I’D NEVER THOUGHT I’d come back to my birth family’s home. I’d never wanted to come back to this horrible place where so many awful acts had been planned and celebrated. But I was running low on options, and if the new thread Blaze was pursuing didn’t pan out as well as he hoped, we’d need all the information we could get.
The Maliks had targeted the Blood Hunter years ago, stolen and murdered his daughter. They’d obviously investigated his dealings enough to know about his criminal activities. Now I needed to know what they knew.
I’d left Blaze back at the house where we were staying, working away with the same fervor he’d shown yesterday after our intense bedroom interlude. He exuded excitement, but he hadn’t wanted to tell any of us what he was working on until he was sure it’d bear fruit.
The rest of the Chaos Crew had wanted to join me on my expedition, worried about my protection—and in Garrison’s case eager to make more progress than his efforts yesterday had accomplished. But I’d insisted that he stay home and Julius and Talon follow only at a very discreet distance. There’d been a lot of reporters circling the Malik home recently, wanting to nab whatever juicy details they could get from the surviving family members. The last thing we needed was even more of the crew exposed.
The only relatives I had left were my grandmother, my mother, and my brother, Carter. None of them were particularly physically fit. They were used to attacking weak opponents—children—not fully trained adults. I’d come armed just in case, and I didn’t plan on getting into any compromising situations. If I couldn’t handle my own against the three of them, I didn’t deserve to survive.
At the other end of the block I got out of the Uber I’d hailed and walked the rest of the way on foot, scanning for news crews. It seemed their interest had dwindled with the shifting news cycle. This early in the morning, before my mother would have been heading off to work, no one was staked out near the house.
Relief rushed through me. I wasn’t wanted for anything, but I could only imagine what questions they’d have for me as Damien Malik’s recently discovered long-lost daughter.
As I walked up to the porch, I took one of my pistols into my hand, holding it at my side where no one would be able to see it from the street. I’d just reached the top of the steps when the front door opened. I froze in place.
My grandmother stepped out, her eyes red-rimmed but as flinty as ever. My mother, Iris, followed her, her wan face tensed and her arms folded tightly over her chest. As they stopped in front of the doorway like a tiny brigade, Carter peered out from behind them. His tawny hair was even messier than usual, his gray gaze as dark as a thunderstorm.
“What are you doing here?” Grandma Ruby demanded.
The chill in her voice made it sound like I was an outsider rather than part of the family. Someone who didn’t belong and never would. A week ago, that might have bothered me. Now I knew I didn’t want any part in the Maliks’ legacy.
I shifted my arm to draw their attention to the weapon I was holding so they knew not to risk making any aggressive moves. “I need answers.”
She sputtered. “You need answers? We’re the ones who’ve been left bereft. Or have you come to finish the job you started, to slaughter the rest of us too, just as shamelessly as you did your own father.”
Despite her words, her voice was less steady than usual, without its typical sass. The loss of her husband, children, and most of her grandchildren had cracked her impervious façade.
“We know it was you,” Carter spat out. “You called me and asked about the house on Eckleberry Lane. Dad and everyone else went out there to find out what you wanted, he let us know you showed up with a bunch of strange men, and now they’re dead.”
Iris drew her chin up. “Was this your plan all along? Are you working with the criminals who kidnapped you—leading us into a trap so they could ruin our lives even more? I thought—I thought my daughter had come back to us, but really you’re the same sick scum we’ve been trying to eradicate.”
I didn’t see any point in trying to deny my part in the murders, but I wasn’t going to confirm my exact role or what I’d become under my former captors’ guidance either. Especially not when the accusation set off a flare of fury deep in my chest. “And what do you call people who torture and murder children?”
Grandma Ruby glowered at me. “We don’t murder anyone. We create a better world.”
“Through murder. You massacre innocent children who would have lived long, happy lives, and you torment them before you do it. So don’t act like you’ve got some moral high ground.”
Iris’s voice came out in a hiss. “Of course we do. We make sacrifices to improve the world, and you—I have no idea why you turned on us like this. We are saviors who make sacrifices to reduce the crime in the world, and you’re despicable.”
And how much had crime been reduced by their actions? They probably gave themselves credit for any small improvement in the crime rates and assumed any increase was in spite of their efforts, totally wrapped up in their spiritual delusion. I couldn’t argue with them when their minds were that warped. It was hopeless.
I wasn’t here to argue sense into them anyway. I needed answers, and then I’d leave and pray that I’d never need to speak to them again. They wouldn’t be able to get away with hunting down more children now that it was just the three of them and they’d be facing so much more scrutiny.
And I’d be keeping an eye on them from afar for the rest of their lives to ensure that was true.
I shifted my stance, studying each of them in turn. “Believe whatever you want. I’m here to learn about the Blood Hunter.”
I wasn’t sure what reaction I expected, but I got nothing at all. The three remaining Maliks stared at me blankly.
“The what?” Carter said.
I glared right back at them. “The Blood Hunter. The very powerful criminal whose daughter you murdered nearly thirty years ago. I guess you go through so many of them you might not remember well. She was blond, around six years old. I’ve seen a picture of what you did to her—and so has he. And he’s your real enemy in this scenario.”
Iris had stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s the one who’s the most responsible for what happened out at your country house,” I said. “He’s been plotting his vengeance for a long, long time. I’m not sure he’ll stop until he’s taken care of the rest of you too. But I intend to bring him to justice, and to do that, I need to know everything you found out about him before you took his daughter.”
Ruby’s eyes flashed. “You’re a thieving, lying murderer, and we have nothing to tell you.”
