CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY – THE COST OF BATTLE

"Oh?" The single syllable seemed to drip with a smug sort of self-satisfaction, as though Sienna could scent Charlotte's burgeoning desperation across the distance separating them. "What possible incentive could you have for going to such depraved lengths?" Charlotte pressed, her voice low with a sort of hollow dread she couldn't quite put a name to. "I know your tastes and proclivities lean towards the...unconventional at times, but this? Getting mixed up with organized crime syndicates, putting everything on the line on a crusade against people who could just as easily have you buried in an unmarked grave for your troubles?" She paused, drawing in a steadying breath as she braced for Sienna's inevitable deflection and obfuscation. The other woman had always guarded her true motivations and intentions with the ferocity of a mother bear, never allowing anyone to glimpse past that meticulously cultivated facade of sardonic ennui and casual self-interest. Which was why her answer, whe