The Next Sin (The Sin Trilogy 2)

I stalk toward the kitchen and stop dead in my tracks when I see the bloody message smeared on the living room wall.

You took something special from them and now they’re taking something special from you. Me.

Bleu

My mum gasps. “Dear God. Is that written in blood?”

“I highly doubt they used their own.” Using my wife’s blood is a message within a message. They’re telling me they won’t hesitate to hurt my wife. Or kill her.

My mum turns away. “Sadistic animals. That’s what they are.”

The drawer from the end table is broken into pieces on the floor. Anyone can clearly recognize the signs of a struggle. I’m certain she was going for the gun and one of two things happened. She didn’t make it in time or they’d already been in the flat and cleared it of weapons.

My lass fought back. No surprise there, but I’m certain there were too many for her to take on.

I know in my heart that Bleu’s been taken by The Order but I still dash through the flat calling out her name. I come to a standstill in our bedroom when I don’t find her. It’s almost a relief. I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t discover her raped and/or murdered.

My father puts his hand on my shoulder. “She’s not here, son.”

Rage swells within me, seething to the surface. “If they’ve harmed her, they’ll die a slow, painful death. Each and every one of them. I swear this.”

I’m possessed. I don’t have a shred of control as I tear through our bedroom destroying anything within my reach.

“Sinclair!” I’m not sure how many times my father yells my name before I finally hear him. “Stop, son. Tearing your house apart isn’t going to bring your wife back.”

He doesn’t understand. “Mum has never been taken from you. And if she had been, you wouldn’t have felt what’s in my heart right now.”

My distress isn’t just for Bleu. “We were having you over tonight to tell you that Bleu is having twins. That makes her pregnancy high risk so stress won’t be good for her or the babies.”

There’s no time for happiness or celebration.

“I don’t want tae consider what they might do tae her if they know she’s carrying the future leaders of The Fellowship. We can’t waste a single minute. We have tae get her back as soon as possible—before something happens tae my grandchildren,” my mum says.

Dad nods in agreement. “We’ll get her back but we have to be smart about it.”

He’s right. “Debra has been keeping tabs on The Order. We need her here now.”

I’m impressed with how fast my freelance detective arrives when beckoned.

“This is what I know.” Debra takes out a map of Edinburgh and its surrounding suburbs. She points to an area near the water in Portobello. “They’ve recently acquired a warehouse in this area. For what, I’m not yet certain, but common sense would tell us they’re importing or exporting something. I think this should be the first place we look. It’s new. They’ll assume you don’t know about it so it’s a good location to hide Bleu.”

“What will we do if she’s not there?”

She points to an area in the Cockenzie area. “There’s another warehouse here. It would be second on my list.”

We were just there. “We invaded that location a few weeks ago and took a large supply of explosives.”

“Let’s hope this is about getting their explosives back. A trade. Her for what they want.”

Of course. Nothing is more precious to me than my wife and children. “Those bastards have me over a barrel. I’ll give them anything they want to get Bleu back safely.”

“Good. We’ll need to act quickly in case they get antsy and harm her.”

Members of The Order are notorious for raping and torturing women of rival organizations. It’s a tradition they’ve been doing for decades.

I can’t think about what they might do to her or I’ll be useless. I have to believe she’s safe and unharmed.

“I’d like to go in. Alone. Feel out the location before they make us. They don’t know me so I could fly under the radar. I can pose as a homeless woman looking for a warm bed for the night.”

Her plan is a good one. “How long will it take you to get into character?”

“Not long.”

“Then let’s go get my family.”

* * *

I’m back at the warehouse we invaded weeks ago, where we found the explosives and I lost three of my best men. I had no intention of entering this place again. Yet here I am, back in the hands of my enemy.

I’m going in alone. I’m the one who killed Grieve’s son. They targeted me when they took my wife so it’ll be me they’re expecting.

I open the door and see no one within. “Bleu?”

My voice echoes without any reply.

