It had taken me five days to fulfill the Boss’s order. With hardly any sustenance and even less sleep, I had found and slaughtered the entire Crisis MC. Dishevelled, bloodstained and an all-round goddamned mess, my feet reluctantly tugged me through the Caverns towards Boss, instead of slipping into a well-deserved coma.

His private quarters were deserted. The place was usually bustling with either soldiers, servants or whores (which, in some cases, could be considered one and the same).

I didn’t have time to contemplate the strangeness of it all (nor did I care, for that matter). He’d demanded a report immediately after the job was complete, and he’d be happy with the outcome. Wanting to get the debrief over with, I aimed for his office.

I raised a fist to knock on the closed door when elevated voices filtered through the thick wood. Boss loathed insubordination, and interrupting his meeting would not be taken lightly. I had no choice but to wait.

Leaning against the opposite wall, my head dropped back. I was utilising all my willpower not to lower to the ground and curl up like a kitten, right there in the middle of the bloody hallway.

Raised, aggressive voices jolted me awake, unsure if it’d been five seconds or five minutes, microsleeps catching me unaware, luring me into brief bouts of unconsciousness.

“She’s not happy with your results,” said a masculine voice I’d never heard, as it carried through the closed door.

“What do you want me to do? Her requests are unreasonable,” Boss said, his gruff, aged tone recognisable.

“Your excuses grow weak, Maximus. Maybe you're too old. ‘Bout time you found a successor.”

The distinct sound of a violent struggle followed, loud thumps and crashes siphoning amongst one another.

Whoever the hell was fighting Boss must have had a death wish.

My attention spiked, debating whether I should go in and help or remain outside and mind my own damn business.

A forceful thud hit the floor. “Don’t ever associate me with the word weakagain,” Boss said.

The other guy laughed and I cringed. Whoever the fool was, he was going to get his tongue ripped out.

“Watch yourself, or your precious Ludus will be next. You know we have the means and resources to make that a legitimate threat,” the stranger snickered. “We will deliver Amp in two months. Be ready—or else.”

My hand flexed at the deliberate warning. Did this imbecile know the Ludus at all?

Soft clicks alerted me to a petite woman approaching down the corridor. She halted beside me, her expensive perfume overpowering and irritating my nostrils. Her attire screamed luxury: designer heeled boots paired with a skintight dress, her lime green hair and pierced nose clashing with her extravagant getup.

She tsked. “You shouldn’t be here.” Her eyes twinkled with danger.

“Says who?” Was it me, or was my speech slurred?

She shrugged in return and pushed the door wide open without preamble. “We have a lurker,” she announced to the now-silent room. All sets of eyes bounced to me as she grabbed my shirt collar and hurled me onto the office floor.

My reflexes were sluggish, deprived of any energy, the lack of sleep from the past five days reigning down on my rebuttal. My Variant even flapped around in my chest for a good second before wallowing away to nothingness. I was tapped out.

The other stranger pointed an accusatory finger at Boss. I could now put a face to the voice. The guy was slightly shorter, but stocky, his brown hair spiked in a purposely messy way, a nice shiner growing over his right eye. “Is this the so-called loyalty that you proclaim? You're fucking over with!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Boss said. “Nothing will be repeated. Right, Psycho?”

Maybe I was having some weird as fuck dream. Surely Boss wouldn’t concede to these two amateurs. They appeared to be around the same age as me.

My gaze bounced between the three, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. Boss’s eyes caught on mine and I could easily read the rage cultivating in their depths. He was angry—at me.

I found myself nodding. “I won’t say anything.”

I wouldn’t, cause I fucking couldn’t. I had no idea what the fuck they were on about.

The female sauntered to the middle of the room, demanding all attention. She licked her lips as her head snapped to Boss. “You will ensure that, won’t you, Maximus?” Her tone was authoritative and arrogant.

As I was about to scoff, Boss submitted with a resolute nod. I was rendered speechless.

He kept his promise. And in doing so, destroyed my life.

“None of it ever made sense to me. I didn’t know or understand anything. That day, I heard and saw something I wasn’t supposed to. Only now am I starting to get an idea of what that was.” I stopped pacing, eyes tracking over my golden girl with enlightenment.

“Who are they?”

“I don’t fucking know. Their names were never spoken. I only saw them for a short period, and even then, my memory is unreliable. I was so sleep deprived, at first I thought I was hallucinating. Until my head was shoved in a brown sack and I was brought here.”

Micah raised, venturing closer.

Watching this perfect being approach was bittersweet. She was flawless, ethereal in her presence, and here she stood. In my tattered shirt, locked in the loony bin assigned to a psychotic killer.

Micah grasped my hand, pulling me forward. With no will to resist, I drifted into her embrace, fingers automatically latching onto the Gladiolus tattoo permanently settled on her upper thigh, a bright beacon for me to own. She’d inadvertently called to the most visceral part of me. With this demand, I had wordlessly claimed her mind, body, and soul.

“We will find them,” she said. “And you’re going to help us. Help me.”

I held no reservations, only acceptance at her request.

Pressing a kiss to her hair, I said, “Revenge against Maximus?”

“Revenge,” she said, the vow sealed into my skin. “There will be a full investigation into what happened tonight. You’ve already killed Fern. Please refrain from killing anyone else in the meantime.”

I smirked. “Hey, you killed Katsy. We’re even.”

“Fine, just promise me you’ll keep a low profile. Stay undercover. I can handle everything else. We’re so close to getting you both out. Wait for me?”

“Forever,” I said, so low I was unsure if she even heard.

MICAH

He did not stay low. He did not stay undercover.

Chapter 21Psycho

Itracked empty corridors, sticking to the shaded alcoves supplied by the overcast night, my pulse beating to the drum of my ever-growing anger.

Even with my large frame, my movements were smooth and fluid. With the elixir on board, I was virtually undetectable. Micah had left a vial for emergencies. To me, this was the definition of an emergency—to impose reasonable justice on those who forgot their place.