53
EMERSYN
I took Riggs’ radio and put it to my ear. “Hangman, Jamal—come in.”
Silence. “Rex? Jackal? Come in.”
Nothing. Something was wrong. Not that this job hadn’t already gone to shit, but the team being silent meant there was trouble down the hill.
Deep foreboding cut through the satisfaction of killing Riggs.
I thought I’d feel at least a little remorse, but I didn’t.
All I felt was a deep sense of rightness.
I climbed off Riggs and pulled his gun from his belt, along with a few extra mags.
I crept to the edge of the ridge to see what was going on.
The dust cloud I’d seen had been two additional SUVs.
They were parked a good distance opposite the other two.
Except, no one was around. At least no one alive—there were a few bodies littered around the SUVs, but otherwise, it was quiet.
I made my way down the ridge to the single structure on the property. It was a dilapidated old hanger made of sheet metal. When I reached the door, it stood ajar. I carefully navigated the entrance, gun at the ready.
“Drop it.”
A voice boomed across the space and as my eyes adjusted to the watery florescences, I cursed.
My team was lined up on their knees in the center of the room.
Multiple guns were pointed in my direction, and the man who’d spoken had his pointed directly at Hangman’s head.
Hangman grimly met my eyes over the space that separated us.
They held an obvious, silent question when he looked over my shoulder.
Where was Riggs?
I gave the barest shake of my head. Not coming.
His lips firmed, but something settled on his face and he shifted his focus back to the man who’d spoken.
“Drop the gun,” the man said again. “Where’s your team lead, girl?”
“You’re looking at her,” I said with way more confidence than I felt.
I carefully placed my gun on the ground and straightened with my hands up.
“That’s cute,” the man smirked. “So, this tiny band of misfits is run by a girl? I should’ve guessed.”
“You know, I just killed the last man who spoke to me like that,” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. I heard Rex curse quietly, putting two-and-two together. “If you want to be next, I’m good with that.”
I looked around. When I didn’t see Octavius anywhere, my hopes fell.
“Speaking of bosses,” I said. “Where’s yours?”
“He sends his regards. He’s been following along with your little escapades for a while.”
I chuckled. “You don’t say? I didn’t know I was famous.”
The man laughed. “My boss is interested in anything that hinders business. And you—” He scraped his eyes down my body and back up. “You have been particularly disruptive. He would have come himself, but he lets me handle the small pests.”
I bristled at the dig, but knew better than to take the bait. Two men came over, and the second one grabbed my wrist. In seconds, I had him on the ground about to beat the shit out of him, when I heard a gunshot. I looked up just in time to see Rex fall dead. Fuck.
The moment of hesitation was all they needed to yank my wrists in front of me and handcuff them.
They threw a loop of chain up into the rafters and attached it to my wrists, then hauled them above my head until I was on the tips of my toes.
I stared at Rex’s lifeless body, feeling nothing but a numb sense of foreboding for what was to come.
“Here’s how this is going to work,” the man said.
He seemed undisturbed by the last few seconds.
“One of you is going to tell us where your safe house is. The longer you don’t divulge the information, the more angry I’ll become, and the more suffering you will all go through before you die. So—” He threw his arms wide and turned around. “Who wants to go first?”
“I want to speak to Octavius,” I said.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Then I’m not talking.”
The man tilted his head like I amused him. He raised his gun and pointed it at Jackal. Without looking away, he pulled the trigger. The bullet buried in Jackal’s gut and he collapsed forward with a groan. When I didn’t show any signs of distress, the man chuckled.
“So, it’s not that one,” he mused.
He walked over to Jackal and yanked him up by his hair. “Where is the safe house?”
“Fuck—you—” Jackal panted.
“Where is the safe house?” The man asked calmly.
Jackal didn’t waver. “I’m not telling you shit.”
The man held out his hand and one of his soldiers placed a pair of pliers in his palm. He tipped Jackal’s head back and buried the pliers into his remaining eye.
“Last chance, before you lose sight for whatever remains of your last few moments on Earth—where is the safe house?”
Jackal stayed silent until the pliers dug in deeper and with a sickening sound, the man pulled his eye slowly out of the socket.
Jackal tried to stay quiet, until the nerves tore, and he screamed.
The man let go and Jackal collapsed forward.
He lifted his head and glared sightlessly in my direction.
“This is all–your–fucking fault!” He screamed. “You fucking bitch—Riggs shouldn’t have—”
“Shut up, Jackal!” Hangman roared. “Not another word!”
Jackal collapsed sobbing on the ground. The man dropped the eye in front of him and took a few steps over to Jamal.
“What about you? Is it you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jamal said flatly.
“Are you the one she’ll break for?” The man clarified.
Jamal barked a laugh. “Doubt it.”
He walked behind Hangman. “What about you?”
“Negative, bossman.”
“Interesting,” The man said. “Well, then I wonder if either of you will break for her.”
He jerked his head at someone behind me and they tore off my vest and ripped my shirt down my back. I watched Hangman’s eyes narrow and lips firm. Jamal stiffened beside him. The first lash jolted me forward and sent heat blazing across my skin. I gritted my teeth at the second.
“This will continue until someone tells me what I need to know,” the man said.
The blows continued, one after the other, until I was panting and flinching each time the whip landed. It became harder and harder to stay composed. I didn’t dare look too long at Jamal or Hangman, knowing it would be seen as weakness.
“Fuck,” Jamal cursed.
The hits stopped. The man moved in front of Jamal. “Have something to say?”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I growled.
“Don’t do it, man,” Hangman muttered.
Jamal cursed quietly again. Blood rushed to my ears and heat erupted through my veins. The audacity of Jamal—
“Fuck you,” I stammered. “You’ll break at this—but, where were you the last five years?”
Tears burned my eyes. “You ignored everything! Damn you—do not say a fucking word! You owe me that much!”
Jamal stared, aghast at my outburst. “I’m so sorry, S—”
“Shut the fuck up, man,” Hangman growled. “Jesus Christ.”
The man placed the gun against Jamal’s forehead. “So touching, really. Where’s the safe house?”
Jamal shook his head, his eyes still on me. “I have nothing to say.”
“Are you sure?”
Jamal closed his eyes. “It’s been an honor, brother.”
“A goddamn honor,” Hangman echoed quietly.
I wanted to close my eyes too, but I couldn’t. The man pulled the trigger, and Jamal fell dead. I inhaled sharply and fought through my emotions—I couldn’t show him anything—I couldn’t break. Hangman closed his eyes in pain at the loss of his friend. My heart ached for him.
A line of pain jolted across my back as the lashes resumed.
I tried to keep eye contact with Hangman, but the intensity of the beating escalated.
I knew the moment one of the blows broke my skin.
I could feel the trickle of blood as it ran down my back.
I couldn’t stop the gasps or whimpers, and tears blurred my vision.
At one point I heard Hangman’s voice and I jerked my head up.
“No,” I whimpered. “Please, don’t—” I couldn’t speak again as another hit fell across my kidney and took all of my breath away.
The ground under my boots grew slippery with blood, and it was impossible to stand without slipping. My weight sagged on my wrists and blood ran down my arms. I wondered if I would bleed out that way.
At some point they dropped the chain and I fell to my knees. The world blurred, and my ears rang. The world dimmed dangerously and Hangman screamed my name. I tried to curse him for calling me by my name in this situation, but no words formed. I was dizzy and tired—so, so tired.
The ground rushed up to my face, and I heard Hangman yell the words I didn’t want to hear—the sound of the safe house address in Hangman’s broken voice and a final ominous gunshot.