Lunatic - Necessary Evils #6 - Ch. 19 & 20 (Patreon)

Chapter 19

Archer

Avi and Asa arrived around midday with their spouses in tow, the latter already complaining. Avi held a large black umbrella over Felix’s head while pulling a huge designer suitcase. Zane, as usual, kept his dramatics slightly more understated, pulling at his damp clothing and glaring upwards at the sun like it was intruding on his bodily autonomy.

The moment they entered the tiny dwelling, Felix immediately swooned onto the couch, the back of his hand going to his forehead like he was some Victorian maiden. “What is with this heat? Seriously. Who would live here on purpose? It’s vile.”

Zane snorted. “Based on the number of abandoned homes we passed coming in? Nobody.”

“We’re in a literal ghost town,” Archer reminded them. “The houses are supposed to be empty.”

Felix reached into the front pocket of his bag, unfurling a fan like he was in an old-fashioned tent revival, handing it to Zane with an exaggerated pout. “I’m melting into an actual puddle.”

“I told you to dress for the weather, kitten,” Avi admonished, dropping a kiss on his cheek as he passed by.

Felix gave an affronted look, glancing down at his wide-legged trousers and chiffon blouse. “How does one dress for this heat? A space suit? I feel like a microwave dinner.” He made huge puppy eyes at Zane. “Fan me.”

Zane gazed at Felix with the same level of adoration one gave a favorite pet, doing as he was asked without question while Avi and Asa shook their heads. Mac watched the circus unfold quietly, his gaze darting from one face to another.

Archer found it weirdly soothing. Having them around meant everything was normal. Felix complaining about mundane things was normal. Zane placating Felix was normal. His brothers shit-talking each other was normal. The thought stopped him in his tracks.

He had always thought of himself as a casual observer in the family. He’d done his best to keep his distance for as long as he could remember, but, despite his lies, they’d all crept in anyways. Maybe he wasn’t attached to them like some neurotypical could be, but they clearly lived somewhere in his head.

Mac frowned in his direction. What kind of face must he be making to get that look from him? He shook his head, letting him know he was fine and not having some kind of emotional crisis, which seemed to be his new normal. Ever since Mac had pried his way into Archer’s life, he’d lost all control of his feelings.

But they had no time for that.

Archer hadn’t anticipated the extra bodies, but he welcomed them anyway. While they had vetoed Adam’s let’s-round-up-everybody-and-kill-them plan, they had decided he had a point when it came to pitting Egan and the Bosemans against each other.

Torturing three adults was no small feat on a good day. Doing it while also attempting to extract a traumatized child added an entirely new level of fuckery to the plan and gave Archer a migraine. Having Zane and Felix along would substantially lighten the load but would also add to the chaos. A chaos to which Mac had never been exposed. This was about to be a learning curve for him. Archer almost felt bad about it.

Almost.

Once everybody had found a seat, they began to hash out the details of the night’s plan.

Archer stood behind Mac’s chair, his hand on his shoulder. “Mac and I drove out to Boseman’s property in Marfa. It’s isolated as fuck. No camera. No fences. Just miles of desert and his adobe-style home sitting smack in the middle. Only two entrances. He’s pretty brazen for a pedophile.”

Noah scoffed from his spot in Adam’s lap. “The whole damn town is either corrupt or brainwashed. I guess he figures he’s got nothing to worry about.”

Adam grimaced. “Yeah, Egan is not so laid back. He gives new meaning to the word paranoid. His whole place is like one big tinfoil hat. He’s got a ten-foot concrete fence, security cameras mounted on every corner of the house, and a pretty elaborate security system inside as well. And a Rottweiler named Sadie he keeps chained in the backyard pretty much around the clock from the looks of it.”

“The goodest girl,” Noah said dreamily. “We’re gonna steal her.”

“We’re not stealing her,” Adam said, exasperated.

Noah gave Adam a withering glare. “Dexter needs a friend.”

Adam snorted. “Dexter needs a doctor to fix his gas problem. You need more friends.”

“Dogs are man’s best friend,” Noah countered, pivoting in his lap just enough to look him dead in the eye. “I want that dog.”

“You’re not getting the dog,” Adam snapped, eyes immediately going wide when he realized he’d raised his voice.