“Grieve?” I call his name, already knowing he isn’t here.

I walk the industrial-style metal building, taking a look around. I see no one but I find another message written in blood on the wall.

Return what you took to this place by 2200 and I might survive the night.

Bleu

God, I can’t believe they made her write that. She must be terrified but knowing Bleu, she’s probably pissed as well at this point. She isn’t going to like that she wasn’t able to stop them from taking her. I hope she doesn’t try anything irrational before I’m able to get her back.

I look at my watch and note the time. I have ninety-five minutes to transfer potentially unstable explosives across town. They’ve not given me much time but I figure that’s with a purpose. It’s a ploy to make me afraid for my wife. It’s working.

I dash out of the building toward the car where Sterling waits. “They want the explosives by ten. We have to hurry.”

I arrive at the secret site where the explosives are being stored. The two men who drove the truck the night we stole it are here to assist with the return.

“Evening, boss,” they say in unison.

I give them a nod. “The explosives are loaded and ready for transport?”

“Aye, just as you ordered,” one answers.

Perfect. “We’re returning everything to the same warehouse we took them from.”

“Boss, you should probably know that we were given orders by Abram. He says nothing should be moved without his permission.”

I’m immediately enraged. My uncle is no longer a leader. He has no right to give orders to my men. This is his way of taking advantage of his prior role. Further, he has no regard for my wife’s safety. He’d prefer seeing her dead than return the explosives to The Order. That means he’d choose death for my children.

Perhaps Bleu isn’t so far off target with her suspicion.

* * *

Sterling drives my dad and me to The Order’s warehouse while the truck of explosives follows close behind. My father is quiet so I have a moment to reflect on the night’s events.

“I didn’t protect my wife from The Order. I told her I would always keep her safe because it was my job. She put her trust in me and I let her down.”

“There’s no way you could have anticipated The Order coming for her.”

I knew Bleu was going to be targeted by a lot of people simply for being my wife. My love for her places a large mark on her back. I knew this. I should’ve had more protection in place for her. I’m completely disgusted by my lack of caution. “My actions—or absence of them—are inexcusable. She may not forgive me for allowing this to happen.”

“You didn’t allow anything to happen, Sinclair.”

I leave her alone so often. I should’ve known this would happen. “I’m a stupid husband and leader for not having guards at the house ensuring her safety when I was away.”

“You’re newlyweds. You wanted a normal life with your new wife. Constant security in your home would have negated that possibility. No one faults you for wanting some normalcy with Bleu.”

I already suspect she’s been cut deeply, enough to produce the amount

of blood it would take to write both of the messages left for me. I don’t want to but my mind begins imagining the worst. “I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s been harmed.”

“Your wife is a trained agent. She’s smart and knows how to survive. There’s no doubt in my mind that Bleu knows how to deal with her captors, possibly in a deadly manner.”

“My lass is a warrior but she has the safety of the babies to consider. She can’t fight the same way she would if she weren’t pregnant.”

I fear the reaction of The Order if she fights back. They don’t hold women in the same regard as The Fellowship. They place little to no value on them. Women, in their eyes, are expendable.

My mum had it right when she called them sadistic animals.

“Despite their foolish behavior, they’re not completely ignorant. They want their explosives back. They know harming a Breckenridge could negate the exchange. I don’t think they’ll take that risk.”

“I’ll annihilate the entire lot if they’ve harmed her.”

“Don’t anticipate the worst. Think only of bringing Bleu home safely. Negative theories will distract you. You need a clear head so no mistakes are made.”

My father is right. I can’t afford to be sidetracked by what-ifs.

“Boss,” Sterling says. He lifts his chin, gesturing to the rearview mirror. “The truck is pulling off the road.”

What the hell?

I twist in my seat to get a look at what’s going on and see the flashing blue lights of two police cars. One behind the truck. The other following behind us.

“No. No. No! Not now. Anytime but right now.”

“What do you want me to do?” Sterling asks.