Page 39 of Despair
“We can’t let that happen,” he said. “These people have been conned.”
Her scowl hit him in the center of his chest. “They know what they signed up for.”
“As did I.”
Her jaw clicked shut and she speared her gaze down at the group, hopefully considering his words.
“I don’t like this, Daisy,” he said, to drive his point home.
“Me neither.”
“Who will take the honor of being the first?” shouted Sam.
Butterflies soared in Axel’s stomach. He could feel something insidious coming. Something else Daisy could have nightmares about. Among the crowd of thirty or so Faithful, no one answered. His nerves relaxed a little, and then Sam clicked his fingers and the masked Faithful next to him stepped forward and yanked a random follower from the crowd.
“This is what you’ve been waiting for!” Sam bellowed at them. “This is your moment of freedom. Don’t be afraid.”
The victim was the grandmother. Axel could see in her eyes she tried to be brave, to convince herself that Sam’s words were true, but even in this low light, the fear flickered there. Tendrils from the cage snapped and flicked.
“We have to stop this,” he whispered harshly.
“But…” Daisy responded, eyes locking on Sam, then darting back to the grandmother as she clearly grappled with the situation.
Axel thought maybe he knew why. Sam could be the link back to Julius. Daisy wanted to focus on that in case it lead back to her siblings kidnapped mates, but now they had a moral conundrum to solve. One she’d likely never had to face before. Save these bad people, and potentially lose the one chance they have of finding Julius or let them die. She only knew how to be bad. He couldn’t fault her for the decades of brainwashing she’d received at the hands of an evil megalomaniac.
“Daisy,” Axel urged quietly. “We have to stop this. Letting them die is bad.”
“But we’ll lose our advantage.”
“I used to turn a blind eye to all this damage, but I was wrong. That was also bad.”
She blinked at him. “You want me to save the plant like I did before?”
“I want to save the people who were conned into doing the Syndicate’s dirty work.”
Understanding dawned in her eyes. She pulled her katana from her shoulder harness and replaced it with the baseball bat, squashing the narrow end hard into the sheath until it fit and held.
Axel put his Faithful mask on. “So I’ll go down and say there’s a change of plans—word from the boss.”
“No.” Daisy slipped on her Falcon mask. “I’ll do it. You stay here.”
“We both go.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“With my life,” he promised. “I just don’t want you going in alone. I’m in this with you now, Daisy. For better or worse.”
She stared for a moment at him, contemplating, then grinned. “For better or worse.”
But they were too late. The plant didn’t wait for the cage to be opened. Vines shot through the cracks and headed for the grandmother. Tendrils wrapped around her like a mummy’s bandages. She lost control of her bowels and whimpered, crying that she’d changed her mind.
The horrific sight caused upheaval in the crowd and confusion set in. Some of the more rotten souls cheered, some backed away. Daisy stood. Wind whipped her silver hair, pulling strands from her ponytail. Vivid violet eyes latched onto him and then she leaped off the container, two stories high. Her bullwhip flew toward the plant—cracked as she whipped and sliced tendrils in half, releasing the grandmother before Daisy landed on the floor.
She’s a fucking goddess. The way she moved. He was in awe. An avenging Valkyrie.
The crowd scattered from Daisy.
She unfurled herself from a crouched position and readjusted her mask. White feathers on the top ruffled along with her silver hair. Axel watched her cant her head from side to side, and almost believed she would sprout wings and fly like the angel of death she emulated.
Sam barked orders, pointing and waving. Surround the newcomer. Axel darted the aim of his gun about, not sure where to focus. Who would attack Daisy first. Would any?
Would a bullet stop a plant?