Page 29 of Jezebel’s Liberation (Hellfire Hackers #1)

“ H is name is Randy Costa.”

I stare out the windshield from the passenger seat in the panel van Malice and I left the clubhouse in. Grim, Soul, Thorn, Knuckles, and Zippy are riding ahead of us to make sure our target is where he’s supposed to be.

“And we’re going after him because…”

“Does it matter?” Malice asks, the question clipped.

Sensing that my answer is important, I shrug. “Not really. Just curious.”

“Good man,” he says with a grin. “Lesson one: never question orders.” He glances at me for a split-second before returning his attention to the road. “We’re going after him because he’s been identified by Lock and Fort as someone connected to the pedo ring.”

The edges of my vision darken with rage. “Does Jez know you identified him?”

Malice snorts. “What do you think?”

“Are you trying to get me sterilized?” I demand.

At that, he laughs. “Lesson number two, prospect: Club business is club business. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”

“And if you believe that, you’re not nearly as smart as you think you are.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I lean my head back against the seat. I hate that I’m being forced to go behind Jez’s back, being made to keep secrets. I mean, I get it. I understand why they’re doing this. But I fucking hate it.

“Look at it this way,” Malice says. “This is giving Soul a chance to satisfy the protector in him without making Jez feel like he’s taking over and doesn’t trust her.”

“Does he trust her, though? Because this doesn’t feel like trust.”

Malice sighs. “He trusts her, but he’s never going to stop worrying about her.” I glance at him and see his expression harden. “I’m never going to stop worrying about Demon, either.”

It’s at this moment I realize that this whole thing is as much for Malice as it is for Soul. “He’s lucky to have you,” I say quietly.

Malice grunts. “Sure, okay.”

The rest of the drive is made in silence, and I’m left to my thoughts. As much as I want to demand that he turn around and take me back to the clubhouse because I know the shitstorm that awaits me if I go through with whatever this is, I realize that I need this as much as Soul and Malice.

I’m a hacker, a computer geek, and while I’ve never shied away from getting my hands dirty, violence isn’t common in my world… until now.

If I can be a part of taking out one of these sick fucks, then I have to do it. Not only will it make the world infinitesimally safer, but it keeps a small amount of darkness from the two people I care most about.

“ W here have you been?”

The second I stepped off the elevator, Jez and Demon rushed across the common room to me. Snatching Randy Costa had been far easier than I expected even if it did take six fucking hours, and I’m walking behind Malice and Grim, who are dragging his unconscious body.

“Jez, not now,” Demon says, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from me. “Let him do what he has to do.”

I’m grateful for his interference because if I let myself slow down and reassure her, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do whatever comes next.

Jez lets out a feral growl, but she doesn’t argue. I continue to follow Malice and Grim, and across the room we come to another elevator.

“Where’s this go?” I ask.

“You’ll see,” Malice says, his tone laced with amusement.

Two minutes later, I’m standing in a room that wreaks of suffering and death. Malice and Soul are positioned on either side of me while Grim attaches Randy’s wrists to chains suspended from the ceiling. As soon as the man is secure, Grim exits the room.

“Baptism by fire,” Soul says, turning to face me. “This is what we like to call The Confessional. And he…” He points to the hanging man. “He’s a sinner.”

“See evil, hear evil, become evil, purge evil,” I recite, remembering the club’s motto from when I was asked to prospect. “I take it this is the part where we become evil and purge evil.”

Soul grins before striding to the wall. “You’re a fast learner,” he says, nodding toward the weapons. “Pick your poison.”

My eyes dart from one weapon to the next until they land on something that sends adrenaline bursting through my veins. “The icepick.”

Malice whistles. “Damn, Prospect. I’m impressed.”

Soul hands me the icepick and continues his lesson. “The goal here is to extract information by any means necessary.”

“And after that?” I ask, but I’m certain I already know the answer.

“We purge,” Malice says, and there’s no mistaking the evil excitement in his tone.

“Here’s where you need to understand something,” Soul says. “Prospects are normally only good for cleanup duty. But you’re not just any prospect, are you?”

I’m saved from responding by Randy regaining consciousness and thrashing against the chains.

“Oh, look,” Malice says gleefully. “He finally decided to join the party.”

I clench my fingers around the icepick, my entire being itching to drive it through his fucking heart.

That’s new.

“Go ahead, Phantom,” Soul says. “This is your show.”

Shock sends my brows to my hairline, but Malice is first to speak.

“What the fuck, Prez? This was supposed to be for you and me.”

Soul shifts his death glare from Malice to me and back again. “You’re right, it is for us, so I’m gonna need you to fuckin’ trust me.”

Malice snarls but moves to stand near the wall with Soul. “You heard him,” he says to me. “This is your show.”

“Who the hell are you?” Randy asks when I close the distance between us. “You won’t get away with this.”

“Pretty sure we already are,” I say. “So, this is how this is gonna go down. First, you’re gonna answer my fucking questions.

