Page 12 of Into the Blue (Shades of Vengeance #1)

“Think you want to see this boss…” Vert says, interrupting me mid-swing.

My hands are already covered in red as I turn from where Dejuan is tied to the chair in the middle of the main interrogation room.

I’m unhinged and at my limit after getting nowhere with this rat. He confessed to telling Jay exactly where our next drop was happening so my men could be bum rushed before they reached Louisiana state lines.

But he won’t tell me why or who has convinced him to turn on this family.

We got him off the streets. Kept him out of jail more times than I can count. Kept his pockets fat so he could feed his three kids.

And yet, here he is running his mouth to Faye trash behind my back.

I grab the tablet Vert hands to me and wait for what was so important he came in here while I’m working.

On screen I see Diamond walking past the bar. Several heads turn to follow her and that doesn’t surprise me. I hate that I'm missing the opportunity to see her on stage tonight, but I couldn’t wait any longer once I got my proof.

On camera I’ve got Dejuan meeting with Jay another time outside of the here-say Diamond told me. There is no mistaking he’s doing this family dirty. I could never excuse betrayal. That is the hard line no one is allowed to cross.

Nothing is more important than this family. If he has betrayed my trust, then he’s betrayed all of our trust .

Normally, I’d let one of the soldiers handle some little shit who wronged us.

Depending on how high up they are, I’d sic Redd, that feral motherfucker, on them.

But for a snitch like this, I’d rather handle it myself.

Even if it exposes the ways I have to accommodate to inflict pain on others without my knife.

If I start with the knife, I don’t have enough time to drag out the process. Using a hammer fist punch or my elbows does the job pretty well when it's not often that I am the one on this side of things. Grateful that it’s rare for me to enforce my rule.

I’m watching my dancer sway through the crowded club on this tablet.

Complicated feelings crop up when I look at her there without me.

Too many and most of which I need to keep under wraps for now.

After Diamond turns the corner to the break room where the dancers get ready and touch up, a man enters the room after her.

My eyes flick up to Vert who is already grimacing at the screen.

“Keep watchin’,” he says, tapping the screen to the next clip.

There are no cameras in the break room, for obvious reasons, so I don’t know what happened inside, but in this next clip I see the man leaving, holding his hand to his chest. Then Diamond is rushing out after him, but going the opposite direction to the parking lot.

Chris, my bouncer, is taking her to her car and she leaves.

My jaw ticks when Dejuan groans behind me when his head lolls to the side. I check to make sure he isn’t about to fall over. The bindings are still secure on him so he can wait for what’s coming to him.

When I look back to the tablet, the man who followed Diamond is now in his car. The timing is too suspicious and I hate to ask, but I have to know. “Where’s he now?”

“Marcell just saw his car pull up to her complex. He’s probably at her door.”

“Fuck!” I shout into the cold room, the sound echoing back. The regret I have for telling Marcell to not engage, only surveil, taste like acid at the back of my throat. “Get him on the line,” I bark .

After one ring, Marcell picks up wasting no time in updating me on the exact information I’m looking for, “She opened the door. He forced himself inside. Should I go in after him?”

I don’t know who this man is to her. I don’t get the feeling it’s any good for him to be there when she left from work early after he followed her.

I don’t fucking like that shit at all.

“No. I’m on my way. Get close, but don’t engage.”

“Heard,” he confirms and I curse again. Ending the call, I dial another number and when the line connects, I demand, “Where you at?”

There’s crunching in my ear like Redd’s eating something. “South Point. Why? What happened?”

“Go get the truck,” I tell Vert and he leaves without a word. To my second, I question, “Why are you in Steph’s neighborhood?”

He doesn’t answer my question, the pause pointed and unhelpful. “What do you need?” He finally asks and I let him change the subject.

“I need you to send me Diamond’s address.”

“You’re askin’ me why I’m in Steph’s hood in the same breath that you’re askin’ for Diamond’s addy? Hmm.”

He’s not wrong, but I don’t give a fuck. I need to get over there right now. “Don’t hmm me, asshole. Just send the address.”

“I’m going,” Redd says. “While I got you on the line, what perfume does Steph wear?”