“Ooh,” Zane said under his breath to Felix.

“He’s so getting that dog,” Felix muttered.

Adam’s face flushed red and he locked his arms as a struggling Noah tried to squirm free of his lap. “Fine. Fine. I will kidnap the dog. Jeez.”

Noah melted against him, face smug as he said, “Thank you, baby.”

“Yeah, right,” Adam said, pouting.

“The security doesn’t concern you?” Asa asked as if the entire dog conversation never happened.

“According to Calliope, he spends his nights in his office having the world’s most vanilla phone sex with his mistress. You can just snag the dumbass from there.”

Asa nodded, pulling a bag of Skittles from the duffle bag at his feet, shoveling a handful into his mouth. “So, Lois, Felix, and Noah take the kid. Avi and I snag the preacher. You, Adam, and Mac subdue Boseman and his wife. Then we make with the stabby stabby. Get the answers we need and get home before anybody even knows we’re missing. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”

Mac blinked at Asa like he’d grown a second head, but before he could formulate any kind of response, Felix piped up. “What? No way. I’m not missing out on the fun. I have toys I want to play with, too.” When Avi gave him a dirty look, Felix pointed a manicured nail at him. “Don’t you dare make so much as a single innuendo or I swear, you’ll regret it.”

Avi snickered. “Innuendo. Even that sounds dirty.”

“Can we focus, guys? The faster we can get this shit sorted, the faster we can go get my new dog,” Noah reasoned.

“I’m focused,” Felix countered. “I’m staying for the torture. Period. Avi never lets me play anymore.” When Avi opened his mouth like he was going to counter the statement, Felix raised a single imperious brow. Archer got to watch as his brother closed his mouth and sat silently.

Archer tried to suppress a smile as Mac’s eyes went comically wide.

Sometimes, Archer forgot what Felix looked like to the outside world. He was long and slender with a feminine softness that was only more exaggerated by his long, black hair and genderfluid style.  As a designer, Felix felt obligated to always look runway ready. Even when he was only planning on kidnapping and torturing people for the evening. Murder? Felix probably had an aesthetic for it. Probably even a Pinterest board and a spring line.

“This outfit alone should terrify these homophobes, kitten,” Avi assured him.

Noah nodded. “Psychological warfare is an important aspect of any interrogation. Zane and I can handle getting the little girl out. I’m fine missing out on the blood and guts.” He looked at Zane. “You?”

“Yeah, you can put me on the permanent do not call list for the torture sessions,” Zane said, then gave Asa a smirk. “I get enough of that at home.”

Archer laughed when Mac’s startled gaze slid to his. His new husband was certainly getting a crash course in Mulvaney 101.

“Fine. Zane and Noah have the kid. Mac, Adam, and I will take care of Boseman and the wife. Avi, Asa, and Felix will secure Egan and bring him to Boseman’s place. Good?” Archer asked.

When everybody nodded, Archer stood. “Good. Let’s get prepped and ready to go.”

***

They could only drive in so far with their headlights on. After that, it was a matter of using the GPS to guide them down what was an almost non-existent road. Archer had never been the type for quiet solitude. Just two days in the Terlingua ghost house and he was already desperate to get back to the real world. He couldn’t imagine anybody choosing to isolate themselves like this for fun. But he also wasn’t a child-enslaving pedophile, so…there was that.

In the light of day, the sprawling scenery was probably idyllic. Peaceful, even. But now, in the dead of night, it seemed almost as sinister as their plans for the man and his wife. As far as set-ups went, it was pretty ideal. In addition to the home, there was a large garage-like structure set on the back edge of the property that they’d determined would be fine for their Q and A session with the trio.

When they were about half a mile from the house, they abandoned the cars and went the rest of the way on foot. Zane stayed behind, prepared to drive in once the couple had been subdued, so that Noah didn’t have to carry the little girl far.

With the help of Thomas’s Range-R thermal scanner, they were able to deduce from a reasonable distance that Boseman and his wife were not the only ones in the home. There were two heat signatures coming from a room at the back—presumably a bedroom—and one substantially smaller one from the front of the home. Likely the child they’d spotted in the photos.

“Comms check,” Archer said quietly, then listened as each of them responded one by one.

