Page 60 of Mimic

The same way he owned my father’s.

He was dead now.

His reign of terror was over, but his son was still alive. In fact, all of his sons were still alive. Were they all as evil as he was? I’d heard the stories about Montana. The way he ruled with anger, hypocrisy, and ego—so much like his father.

Then there was Kansas. He led the Diamondbacks in Oklahoma. The rumor was that his men respected him. But men lied. Especially when they feared their leader’s wrath.

Arizona was nonexistent. He worked with children. I was a child when Dakotaworkedwith me.I could only hope Arizona was the black sheep in a family filled with narcissists. I’d need Nav to look into him.

They all had their day coming. But this man, the one who sat before me. He had information. Information I wanted.

There was a reason he targeted Indie, and he would tell me what it was. One way or another.

“You should check on Indie.”

“You told me to... ‘stay the fuck away from her’were your exact words, I believe.”

King leaned against the wall next to me, his arms crossed over his chest. The irony of him mimicking my stance wasn’t lost on me. During my time as a prospect, I watched and imitatedeverything I learned. Jingles had been the one to pick up on it and given me my road name.

“I can’t let you question him.”

“I’m a fucking enforcer. What the fuck is my job if it isn’t interrogation?”

“Your job is to do whatever the fuck I tell you to do. And I am telling you to go check on Indie.”

I straightened away from the wall, dropping my hands to my sides, fists clenched as rage took over an already boiling anger that filled my soul.

“I should be the one questioning him.”

“That right there is why you aren’t,” he said, pointing to my hands. “You’re a loose cannon right now. I can’t have you killing him.”

“He’s still alive, isn’t he?” King cocked an eyebrow at me, and I snarled, “He touched her.”

“And he will pay for that. After we get answers.”

King held his hand out, palm up. I cocked my head, a silent question to the answer I knew he wanted.

“Now.”

My teeth clench tightly as I dug into my pocket, retrieving the key to the basement. “This is fucking wrong,” I said, slapping the key into King’s hand.

“I’ll let you have him when we’re done with him. For now, go check on your girl.”

I stared at my president another moment, willing him to back down even though I knew he never would. King had a calm head. He might lose his temper often, but he never made a decision in the heat of the moment.

And I knew he wouldn’t leave the basement until I did. Not after the last time I was down here alone with a prisoner.

I took the stairs two at a time. Now that I’d been banned from questioning Sting, my focus was on Indie. I checked the mainroom first. Not seeing her there, I ran upstairs and knocked on her door.

I braced my hands on the doorframe as I waited for her to answer. When the door opened, I saw the fear in her eyes before she twisted away.

“What do you want?”

“I came to check on you.” I stepped into her room, not waiting for an invitation, and closed the door behind me.

The first thing I noticed was her suitcase in the corner. Still packed. The room was immaculate. There were no dirty clothes on the floor. A contradiction of the bedroom in her apartment. A small bag of toiletries lay on the sink in the bathroom. Nothing was spread out across the surface.

She was ready to leave at a moment’s notice.