Chapter 23
The Unseen were waiting for us when the van crunched over the driveway. They’d even opened the thick, electrified security gates and had a welcome party with their hands at their hips.
“Forgive me for manhandling you, mia volpe,” Ray whispered an apology before he dragged me from the car and sent me sprawling on the ground.
Rocks dug through my Lycra tights and into my kneecaps.
It didn’t hurt or surprise me, but I let out a pitiful wail like it had done both.
Jonah whispered an apology as he gave me a swift kick in my upper thigh, shoving me into the ground again.
The pair of guards at the entrance let out an eager guffaw, waving Ray and Jonah forward.
“This must be the little lady everyone has been gossiping about lately.” The guard gripped my chin and pinched.
I would have head-butted him if my hands weren’t trussed behind my back, but that would defeat the purpose of staging a rescue right through the entrance.
“We’ve orders to put her in with the other traitor so they can be interrogated together.”
One guard, with a white scar over his upper lip and a posture like a dog with hackles, frowned. I breathed deep into my belly and dropped my head to stare at the ground.
“That’s not protocol.”
Breathe. Just breathe.
We’d planned for this moment, and Jonah stiffened, his fingers clamped over the back of his neck.
Depending on what the guards said next would determine whether we stormed or walked in.
Ray slapped his hand on the shoulder of the other guard, with cheeks like apples and cologne two layers thick.
Who was he trying to impress? We were thirty minutes from the closest city, tucked between a farmland and a rather zealous cult.
“Don’t you know? This ‘little lady’ is the key to breaking the other guy. It doesn’t matter what you do to him, he won’t react in the slightest — but tear her nails off in front of him? He’ll be singing at the top of his lungs.”
I forced my muscles to loosen as Ray fished for news on Beck’s status. The fields around the compound were thick with wildflowers, and I breathed in the sweet scent as my heartbeat bent my ribs.
“Oh good.” The cologne guard relaxed with a lopsided smile. “I’m getting sick of verifying my identity every thirty minutes.”
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.” The other guard held out a monitor and jerked his head toward it. “He’s already incapacitated five of the best while restrained. That’s why they dragged him down to medical. Maybe Doc can dose him into spilling something useful.”
My knees buckled, and Jonah hauled me up with a growl. “Excellent, that’s exactly where she’s headed. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees her.”
Jonah let out a sharp laugh, and the guards joined in without realizing the humor wasn’t for them. Of course, they hadn’t broken Beck. My stomach flooded with sickly sweet relief.
“Just need today’s code.”
“Sure.” Ray slapped on a bright smile as he entered the current code: lobster. “What I’d give for a seafood buffet right now.”
Part of Ellington’s intel from his contact on the inside was an email with the daily codes. I’d tried to find their identity but hadn’t managed. The code changed every forty-five minutes, and we waited with burning lungs while the guards verified us.
“You’re good,” the scarred guard said, opening the door with another code.
Jonah dragged me inside, making it look rough while his thumb stroked my upper arm.
“That was easier than I thought. You’re telling me Ellington had access to their codes the entire time and didn’t take them down?”
I gave a subtle nod, giving them directions from the side of my mouth. The area was deserted, which was typical. But affixed to every corner was a camera that swiveled with our movement. We were being watched. Until we got control of the cameras, we couldn’t do a thing.
I had theories about why Ellington didn’t use the codes, knowing his temperament. He wanted The Unseen to burn, and attacking them with small measures wasn’t his style. I was going to fulfill his wish. The Unseen wouldn’t recover once I took my revenge.
“I’m afraid we can’t hook up anymore,” Ray whispered to Jonah.
“What?”
“My asshole just closed so tight that nothing is coming in or out for the rest of my life. I’m just a sub-par crime lord. I do my best killing behind a wheel. I’m not cut out for this level of subterfuge.”
Jonah’s shoulders trembled, and I hissed at Ray, angling my face down so no one could see me scold him.
“Shut up. There are cameras everywhere.”
Despite his words, Ray didn’t let his nerves show, and Jonah was like me, used to the sudden rush of adrenaline now that we were inside. My nerves heated and my fingertips tingled as we sank into The Unseen’s lair.
“You ready?” I muttered.
Ray cast his hand through his hair and pouted as if looking in a mirror. If he had a pocket one, I’m sure he would’ve checked his handsome face.
“My mama was an actress, remember? It’s in my blood.”
