Page 48 of Monsters Carve Thrones

We didn’t knock. Nico slammed his shoulder into the door, splintering the lock with one crack of wood and metal. The bastard inside barely had time to stand from his velvet couch before I was on him.

“Vaughan–!” he started, but I drove him back into the wall with my forearm across his throat.

“You knew him.” My voice was calm and controlled.

His eyes widened. “I don’t know what you’re–”

I slammed him against the plaster so hard that a painting fell. “Waylon. Don’t lie to me. I believe he’s taken somethingveryspecial to me.”

Laura stepped inside behind us, gun drawn. Kieran followed, silent, scanning the house. It was definitely the kind of place blood money built.

The man, André something, sputtered beneath my grip. “He’s dead. Waylon's gone. Off the grid.”

“You sure about that?” Nico asked, circling him like a fucking shark. His tattooed biceps looked extra intimidating under the bright light. “Because it looks like someone bought a new estate outside Lyon with offshore accounts tied toyourname. It also looks like the accounts were set up fromMoscow.”

That got him.

His eyes flicked toward the kitchen, just for a second. That was all I needed. I pulled my gun, clicked the safety off, and pressed the muzzle to his knee. “One last chance.”

“I swear to God,” he panted. “I don’t knowwherehe is. But hecalledme a few weeks ago and said he needed men. He frequents Paris, Berlin, Lyon, and Moscow.”

My pulse thundered. “Did he say who or what he was after?” Laura asked, stepping closer.

André hesitated.

Wrong move.

I shot him in the leg. He screamed, collapsing to the floor. Blood pooled fast, ugly, and red. “I’mnotasking again,” I said, crouching beside him. My voice dropped to a growl. “What. Did. He. Want.”

His hands shook. “A woman. Said she was leverage. That she belonged to someone dangerous. Sinclair–he said her name was Sinclair.”

The world narrowed.

Laura inhaled sharply, as horrified as I was.

“I told him no,” he whimpered. “Told him he wasinsaneto take Rafe Vaughan’s wife.”

I smiled coldly. “But he did. And he used some ofyourmen to transport her. She’s somewhere in one of these fucking countries, partially because ofyou.”

He nodded frantically. “He’s losing it. Thinks he can rebuild what he and Moreau had. But Moreau had all the codes. The routes. Waylon’s drowning without him.”

I stood slowly. My hands were wet with his blood. I didn’t care. “Where is he now?”

“I don’t know. I swear–”

I shot him again.

This time, Nico put a hand on my shoulder. “Rafe. We got what we needed.”

My hand itched to pull the trigger one more time. Instead, I looked at the man gasping on the floor and said, “If you breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll let Kieran show you what we do to traitors.”

Kieran cracked his knuckles. Didn’t have to say a word. We walked out without looking back.

In the hallway, Laura exhaled, still holding her gun tight. “So itwasWaylon. Guess your suspicion was correct, Vaughan.”

I nodded, jaw clenched so tight it hurt. “He took her,” I said. “We have to find her.”

“Agreed,” Laura murmured.