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He swallowed hard. “They know things about you and your operation.”
That made me pause. “What operation?”
“The hits. The Paradox.” His voice cracked. “They’ve been watching you for months. Planning.”
I feared no man, and yet, having this information made me wrestle with that emotion. I kept my face neutral, my anger intensifying with this news. “Who?”
“I don’t know names. They contacted me through?—”
“You’re lying.” I moved faster than he could track, pressing the knife to his throat. “One more chance.”
“Please…”
I increased the pressure until blood brimmed around the blade. “Names.”
Footsteps creaked upstairs. Aaron’s eyes darted to the ceiling, and real fear replaced his nervousness.
“My daughter,” he whispered. “She sleeps badly. Please.”
I eased the knife back a fraction. “Start talking.”
“They’ll kill my family.”
“I’ll kill your fuckin’ family!”
More footsteps.
“Daddy?” a child’s voice called out.
Aaron’s face crumpled. “Okay,” he breathed. “Okay. I’ll tell you, but nothing more after this.”
I stepped back into darkness as his daughter appeared in the doorway, rubbing her eyes.
“What broke?” She blinked at the shattered glass.
“Nothing, baby.” Aaron’s voice shook. “Go back to bed. I’ll clean it up.”
She padded away, and Aaron slumped in his chair. “Give me a minute to check on her. Then... then I’ll tell you everything.”
“If you step out of this room, your next breath will be your last.”
He froze. “Your friend,” he said. “The one who died. His name was Rev, right?”
My hand tightened on the knife. “How do you know that name?”
“Because the man who hired me knew him, too. He knew all of you.” Aaron’s eyes held real fear now. “He was supposed to be part of your team, right? But you chose Rev instead.”
I glared at him, and my gut tightened as understanding dawned. “Give me his name.”
“Ronan.” Aaron whispered the name like a curse. “He said you owed him a debt of blood. He said killing Rev and taking her was just the beginning.”
The name hit me like a physical blow. Ronan - the frat brother we’d passed over when forming The Paradox. The man who pretended that everything was all good.
“He’s created his own team,” Aaron continued. “He calls them Pandora’s Box. Four killers, just like your Paradox. They’ve been studying you, learning your patterns. The warehouse was supposed to be the beginning of the end for the Paradox. But even after all their watching and planning, they couldn’t plan your response. You’re better than they expected.”
“What are their operations, and where do they run from?”
Aaron swallowed hard. “They’ve got four centers. The main one is an old factory in the industrial district - that’s their headquarters. They run drugs through a warehouse on the east side. They have a weapons storage facility down by the port. And they launder money through Club Velvet.”