Thumper (Cerberus MC)

“My cash is just as green, I assure you,” the man says, not seeming irritated that he’s being denied.

“Where are you planning to take her?” I ask as I turn to enter the house.

“In every hole possible. Oh, look at her,” he says, his attention going right to Lauren. “Isn’t she a sweet little thing?”

“I have to agree that my business partner is right, Mr. Lanza. We were expecting, Mr. Siliguri,” I say to let Lauren know what’s going on. “I don’t know that we can offer her to you.”

I watch Lauren’s face. We have no idea where he’s taking her, but if she feels like going with him will further her mission, then that’s her decision.

She blinks slowly, and that’s the go-ahead I need.

“I can offer you another thousand for the trouble,” the piece of shit says, his eyes never leaving Lauren as his fingers trace down her cheek.

She shies away from his touch, her entire body trembling, and I wonder how much is show and how much is real terror.

“Then I think you have a deal,” I tell the man.

Angel stiffens beside me, and I tilt my head a little to warn him to keep his shit together. We’re on the same team right now, but we’ve always known since our real identities came to light that we were all heading in different directions. He better be able to keep his emotions and whatever feelings he’s been forming for Lauren under control. If she wanted to stay behind with him, she would’ve blinked twice. She made a choice and even though that may piss him off, this is her show right now.

“But,” Lanza begins as he takes a step back, circling Lauren to see her from all angles, “five thousand is a lot of money. I may require a little taste before I commit.”

Angel takes a step forward. “This isn’t a fucking bakery. You’re not—”

I put a hand on his shoulder before he can knock this guy’s lights out. Lauren’s eyes widen, her mouth going tight. It’s clear she wants him to shut the fuck up.

“Angel, untie her. Mr. Lanza, follow me this way.”

The man follows behind me as Angel unties her from the eye bolt.

I flip the light on in the room. It’s the same one I met Lauren in the first night here, but the cameras make no difference this time around. If we were back in the States, we would need to see money or allow him to touch her to be able to press charges. Things are much different out of the country. The laws around here are non-existent.

Although she knows what could happen, Lauren moves into the room.

“Just a taste,” I warn Lanza. “You have three minutes.”

Angel is seething, his fists opening and closing into fists when I return to the living room.

“You need to calm the fuck down. She has a job to do.”

“That’s him,” he spits. “Martin Lanza. That’s the motherfucker I’ve been hired to kill.”

“She has a tracker in her clothes,” I remind him. “You’ll be able to find him again. You have a decision to make. Do you burn her chance by killing him now, or do you let her get to where she’s going and then go after him?”

“I can’t let her leave with him.” He paces, and I know how he’s feeling.

Just the thought of Cara being in a room alone with a psycho like Lanza makes me want to burn the world down.

I can’t stop him if that’s what he wants to do. I’m not exactly excited about Lauren leaving with him either. Sex traffickers are horrible, but having proof in that motherfucker’s identity, knowing what he does to his women makes me even less willing to let her leave with him. She’s going to be pissed, but she’ll just have to get over it.

I’m starting to agree with Angel on the psychosis it requires to send agents like Lauren into the lion’s den.

“I just can’t wait,” he snaps, his thick legs taking him toward the room they’re in. “I’m going to—”

The front door of the house crashes in, and before I can pull my gun from my waistband, Angel takes two shots to the chest, dropping him on the spot.

I spin in the direction of the shooter, my brain trying to catch up with my training, but then I see a ghost. The very man I killed earlier this week for raping Megan is standing in front of me, gun drawn, and his head fully intact.

“What the hell is going—”

Another shot flies past me, and I hear Lanza crumple to the floor, his breaths coming out on blood-filled chokes. It doesn’t take long for the sounds to stop. I can only hope that Lauren is able to hide because I know she’s going to end up with the same fate if she doesn’t.