Page 19 of Monsters Carve Thrones

She handed me the tablet. “Two possible breach attempts, one client crying wolf, and a request for a full audit from Archer Financial. I already told them you’d be reviewing that personally.”

I nodded, fingers already flying across the keys. “And you?”

Laura grinned. “Managed to keep everything running despite all the chaos. You’re welcome.”

I glanced at her over the screen. “You want a raise?”

She shrugged. “Or another week off so I can find a Rafe of my own.”

“Good luck surviving one. He’s brutal.”

“Precisely. I need that.”

We both laughed, but mine faded a little slower. Because while I was settling back into my world of code and control…

He was walking into blood. I just hoped his meetings would be just about as eventful as mine. But that was a long fucking shot.

***

RAFE

The warehouse reeked of rot. That metallic tang of blood mixed with oil clung to the walls and soaked into the concrete.It was both familiar and comforting in its own fucked-up way. When those scents reached my nostrils, it meant that The Dark Monster of NYC had arrived.

I walked in slowly, my boots echoing across the floor. No rush. No reason to hurry when the man tied to the chair was already shaking like a leaf, soaked in sweat and piss.Pathetic.

He lifted his head when he heard me. One eye was swollen shut. The other was wide and bloodshot, the pupil blown wide with terror. Good. Fear had a smell, and right now, he wasdrowningin it.

I rolled up my sleeves and cracked my neck. “You had a choice,” I said quietly, letting my voice carry through the empty space. “A simple one. Keep your head down while I was gone. Handle your job. Don’t fuck up.”

He whimpered behind the gag. I could barely understand him–something like,please.I didn’t care.

“But you couldn’t help yourself, could you?” I circled the chair, slow and easy, dragging the tip of my knife along the back of his neck. “Thought I was too busy fucking my wife to notice a few hundred thousand missing from the account? What’s that in a pool of millions, huh? Billions?” I crouched beside him and looked him in the eye. “Let me be clear,youdidn’t steal from me. You stole fromher.”

I snapped his head back by the hair and yanked the gag out of his mouth.

“I swear, Rafe, I didn’t–”

The knife slid under his jaw before he could finish. “Don’t lie to me,” I growled, dragging the blade in a shallow, precise line across his throat. It wasn’t deep enough to kill. Just enough to paint his chest with blood. He shrieked, gurgled, flailed. I stepped back and let him writhe for a second.

“Should’ve just taken the bullet,” I muttered, then turned to the table where I’d laid out my tools. No one betrayed me and walked away whole.

No one betrayedus.

I started with the fingers. One by one. Sharp crack of bone. Screams splitting the air. His blood sprayed in arcs, dripping down my arms and staining the floor. I didn’t stop until his hand was nothing but a ruined, pulpy mess. This was just what life was in the criminal underworld.

Nico stood in the shadows, silent, watching. He knew better than to interrupt me when I was like this. He had replaced Vincent as my right hand after his betrayal and death. Nico was perfect for the job. He definitelylookedthe part with his short black hair, wild dark eyes, both arms covered in tattoos and a menacing jawline. He was honestly something to behold. When Adela first saw him, I noted the sliver of unease that crept into her.

If he madeherfeel that way, I found the right man.

“You know what hurts the most?” I asked the guy, though I knew he couldn’t hear me anymore. “I came back from paradise. I was soft.Happy.And the first thing I have to do is clean upthisshit.”

I slammed the knife straight into his thigh. He jerked like a puppet, still alive, but just barely. I leaned in close, my voice low, a whisper meant for nightmares. “This is me beingmerciful.”

When I was done, there wasn’t enough of him left to recognize.

I wiped the blood from my hands with a cloth and turned to Nico. “Torch it.”

He nodded once. “Message sent?”