Page 32 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

Addison folded Caroline’s discarded outfit. “This is hella sexy. I wear something like this when I’m looking for a little fun with the hubs.”

Caroline bit back a smile, but stayed focused on getting dressed in the black clothes. As she pulled on the turtleneck shirt, Slash asked, “How long were you his handler?”

“Three years.”

“They look good together,” Addison said to Slash. “Don’t you think?”

“One-hundred percent,” Slash replied. “Do you think they know how they feel about each other?”

“Well, they’re not stupid,” Addison said with a smirk. “Did you see how he looks at her?”

“He can’t take his eyes off her.”

“Okay, fine,” Caroline said as she zipped up the black pants. “We like each other. Do I have to tell HR?”

“Eventually,” Addison said.

“I want to find out what that son of a bitch knows,” Caroline said as she slipped into the Kevlar jacket.

“How’d you even recognize him?” Slash asked. “He doesn’t look anything like his mug shot.”

“He’s got a pronounced scar near his left eye.”

“So?” Slash said.

“Grey showed us photos of him from the asset,” Caroline explained. “His crooked teeth are too big for his mouth.”

“The devil’s in the details,” Addison said.

“Always,” Slash added.

Caroline tied her hair into a bun. “Who ambushed him?”

“Dakota, Hawk, Rebel, Prescott, Addison, and me,” Slash said. “Rebel and Prescott took off after we got him here.”

“Is Haqazzii awake?” Caroline asked.

“He’s coming to,” Slash replied .

Caroline pulled on the combat boots, holstered her gun, and grabbed her ski mask. Together, the three found Grey talking with Dakota and Hawk in the hallway. In one hand, he held a black ski mask, in his other, a helmet with night goggles.

This oughta be interesting.

Dakota extended his hand to Caroline. “Great job.”

She shook it. “Thanks, but I?—”

“She did great ,” Grey said. “Sin was Austin’s idea.”

“It works every time,” Dakota replied. “What’re next steps?”

“I want to beat the answers outta him,” Grey replied, “but I’ll start with a mind fuck.”

“He’s in a room with a metal table and two metal chairs,” Dakota explained. “The table is bolted to the cement floor and he’s handcuffed to the table. There’s a bulletproof one-way mirror.”

“Black bag over his head?” Grey asked.

“No,” Dakota replied.

“Is he in darkness?”

“Lights are on.”

Grey shifted his attention to Caroline. “Here’s what I’m thinkin’. We give him three days before we take him out.”

“That’s not a lot of time,” Hawk said.

“I’m not runnin’ a babysitting service,” Grey pushed back. “If he doesn’t tell us anything by midnight Tuesday, we eliminate him.”

Caroline shuddered.

He glanced down at her. “No?”

“It’s so final,” she murmured.

“I’ve been doin’ this long enough to know that if I can’t break ‘em in three, they can’t be broken. We don’t have weeks, and Haqazzii’s death will send a strong message.”

She nodded. Now wasn’t the time to get in her head. She needed to let Grey execute his plan. He was the expert. She’d follow his lead .

“We’ll schedule two-person shifts,” he continued. “We need to ride his ass, hard. I’ll be here all three days, except I got a family thing Saturday night. If no one can cover?—”

“Sin and I will take that shift,” Dakota said.

“I’ll stay with you,” Caroline added.

Everyone stared at her.

“With Sin and me?” Dakota asked.

“No, with Grey,” she replied.

“Hawk and I will take a shift,” Addison said.

“I’ll plug in wherever you need,” Slash said.

“I’m the heavy,” Grey said. “So, I need someone—a man—to be the good guy.”

“Not a woman?” Slash asked.

“I saw him with his girlfriend,” Grey said. “He’s a misogynist. But if anyone disagrees?—”

“I want a crack at him,” Slash said.

“Oh, boy,” Dakota blurted, and the others laughed.

“Works for me.” Grey regarded Caroline. “What do you think, Austin?”

“Absolutely,” Caroline replied. “I’m thinking Slash should be the good guy, ask him about his food preferences. He’s a horny asshole. Slash is tough, but—” she addressed Slash—“You’re a total badass and you’re super pretty. He’ll like you.”

“If all else fails, I’ll show him my tits,” Slash said.

The group started laughing, but Grey’s shocked expression made Caroline smile.

“I was on an undercover mission where I worked at a gentleman’s club,” Slash explained. “It’s a long story, but naked bodies don’t faze me, mine included.”