They’d opted to infiltrate the home at the same time through the garage’s side door. Once inside, they would break off, with Noah seeking out the girl and Adam, Archer, and Mac breaching the bedroom.

They approached the house in a single-file line with Mac in the lead and Adam bringing up the rear. They’d been fully prepared to pick the side lock, but when Mac turned the knob, it gave with ease. These people were so cocky, it almost didn’t seem fair.

The door spilled them into a large open space with a kitchen in the far corner and several closed doors. It took a moment for them to orient themselves. Mac pointed towards the room where they’d noted the Bosemans’ presence. Noah nodded his head towards the kitchen. The girl had been spotted in that general vicinity.

Archer held up his free hand, telling Mac and Adam to wait, looping his finger in a circle. He wanted eyes on the child before they took out the Bosemans. He didn’t know why, but it suddenly felt important for him to see her with his own eyes.

Archer followed Noah towards the kitchen area, stopping when a glass hutch caught his attention. It was one of those large curio cabinets, backlit with a light that gave off a soft amber glow. But where most people kept their grandmother’s vintage plates or porcelain dolls, Boseman had Nazi memorabilia. Third Reich pins and vintage weapons. Also photos of Klansman holding nooses and standing next to mutilated corpses. Christ.

Of course, he was that guy. Maybe this was the kind of shit Boseman chose to spend his money on. That and buying children. Noah had his hand on the doorknob leading into another room when Archer met him there.

When Noah attempted to open the door, there was no give, despite the turning of the knob. He panned his flashlight towards the top of the door, realizing there was a padlock keeping the door shut.

Archer holstered his Ruger, then reached into his back pocket and snagged the lock-picking kit he’d intended to use on the side entrance door, quickly cracking the generic lock and removing it.

When Noah pushed the door open, it reverberated off of something that sounded like heavy plastic. Noah pushed harder, the door finally giving just enough for them to watch two bare feet retreat from the light like something out of a horror movie. Something twisted deep within him as Archer realized the girl had tried to barricade herself in, probably attempting to keep Boseman away from her.

This guy needed to die painfully. Part of Archer hoped he resisted. Hard.

Noah looked at Archer, noting the scowl on his face, before waving him off. “Go,” he whispered. “I don’t want to freak her out any more than she already is. Go deal with them. I’ve got her.”

Archer didn’t ask if Noah was sure. There was nothing Archer could do to help the girl or her situation. All he could do was offer her vengeance, and even then, she’d never know the true horrors that awaited her captors. He sighed, then nodded, turning to make his way back to Adam and Mac.

They hadn’t even made it to the bedroom door when Noah walked past them carrying the little girl, her arms clinging around his neck. Damn, he was good or maybe she was just so desperate to escape she’d believe anybody who said they’d help her.

Either way, with Noah and the girl out of the house, there was no longer a need for them to go in quietly. Mac made eye contact with Archer, giving him a questioning look. Archer pulled his pistol from the holster beneath his jacket then looked to Adam, who was practically salivating.

Fuck it. Why not? Archer nodded. Mac took a step back and kicked his booted foot against the door hard enough for it to explode inward. Boseman’s wife shot upwards with a scream. Adam’s gun was in her mouth before she could fully comprehend her situation.

Archer pressed the barrel of the gun against Boseman’s temple before he could be a hero and reach for whatever weapon he likely had hidden nearby.

“Morning, sunshine,” he said, then slammed the grip into the man’s temple until he lost consciousness.

Adam leaned into the woman’s face, watching as her eyes grew even bigger. “Let’s have some fun.”

Chapter 20

Mac

Securing Egan took a lot longer than anticipated. By the time the twins arrived on site, Boseman’s wife was strapped to a chair with zip ties and her husband was suspended naked by his wrists.

Felix grimaced when he saw the naked man dangling in the center of the room. Mac didn’t blame him. If the sight of the man’s pasty, doughy countenance wasn’t enough to turn someone’s stomach, the plethora of racist tattoos would have done it.

Asa and Avi dragged Egan from the car as he contorted his body alarmingly, attempting to disengage himself from their grip as they carried him towards the freestanding building. “I know who you are,” he assured them from beneath his hood. “My followers will hear about this. They’ll come for you. You’ll burn in hell for this.”

