Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

“What makes you think that?” Ella asks, studying us as she pours a very large glass of vodka.

I hold my finger up, motioning for her to pour me one, too, and she does. I sure as hell need a drink.

“Because what boss of an operation does the simple-minded task of torture?” Karma asks.

“A sadistic one,” Gage says, his teeth grinding.

“He was brutal, but not sadistic,” I say quietly. “He was following orders. I could feel his reluctance, and he was so damn happy when he got to call you. It meant the torturing was almost over.”

“And he could have done a lot worse to us,” Karma adds. “It’s almost as though he was a puppet on strings. And we could tell he didn’t want Morgana anywhere around that cell. We think someone has trapped them both into what they’re doing.”

Thad hops up to sit on the counter as Ella hands me a glass of vodka. I sip it as Gage comments. “If he was trapped, he could have said something.”

“Unless he’s bound by a blood oath,” Karma points out. “I’m telling you, he didn’t want to do what he was doing to us. He tried his damnedest to pretend as though he enjoyed it. We taunted him to rile him up, pushing him to do his worst, and he still held back.”

No one says anything for several long minutes.

“What happens now?” Ella asks Gage when the silence becomes too thick to take.

“Nothing has changed. Gavin dies. I’ll do what I have to, and everyone needs to get the hell out of my way if that happens.”

“I can take him,” Ella assures him.

Several spurts of laughter come out, and I tilt my head. “If you take down Gavin, you’ll unleash the creature goddess and give it sole control,” Thad says. “I’d rather take my chances with a too-powerful warlock than an unleashed creature goddess we have to capture—one as strong as you.”

Ella scowls at him, and Karma says, “I thought creature gods could see the true good or darkness in someone. She won’t hurt us.”

“No,” Ella sighs. “He’s right. I’m not like the others. I’m a little… unpredictable. I’m too strong when I’m in the full transition and I black out. I won’t kill intentionally, but I will attack if I feel threatened. I was born from two full-blooded creature gods. It’s a rarity. Usually creature gods happen at random—an anomaly of nature. If I’m unchained and wild, it’s dangerous. But we could all combine our powers and take him down.”

“I don’t want to kill him,” I say softly, and the hold Gage has on me stiffens.

“Me neither,” Karma says. “And if anyone has the right to want him dead it’s us. He’s a prisoner. Just like we were.”

Gage lets me go while walking over to take the bourbon from Chaz, who is looking at me like I’ve lost my damn mind.

“Gavin dies. End of discussion,” Gage states with his back turned to me.

Gritting my teeth, I decide to hold this fight until later.

“What’s the plan?” I ask instead of going to war over life and death.

“Sadie took on the face of a trusted man inside the enemy’s guard,” Chaz starts. “She planted the seed about informants inside our circle. They have names to ask questions about now.”

He smirks, and Thad continues, telling the story they must have already shared with him.

“They’ll get the false information, go to the setup location, and we’ll be waiting. All we need are some powerful allies to help us take out the troops they may bring so that we can focus on Gavin and this ring leader. If he or she comes,” Thad says.

“The leader won’t come,” Karma interjects. “They want to stay in the shadows. They would have come to see us out of curiosity if they didn’t mind being seen. They would have shown up at the rings if they weren’t seeking hiding.”

“But we still need some strong people,” Dice says, echoing Thad’s words. “Kimber, I think it’s time you pull out the Somage card. You’ve been neglectful.”

I’ve probably been ousted by now. Especially since I left them out of the slave ring roundup.

“I’ll call them. Alex would have taken over, and we’re friends. He’ll come.”

Gage returns to me, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “You going back to the Somage?”

I look around at all the faces of my family—and friends that have become family. “I’m pretty sure we’re better together. Alex is capable of running the Somage without me. I’ll call him in at the last minute for this. Just to be sure there aren’t any leaks.”