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“I don’t want to hear that his death was a great tragedy, and that they’re mourning the loss of a good man. I want him to be stripped of his mask for all to see before he dies, otherwise the police will just make him into a martyr.”

My lips tip up into a devilish smirk as I tell her, “Don’t you worry, we’ve already started the process. He’ll die with everyone knowing what a piece of shit he truly was. Nobody will hero worship him or turn him into a martyr, we’ll make sure of that.”

Indie leans over and kisses me again, but this time when she pulls away, there’s a genuine smile on her face. “Thank you for slaying my demon for me.”

“Anytime,” I tell her, holding her close for just a few more minutes before we have to get up.

Gregg may be Indie’s demon, but he’s also the cause of a lot of my pain. Because of him, the girl I love was forced to run from me, leaving me with a broken heart. Without him, she’d never have left me in the first place, nor would she have nightmares every night.

He didn’t just take her from me once; he stole her again recently, and it terrifies me. The thought of losing Indie was too much to bear, and I never want to face that sort of fear again.

So, yes, this kill is for Indie, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get my version of revenge along the way.

Marcus,Jacob, and I arrive at the Doughtys’ warehouse an hour later, having left Indie with Chloe for the day. Marcus insisted on coming with us, and we didn’t feel the need to argue.

He won’t stand in the way of our revenge, but as joint leader of Blackthorn, he has just as much of a stake in the information Gregg shares as Jacob does.

While Marcus is looking out for the best interests of Blackthorn, Jacob is here for Indie, and he’s made that very clear.

We’re greeted at the door by Kian, who is still wearing the same bright, energetic smile that he always has. He leads us through the warehouse, into a very plain-looking room. Most of the wall opposite is taken up by a large window, that I quickly realise is actually a one-way mirror.

I quickly scan the rest of the room, risk assessing the situation as I do. There are two large couches, one along the back wall, the other against the side. In one corner, there’s a large desk that’s almost covered with laptops and monitors, with Kellan sitting in the computer chair, hunched over them.

There’s a fridge and a small kitchen area set up on the opposite side, and I notice there’s a row of mugs with steam pillowing from them. Liam is standing beside the small kitchen area, stirring a spoon in one of the mugs.

He turns to us with a nod, holding up a mug. “Coffee?”

“I won’t say no,” Jake replies, stepping towards Liam as both me and Marcus accept his offer too.

I notice Bree standing in front of the one-way glass, looking into the room next door. I move closer until I’m standing beside her, taking in the man tied to the chair in the middle of the connecting room.

Gregg looks very different than when I last saw him just five days ago. He’s much thinner, his face is almost gaunt, and his pale skin seems almost translucent.

His stubble has grown into a slight beard, though it looks unkempt and patchy. His dark hair that was perfectly placed is now greasy and sticking up at all angles, making him appear more disgusting than disheveled.

He’s got some cuts and bruises in various stages of healing, but none of them appear to be major—which is a shame, as I want him to hurt.

What draws me in is the haunted expression in his eyes. They almost appear vacant, like he’s given up, and I suspect that’s how Bree realised this is the perfect time to question him. All his fight appears to have gone, and he looks like a shadow of his former self, deflated and defeated.

Bree turns to me, her lips tilting into what can only be described as a maniacal grin. “I expected him to hold out longer than five days,” she scoffs, almost sounding disappointed.

I raise an eyebrow at her in question. “Did you want him to?”

She laughs as she shakes her head. “No, I much prefer this way of getting information out of people, but Liam is adamant you have to soften them up first, or it just drags things out unnecessarily.”

Bree doesn’t sound like she agrees with her husband, and I can’t say I do either. “I think if you do it right, they don’t need softening up.”

“That’s what I said,” Bree says quickly, before Liam scoffs beside us.

“What my beautiful wife is failing to mention is that we used the last five days to learn everything there is to know about Gregg. We actually found more information than we were expecting in his house, so we don’t need him to tell us much during this interrogation,” he says, puffing his chest out as he gloats towards Bree.

“What information?” Marcus asks, ever the professional.

“He kept a very detailed log of all the work he did for The Count. We know details of every illegal activity he took part in, including the names of all the kids he helped to traffic. While we haven’t been able to locate most of them, Kellan is working on it,” Liam explains.

“Do we know where to find The Count?” Jacob asks, handing me a mug of coffee prepared just the way I like it.

I give him a smile as I thank him, taking a large gulp of the steaming hot liquid. It burns, but I don’t care. I’m just grateful for the caffeine hit.