Page 8 of Thorns of Blood

“I want everything you know about the next shipment.”

“My family––”

“I might spare them if you give me the information.” Key word wasmight.I wouldn’t kill them, but I wouldn’t hesitate to have their livers tested.

“They need me,” he whispered.

“And I need the information,” I deadpanned.

“I don’t know,” he replied, and then tried to plead with me some more.

“Wrong fucking answer, asshole,” I said as I took a match out of the box and lit it, the flame flickering. “Any final words?”

“You won’t do it,” he said, but he was fighting harder against his restraints.

I laughed at his stupidity. “Don’t ever fucking doubt me,” I snarled, moving the match closer to him. Slowly. A few tense seconds ticked past, the match burning down the wood, warming my fingers, while I reveled in his despair.

I was an inch away from dropping it when he blurted out, “Las Vegas. Two days from now.”

It was all the information I needed. I took a few steps back, seeing relief on his face before I threw the match at him.

And then his screams filled the air.

I didn’t hang back to confirm the kill. I knew it was only a matter of seconds.

I walked outside, José right behind me, and greedily inhaled fresh air. My eyes flickered to the clear blue sky and I let the morning rays wash over my face. Once upon a time, I had to go weeks without seeing it, and I’d learned to appreciate it.

After what felt like hours but I knew was only minutes, José opened the car door and silently nodded as I slid into the back seat.

“What are your orders for the shipment?” José asked when he got in the driver’s seat.

I would drive myself, but I had never learned to. I never learned how to swim either. Or dance. Being taken, held captive for years, tortured… Well, it wasn’t exactly conducive to taking up hobbies. But it didn’t matter, I’d come out on top.

And now, yes, I wanted to learn those particular skills, but I refused to ask someone to teach me. Actually, scratch that. I didn’t trust anyone enough to teach me.

“Send a message to Emory DiLustro,” I said. We’d intercepted a shipment she’d allowed into her territory, releasedthe girls back to their families, and replaced it with a new shipment.

“What kind of message?”

I locked eyes with him. “Do we have dead girls from the auctions?”

He didn’t like that. José was a sinner with a conscience. Unfortunately, I had to survive, and that meant no room for morals. It was a luxury I couldn’t afford.

With all I’d done, I could never get out. But it’d be worth it, because I’d see Amara live to grow up into a young woman, anormalyoung woman.

“Yes. One of them is Bogdan Dragovic’s niece,” he grumbled, not at all keen to get on the Serbian don’s bad side. Too fucking late.

“Include her with the shipment. Make sure Bogdan gets an anonymous tip a few days after the delivery.”

I was running out of options and, more importantly, time. If I didn’t find a match for Amara soon, I’d have to track down her biological mother. And part of me was terrified of that.

After all, I should know it better than anyone… Blood was thicker than water.

THREE

LIANA

Five Years Ago