Page 65 of Torn Souls

We have multiple warehouses in the industrial area of the city, but there’s one that we use for very specific purposesbecause of the underground area that makes it perfect for those who need a little more persuasion to spill their secrets.

“It is,” my voice is somber.

“Get home to your woman,” Hendrix barks. “We’ll check it out and clear the area if possible after we set this one to blow.”

“This is a message,” Maxim’s voice is ominous.

All I can do is nod. It is.

This war is far from over, but we already knew that.

The only good thing about today is that Chambers and Lev are dead. Mikhail will have to find more support, but he won’t give up.

I hope he doesn’t because I’m going to enjoy watching the life drain from his eyes. Just like I did with his father.

CHAPTER 22

OAKLYNN

I glare over at Huck for what must be the millionth time. Ever since he allowed us to leave is little hidden sanctuary after the threat at the warehouse was neutralized, he’s been sitting on the couch in the living room far too casually.

Me?

I couldn’t sit still even if I tried. And I have no interest in trying.

Even though Huck didn’t have video of what happened inside the warehouse that Kirill, Maxim, and Baker walked into, I saw enough of what was going on outside to be on edge. It would have been better if there was no audio on the feed he was able to use. Maybe if there hadn’t been audio my heart wouldn’t still be racing.

There were pops. Then silence.

I could only watch as men I had never seen before walked into the warehouse. Thankfully, Huck was quick to explain to me who they were and that they were there to have my men’s back. It did very little to calm my worry and panic.

But then the explosion happened.

It was the first time Huck looked worried since he had pulledme into his office and locked us inside. He started to type and pull up more camera feeds along with breaking news coverage.

My gut was screaming at me that something was wrong. The dread I was feeling only heightened when Huck stat back in his chair and breathed out, “Fuck.”

I screeched, “What do you mean fuck?”

He turned toward me slowly and my emotions must have been easy to read on my face because his eyes softened, and he pulled me into his lap. “The explosion?” I looked up at the footage he was replaying which clearly showed an explosion like I had never seen before, taking out a warehouse which looked similar to the one my men had walked into. “That was a warehouse we own, which is something that should have been untraceable.”

“How close is it to where they are?”

He sighed as his hands gripped me tighter like he was worried I was going to jump out of his lap and run all the way down to the industrial district. “Not far. A couple of blocks distance.”

My mouth dropped open, but then movement on the monitors caught my eye. I watched in horror as my men walked out of the warehouse. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but then I noticed the way Baker was holding his arm.

“Was he shot?” I was barely able to breathe out the question.

Huck’s eyes snapped toward the monitor and saw exactly what I saw. One of the mercenaries Huck pointed out to me pulled Baker toward the back of the vehicle my men arrived in. I couldn’t see what they were doing, but it was only a few minutes later when Baker stepped back into view with the sleeve ripped from his button up shirt and his upper arm bandaged.

“He’s fine,” Huck tried to soothe me, but I could barely hear him. He sounded far away as my breathing picked up.

Before he could stop me, I was off his lap and heading toward the door. Thankfully, Huck didn’t try to stop me. The door opened automatically, and I rushed through it.

When I got to the front door, clearly ready to rip it open, Huck grabbed me from behind. His chest was firm against my back, and I welcomed his warmth.

“Baker is okay,” he murmured against the shell of my ear. “He was walking around. If it was serious, his brother Wolfe would not have just bandaged him up and Maxim and Kirill would not let him just be up and about. Trust in them to take care of him. You need to breathe, Sweet Girl, and calm down.”

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