Page 42 of Monsters Carve Thrones

Kieran and Nico were already there.

The second I walked in, Nico stood from the kitchen table and tossed a thick file across it. “Pulled traffic cam footage. Got a window from the moment the lights went out at the townhouse to when a van left the block. No plates. Blacked out. But not invisible.”

Kieran leaned against the wall, arms folded, jaw locked. He didn’t speak. Just nodded once at me. I didn’t need words from him. I needed his knives. He cared about Adela, too, so he was pissed as fuck that someone took her.

I paced, rage boiling in my very blood. “I want every traffic camera in a ten-block radius pulled. Anything that shows a van, a black SUV, or an unmarked car. Use Sinclair Solutions’ ghost access. Adela built it.Use it.”

Laura stepped inside behind me, kicking the door shut and throwing her coat off. “You two better tell me you’ve got more than just camera feeds and shadows.”

“I already looped in our hacker in Prague,” Nico said. “She’s running facial recognition on the one guy Adela caught with the knife. Got a partial.”

“Partial’s not enough,” I snapped. “I want names. Faces. Blood types.”

“You’ll get them.” Nico met my eyes, steady. “But you need to control yourself if we’re gonna make it fast.”

Control.

I nearly laughed.

I walked to the table and slammed both palms down on the wood, rattling the mugs and files. “They took her fromme. From the house. From her goddamn sanctuary. They hurt her. I saw the blood. I saw the knife on the ground. That means she fought. That means theybled.”

I looked at Kieran.

“You and I are going hunting. We’re starting with everyone who’s ever worked for Moreau, and any rat who sold information in the last five years.”

Laura crossed her arms. “That fucker had quite the network.”

“I know.” My voice dropped into something that didn’t sound human. “This is revenge. And if someone took her out of this country, I’ll drag their corpse across borders until it paints a fucking map.”

Kieran finally pushed off the wall. “Say the word.”

“The word’skill,” I said, eyes locked on the map Nico was unfolding. “But we find her first.”

Laura leaned over the table, pointing at a cluster of red dots Nico had marked. “Start with these warehouses. One of them has to be a drop zone. Van had to switch cars somewhere. I doubt they’d risk airports or major highways.”

I straightened, rolling my shoulders, the rage twisting my spine like a wire about to snap. “I want every camera hacked. Every ship manifest scraped. Every customs officer in the tri-state bribed or blackmailed.”

Nico nodded, already typing.

“Because when I find them,” I said softly, “I’m not just getting her back. I’m ending this entire fucking operation. No survivors. No loose ends.” I turned to Kieran, already heading for the armory hidden beneath the floorboards. “Gear up.”

We weren’t planning.

We were declaring fucking war.

Chapter 8

ADELA

(TW: Mild sexual assault)

I was lying on the cold concrete, one arm cradling my ribs, when the door opened. Heavy steel hinges groaned. Light poured into the small room, enough to show the silhouette of the man stepping inside.

I sat up fast, too fast, vision tilting. My wrists burned against the restraints. My lip throbbed. My skin still stung from where they’d kicked and clawed at me after I ran.

But the man who entered didn’t wear a mask.

He didn’t need to.