The tears irritated him. Raquel had no business feeling emotions. She was just a tool, a doll, a fucktoy. “Wrap her up in plastic,” he snarled.
Raquel knelt, spread out the plastic and did as he’d directed, but the manner in which she did it annoyed him. So careful. Wrapping Sierra like she was swaddling a goddamn baby. Just another subordinate cunt getting in his face. Enough of this shit.
He shoved her roughly to the side and finished wrapping Sierra himself, jerking the flap down over her face. Duct taping her until she looked like some sort of strange, oversized larva. The less bodily fluids that stained the asphalt, the better.
When she was fully contained and sealed into the plastic, he started kicking her.
Sierra was tough. It took a long time, which suited him fine. He kept at it, viciously, until every last sign of her sig was snuffed out. Then for some time beyond that, just for good measure.
When he stopped, the plastic-wrapped form looked like a bag of blood.
The other slave soldiers had ranged themselves around him. Fists clenched. Eerily silent. Raquel’s face was still wet. She sniffled loudly with each breath.
He slapped her so hard, she hit the ground rolling.
“Load that garbage into the truck,” he told them. “We have to find a place to dump it. Defective piece of shit.” He wrenched open the back of the truck. There was just enough space among the crates of weapons for the five of them to huddle. “Get in!”
They all hesitated. He lifted the wand, and gave Brenner a long, rattling buzz of agony. That shocked them all into obedience.
They hoisted in Sierra’s limp body and clambered over it, huddling down into the truckbed among the towering stacks of boxes.
Five pairs of burning eyes stared back at him over the plastic-swathed corpse.
Mark slammed the door on them, closing them into pitch darkness.
Chapter 20
The drive back was excruciating. Noah had no one to blame but himself.
What the fuck was he thinking, calling Zade right in front of her? As if she were one of his group. As if she knew their secret history.
Noah was used to having people angry at him. He was a leader and it came with the territory. But with Caro, it made him feel like shit. And now she was going to watch them all watch the footage. Which was a brand new clusterfuck in the making.
He concentrated on the road, trying to ignore the furious silence and the angry colors that filled the dark car. She was pissed off, confused, scared. With good reason.
She spoke up as they got off the highway and sped through a strip mall business district. “You can let me out right now,” she said. “Anywhere around here is fine.”
He did an instant dive to counteract the surge of the combat program that flickered furiously to life on his inner screen. “We’re almost home,” he said.
“Noah.” Caro’s voice vibrated with fury. “I don’t know those men you called. Whatever’s on that flash drive is my business, not theirs. You’re being an asshole.”
He focused hard on the blue glow of the ice cave in his inner vision, keeping his breathing deep and slow, while trying to think of a way to explain himself that wouldn’t freak her out still more. There wasn’t one.
“You said you trusted me,” he said, finally.
“I did, before you started pushing me around.”
“Those men are brothers to me,” he said. “I trust them with my life.”
“Your life,” she said. “Not mine.”
“Too late, anyway,” he said. “They’re waiting for us there. It’s a done deal.”
Her angry colors surged and pulsed. “So this is Noah Gallagher, being on top,” she said. “Calling all the shots. Making all the hard decisions.”
The car sped up on the wet road. “I will take care of you, Caro.”
“I didn’t ask you to. And even if I had, you’re jerking me around. It’s not the same thing.”
There was no short answer to that, so he pretended not to hear as he braked in front of his gate and buzzed it open. “Time to meet my people,” he said he drove the car through. “Brace yourself.”
Two cars were parked at haphazard angles in front of his house. Noah cursed under his breath, and parked in the driveway. “Can’t believe I taught those lazy bastards to drive,” he grumbled.
He wanted to take her hand when she got out of the car, but she kept a haughty distance, staying a few steps ahead of him as they entered the house.
Sisko was the first person they saw, his long body sprawled all over one of his couches. “Caro, this is Sisko,” he said.
“I remember you,” Caro said to Sisko. “I saw you at Angel Enterprises.”
“Yeah, I was there.” Sisko stood up to greet her. His face was calm and his body appeared outwardly relaxed, but Noah was bare-eyed and could see the jagged spikes of emotion in Sisko’s sig. A complicated blend of excitement and dread.
“Where’s Zade?” Noah asked.
“Coffeeing up,” came a deep voice from behind them.
Caro turned, and gasped when she saw him.
“He’s one of mine,” Noah said swiftly. “It’s OK. This is Zade.”