Mac laughed as Archer rolled his eyes. “You couldn’t have taped his mouth shut?”

Felix shrugged. “We tried. He chewed through it.”

“Twice,” the twins said in unison.

Once inside, Felix yanked the hood off, seemingly getting some satisfaction out of the way the man winced at the jarringly bright fluorescent lights that buzzed overhead.

“Get his clothes off,” Adam muttered, throwing some chains towards Avi.

Egan’s eyes bulged as he realized Boseman was trussed naked before him, looking suddenly faint when he noted the wife had also been bound and gagged.

He physically recoiled when Felix approached, his face twisting in a sneer as he took in Felix from his man bun to his black leather pants and tank top. “You stay away from me, you fucking—” He stopped short, staring at Felix’s face like he was attempting to solve a complex math problem.

“You don’t even know what slur to use, huh? I’m Mexican and Chinese, so take your pick,” Felix taunted, voice breathier than usual.

He was clearly egging Egan on, trying to make the man even more uncomfortable than he already was. Mac didn’t know much about his brother-in-law but found him fascinating. He was a study of contradictions in almost every way.

“Queer,” the man finally spit.

Felix grinned widely, then hissed at him like a cat.

Asa stepped forward, slapping the man just hard enough to get his attention. “I hate to ruin your night, pastor, but every damn one of us is gayer than the Tony Awards.”

Egan looked between them, expression dubious, as if he couldn’t believe all of them were gay.

“Seems improbable, statistically speaking,” Mac said. “But, unfortunately for you and your friend here, it’s true. We’re all”—he gave the man exaggerated jazz hands—“super gay.”

“But some of us,” Adam confided, “are also super fucking crazy.”

Asa nodded, throwing a friendly arm around Egan’s waist. “See, pastor—Felix here, he’ll just cut your clothes off. Me? I’ll douse them in gasoline and burn them off, then content myself by playing with whatever’s left of you. Your choice.”

Mac got to watch as the seriousness of Egan’s circumstances seemed to truly settle over him. Avi secured Egan’s hands above his head, hoisting him until his feet dangled almost completely off the ground. “Go ahead, kitten. Do your thing.”

Egan continued to squirm and fidget, but Felix paid him no mind. He walked to a black case he’d placed on the wooden ledge, opening it and pulling free strange silver caps. As they watched, he slipped them onto his fingers one at a time, like thimbles.

It was only when he came closer that Mac realized what they were. At the end of each silver cap extended a metallic claw, razor sharp, like talons. On Felix’s long, narrow fingers, they looked truly terrifying.

“They were his birthday present from Aiden. They’re perfect, right?” Avi said, gazing at his husband like he was the sun.

Felix grabbed the front of Egan’s shirt, making a show of drawing his pointer finger down the front, moaning obscenely as it slid through the fabric like butter.

“God, that sound gets me hot,” he teased before walking behind Egan, who gave a shrill cry.

“Enough, kitten. You’re scaring the poor dear. I don’t want him to die of a heart attack before he can answer our questions.”

Felix pouted, yanking the fabric down and off until it hung in tatters around the man’s waist. “You said I could play, too.”

“What do you want to play, kitten?” Avi asked, pulling various items from the black duffle bag Mac had noted earlier at the house.

Felix tapped one silver claw against his tooth. “Hmm. How about tic-tac-toe?” he asked.

Before anybody could answer, he was slicing into Egan’s back. This time, the man’s screams wouldn’t be silenced. Boseman jerked awake, swaying wildly as he realized his own predicament.

“What the fuck is going on here? Who are you people?” Boseman muttered, voice wavering as he attempted to get a grip on his barings.

They ignored him. Felix’s silver-tipped nails were now dripping with blood. Still, he snagged the knife on his thigh with his free hand and held it up. “Who wants to be O?”

When nobody immediately volunteered, Mac held up a hand. “I’ll play.”

Felix did a little hop of excitement, handing him the knife. “Yes!”

Adam casually strolled across the room to Boseman and slapped him in his bruised face. “What do we do with this one?”

Avi grinned. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about this one. I have something special for him.”

Avi pulled something from the bag and shook it. In his hand was a braided leather handle, and when he unfurled it, several strips of leather shook free with a strange metallic sound. It looked almost comically fake. Like something one might buy at a BDSM sex shop.

