7. Ember #2
Regardless of his change of heart, we almost lost a member of our family because of Gunnar Slaughter. I don’t care what his reasoning was. All he can do now to redeem himself is give us the advantage we need to finish this fight for good.
My spiking adrenaline cools into deadly ice shards that spread in all directions when I enter the room. Whiskey-warm eyes lock onto me, performing a slow, cataloguing search from head to toe without offering any greeting.
Seething inside, I take Richards’s vacated seat. No notes. No weapons. I don’t need any gimmicks to break his resolve. I’ve got enough angry fuel in the tank to do that single-handedly.
“Hello, Gunnar.”
His empty gaze bores into me. I can’t quite tell if it’s a challenge or a plea for me to leave.
“I thought you’d like to know that your twin brother is alive.” I speak without emotion. “The doctor in Estonia pulled a bullet out of him. Clean shot, but he almost died from blood loss.”
There’s a slight twitch in his temple, a vein swelling under his skin.
“Axel told us everything, you know. The whole messy truth. I think it was a relief after the lies his own mother made him tell to keep you safe. Yet in the end, you still tried to kill him for it.”
Another flicker, this time from his stubbled Adam’s apple.
“She’s spent two decades behind bars for you,” I taunt, watching his vein throb. “Axel has spent his whole life living a lie. But somehow, you’re the victim in all this. At least in your own mind, right?”
When his mouth clicks open like he’s going to respond, I lean my elbows on the metal table, prepared for whatever barb he may throw. Only it never comes. He merely stares and holds his tongue.
“Of course.” My laugh sounds grating even to my own ears. “You won’t deny it. Even knowing what your brother did to keep you safe, the unthinkable things he was forced to do. Do you care at all?”
A flush creeps over his skin, carrying rage I’m longing to rip out and wrestle with my bare hands. Just a little further. If I twist that knife deeply enough, he’ll reward me with first blood.
“No. You only cared about some childish sense of revenge. Against the wrong person, no less. You might’ve chosen the right side in the end, but that won’t save you. Not from your crimes.”
A pin drop would sound like a bomb going off in the silence of the room, but when Gunnar inhales sharply, I almost betray my surprise at getting a reaction.
“Save me?” Each syllable he croaks out is harsh and strained. “Y-You think I want to be saved?”
The camera tucked into the upper corner blinks, recording each word, a reminder that Hudson and Doctor Richards are assessing my progress.
“What do you want then?”
With a curled lip, he glances around the empty cell. “Spend your whole life living a lie, and all you want, all you have left… is the truth.”
“What truth, Gunnar? I press urgently.
“Mine.”
A kaleidoscope of different emotions seem to invade his face, all warring to take the front seat now that they have permission to rise. Muscles twitch. Teeth grind. Brows pull together then reform. The competing reactions flash then fade faster than I can process his internal battle.
“So tell me what you want,” I demand, hands braced on the table.
Gunnar leans forward to bring our gazes level.
“To live a life I choose, not one bought and booked by the next customer to hire my services. I want to stop running. I want the world to know where I came from and who I am.” He pauses, thoughtful.
“I want to hurt those who made me into this person in the first place because, Ember… I never stood a fucking chance.”
With a deep sigh, I sit back in my seat. “You want salvation.”
“No.” His head snaps from side to side in denial. “I want absolution.”
“Forgiveness? That’s what this is about?”
“I don’t care about what I’ve done to make it this far.” Gunnar spits out the words like they’re distasteful. “Much like you, 768. Survival isn’t an act of grace. What I want is to use my unique skill set to fight for the right side.”
I knew it.
He wants a fucking pardon.
Swinging a plea deal for Blaine was hard enough with his rap sheet. Gunnar’s record? I’m sure it makes our resident gang leader look like a singing choir boy by comparison. He’s a downright lethal force.
The kind of force we could use right about now.
Gunnar adjusts himself in his seat, seeming to get comfortable while watching me process. I have no doubt Hudson is turning the proposition over in his own mind on the other side of the glass.
“You could’ve asked for this from the moment you arrived. Why wait until now?”
“Because now you’re desperate.” He quirks a single brow. “It’s written all over your face. We both know how this world works, and regardless of borders or seas, retaliation is coming for you.”
“You underestimate Sabre.”
“I’m estimating it with perfect accuracy. This isn’t an investigation anymore, Ember. Soon enough, it’ll descend into a street fight. You need soldiers who understand the threat you’re facing.”
“And that would be you?”
“I didn’t just work for the cartel.” He raises a shoulder. “Perhaps our experiences align more closely than you think. Trust me, you’re going to need every hand you can get.”
We assess each other. Both calculating. Surveying for any cracks in the armour we both constructed to endure this shadowy underworld. When I move to stand, Gunnar doesn’t shift. He merely watches me turn to leave with a blank expression.
“This decision isn’t up to me,” I tell him over my shoulder.
“I’m aware. But whoever’s watching on that camera feed has the power to make the right choice.”
“Then you better pray they’re feeling merciful. If it were up to me, I’d lock you up and throw away the key for daring to hurt what’s mine.”
As I knock on the door to be buzzed out, my neck cranes to spare Gunnar one last look. He hasn’t moved. Part of me hates how nonchalant he appears. The rest is reluctantly impressed.
“Do you have a message for Axel?”
His tongue darts out, skating over his top lip. I patiently wait, but he simply shakes his head in defeat.
“It’s too late for us, Ember.”
“I can safely say I know your twin far better than you do. Axel is many things, but he has the biggest heart of us all. It’ll never be too late for you two.”
With that, I leave The Hunter to his imprisonment, nothing but stunned silence following me out.