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Yolanda smiled. “Should’ve asked you to join sooner.”

“What about the names of the elite members? I’d like to know who I’m dealing with, you know? You wouldn’t want your lover to be taken advantage of by other men, would you? I’d like to research my competition. Where are they located?”

I should’ve held back on the questions when she gave me Red Venom’s location.

She narrowed her eyes and smiled. “I’ll tell you after we meet at the dock.”

It was time to end this conversation. Rising from my seat, I said, “I’m done.”

She got up as well and looked at me. “Done with what? What do you mean?”

Four FBI agents emerged from the café and surrounded her, spewing the Miranda rights.

“I’ve done nothing wrong.” She looked at me. “Forrest! Tell them!”

I took out my phone and showed her. “You need to pay for your crimes, Yolanda. Everything you’ve said has been documented.”

The phone had been recording since I sat down at Java Jitters. Remi had contacted his friends, who had dressed up as FBI agents. They had been watching our meeting and listening in from the building across the street. Remi had been monitoring the recording on his end, waiting for my signal as well. I couldn’t risk one mistake. I needed to ensure I got enough information from Yolanda before letting them take her. They’d hand her over to the real FBI agents who would meet Remi in a few hours at his restaurant.

I didn’t want the real FBI to hear everything and ruin my meeting with Red Venom. They’d want to take over the mission, and I wasn’t ready for that yet. They’d receive the edited version of the recording later today.

Yolanda screamed, cursed, and begged me to help her.

As I watched the agents take her away, sadness cloaked my heart. Yolanda had been a sister to me, but I couldn’t save her. At this moment, there were no winners. I lost a sister, and she lost her family. Sorrow and disappointment clung to me as I closed this chapter of my life.

CHAPTERSIXTY-NINE

FORREST

I parked my car a block away from a warehouse facing the Providence River. Eight in the evening brought out a crowd of people wandering the streets, taking in the late September air. I could sense the last wave of heat and humidity before the weather turned to the chill of autumn.

A sense of inevitable ending stirred in the air. The seasons changed, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

Unlike the seasons, heinous crimes could be stopped. Everything would end tonight so I could return to Kiera and start my life with her.

My body was tired, but my mind was wired.

“You ready?” I spoke into a small earpiece.

“Everything’s all set.” Arrow responded. “Be careful.”

Wearing a black innovative suit, which cost more than my other suits, I walked up to a shoe repair shop called The Shoesmith. It was a small shop on the first floor of an old two-story brick building. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been searching for it.

From what I knew about shoe repair, a cobbler only used old leather, while a shoemaker worked with only new leather. I doubted Red Venom would repair his inhumane shoes. How much did he pay these men to make the revolting shoes?

I entered the shop,and the bell dangled on the glass panel.

An old man with glasses sat in the chair, repairing a boot. Anotherman, dressed in a striped shirt, sat in an armchair in the corner reading a sports magazine.

A strange odor inundated me. Having worked in the hospital and research labs, I was used to various chemicals, and this space reeked of them.

“Can I help you?” The man placed the magazine on the coffee table and strode over to me.

About time you acknowledge my presence, fucker.“I’m here to meet Mitch and Red Venom.”

“And your name?” He pulled out his phone.

“Black Mamba.”