“While, alas, I was unable to secure a slide made of razor blades, my darling husband was kind enough to make this for me on the plane.” He looked at Boseman. “Your people were fond of whips, no? Big fans. Do you know what a cat o’ nine tails is?”

Boseman didn’t answer, so Avi held it up for his inspection. “Some people use knots in the leather for maximum damage, but back in the day, they used metal or even broken glass. But this one… See these shiny things here? This one uses razor blades. See?”

Avi flicked his wrist, and Boseman gave a strangled cry as the pieces of leather ripped across his chest, leaving several scratches in their wake. They all watched, fascinated, as seconds later, blood began to seep from dozens of cuts at once.

“Don’t forget this,” Adam called, throwing what looked like a ketchup bottle towards his brother.

Avi grinned, catching it. “Oh, right. The secret ingredient.”

He popped open the top and squirted the pungent smelling liquid over the man’s lacerations. His screams caused his wife to also start screaming. Mac could barely keep up. He’d been involved in numerous operations overseas and had even participated in one or two interrogations in his day, but never anything like this.

He kept waiting for the horror to kick in. The part where their suffering would trigger some knee-jerk level of empathy that told him he should show some compassion. But it just wasn’t there. He had no compassion for these people. They deserved every ounce of pain.

Archer winced. “What is that?”

Avi looked down at the bottle in his hands like he’d never seen it before, then seemed to come to his senses. “This? We didn’t have time to stop and grab lemon juice, but I found some gasoline. So, I improvised.”

“Well, don’t get us all blown up,” Archer said.

Asa looked at Egan. “Do you know why we’re here?”

Egan looked at Mac sullenly. “I do now.”

“Are you going to cooperate and answer our questions?” Mac asked.

Before Egan could answer, Felix took his claw to the man’s back, causing him to scream again. When the others looked at him, he stared back innocently. “What? I forgot my X.”

Mac’s lips twitched in an aborted laugh. He looked back and forth between Boseman and Egan. “Let’s start with something easy. Who’s behind the hit on me?”

The two men looked at each other, then away, as if they didn’t hear the question. Mac shrugged, flipping the knife in his hand before walking behind Egan. Felix had gone for the obvious move, planting his large X in the center square. Mac chose the top left. Egan gave a strangled cry as Mac’s blade bit into his skin, parting it with ease. Felix’s knife was very sharp.

Avi circled around Boseman, shaking the whip just enough to hear the sound of the razor blades clinking together. “Tick. Tock.”

It was as if Boseman suddenly came to life, attempting to look behind him at what Avi was doing. “What hit? What are you talking about? I don’t know anything about any hit. I was just minding my own goddamn business when you people barged into my house and assaulted my wife and me.”

“What about your daughter?” Archer asked. “Aren’t you going to ask what we did with her?”

Boseman flushed almost purple and he looked seconds away from pissing himself. “D-Daughter? I don’t know what you mean.”

Archer rolled his eyes, then waved a hand. “Avi.”

Avi grinned. Boseman shouted, then hissed, then screamed as Avi brought the whip down not once but twice before pouring gasoline over the wounds. “Still nothing to say?”

Felix walked over to Boseman’s wife. She was shaking and sweating, her eyes bugged out. She seemed almost frozen in terror. He removed her gag, then gently ran one clawed nail down her cheek as she hissed in pain. “What about you, blondie? You want to tell us where you got that little girl and what exactly it was she did for you and your husband?”

“Don’t you touch me. You filthy—”

Felix replaced her gag, cutting off whatever horrific thing was about to come out of her mouth. Instead, he pressed one of those silver-tipped claws dangerously close to her eye. “I always wanted blue eyes,” he said dreamily, pressing the tip into the edge until she began to panic, shouting into the cloth. “Careful with your tone or I might just keep yours as a souvenir.” He kissed the fabric between her lips. “Bitch.”

“You get the hell away from her!” Boseman yelled, voice hoarse.

Nobody paid him any mind. All eyes were locked on Felix. Mac had no point of reference, but they seemed shocked by his savagery. Ironic in a family like this one. But Felix wasn’t a psychopath. At least, not as far as Mac knew. Hell, maybe they were all on the spectrum.