I snorted, unable to stop the laugh that erupted from me. “When did you decide that I was a thief and a liar? What have I stolen or lied about?”
My mother was quick to answer. “All you sinners are the same. I’m sure you lie and steal just as much as you murder. Once one sin is committed, the rest are just as likely.”
And what makes you not murderers? You may be murdering with a purpose—a psychotic one—but you’re still just as much a killer as I am. I held my tongue, knowing the accusation would bounce right off them.
I chose my words carefully. “Whether I’m a sinner or not, the Blood Hunter is a man with a mission. He’s carried out most of it, and you’ve seen the results plastered all over the news. Do you really want him to go free, or do you want me to do what I can to make sure he’s no longer a threat to this city?” And who knew how many others besides.
Carter nudged his mother. “We can’t help her after what she did.”
Iris simply looked at me. “What will you do if we answer your questions?” she asked. “Are you going to use the answers to kill someone else? Is that the kind of justice you’re talking about?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Wasn’t that how they dealt out their twisted version of justice too? At least killing the Blood Hunter would end his reign of terror. What they’d done to his daughter had only made things worse.
“Does it matter?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“We’re not going to facilitate you killing someone.”
I held myself back from rolling my eyes. “My main goal is to make sure he doesn’t kill anyone else. I’m going to be preventing murders. Isn’t that what your holy mission is all about? Wouldn’t you be defying your legacy if you don’t help me stop him?”
All three of them remained silent other than Carter grumbling wordlessly under his breath. My jaw clenched. “Fine. If you’d rather ‘facilitate’ him organizing all kinds of crimes across the country…”
I turned on my heel and started walking down the steps. Silence followed me long enough that I wondered if they’d stop me, but just as I reached the bottom step, Iris’s voice stopped me.
“I think I remember the girl you’re talking about,” she said. “She was the sacrifice in one of the first of the rituals I was involved with after I came into the family.”
“Iris,” Ruby said in exasperation, but Iris held up her hand to quiet her mother-in-law.
“Okay,” I said, peering up at her. “What did you see him doing? Who was he associating with? I need to know everything you do about his past crimes.”
Her mouth slanted at a pained angle. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can tell you. I had no idea he was powerful enough to arrange anything like what you’re talking about. We’d simply seen him interacting with a few of the gangs in DC, smaller operations, and we found out he had a young daughter… He seemed like an ideal target.”
I blinked at her. “You thought he was just a petty criminal. Someone who didn’t have much clout.” A wave of queasiness washed over me.
That approach made their legacy even worse. They didn’t try to take on the biggest, baddest criminals. They purposefully targeted low-level perps, no doubt because it was easier to attack their families without any backlash. But they had no idea why those criminals had gotten into that kind of life. Someone at that level might simply be desperate and see no other choice, not like the real overlords of the underground who reveled in hurting those who got in their way.
Maybe I could still get something useful out of this conversation. “Which gangs was he working with?” I demanded.
“I don’t remember,” Iris admitted weakly. “It was so long ago, and I wasn’t involved in gathering the information. We don’t keep records, of course, because there can’t be a trail…”
“Damien suspected,” Ruby said abruptly.
All our gazes shot to her. “Suspected what?” I asked. “That the Blood Hunter was more important than he looked?”
My grandmother pursed her lips. “I don’t know if he connected his concerns to that particular ritual, but—I think he was worried that your supposed death had something to do with our mission. And after you came back, he spent some time mulling over our past targets. He must have realized your kidnapping could have been revenge.”
“Did he say anything else about that? Had he done any more investigating?”
She shook her head. “He didn’t share his thoughts with me. A mother can simply tell. And now he can’t share anything, because you wrenched him from us and this world.” Her eyes burned with anger again.
My hopes deflated. This visit had been a total waste of my time. The Maliks had set this whole horrible situation in motion, and they’d had no clue the whole time.
“All right,” I said. “Then we’re done here.”
“That’s it?” Ruby sputtered before I could turn to go. “You killed our family and then came to ask questions about some lowlife. You’re not even decent enough to apologize for what you’ve done?”
Apologize?
A laugh built in my throat—a vicious one that I knew would cause more trouble than it was worth if I released it. So I held it in and gave them my darkest smile—a smile that showed exactly who they dealt with and what I thought of them. I was entirely Dess with this smile, not the sweet Rachel they’d believed me to be.
“Let me make myself clear,” I said, quietly but firmly. “I don’t want to kill you any more than I wanted to the others. But you need to understand one thing. I will put a total end to what’s left of your family and your legacy if you try to hurt me or any more children ever again. This is your second chance. Keep your hands clean, or you’ll be the ones I’m bringing to justice next.”
I didn’t give them a chance to respond, just spun around and stalked away. My job was done, and I wouldn’t be back unless they gave me no choice.
As I headed down the street, a reporter leapt out of a van that’d just pulled up to the curb. “Rachel Malik,” she said breathlessly, waving a microphone in my face as her cameraman fumbled with his equipment. “Do you have a moment to speak? What are your thoughts on the recent discoveries about your father and the rest of your birth family?”
Oh, I had some thoughts. I swallowed most of them down as I met her eyes, but I couldn’t force myself to stay totally silent.
“What the Maliks have done is horrifying. That man will never be my father.”
I strode away at a quicker pace, ignoring the reporter’s shout after me. I’d said all I needed to.
The crew was the only real family I’d ever had, and I was okay with that. But I needed to get us out of this mess before the Blood Hunter destroyed them too.
