Page 66 of Lockout

My skin was damp. I wasn’t sure if it was sweat, blood, or her tears, but I hugged her close, letting my heart rate return to normal.

CHAPTER 26

Lockout

Gritting my teeth, I scowled at the man on the chair. Not that he could see my expression. It didn’t matter that he’d lost his eyesight. He wasn’t going to be needing it soon. Which was why he’d now decided to clam up.

Butcher gave me a grim look. “He’s numb to the pain at this point,” he said under his breath.

We’d all stepped across the room so he was less likely to overhear us.

“Yeah, the eyes and broken bones are hurting him more than this one’s torture techniques,” Toxic said, jerking his thumb at Butcher. “And the other three aren’t saying shit.”

We all glanced over at the fifth guy, who was slumped in the chair, not breathing. “And he’s no help,” Toxic said, as if he couldn’t help himself and had to say the words.

Tilting my head, I studied the guy who was originally willing to talk, then walked over to the table where Butcher had allhis tools set out. I grabbed a pair of pliers and clamped them down on the man’s ear. “You were so eager to talk before. What happened?” I asked him. I already knew. His buddies convinced him that he was going to die anyway and that it was better not to talk. We should have interrogated him before heading upstairs. Oh, well.

When the man kept his mouth shut, I shrugged and jerked on the pliers. The scream of pain echoed through the room as I basically ripped his ear off his head.

None of my brothers said anything about my lack of finesse with questioning the guy. They knew I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be calm and logical. Not after that fight. “We’re going to find Hangman anyway,” I told him, pinching the shell of his second ear between the pliers. “Your president sent you here to die. He’s left you in my hands, all alone, with no intention of rescuing you. Ever. The thing about loyalty is that it’s a two-way deal. Look around you, you see what I do for my men. Would your boss do this for you?”

He shook his head. Misery was etched into every line in his face.

“That’s right. So why hold out. Why torture yourself? You owe it to yourself to end this nightmare, to end this suffering. Tell me what I need to know and I’ll make it quick. You won’t feel another ounce of pain.”

The guy sighed, then mumbled an address. As promised, the snap of his neck was quick. His friends were glaring, but it was too late for them. They weren’t getting the same deal as this guy.

I glanced over at Rip. “Check it out.” I stepped back and motioned toward the men while speaking to my brothers. “They’re all yours.”

“Shouldn’t we verify that address first?” Smoke asked, scowling at the men. No one wanted to keep them alive, but they were willing to wait for the intel before ending them.

“Naw,” Hush said with a shake of his head. “If it’s not legit, it’s still all we’re goin’ to get out of them.”

“It’s legit.” Butcher said. “I can tell. Body language says he was telling the truth.”

I nodded at Hush because that was exactly what I was thinking. They were done. We weren’t getting anything else. I walked out of the room. I didn’t care enough about these fuckers to need to see their deaths.

Walking upstairs, I knocked on the door to Seek’s apartment. Hush had mentioned that the women wanted to thank me. I didn’t want the gratitude, I was just doing my job, but it was important to the women, so I gave Seek a tight smile when she opened the door. She stepped aside and let me enter.

Keely’s eyes tracked over me, as if ensuring that I had no injuries, even though she’d checked me over a few hours ago.

“Oh thank God,” Isla said. “Someone else for them to fawn over.”

Kit laughed. “It’s just because we appreciate you protecting us.”

“We feel like shit for not helping,” Seek added, looking guilty, even as she held her young son in her arms.

Sloane came over and slipped an arm around me in a sideways hug, content to sit there pressed against my side. I knew what a huge deal it was for this woman to touch people, so I was fucking honored that she was even standing close by. Everyone was smiling at me. The gratitude was thick in the air. They didn’t seem to get that any one of us men would lay our lives down for them. Without question.

“I would have been pissed if you’d tried,” I told the group, focusing back on the conversation. “You have your children to watch over. Besides, sending out Isla and the animals was a big help.”

Billie squeezed the bobcat closer to her chest and grinned. “They’re soaking up the adoration.” Her eyes strayed to Isla. “Well, some of them.”

“I have no idea how she’s not clawing the hell out of you,” Isla admitted, smiling at the disgruntled look on Murder’s face. But the feline didn’t so much as twitch a claw.

“She’s got a way with animals,” Keely said. “Found herself an injured badger when she was in high school. Nursed him back to health and kept him as a pet.”

“No wonder she managed to tame Toxic,” Gwen said with a laugh that the rest of us echoed.

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