“Okay, this is getting us nowhere,” Archer managed. “So, this is how this is going to go down. I’m going to ask you a question,” he told Egan. “If you refuse to answer, they’re gonna add another X or O to your board. When there’s a winner, you die. Slowly. Painfully.”

He looked to Boseman. “When I have no more use for him…I’m coming for you. If you have nothing that interests me, I’ll kill the both of you as well.”

“Then your husband will still be on the run,” Egan spat. “Even if you kill us, that won’t cancel the contract on his life.”

Mac looked at Archer. Egan was right. Though Mac was less concerned about the contract at this point. Somehow, knowing that Egan and his sister were afraid of Thomas Mulvaney made it seem like this was now less about keeping him alive and more about saving a bunch of young girls from their abusers.

Archer shrugged. “Oh, I know. See, this isn’t really about that anymore. It’s like you said the other night. You pissed off Thomas Mulvaney. And my dad? He’s petty. We’ve already found the contract online. We’ll just buy it out. Then we’ll go after the others. This is about your little operation.”

Egan’s mouth opened and closed. “What?”

“Is that your final answer?” Archer asked, glancing at Felix, who stood and sauntered closer, finger extended, prepared to make his move. He tsked at the man’s back. “I should warn you, he’s not even trying to win. If you don’t plan to die screaming, I’d rethink your response.”

“Just fucking kill me already, qu—” Another shrill scream split the air as Felix took his turn.

“Oh, I’m sorry. What were you saying?” Felix asked.

Mac stepped behind Egan and sucked in a sharp breath. “Damn, that one went deep. Is that…bone?”

Egan screamed as Felix picked at a piece of his skin. “Huh. I guess so.”

Archer dragged a chair over to where Egan dangled, straddling the back and folding his arms along the top. “Would it help if I started? I know sometimes being the center of attention is awkward, though with your YouTube following, I would’ve thought you’d love the attention. But it’s fine. If it hurries things along, I’ll break the ice.”

Egan began to pray loudly. “Dear Heavenly Father—” His prayers ended in a scream as Mac decided to take his turn.

Archer cleared his throat, sounding bored. “As I was saying, we know you’re trafficking people. We know you’re running an auction. We know you’re farming infants for money. We want the details. Now.”

Egan was ashen, skin cold and clammy. He shivered as he swayed.

“You’re not making it out of here alive, man,” Asa said. “Die with some fucking dignity. Hell, die with all your appendages.”

Egan opened his mouth, but Boseman’s voice boomed across the room. “Don’t you do it. You keep your fucking mouth shut.”

Mac’s gaze snapped to Boseman, then slid to Archer, who seemed equally perplexed. As far as they knew, Boseman’s only crime—other than being Egan’s henchman—was holding that little girl captive. A crime he was already going to pay for with his life. So, why was Boseman suddenly barking orders at Egan?

“One of you needs to start talking or I’m busting out the fucking blowtorch,” Adam snapped. When they all looked at him, he huffed out a breath through his nose. “What? I’m bored. This is boring. I want to go home to my husband.”

“It’s him,” Egan cried dramatically. “He’s behind all of it. He runs the auctions. He runs the girls.”

Boseman’s face turned a dangerous shade of eggplant, his skin mottled. He looked…unwell. “You sniveling little coward. You’re so full of shit. Don’t listen to him. He’s pissing himself, he’s so scared. His stepsister and her father are the real villains.”

“Do tell,” Asa said.

Boseman was nodding along, as if it might help sell his story. “It was her father who installed Dunegan as the commissioner of border patrol so he’d look the other way. It was her father who arranged for certain women and children to disappear from the ICE centers, never to be seen again. It was her father who gave her that charity so that she and her husband could convince poor, unsuspecting girls that they would give them green cards for acting as surrogates.”

“Only because you convinced him there was money in it!” Egan shouted.

Boseman scoffed. “You told him who to use. You helped set up the operation. That was all you. You’ve been using your church to recruit men to impregnate innocent young girls so that your sister can sell her white passing babies to the highest bidder.”

Egan sputtered. “You’ve been quietly amassing a fortune off our hard work while we took all the risks. You’re the fucking monster.”

