Page 150 of Allegiance

“Well, I’m not hungry now,” Dakota said. “That’s enough to make you a vegetarian,” he added. “Filet of bad cop. I give it zero stars.”

“I give the ladies five though,” Rogue said. “Never piss off a mom, wife, or female Marine. They get stab-y.”

Clearly.

The man screamed into the gag as the pain had to be incredible.

“Imagine what those five-to-thirteen-year-olds felt when they were taken from their mothers and old perverted men hurt them,” Jinx said, as she wasn’t done.

She began cutting around his face as if she was going to remove it.

The man was a bloody mess.

They hit arteries and veins.

When they were done, they wiped off the blades and put them away as the man suffered. Like Maura had promised, he didn’t die.

He lived through the torture.

Maura focused on Remmy who had been quiet.

“Did you hit up the bar?” she asked, giving the man time to expire for his crimes.

It wasn’t lost on him that he’d done the same thing to El Gato. It was clear that they’d both been trained by the same sadist.

He nodded.

“Yeah, and I’m not sure what to think about it,” he said. “Artemis was there. She asked if we hit up that bar she gave us the name of months ago. She was really focused on that.”

Maura thought about it.

“Elizabeth said not to trust her, and we opted not to go there because it was too convenient. I know when it comes down to it, I trust Elizabeth more than anyone. She’s always had our backs.”

Everyone there agreed.

Including Remington.

“It’s totally going to be a trap,” he admitted. “She’s a snake, and Calyx gave me a heads-up about something else.”

“We don’t claim her,” Jinx said. “She’s not a snake. She’s scum. There’s a difference.”

He laughed.

“My bad. It’s just a saying, Mamba and Adder. No insult meant,” he said, giving them both fist bumps.

From where he stood, Jagger was curious.

“What did Calyx warn you about, exactly?” he asked. “Her—as in Artemis?”

He nodded and thought back to that kiss. He’d been thinking about it the whole time he was there. It was hard to forget Calyx’s lips against his, and how she tasted like fruit-flavored gum.

He explained.

“Yeah, she said that word on the street is Artemis is building an army of mercenaries up for some reason. I’m betting she’s buying up the ones who worked for El Gato and are now unemployed. She’s an opportunist. If that’s not bad enough, she’s buying mass quantities of guns too.”

“Uh-oh,” Rogue said. “That’s not good. She’s prepping for war. The only time you buy guns and soldiers is if you have a heads-up that something is brewing.”

The man in the chair kept screaming in pain, and they ignored him.