Page 44 of Obey

I notice movement out of the corner of my eyes. The light in the shack changes, and Knives and I both turn around, guns aimed straight ahead.

It’s too late, though.

Three more men have walked through the open door. Two of them have shotguns pointed in our direction.

Behind them stands a big guy with a massive, unkempt beard.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” the man says. “I don’t think I invited you.”

“We aren’t vampires,” I snark before I can help myself. “We don’t need an invitation.”

Pyre snorts, but a glance from the big man has him sobering up. “They’re here about the weapons, Boar,” he says.

“I figured that out from the way they were helping themselves to our stores,” Boar snaps at him. He motions to one of his underlings, who goes to cut Pyre and the other guy free.

Now it’s five men, all with weapons aimed at us.

“Fucking Silvano,” Knives mutters under his breath. He looks over to me, like he’s trying to figure out if I can handle myself in this fight.

I square my shoulders and nod to him.

But Knives shakes his head and raises his hands up. “Fine. Don’t shoot. Let’s work something out.”

Like they’re really going to let us work something out.

Like Knives is reasonable enough to just talk something out.

This isn’t going to end peacefully, and it’s just one more goddamn failure to report to Silvano. Fuck.

If we even make it back alive to make that report at all.

I stare hard at Knives, wondering what the fuck he was thinking in giving us over so fast. We could’ve fought this out together, but I have no chance on my own.

“Yeah, we can work something out,” one of the guys says with a snicker. “How do you want ‘em, Boar?” He grins widely enough to show us his yellowing teeth, all while keeping his shotgun leveled straight at us.

Boar strokes his beard. “No need to make a mess in here. Let’s take this outside, boys.”

Pyre gets close enough to grab Knives’s gun off him and shoves him forward. Knives grunts, but he doesn’t fight back.

What the fuck is he doing?

If the two of us worked together, we could get out of this alive. I don’t really give a fuck that he promised Pyre would get out of this in one piece. I’m more concerned about my own ass, and these pricks are going to kill us and feed us to their alligators.

The other guy with the shotgun gets close and motions to me. “Gun on the floor, buddy, if you don’t want me to splatter your brains on your friend.”

As opposed to what? They can’t really plan on letting us go after this. I open my mouth to argue, but Knives gives me a look. I glower back at him, but I put my gun down on the floor.

Pyre quickly kicks it away, and the sinking sensation in my stomach has me wishing I’d just fought anyway—Knives’s help or not.

“You realize you’re pissing off Silvano Cresci,” Knives says as we’re led outside at gunpoint. “He’s not going to let you get away with this. Your entire operation is going to crumble.”

Boar bursts out laughing. “Oh nooo, not Silvano Cresci!”

The other guys start laughing too, although it’s clear they’re mostly doing it to humor Boar.

Boar goes up to Knives and grabs his shirt collar. “Listen, you little shitstain, I don’t give two fucks about some little bitch in the north. This is my turf.” He shoves Knives hard, and he stumbles forward toward the swamp. “You shoulda cut your losses.”

The guy behind me digs the shotgun into my back and urges me closer to a tree. I notice there’s a chain with a hook dangling from it, and my mouth goes dry.

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