Chapter 78
-Logan-
I gripped the pliers tighter. I could taste the adrenaline.
8%
dah Vouchers
The guard’s muffled screams echoed off the walls of the van, but didn’t let up. The second fingernail came off with a sickening pop, and I tossed it aside. Blood splattered on the floor of the van.
“Jesus, Logan,” River muttered from behind me. “You’re makina mess. Save it for the coop.”
“Why?” I grunted, not bothering to look up. “Not like you gotta clean it up.”
The guard thrashed some more. I leaned in closer til my face was inches from the fabric over his head. “You ready to talk yet?”
Jake’s voice cut through from the driver’s seat. “Keep it together back there. We’re gonna loop through the city… make sure we don’t have a tail.”
I didn’t respond, my focus narrowing back on the guard’s hands.
I grabbed his pinky and pried it away from his fist. He whimpered, and it only fueled the fire in my gut.
“Who is Anatoly?” I demanded again, my voice sharp. “Where’s he hiding?”
The guard mumbled something incoherent, muffled by the sack. I tightened my grip on the pliers. “Wrong answer,” I hissed.
This time the scream was louder. Desperate. Blood was smeared on my gloves now.
“Logan,” Jake barked again, his tone sharper this time. “Enough. We’re in the middle of the city. Keep him quiet until we’re at the compound.”
I clenched my jaw and let the pliers fall to the floor. Fine.
The guard’s breathing was ragged now, uneven. But he wasn’t broken yet. And I wasn’t done.
The van took a sharp turn, and I braced myself against the wall. Riverstone blurred past occasional flash of headlights.
–
neon signs, dark storefronts, the
I brought the heel of my boot down on the guard’s shin. “You think you’re tough? You think you can hold out? I got all night, pal. And we’re just gettin‘ started.”
He hesitated. His breath hitched.
“I’ve never seen Anatoly!” he choked out. I could barely understand him between the burlap and the accent, but his voice was desperate. “I just arrived from Russia! I know nothing of use to you!”
“Yeah,” I muttered, “we’ll see about that.”
I felt the van turn onto a dirt road. We were getting closer to the compound.
“You better tell us everything you do know,” I said, my voice cold “Or hindsight is gonna make this van ride feel like a vacation in Bali.”
The guard whimpered. Man, he whimpered a lot.
I wiped the blood off the pliers with a rag and tossed them back into the toolbox. Sat back against the wall.
1/3
20:46 Sat, Jan 3
Chapter 78
The van lurched to a stop and Talon hopped out to unlock the gate. When we pulled into the compound. I grabbed the guard by the collar and hauled him upright. He groaned. His body was limp and trembling.
8%9
“Let’s move.” Jake barked, slamming the driver’s door shut. Everyone’s boots hit the gravel, and I dragged the guard out after them. He stumbled, his knees buckling, but I yanked him along
The air smelled like pine trees. A welcome change from the blood and sweat that clung to me. I couldn’t wait to get this shit over with and take a hot shower. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy every second of it.
River held the door open for me, and I dragged the guard inside He was quiet now. Finally done whimpering, but that was okay. He’d talk. They always did.
The coop was in the basement. A soundproofed room built just for situations like this. I’d been down there more times than I could count, but tonight felt different. The stakes were higher. had Hailey to worry about.
The air was colder down here. The coop was at the far end, behind a heavy metal door. Jake unlocked it, and it swung open with a groan. The smell of mildew and old blood hit me, heavy and familiar.
The room had one purpose, and it looked the part. A single chair bolted to the concrete floor, a drain underneath it, a table littered with tools, and a spigot with a garden hose. For cleanup.
I shoved the guard into the chair, and Link strapped him down. River yanked the sack off his head.
His eyes were wide, but not with fear. They darted around the room, calculating. Like he was sizing up every corner. His breathing was steady. Too steady for someone who just had half his fingernails ripped out.
Something was off.
I leaned in close until my face was inches from his. “You got somethin‘ to say, pal? Spit it out.”
He started mumbling something in Russian. I didn’t need to speak it to know it wasn’t a prayer.
Then he looked me dead in the eyes and said something in English. His voice was calm, almost mocking. “One of them is called Logan.”
That shit was a bucket of ice water over my head. I pushed his head back with one hand and slammed his jaw shut jaw shut with the other. He grunted as his teeth clamped down on his tongue.
“He was describing the room,” Talon muttered. “The ride here. Check his ears.”
Jake grabbed the guard’s head and tilted it to the side. He dug a finger into the guy’s ear and pulled out an almost–invisible earpiece.
“Son of a bitch,” I snarled, shoving the guard back into the chair and glancing around the room. “You didn’t check him for comms? That should’ve been the first goddamn thing you did!”
Jake dropped the thing to the floor and crushed it under his boot
Link held his hands out. “We ditched his walkie at the scene. He’s a fuckin perimeter guard, brother. How were we supposed to know he had an earpiece?”
I was fuming. “You fucking check!” I barked. My heart was trying to bust out of my chest now. This guy wasn’t just some low- level grunt. Maybe Anatoly didn’t have any of those.
This guy was wired, and he’d been listening the whole damn time.
I grabbed a rag from the table and shoved it into the guard’s mouth. He didn’t struggle. Didn’t seem fazed. He just stared at me with those cold eyes. Like he already won.
20:46 Sat, Jan 3
Chapter 78
“God DAMNIT,” I snapped, turning to Jake. “They know my name. They’ll know everything now. We gotta-”
藏气8%
55 vouchers
“Shut up, son,” Talon cut in, pulling out his knife. He was staring at the guard with his jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitching. “It’s done. No changin‘ it now, so don’t let him under your skin. Go up and have a smoke, come back when your head’s clear.”
I exhaled hard. My fists itched like hell. But my old man was right. My head was a mess, trying to piece together how much they knew. How much they’d heard through the sack. And what it meant for Hailey.
I glanced at the guard one more time before leaving the coop. He was still staring at me, cold and unflinching.
I could already picture him at the docks, tied to a pole with a hole between his eyes.
That helped. A little.
“You were already a dead man,” I muttered. “But now you’ll get to see hell *before*
you die.”
Upstairs, I grabbed my pack from my pocket and stepped outside. The fresh air was a relief. The compound was quiet, the floodlights illuminating the trees. I lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall.
Hailey was safe at the clubhouse
–
at least, I hoped she was. But if they knew my name, they knew who I ran with. And they
would find out about her.
They’d know she was my weak spot.
田
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