“The BLACK OPS standing guard will have their Glock,” Grey said. “No weapons for the interrogator or if you’re the one uncuffin’ him, so he can use the bucket.”

“That’s a hard no for me.” Slash removed a knife from her ankle sheath. “This has saved my life more times than I can count.”

Grey nodded. “Got it.”

“If he manages to take the Glock—” Hawk started.

“We’re dead,” Grey replied. “That cannot happen.”

A shudder streaked down Caroline’s spine.

“Teams go into together,” he instructed. “The one with the weapon stands guard at the door, the other does the interrogating.” He regarded each of them. “Questions?”

There were no more.

“I’m going in alone,” Grey said. “But not before I fuck with his head.”

“I’ll watch from the observation room next door,” Caroline said.

As they moved as a pod down the hall, Grey waited for Caroline. “This’ll be fun.”

Not the word she’d choose, but this was Grey’s wheelhouse. They fell in step with each other.

“You got my back?” he asked.

“Always,” she replied.

Dakota led the team to the end of a hallway, stopped at a closed door. One by one, the scanner cleared them, and down the stairs they went.

“He’s behind that door,” Dakota said. “We’ll watch from the next room.”

“Where’s the light switch?” Grey asked.

“On the wall, outside.”

“I need to watch him first.”

Though Caroline had never seen him interrogate anyone, she knew it would be intense.

The BLACK OPS entered the observation room.

Caroline peered through the one-way glass at Haqazzii.

A metal table sat anchored to the floor in the middle of the small white room.

He was sitting in a metal chair, staring straight ahead.

His wrists were handcuffed to chains that were secured to the floor and fed up through two holes in the table.

A lone metal chair sat in the corner, near the door.

A mix of hatred and pity coursed through her. His hatred of humans had turned him into a killer.

One life, and this is how he chooses to spend it. What a waste.

Despite the number of BLACK OPS crammed into the observation room, it became eerily quiet. The only sound Caroline could hear was her heartbeat thundering in her ears. She glanced over at Grey. He’d rested his arm on the frame of the one-way window and he was studying Haqazzii intently.

The power rolling off him enthralled her, but it the laser-intensity emanating from his eyes that stole her breath.

He was like an eagle, narrowing in on its prey.

A masterful hunter, he was in his element.

After all these years, she had a front-row seat to one of the Agency’s most lethal operatives.

Grey set his Glock on the table and left without a word.

GREYSTONE

Greystone wanted to come down hard on Haqazzii.

He wasn’t interested in playing nice, he didn’t want to do the Q&A thing.

He wanted to beat the answers out of him, then offer up his dead body to show the leader their real wrath.

Maybe he should have been afraid, but he wasn’t.

He knew fear and he’d outgrown it. Fear only commanded the weak, keeping them chained to the devil like prisoners.

He didn’t think this mind fuck would scare Haqazzii, but he needed to get a meter on him before he could press on.

In the hallway, he secured his hair into a man-bun.

On went the ski mask and helmet, then he flipped down the night goggles.

After turning out the hallway light, he killed the light in the holding room.

As expected, silence from the interrogation room.

He waited. After a long minute, he slowly opened the door and stood in the doorway.

He stared at Haqazzii, who sat there motionless, his eyes still staring straight ahead. The minutes ticked by without any movement or reaction from the prisoner.

“Sajid.” He let the word slither out in a whisper. “We know why you’re here.”

BAM!

Haqazzii slammed his handcuffed fists on the metal table, the clang of metal on metal jarring the silence and sending a strong message.

“Sajid, you have three days.” In stealth mode, Greystone stalked into the room, placed his hands on the table in front of the prisoner, and stared down at him.

Haqazzii’s breath was coming fast, a sign his heart rate had jumped.

“If you don’t help us, I will slit your throat,” Greystone whispered.

“ENOUGH! SHOW YOURSELF!” Haqazzii yelled.

Greystone stilled while he studied the man across the table. Haqazzii’s eyes darted around the darkness, then he lifted his chained hands and reached out in front of him.

“Sajid, you’re dealing with ruthless killers,” Greystone whispered. “I’d be a good boy and cooperate… if you want to live.”

“NEVER! I will NEVER tell you anything.” Again, he pounded on the metal table.

Lightning fast, Greystone moved behind him, wrapped his hand around his throat, then pressed his head down with the other. The more Haqazzii struggled, the tighter Greystone squeezed his neck.

