Page 124 of Scream
A soft whirring begins as Aleksi makes the drone go up and off the ground. Then we’re zooming over rooftops and trees, and people on the streets. The drone goes higher to go over taller trees, then fields, and finally… more fucking trees. Until there’s a small clearing, and in the center… a very large, secluded cabin, veiled by large evergreens.
Aleksi drops a few feet in the air and begins to circle the cabin slowly. “Boss, there’s movement on the second floor.”
“That’s probably Donahue. Try getting lower and closer to the first floor without being detected.”
Aleksi doesn’t reply, just slowly winds around the cabin for a closer inspection. That’s when Sabrina tells him to pause. Aleksi hovers, and my wife points to the screen. “There,” she says.“Close to the ground on the bottom right corner.”
But I don't see anything. “What do you see?”
“I saw something at the very bottom of the screen. There’s a tiny window there. I think it may be a basement. Aleksi, can you get closer?”
“Uhhh… yeah, Boss Lady, give me a sec…” the drone flies lower, and we all hold our breath.
“How did you see that?” Niko asks, leaning over and squinting at the monitor.
Sabrina hums. “I have to look at fine prints every day.”
One… two… three… it takes a total of twelve heartbeats for a small hand to press against the pane of the glass, sliding to the side as if it’s trying to open it but can’t find any grip. And then it’s gone. We wait several more seconds, but nothing else happens.
“You can pull back, Aleks. I think we’ve seen all we’ve needed to.” I order.
“Send me word of what you want me to do.” Aleks replies before the screen goes black. It goes back to the tab my email is on and that too, goes blank.
Sabrina pops up from my lap. “We need to call Maverick.”
I shake my head, “No, we need-”
My wife frowns, and I hate it. “Maksi,” she coos her nickname for me, and I melt a little on the inside. Her hand cups my chin, and I lean into it. “Please listen to me, darling. I know this is your domain, your kingdom and I don't want to overstep, but-”
That's where she's wrong. This is her domain, too. This is her kingdom, too. I want my wife’s opinions on certain matters. It’s why I was so cruel when I thought she was weak…
“Maverick is formerFBI, Maksim. He’s also slowly been solving cold cases the Syndicate’s been involved in for the last five months with his ex-partner, Tasha. He stays out of the spotlight, as to not draw attention from the media, but gives her leads to make the proper arrests.”
I arch a brow. “How do you know all of this?”
The Duchess puts her hands on her hips and sighs. “Because when I go over there, it isn’t just to bugger off. He’s been asking me questions about the Syndicate and its members. Unlike Raven’s parents, who kept all of that from her until she had to find out the hard way it wasn’t just the boogeyman, Mama told me all about the brotherhood. She explained what would be expected of me as soon as Raven was attacked.” She looks up at Parker, and her eyes soften. “Mum sat me down, introduced me to Parker, and told me exactly why I needed him. Why he was, has always been, and will always be my non-negotiable until the Syndicate is eradicated. Which will probably be never, seeing as there are so many, and the new generations are either too young or haven't been born yet.”
“So he’s been protecting you from the Syndicate for years? Why?”
She sighs. “Because they’re more of a threat than the mafia and the bratva combined, Maksim. They don’t make moves where you can see them – they strike when least expected. They strike like unsuspected serpents in fields of grass, no rattle. Just venom. Most of the Syndicate live their entire lives looking over their shoulder. Parker knows how deep the Syndicate goes. He knows the constituents that make it up. Parker knows their faces. Maybe he doesn’t remember every name, but their faces… he knows them all. When I told you he was rightly trained, I meant it. And with his specific background and his… entirely too sunny disposition-” Niko makes a choking sound, Sabrina smirks, and Savage grunts. “Mama knew he wasn’t one to go blabbing.”
“Taking care of Donahue is still something that’s under my jurisdiction, Duchess. He took something that’s under our protection; we need to retrieve her.”
“Them,” she says quietly.
“What do you mean, ‘them,’ Boss Lady?” Niko asks.
She points to the screen behind her, even though it’s dark. “Thatwas not the hand of an eighteen year old woman. That hand was small. The size of that cabin… that’s not the type of cabin a man could afford on a cop salary, Maksim.”
I search her brilliant eyes, loving the slates of gray embedded like sheets of ice. “You think he’s trafficking kids.”
“She wastwelvewhen it began, Maksim. He terrorized her for years until she found sanctuary in your club. Tell me, did she ever take Johns?”
“One of the few that didn’t,” Niko replies from behind me.
“She stayed in her dancer cage?”
I look back to see Niko nodding silently, blue stare on my wife. I turn to face my wife again, but her gaze is already on me.
