Chapter 156
[ 1,422 words ]
Kade
“Hold it together, Quinnie needs you,” I tell a feral looking Sebastian.
I steer the jeep onto the highway, looking at the red blinking dot on my monitor.
By the moonlight we need to give Felix some kind of raise.
When he suggested we give pack members trackers to wear, we weren’t certain people would agree to it.
To our surprise many did.
As our head Counselor, Quinnie agreed to show the others that it is okay and it wouldn’t be a violation of their privacy.
Who knew the small chip would prove its usefulness this soon.
I go onto the highway picking up speed as the dot drawers closer.
We’ll rip those males apart, slowly, my wolf threatens.
His phone beeps from his pocket but he doesn’t move.
“Check your phone,” I order. “It could be about Jace.”
That makes him move. He quickly checks his devices. “They got him back to the territory.”
I can hear the small trace of relief in that statement.
When those bastards took Quinnie we got lucky that some of our enforcers were near but handling lumber sales. Because of it we were able to send Jace back to the pack with them so we can go after Quinnie.
If they weren’t in town, there is no telling how far the males would be, what they would have done to Quinnie in that time.
“There they are,” Sebastian says, eyes lazered in on the black van ahead.
“They won’t get way,”
“You’re damn right they won’t.” Sebastian’s voice gives way to his wolf, eyes the steady consistent gold that tells me his wolf is so close to the edge it’s a wonder fur doesn’t burst from his skin.
“How’s Quinnie?” I ask to keep him distracted as my foot presses hard on the gas.
I use my shifter speed and reflexes to cut between cars and move from lane to lane.
“She’s hurt. There’s pain in her head. On her back.” The words come out stiff. “She’s restrained. But she’s also pissed and focused.”
“Good. Pissed means she’s still conscious.”
I zoom past two more cars, my wolf spurring me on.
Closer and closer, the van is only three cars ahead now.
Sebastian claws shift out his whole body vibrating with a barely contained need to kill, to avenge his mate.
Just then the car jerks off the road and starts to make for the wood.
“They’re panicking,” Sebastian states, a feral sort of glee in his voice that entices my wolf.
“They should be,” I say trailing them.
Sebastian undoes his seatbelt, ready to jump out when we get close enough.
But then the van slows, stops.
Sebastian and I give each other a feral grin, knowing exactly what happened.
Quinnie compelled them.
We jump out of the car just as the vans cab opens and a burly male jumps out dragging Quinnie out with him.
Sebastian snarls, shifting as he closes the distance. His large copper wolf snarls at the male.
“One step closer and I’ll remove her head from her shoulders,” the toad-like male warns.
Quinnie looks at Sebastian. There is no fear in her eyes, no panic, no hesitation. Only a controlled calm.
“You should think carefully before you act,” I warn. “How painless your death is going to be depends on what you do next.”
Sebastian wolf growls in agreement.
The male snorts holding his shifted claws to Quinnie’s throat.
“You’re not fast enough to get to me before I get to her,” he said with a grating arrogance.
The front door to the van opens and another dazed male stubbles out, still feeling the lingering effects of Quinnie’s compulsion.
The toad-like male looks back at his companion. It’s only for a moment, but that is all Quinnie needs.
She shifts so quickly the jerks back in surprise. Her small wolf slips from his hold.
The second she is away, Sebastian wolf is on him. The male brings up his hands to protect his face and his throat.
I jump into action, attacking the second male. His instincts are better than they look. He weaves and moves narrowly avoiding my swipes.
I block an uppercut. Pivoting to the side to create a new angle and close the distance. Faking a punch, I swipe out at his legs, the moment he is open.
The male tumbles to the ground and I pin him to the ground.
A loud gurgle,followed by the wet macabre sound of bone cracking and then silence lets me know sebat took out his target.
I look down at the male beneath me.
The fear in his eyes is raw, acquiescent.
“It’s your lucky day, you get to live for a few more hours.”
***
The sound of the steady drip, drip, drip, from the surveillance monitors fills the room.
I look across the room at Barric as he speaks to Sebastian, working to calm him down enough so that this interrogation doesn’t turn into a slaughter before we have the information we need.
“Let me handle it, once I’m done you do with him as you see fit,” Barric said.
That seems to nullify Sebastian more than anything.
“Let’s get this over with. I want to head back to Quinnie,” he says.
Theo steps beside me, eyes on the monitor, hands crossed over his chest. “I can’t seem to figure out why they wanted her.”
“Neither can I. But she said when she heard them talking their boss specifically sent for her.”
“It definitely puts a wrench in Rick’s theory,” he says.
“That doesn’t make me feel at ease,” I say with a frown.
“It’s not supposed to. It means that we still don’t know shit.”
“It means,” Barric says just as Ronan walks in, “ that there is another link between the victims. One we haven’t discovered yet.”
“Are you ready?” Ronan says.
Barric nods. We agree to let him take point and only involve ourselves in the question if needed.
It is always better for the person to have one person to focus on.
We enter the room and stand along the walls while Barric approaches the male.
I see the change as it happens.
A wall is erected inside our bond, blocking Aria from feeling his emotions.
And his entire demeanor changes.
Gone is the compassionate, serious Beta and in his place is the living embodiment of apathy.
My wolf whines feeling uneasy by this shit even though we’ve seen it thousands of times.
The male looks at Barric defiance in his eyes.
“Whatever you’re going to do to me, you might as well get it over with. I’m not talking.”
Barric continues on as if he didn’t speak.
“What’s your name?”
“Kiss my ass.” He spits at Barric’s feet.
They are always so brave before bones start breaking, my wolf muses.
Barric shrugs. “Frankly, your name doesn’t matter, it’s not like there will be anything left for anymore to mourn.”
The male’s eyes flash wolf at that statement.
“I won’t bother with dick measuring or dominance posturing because frankly, it bores me. That being said, you are in control here. Answer my questions, we move on to the next, but be stubborn and the amount of pain I’m going to inflict on you won’t end.”
“You think I haven’t been tortured before. You’ll never get anything out of me.”
Barric’s expression doesn’t change, but the temperature in the room drops. “Now it just sounds like you’re dating me to do my worst.”
“I don’t know, he looks like the type who might get off on a little pain,” I say.
“You know now that you mention it he does look a little… excited,” Theo says tauntingly. “I wonder how long it will take him to…”
“Fuck you,” the males spits. “You think you can intimidate me if you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
“Well that’s true, you won’t tell us your name,” Barric says in an emotionless voice. “How about we change that.”
He steps up to the male and his spine straightens as much as it can with his arms being restrained.
“What’s your name?” Barric asks again.
The male doesn’t speak.
Barric waits a moment, then without a word or hesitation she grabs the pinky finger in the male’s right hand, bends it back until the bone snaps.
The male cries out.
One his yells die down Barric’s asks the same question again in that even, monotone voice.
When the male gives him no answer, Barric snaps the next finger back.
Again and again this process repeats until every finger on the male’s right hand looks like the popped wires of a guitar.
His yells have blended together, like a phantom echo in the room.
I have to admit, he’s holding out a lot longer than I expected.
The male’s chest moved rapidly, his eyes wild as he looked at Barric with horror.
“What is your name,” Barric asks and this time the male flinches.
“Trevor… My name is Trevor.”
Barric’s smile but it isn’t a pleasant one.
“Tell me Trevor, why did you try to take one of our females?”
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