The comment cut through the jittery burn of adrenaline and warmed my heart. Even in danger, and our lives hanging over an abyss, Ray could still make me laugh. I bit my tongue to wipe the mirth from my face, especially as we pushed into the medical room.
The scent of blood hit me like a slap. The searing sting of chemicals followed, like an unwanted chaser.
I choked as I saw Beck on the bed, shirtless and covered in bandages.
His arms and legs were restrained, and his jaw covered with a leather muzzle, like one a dog might wear.
He stared glassy-eyed at the white ceiling while Dr. Jet hovered over him.
Two guards leaned against the wall opposite.
One of them cradled their gut, and the other dabbed at a blooming bruise on their left cheek.
“Are we interrupting?” Jonah drew me close to his side, and his fingers trembled.
Dr. Jet looked up with a distracted purse of his lips, and his hand fumbled behind him for a needle on a tray. “Little busy.”
He stared down at Beck, holding the needle with a twisted grin. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
“Wait,” Ray shouted as Dr. Jet lowered the needle to Beck’s strained elbow.
Beck twisted in his restraints, his gaze less human and more animal.
I don’t think he even registered who we were, too intent on the needle in the doctor’s hand.
His nostrils flared, and his chest heaved.
It took every single cell of restraint not to charge across the room and tear the doctor into pieces.
“You’ve got another traitor to play with.” Ray pushed my lower back, and I crashed against the empty bed next to me. Its metal feet screeched on the icy linoleum floor, and Dr. Jet dropped the needle on the tray with a startled gasp.
The noise stiffened the guards and broke Beck from his trancelike state.
Our eyes met, and electricity jolted down my spine.
The pale luster of his skin emphasized the bags under his eyes.
Bruises and cuts peppered his body, including a scab over his right eyebrow.
My heart dripped heavy at the sight of him.
Despair.
A useless emotion. I dug deeper and found rage instead.
The Unseen hurt another person I loved, and they would pay for it.
Beck bucked on the table, straining and letting out muffled shouts.
They must have stuffed his mouth with something before they put the muzzle on.
His neck reddened, and his eyes popped out as he tried to get free.
“Oh my, Beck. Isn’t this fortuitous?” Dr. Jet tilted his head with a sly smile. “The only thing your black heart beats for is her, right? I can’t wait to see what the fuss is about.”
My interactions with Dr. Jet had been limited to medicals, but he knew who I was and recognized my face. Good, let it distract him before the proper show started. I flexed my tied hands, making sure the knot was half undone.
Ray, seeing that Beck was going to tear his hands off to reach us, moved to the next stage of our plan. He pulled out his phone and let out a dramatic gasp. Jonah flinched as Ray turned and waved his phone in his face.
“You fucking asshole, you’re cheating on me with my brother?”
Jonah shoved Ray into the wall. “What are you talking about?”
Beck thrashed on the bed, but as he saw the guards and doctor move away, he paused and tilted his head.
A bit of patience, monster. I winked at him.
“I got photos of you in my bed when I was away on a mission.” Ray conjured up tear-rimmed eyes, and even I was drawn in by the vulnerable devastation he faked.
Maybe his mama might’ve made it because Ray missed his calling.
Especially as his fingers clutched at his chest and let out a plaintive cry to the ceiling.
Jonah massaged Ray’s shoulder, whispering protestations and excuses.
He wasn’t ready when Ray’s fist caught him on the side of his face.
They both fell, making the medical instruments on the tray shiver together with their violent show.
The brawl was dirty. Fists flew, and legs tangled. Jonah pinned Ray to the floor, grinning down at him with a bloody lip.
Damn. Was I into blood? Because I was jealous, wanting Jonah to pin me down like that.
“If you weren’t such a nagging boyfriend, I might not have done it. Not only your brother but your sister. Fucked her in your childhood bedroom.”
Ray tossed Jonah off with a scream. “You disgust me.”
They stumbled outside, and the guards followed, as we hoped they might, unable to help their curiosity. I dropped my restraints, picked up a metal tray on the side, and brought it down over Dr. Jet’s head. The man crashed to his knees and keeled over.
I grabbed a slim pair of tweezers from the side table and jammed them in the lock holding Beck tight. But to my surprise, he sat up, taking them off himself.
“Wha—?” my eyebrows pressed together.
Beck yanked me toward him. His hands rolled over my sides, hips, and shoulders. He pulled back after he was satisfied that I wasn’t hurt.