CHAPTER 39
GRACE
All I could think of was that I’d failed these women.
In moments, I’d be dead and they would still be enslaved. As I looked over my shoulder, I took in the scene. Eli was tied up, bruised and bloody, his eyes flashing with anger. Sophia sat next to him stoically, watching Snake and I intently.
And then I saw the people I’d worked with for years. They’d allowed me, helped me even, as I continued to do my work, allowing me to believe they were on my side, when all along they’d been the very enemy I was trying to bring down.
And then there was Snake.
Cocky and sarcastic, waving his gun around in front of me as he flaunted how easily he’d duped me.
“You guys sure took the bait,” he laughed. “And Tiny, I must commend you, brother. You performed your role like a champ. Luring Slade in was like offering candy to a baby. After that, it was a cake walk. You moved fast, too, Grace, I was impressed with your efficiency. And what a great actress you were! I wish I could give you an Oscar! As much as I didn’t want to, I had to sacrifice a few of my girls to you so that you’d believe me. I must admit, it was pretty sweet taking your cash from you, though.”
“You’re disgusting, you know that?” I said, my anger rising, my courage welling up inside. He was going to kill me, I was pretty sure of that, so why should I hold it all in? If anyone deserved my wrath, it was Snake. “You’re the man behind all this? All these years?”
“Well, I like to delegate. My old man taught me that. So, I branched out, kept myself behind the curtain and laid low. I must say, I was angry you brought so many of my colleagues down. You do good work. But you never came too close to me, did you? Thought you’d gotten to the top of the food chain, but you hadn’t, because you didn’t know I existed. I’m great at staying off people’s radar. Of course, I knew it was only a matter of time before you figured it out. Your guys are great at uncovering things, I’ll give you that, too. There were times I had to hustle to cover my tracks because you were hovering around, but I stayed a few steps ahead of you.”
“How did you do that?”
“You threw me a few curveballs, I’ll admit that. I never expected Sophia to follow you, that was one thing. Of course, I trace her every fucking move,” he said, turning to Sophia in the corner. “You’re not very smart, are you, sweetheart?”
She glared at him and he laughed, walking over to her. He reached down, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
“I can’t believe you thought you could get away with betraying me,” he said, shaking his head. He cupped her chin, lifting her eyes to his. “You are going to make the most beautiful corpse, darling.”
She flinched, pulling away from him. She was trembling, her chin quivering, her eyes filling with tears. Eli struggled against his restraints again, to no avail. Snake walked back over to me and leaned in close.
“So, you kill me. Then what?”
“Well, I’m ready for the battle with your precious Gods. After they’re all gone, we’ll clean up the mess, deposit your rotting corpses in a furnace somewhere, with the help of my old pals here, of course.” He smiled at the other guys and they smiled back, all of them laughing at us. “And then, it’s back to making money the old fashioned way.”
“By raping and trafficking humans?”
“Oh, Grace, you make it sound so disgusting.”
“What you do is disgusting. You’ve ruined thousands of lives. Caused so much pain and trauma. To young, innocent girls…”
“It’s just business, darling,” he said, leaning down inches from my face again. He sneered as he slid the tip of the barrel of his gun down my cheek, tracing along my jaw and down my neck, trailing along my collarbone and down into my shirt, stopping between my breasts, pressing it into the middle of my chest.
“It’s a shame that I have to kill you. You have such a good heart, don’t you? Saving the world, a modern day Wonder Woman, taking on all the bad guys with a group of your own bad boys-turned-heros. This whole story would make a killing in Hollywood, don’t you think?”
“You won’t get away with this forever, Snake,” I said, shaking my head, doing my damnedest to quieten my trembling body. “You can kill us, sure. But there will be someone else to come along and fill my shoes. Maybe I didn’t succeed, but you’ll pay. Someday, you’ll pay. No monster as horrible as you can last forever. Deep inside, you know it, too, don’t you? I can see it on your face. My only regret is that I won’t be there to dance on your grave.”
His eyes flashed with anger. Quickly, he leaned back and pulled the gun back, hitting me across the cheek with it hard and fast. The force of it sent me flying across the room, landing in a crumpled heap on the floor in front of the locked door. I reached up, the hot, sticky blood running across my fingers as I looked up at him.
Snake stood over me, furious, angry, completely enraged by now, his gun pointed right at my head.
“I don’t like it when people talk back to me, Grace.”
You could have heard a pin drop as he pressed his gun to my forehead.
He pulled the hammer of his pistol back and the click echoed through the room like a bomb.