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“Drop it.” An agent gestured to Red Venom.

Mitch Kramer had already fled somewhere.

The agents aimed their guns at Red Venom, and he surrendered, staring at his son. “Fuck! Bruno needs medical help.”

The agent handcuffed him.

“I’m a doctor,” I told the agent with the beard, and dropped my gun, which I had a license to carry.

Dressed in black and armed, Arrow rushed over to me. “You all right?”

I nodded and told him about the preserved human skin, the dye, and the attached warehouse. He could relay that to the agents. They’d need a separate team to gather that evidence.

Sirens blared as Icrouchedbeside Bruno, checking his wound. Red Venom had shot his son in the heart. His pulse was slow, and the way blood poured out of him showed me it was too late.

Despite my hatred toward Red Venom, I didn’t want Bruno to die for his father’s sins. But fate had plans no one could foresee.

“I’m sorry, Bruno!”Red Venom shouted as fear tugged at his face, making him seem older than minutes ago.

Bruno fluttered his eyes, trying to turn toward his father, but failed. The EMTs entered and surrounded Bruno.

I walked over to Red Venom and whispered in his ears, “How does it feel to see your loved one die and there’s nothing you can do about it?”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“Do you remember Emanuel Navarro?”

His furrowed eyebrows told me he didn’t know.

“It’s hard to remember when you’ve killed too many innocent people.” I described the village where we’d lived, and the rival gangs he’d fought. “Do you remember a man you accused of stealing your drugs? You shot him even after he denied it. He was innocent. He had a family—a mother, a wife, and a son.”

Red Venom’s brows furrowed.

I assisted his memory. “You were with Afonso Moura and Bento Melo. They’re both dead.”

Recognition splashed on Red Venom’s face, and he swallowed.

“That man was my father.”

His jaw twitched, and he looked over at his dying son. “Save him. I’ll pay for my sins.”

“It’s too late.”That wasn’t a lie, but he didn’t believe me. In his eyes, I was avenging my father.

“Save him!” he shouted as Bruno succumbed to his injury.

Red Venom didn’t know that even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. God had already claimed his son. But I made him believe Ichosenot to save his son. He would forever remember that kind of pain.

As I walked out of the warehouse, Red Venom threw curses at me while calling for Bruno.

Arrow came up to me. “Red Venom’s real name is Salvador Barbosa. Mitch Kramer is in the van if you want a word with him. They found him hiding in a storage room at the back of the building.”

I walked up to the van, and Mitch sat in the seat with his cuffed hands on his lap. The agents were busy looking at the container, which I assumed weredead bodies.

“You’re a piece of shit, you know that?”I asked.

“Fuck you! What did you do to Yolanda? She was loyal to me.”

“Were you going to be there for her and the baby?”