“The fuck? Dude, stopping playin’ with me. Are you almost done?”

“Yea. Sent. You need me?”

I should probably have him come here and finish what I started with Dejuan. I decide against it. “Nah, enjoy bein’ a creep.”

“With pleasure,” he says, hanging up on me.

Turning back to Dejuan, my patience is already frayed and I’m sick of working him over anyway.

I barely feel the spray of blood against my face as I give him peace in his death. “Get him out of here,” I tell the two guards at the door and wipe my knife on his shirt.

“Boss, I think we should go with you,” Vert says when we park next to the Camero Jimmy came here in.

“Keep watch from here. If anythin’ you know you what to do.” Having my men watching her is one thing. But letting her know just how much she’s gotten under my skin is another. I don’t want to make anything worse with all five of my men trailing behind me when I go check on her.

With a nod, I step out of the truck into the muggy night air. It’s an unwelcome feeling since I’m on edge and pissed that I’m going to find another man tonight who won’t live to see another day.

There’s a long hallway that leads to the last door on the second floor where her apartment is. It’s well lit, but I wait in the alcove of another apartment door to keep from plain sight. From the lot on the opposite side of me, Marcell, Vert and my other men can see clearly onto this floor.

It’s not long before Jimmy leaves her apartment with a smug look on his face. I’ve seen him around and never liked the dude.

I like him even less now.

Bad news for Jimmy.

As soon as he passes the recessed area I’ve been waiting for him in, I wrap my arm around his neck, locking my hand behind my wrist so that I can put as much pressure as possible to his throat without him being able to breathe.

I don’t need my hand strength at all for this maneuver and I’m happy to show my strength when it comes to this bastard.

Knocking the back of his legs, he loses his balance and is at my mercy in the attack with no way to right himself, even as he claws at the sleeves of my jacket from the concrete.

“What are you doin’ here, Jimmy,” I ask in an even tone. This man is no match for me in size as I have about four inches and a hundred pounds on him.

He’s not getting free until I decide he can… If I decide he can.

“I-I was just followin’ orders,” he whimpers, like a scared little boy .

He should be very fucking scared. My worst suspicions were that Diamond was in trouble because of me. He wasn’t just acting alone, someone sent him. That is infinitely worse. It's not just this piece of shit that has taken notice of my attachment to the curvy dancer.

“What goddamn orders?” I bark.

He wheezes so I give him just a bit of extra room to take a deep breath. When I feel like he’s had enough time to recover, I press my knee into his back and he begins to sputter out, “Boss didn’t like she was dancin’ at your club and you spendin’ all this time on her.”

How the fuck does Junior know that?

Demanding to know the answer to that question, I question, “Who told him?”

“I-I-I don’t kn-now. Was just supposed to rough her up, scare her. Let her know he knew about her.”

This stupid piece of shit doesn’t know how close I am to ending his life for daring to get close to what’s mine. Through my teeth, I continue to press him for more information. “So, you followed her home instead?”

“Look, man. She hit me, alright? I couldn’t handle that disrespect. Boss said don’t hurt her but there’s a lotta ways to give a lesson. You know what I mean?” Give a lesson . The fuck does that even mean. This sack of shit will be the only one learning any lessons.

There is a special sleeve just behind the sheath that holds the venom I’m most known for administering with this blade. Right now, it gleams with the special blend of venom that remains stable in a mixture of my own making. I don’t have to cut deep for the toxins to start affecting him.

But I want to.

“No, I don’t,” I growl in response to his asinine question. I cover his mouth with my hand. He doesn’t get another word out before I press my knife to his neck and let it sink in slowly.

For minutes, he writhes on the ground before I leave him there.

It will take less than thirty minutes for his body to completely shut down and no ambulance or EMT could help him even if they pulled up right now.

Only I have the anti-venom on this side of the Earth.

He will be long gone before they even know what happened to him.

He won’t be worth any of those tax dollars going to waste. He is destined to be gator chow. With the week I’ve had, it seems that my gators will be eating good.

Now, all I have to do is call my guys and get this cleaned up so I can check on my dancer.