Greystone murmured, “We won’t stop until we’ve taken out every single one of you. The next three days are up to you.”

“Fuck you,” Haqazzii choked out. “I’m not afraid. ”

“You will be.” Greystone slammed Haqazzii’s head on the table, leaned close. “You will be.”

Then, he walked out, and stood in the pitch-black doorway. He crossed his arms and watched for another minute. Seething hatred filled every cell in his body. How could he stop this tornado of ultra-evil?

With evil.

Greystone pulled the door closed and flipped on the light to the holding cell. After removing his helmet and ski mask, he lit up the hallway before returning to the observation room.

Every person in that room stared at him like they’d seen the devil himself. He wanted to laugh, but there was nothing funny about their situation. Except… if he didn’t lighten the moment, he was concerned they’d never make it past their first interrogation.

“This is BLACK OPS, right?” he asked. “Did I take a wrong turn? Come on too strong? Not strong enough?”

“I think I’m a little scared of you,” Hawk said.

“Same,” Dakota added.

“You’re full of it,” Greystone said. “I know who I’m dealin’ with. You’re all lethal.”

“I liked that maneuver you used,” Slash said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Greystone slid his gaze to Caroline. “How’d I do, boss?”

“You’ve got a dark energy I can’t unsee,” she murmured.

Silence while everyone regarded her.

Then, she shot him a little smile. “Nice job, Rambo.”

That’s my girl.

“Slash, you’re up. Stand across the room from him. Dakota, we’re going in with her.”

“I need a scarf to cover my head,” Slash said.

“I have something in my locker that’ll work.” Addison hurried out.

Greystone regarded Caroline. Tonight hadn’t gone as he’d planned. While he was stoked they’d caught Haqazzii, he’d been looking forward to his evening with her. He’d waited this long to spend the night with her, he could wait a few more days.

Addison returned and handed Slash a dark gray, cotton scarf. Seconds later, she’d covered her head and hidden her long, blonde hair.

“Okay, boys,” she said, “let’s give our guest a BLACK OPS welcome.”

Greystone holstered his Glock, then followed Slash and Dakota out.

Slash entered the interrogation room. With their ski masks in place, Greystone and Dakota stepped in and stood on either side of her. Like Greystone had instructed, Slash kept her distance.

After Haqazzii checked her out, he leered at her.

“Hello,” she said.

No response from the prisoner.

She stepped closer, but not close enough that he could grab her. “What can I bring you? Water? Tea? Coffee?”

He narrowed his gaze. “Slut, get out.”

Slash stilled, letting his words hang for several seconds. Then, she said, “Strike one. Let’s try this again. Are you thirsty? Do you want water? Can I bring you something to eat?”

Hatred poured from his beady eyes. “Who do you spread your legs for, cunt? Where I come from, you’re a second-class citizen. Many women want to be close to me. I get to fuck who I want, how I want. Women serve me. It would be good to see you grovel at my feet.”

Greystone moved to the side wall. When he regarded Slash, calmness radiated from her eyes.

“I wouldn’t fuck with me if I were you,” she warned, her voice steady.

“Maybe not, but you would be the person I would fuck. Again and again, for my pleasure, then I’d discard you like the whore you are.”

An anger and a disgust that Greystone had never known, surged through him. He’d never heard such intense hatred and utter disrespect toward a woman.

Ever.

He wanted to rip off Haqazzii’s limbs, then let Slash pull her knife and quarter him like a butcher, but he stood rock still. She was an extremely competent and capable BLACK OPS.

“Strike two,” she said, her voice as confident as before.

“You’re filled with rage and hatred. You can’t believe we stupid, fucking Americans caught you.

You strut around our country planning your mass murders in plain sight.

Who’s the stupid fucker now? You’re not thirsty now.

You’re not hungry either, but you will be. Last chance for food or water.”

He spit at her. “Bring me the man in charge.”

“Strike three.”

The next few seconds were a blur. Slash grabbed her knife, flew around the table, yanked his head back, and stuck the tip into his neck.

Blood trickled, disappearing inside his shirt.

“You’re a dead man, and I can promise you, there are no virgins waiting to fuck you in heaven.

” She glared at him. “ You aren’t going to heaven. ”

On a growl, she released him and walked out. After Dakota left, Greystone stood there staring him down.

Haqazzii had just sealed his fate. He was a dead man, and it would be anyone’s guess who would take him out.