“Do I look like I give a fuck about money?” Boseman shouted. “I just wanted to help people.”

“Christ,” Adam muttered. “Stray dogs just ain’t loyal, huh, Boseman?”

“Have we heard enough?” Avi asked.

“When’s the next auction and when will the girls be delivered?” Archer asked.

Boseman clamped his jaw shut, eyes steely. A cold smile split Adam’s face as he snatched the bottle of gasoline from Avi and began to spray Boseman down with it. “I hate pedophiles,” he said conversationally. “Like, I don’t really care about people one way or the other. Rapists. Murderers. You all look alike to me. But people who harm little kids…you’re a particular kind of malevolent. One that needs to be killed with fire. If you’re done talking, there’s only one thing left to do, really.”

Adam pulled a silver lighter from his pocket and flicked it once, the flame shooting to life. Mac glanced around the large space. The walls were plaster. If Adam dropped the lighter, the place wouldn’t go up like a tinderbox, but it would eventually burn.

Boseman was staring at the flame, body trembling. But still, he said nothing. Adam shrugged. “Have it your way.”

Mac’s heart galloped as Adam’s arm dropped, clearly having no issue following through on his promise.

“Wait!” Boseman shouted at the last moment.

Adam fluttered his lashes at him. “Yes?”

“Tomorrow night. The auction is tomorrow night. Midnight. The product will be delivered to a property fifteen miles south of here. The address is in my phone,” Boseman muttered.

“Where are the girls?” Mac asked.

“I just told you,” Boseman snapped.

“The pregnant girls.”

Boseman sneered, looking at Egan. “I don’t mess with breeders. That’s his department.”

They all looked to Egan, who was fading fast, his eyes rolling. Archer stood, slapping him hard. “Hey. Where are they?”

Egan slow-blinked at him, eyes practically pointing in different directions. “My sister, Desiree…she has a home for unwed mothers. Sheltered Hearts. She keeps them there. Don’t tell her I told you,” Egan said.

“Anything else we need from these pricks?” Adam asked, looking at Boseman with disgust.

Mac and Archer exchanged looks. “We still don’t know who paid for the hit.”

“He did,” Egan said, once more glaring at Boseman.

Boseman glowered at Egan.

“Oh,” Adam said, eyes lighting up. “Excellent. Then we’re done here.”

Before anybody could even guess his intent, Adam flicked the lighter once more and dropped it into the gasoline at Boseman’s feet. The flames erupted and engulfed the man immediately. This time, he didn’t scream but howled, an almost inhuman sound that would probably haunt Mac’s nightmares.

The wife was screaming now, too, somehow having displaced the gag in her horror.

Avi stumbled back, giving Adam a pissy look. “What the fuck, man? You could have warned me.”

“Oops,” Adam said, then drew his gun, shooting Boseman in the head, then doing the same to his wife. “I’m hungry. What do you want to do with the preacher?”

“Do you need him for anything?” Felix asked, poking at Egan like a cat might a mouse.

“I don’t think so,” Archer said, looking at Mac. “Are we satisfied?”

Mac thought about it for a moment. There was nothing else that could be done there. Finally, he nodded.

Felix held out his hand to Mac. “May I have that back, please?”

Mac looked down at the bloody knife in his hand. “Yeah, sure.”

Felix walked to Egan, making eye contact before he smiled and shoved the knife into the man’s stomach about an inch to the left of his belly button, twisting the blade slowly before retracting it.

“Now what?” Avi asked Felix.

“Now, stomach acid will fill his stomach cavity while he waits for the fire to make its way to him. Let’s go. It stinks in here.”

Asa and Avi squirted gasoline over the walls as Adam and Archer gathered anything that could be traced back or that they didn’t want claimed by the fire.

They were halfway home before Archer spoke again, taking Mac’s hand in his. “You good?”

Mac frowned at him. “Yeah. Why?”

“I just thought that might have been a little intense for you. You didn’t have to participate. I hope you didn’t feel…”

Mac grinned. “Are you asking me if your brothers peer pressured me into torturing Egan?”

A slow smile spread across Archer’s face. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Nah, Katniss. That was all me. I’m fine. We’re fine. I just want to shut down this auction and go home. How about you?”

“Home sounds grand,” Archer said around a sigh.