn-out sofa, I dug out my smoke bombs. Using the wire I'd packed to connect the pull strings on my neon pink smoke bombs, I went to work setting them up through the two open rooms. With how small the rooms were, thirty smoke bombs were a tad overkill, but I couldn't wait to see Colin's reaction to me turning his drug den into a pretty princess palace with them.

Happy with the setup, I arranged the rest of my tools to be within easy reach and dragged a raggedy bar stool into a shadowed corner of the living room to wait. I must have sat there for hours, humming to entertain myself, before I heard Collin's voice drawing near the front door.

"We can't get close to her with them around. I don't know what the boss wants us to do." His voice carried through the thin door.

I donned my gas mask and pulled the wire, setting off all thirty smoke bombs and flooding the living room and kitchen with pink smoke as I eavesdropped.

"Yeah, and how'd that work for them? From what I heard, the horsemen dropped all of them and the girl was gone before any of our guys could get eyes on her." Keys jingled in the lock just before I heard it crack open. "What the fuck. I'll call you back. Some dipshit decided to set off smoke bombs in my place like I'm some sorta fag or something." He paused for a moment. "You're right, probably just some new initiate hazing shit, but still."

I tracked his silhouette through the smoke, waiting until I was certain he'd ended his call. Slipping off my stool with myblackjack in hand, I stalked around him on quiet feet until I was nearly pressed against his back.

"Tell me you're insecure about your sexuality without telling me. Does someone have a closet they're not telling anyone about?" I sneered through my mask.

Colin jumped, whirling to face me. "This isn't funny, asshole. If this is how you guys treat new members, you should know I'm not gonna take this shit quietly."

"If all their new soldiers are as whiny as you, it's a miracle they haven't already left you in a ditch somewhere," I replied, brushing flakes of dandruff that had turned pink from the smoke off his shoulder. He stumbled backward, realizing I wasn't one of his new cronies. "Usually, I'd take my time with this, but you see. I'm in a bit of a rush."

His mouth gaped open and closed, unable to form a response before I hit him in the temple with my blackjack, hard enough for him to collapse. Checking that he was definitely unconscious, I searched his pockets and found the keys to his car. I grinned triumphantly before hoisting his dead weight over my shoulder and making for the front door. I loaded him into the trunk of his rusted-out Honda Civic, not giving a damn if anyone spotted me. It would be better if they did, anyway. There would be someone to tell the Jackals where to look, making it easier for us to flush them out.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Rich as I hopped behind the wheel. "I've caught something interesting." I said the moment he answered. "I'm stashing it in the basement of our place and coming back to the manor."

"Fine, but don't start up your shit with Az again when you get here." Rich drawled. "You've pushed him too far already and we can't afford to have any of us off our game."

I cringed a little, something almost like guilt hitting me at the thought of putting any of the men I considered family at riskwith my games. Rich was right. I needed to back off, for now, at least. Once we had a handle on the situation, I could push all the buttons I wanted. Another face came to mind, and as I opened my mouth, the words came out unbidden.

"Sure thing, Rich. Besides, I need to see a girl about an apology."

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Victoria

I needed a break from all the testosterone in the house. Time to shore up my defenses before I dove back into a battle of wills with Az. Spending a quiet evening reading in my room seemed the perfect solution to my current problems. I was sprawled across my bed and just getting to the scariest bit of the thriller novel I'd snagged from Mrs. McMillan earlier in the day when I heard my window opening. Turning my head, I nearly screamed before I realized it was Leighton crouched on my windowsill.

"Miss me?" He grinned.

"No, you asshole." I spat, chucking my novel at his head. "And you nearly scared me to death. What the fuck are you doing climbing through my window?"

Leighton frowned, kicking his legs over the sill before dropping into my room. "I want to take you somewhere."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Aw, come onma petit démone. Don't be like that." He sighed, reaching up to rub the back of his head. "It's not like I wanted to be gone for the last week. I had… work to do. Besides, I figure you've probably been cooped up here the whole time, what with Rich's rules."

I stood from the bed and put my hands on my hips. "Not a fucking chance, asshole. You think I'd agree to anything you have to say after what you did?"

He cocked his head to the side, studying me momentarily like I was some puzzle he couldn't quite figure out. Clicking his tongue to some thought I wasn't privy to, he straightened and turned toward my closet.