Chapter 46
With Phoenix’s body slung over his shoulder, Nick walked beside Luke and the guards back toward the warehouse. Waves of emotions were pummeling into Nick, so he clenched his teeth, walked with purpose, and tried to empty his brain of thoughts.
He was thankful, once again, for the mask that kept his flared nostrils and tight-set lips covered.
If Derek was a bag of feathers, Phoenix weighed as much as the sack they were carried in. The boy was wiry and only a bit taller than Kate—probably had not even finished growing yet.
The group passed by the warehouse until they were at the burn pile where Travis’s ashes still rested between the logs. Nick hoisted Phoenix atop the remains, and a guard lit the pyre.
The flames consumed Phoenix’s clothing right away, then lapped at the boy’s flesh until it began to melt. Nick watched as the person whose death he caused became one with another he killed. The fingers hidden beneath the leather gloves twitched, and his chest drew in breath in severe intervals.
Nick looked down at his hands. What was the inoculation doing to his body? Was he becoming a monster?
“What’s wrong, Alex? Got blood on your gloves?” Luke’s voice drifted to him from across the fire. Nick wiped his hands on his pant legs to confirm Luke’s assumption and nodded.
“What do we know about this kid?” one of the guards asked.
“We know fuck all. Probably just passing through, but we can’t take any chances,” Luke said. “Alright, enough chit-chat. Time to load up the captives and head out.”
Just in case Nick thought there was nothing to peel him away from the torturous knowledge of getting his friend killed, the reminder that he would soon deliver the woman he loved into unknown enemy hands proved him wrong.
Nick turned his back on Phoenix’s charred corpse and followed the men inside the warehouse. Loading the captives was uneventful. Kate maintained a quiet determination as Nick led her down the hallway and into one of the vans. He sat Avery beside her.
“Kate, you said you would get us out of here. Please, don’t let them do this!” Avery pleaded to her in a hushed tone. Another guard was approaching with an older woman, one hand binding her wrists behind her back.
“Hey! No talking,” Nick admonished. Avery’s mouth dropped open, astonished and hurt. Kate squeezed her hand and impressed a knowing look onto her. Avery settled back in the seat and sighed.
Nick assisted with loading the captives into two vans, then took his place in the passenger seat of the one that contained Kate.
As the driver navigated the roads and stayed close behind the other group, Nick kept his gaze forward-facing.
The rifle in his hand felt like the only thing keeping him grounded, his only anchor tethering him to the present.
This was the start of a new objective, and he would not let the past events blur his motivation. There was not enough space in his heart to focus on both his misdeeds and the mission at hand. The lives he had claimed would have to fall away and play their phantom role somewhere else.
The gravel beneath the tires as they traveled down the road was the only sound.
The silence was louder. The captives within the van were drifting from one hellish moment to the next.
The air was thick with the scent of their fear.
It should have affected Nick. There should have been some determination on an emotional level to free them from this inhumane fate.
There was only the dust on the gravel road, the rifle in his hand, and his love for Kate readying his limbs for battle.
The van approached a gate where an armed guard stood.
The driver slowed to a stop and rolled down the window.
A conversation ensued that had likely taken place a dozen or more times since the start of the operation.
The driver confirmed they were delivering another group of captives for Margot.
The gate guard glanced into the van, eyes passing across each passenger.
Then, he unlocked the gate and waved the vehicle in.
Luke’s men pulled the captives from the vans one by one and lined them up in front of a massive, three-story manor.
The opulent home loomed over them as they stood in a circular cobblestone driveway.
Margot’s men lined the cobblestones with rifles ready as Nick and his group positioned the captives in a depraved exhibit.
Margot passed by each person slowly as they stood in a line. Luke’s guards were stationed not far behind, awaiting Margot’s approval. The lean, wiry woman strode by each person, looking them up and down with bitter, judgmental appraisal.
Kate had been placed at the beginning of the line. Margot had already passed her by, not spending much time on her. Nick stood a couple of feet behind her, his arms behind his back and standing at attention as he waited.
When Margot reached the end of the line, she fixated on Connie. The silver-haired woman shivered beneath her gaze, and her eyes were wide with terror.
“This one is too old. Dispose of her,” Margot ordered in a casual voice, and two guards moved toward the older woman.
“No!” Kate shrieked and started toward Connie when Nick grabbed her around the waist. Margot’s eyes shot toward Kate with anger and disapproval. Kate wriggled against Nick’s grasp, trying to pry herself free.
The guards pushed Connie down to her knees and moved those nearby away from the woman. A guard pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the back of the woman’s head, burying the barrel in her hair.
“Please, don’t!” Kate screamed, and Nick twisted her around to face him.
“Stop!” Nick barked, and Kate shoved her palms into his chest, attempting to create distance between them. His sturdy stance and overpowering strength kept Nick rooted in place.
“They can’t just kill her!” Kate whined. Nick clapped a firm hand on her forearm to prevent further attempts at escaping his grasp.
“You need to stop before you get hurt,” Nick shot back at her.
It came off like a threat; Kate recognized the warning underneath.
Though fury and sorrow tunneled through Kate faster than she could process, Nick’s words prevented her from trying anything else.
If Kate continued to protest, she would only end up as another dead body.
Kate turned away from Nick just as the guard pulled the trigger. The bullet blasted through Connie’s skull with force. Bone shattered, and blood spattered across the pavement. Connie’s body fell limp as the life instantly rushed from her body.
A whimper escaped Kate’s lips, and she hung loosely against Nick’s arm as his firm hold remained intact.
“Put the rest in holding,” Margot ordered and walked into the house.
“Move.”
“Let’s go.”
Margot’s guards herded the prisoners toward the giant house. Nick’s grip around Kate did not loosen, and his breathing quickened as he realized this was the moment he would have to let go.
Kate started to peel his arm away from her body. She wanted to collapse into his embrace. She longed to run away with him and deny this risky plan she had committed to. It was too late. And if she showed even an ounce of uncertainty, it would break Nick into pieces.
Finally, Kate removed his arm and looked up at him with the most confident expression she could muster. She nodded to him, then followed the other captives into the house.
Nick stood frozen in place as he watched Kate walk away, knowing this was where his control over her safety ended. Panic coiled inside him until he was ready to implode. Inhaling a deep breath, Nick watched the door to the home close and steeled his nerves.