Second, I’m gonna make you suffer the way you made your victims suffer.

” A memory of the pictures Malice showed me flash through my mind, and I have to swallow the bile that climbs up the back of my throat.

“And third, I’m going to steal your last breath, your last heartbeat, your last goddamn seconds of life so that you never hurt another innocent child again. ”

The longer I talk, the more mottled with anger his face becomes. “You have no idea wh?—”

He bellows when I shove the icepick into his thigh, praying I don’t hit the femoral artery. When blood oozes from the wound at a relatively slow trickle, I release a breath.

“Every lie you tell earns a stab wound,” I snap. “I suggest you choose your words wisely.”

“F-f-fine,” he mutters, his tone full of pain. “What d-do y-you want to know?”

I tilt my head. “Seriously? That’s all it’s gonna take to get you to talk? Gotta admit, I’m a little disappointed.”

“W-what do you want from me?”

“How many?” I demand, twisting the bloody pick in my fingers.

“How many what?”

“How many kids have you diddled?” When he doesn’t speak, I throw a punch to his gut. “How many?” I shout.

“I-I…” He coughs. “I don’t know.”

I can feel Malice and Soul watching me, judging me and my performance in this room, and I take a deep breath to let the sensation take hold and fuel my actions.

Lifting the pick to Randy’s eye, I dig the point into the corner. “Answer my goddamn question,” I snarl.

He whines and pleads for mercy, but I show him none.

“T-too many to c-count,” he finally says, choking on the words.

“Motherfucker!” Malice yells.

“Keep it together,” Soul orders him.

Shoving them from my awareness, I focus on Randy and all the ways I want to make him bleed.

I squeeze his cheeks to force his lips open. When there’s enough space, I stick the icepick in his mouth and let the cold metal rest on his tongue.

“Suck,” I demand. He tries to shake his head, but with his mouth occupied, it’s difficult. “Suck it or you’ll fuck it.”

Immediately, his lips close around the weapon, and drool runs out of the corner of his mouth as he follows orders.

“I’m gonna let go, and if it falls from your mouth, I’ll make this so much worse for you,” I say casually. “Understand?”

He nods, and when I remove my hold on the icepick, it remains in his mouth. While he sucks, I get a knife from the wall and return to cut his clothes from his body. He tries to swing away from me, but his efforts are futile.

“Do you still have those pictures on you, VP?” I ask Malice without breaking my gaze away from Randy.

Malice brings a few of the photos to me and slaps them against my chest before returning to stand with Soul. I look through the disgusting evidence of Randy’s crimes and settle on the one that caused me the most heartache when I saw it.

Flipping it around and holding it a few inches from Randy’s eyes, I demand, “Do you remember her?”

The sick bastard’s nostrils flare, and a moan escapes past the unconventional gag in his mouth.

“What’s her name?” I ask. He shakes his head.

“What. Is. Her. Name?” Again, no answer.

I’m not stupid. I know he’s not giving me what I want because his mouth is full, but that’s not going to stop me.

I press the sharp edge of the knife I’m still holding to the base of his now rigid cock. “What. Is. Her. Motherfucking. Name?”

Fear overrides his sense of self-preservation, and he spits out the icepick, sending it clattering to the floor. “M-m-molly.”

I grin as I wrap my hand around his length and slice it from his body. Randy screams in agony. Not wanting him to bleed out just yet, I yank my shirt over my head and press it to his groin in an effort to staunch the bleeding.

“Don’t pass out, Randy,” I sing-song. “I’ve got one more question.”

“W-what?” he says, barely loud enough to be heard.

“Where can we find Stewart Crane?”

“W-who?”

“Stewart Crane,” I repeat.

He frantically shakes his head. “I d-don’t know.”

I stare at him for a long moment, trying to gauge whether or not he’s telling me the truth. Soul must sense that I’m struggling with it as he stalks to stand next to me and wraps his hand around Randy’s throat.

“Where the fuck is he?” he snarls.

The man’s eyes bulge as he struggles to breathe, but he manages to keep shaking his head.

Soul glances over his shoulder at Malice, and I do the same. Malice jerks a nod.

“We’re done here,” Soul says, releasing Randy and returning to stand next to my lover’s brother.

“Hear that, Randy?” I taunt. “We’re done here.”

The next few minutes pass in a bloody blur.

Between the icepick and the knife, I inflict so much pain and illicit endless horrific screams. By the time silence fills the room, my heart threatens to beat out of my chest, I’m struggling to suck air into my lungs, and my clothes and skin are bathed in blood.

“Now do you understand?” Soul asks Malice as they lead me out of the room and away from the carnage.

“Understand what?”

“How this was for us?”

Malice huffs out a breath. “Yeah. Doesn’t mean I’m happy about not being able to do it myself.”

“How was that for you guys?” I ask, my voice sounding far away.

“Because now we know you’ll do whatever it takes to protect our siblings,” Soul says simply. “Not only are you willing to do what it takes, you’re capable of it.”

So, I passed their test. Yay for me.