Page 39 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

“Repeatedly,” Noah added.

“Well, it bears repeating,” Harris said before cocking his head toward the door. “After you, pretty lady. By the way, is there any chocolate cake left?”

“Not if you annoy me.” Annabelle sparkled with delight, and Noah’s chest tightened.

As her main bodyguard, he should be going with her. Not Harris. Damn it, he was behaving like a toddler who had to share his favorite toy. He mentally smacked himself on the back of the head.

“Evan,” Rochelle said, “you and your brothers need to sort your gun permits. See Katrina about what you have to do.”

“I looked it up,” Evan said. “We’re in Texas, we don’t need permits.”

“Texas might not require them,” Rochelle said icily, “but I do. And tell them I want all of you at the range. Nobody gets a weapon until I’m satisfied you can fire it without hitting one of the team. Got it?”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Evan said. “I mean, if somebody attacks again.”

“I suggest you get properly trained as quickly as possible,” Rochelle said. “Until then, use your brains and your fists, and let the rest of us take the frontline on this.”

“I’m going to die,” Evan muttered.

“Right,” Rochelle addressed everyone else. “Let’s go over everything we know.”

She spun the whiteboard so the blank side faced the room and wrote the words Demon Brothers and Eddie Hanson in the top left-hand corner.

“In the London office, we had a data projector and PowerPoint presentations.” Violet clearly disapproved of the new, low-tech format. “There were handouts.”

“You’re not in London anymore, Ms. Lee.” Rochelle continued to write on the board while Violet tried to burn a hole in her back with the power of her glare.

Once finished, Rochelle faced her team, all business. “The trial is in ten days, and Eddie Hanson’s still out on bail, thanks to his very expensive lawyer. According to the ADA, he’s keeping a low profile but isn’t hiding. Apparently, he likes to smile and wave at the police detail following him.”

“Polite guy,” Rodrigo muttered.

Rochelle removed her suit jacket, beige this time, and hung it on the back of her chair. “What have we learned about him? If we can get a decent picture of his past behavior and motivation, we can, hopefully, predict what he’ll do next and be more prepared.”

Abasi slowly shook his head but said nothing.

“I read through the police files.” Rodrigo sat forward. “He doesn’t have any family—so no weak points to squeeze, and there’s no close love interest that I can find. With his looks, money, and rep, he attracts a lot of beautiful rich women who want to dance with the darker side of life. None of them hang around for long, and he tends to keep them on the periphery of his operation. When it comes to his personal life, he’s untouchable. There are no vulnerable areas.”

“What’s his usual MO for dealing with threats?” Violet tapped the board marker on the desk in front of her.

Rodrigo spread his hands. “What you’d expect. He gives the order, and the threat dies bloody. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t do second chances. You cross him once, and you’re gone. He doesn’t play games either. Death is usually swift. He does, however, make a point with each execution—if you steal from him, you lose your fingers. If you snitch, you lose your tongue. If you spy, it’s your eyes. One guy lost something a whole lot more personal after sleeping with Eddie’s woman of the moment.”

The men in the room all flinched as one.

“Does he mutilate before or after death?” Rochelle was still very much focused on Eddie’s psychology rather than his penchant for lopping off body parts.

“He doesn’t care what order it happens in,” Rodrigo said. “That’s up to whoever’s carrying out the order. Like I said, Eddie doesn’t play around. If anyone crosses him, he wants them dead. The rest of it’s done as a warning to everyone else, and if his men want to torture before they carry out the kill, that’s okay with him. Just so long as they do what he told them to do.”

“Does he deal with men and women differently? Does he spare children?” Rochelle frowned, her FBI-trained mind paying close attention.

“No,” Rodrigo said solemnly.“Eddie es un hombre peligroso. Y loco también.”

“Yeah,” Noah said. “But crazy like a fox. The guy’s still walking free.”

“I don’t get it,” Violet said. “His gang just blindly carries out whatever order he issues? Nobody has that sort of control. I dealt with some serious gangs in Glasgow, but there were always a few members who thought they knew better than their leaders. Or were just too stoned to care.”

“Not in the Demon Brothers. The gang’s full of psychos and cowards,” Rodrigo told her. “They either enjoy following kill orders or are too scared not to. Word is, he kills anyone who doesn’t follow his order to the letter. One thing’s for sure, he doesn’t like people questioning or arguing with him.”

“What does he cut off if you disobey an order?” Violet said.