Page 53 of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

16.

Gage

Before I get too far, a hand wraps around my shoulder to slow me. At first I think it’s to stop me, and I struggle, slapping it, ready to punch out the brother it belongs to. Even if it’s Duke.

“Whoa.” Hero’s voice hits my ears. “Not trying to stop you. Just hold up.”

He’s been a huge help thus far, so I stop and wait to hear what he’s got to say, though he better make it fast.

“Normally, Blood would be right, going east would make the most sense. But the way he’s hurting her, he’d need privacy. My gut says we go west.”

The other brothers reach us. Before any one of them can speak, I go first. “I’m not going back tonight. Go if you have to.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t do this,” Duke says, peak authority. So no argument. “Boss and Hero, go west with Chaos. The rest, head east with me. We’re finding her.”

Since we can’t afford to waste daylight, I don’t take too much time with goodbyes.

She’s out here, I feel it. We’re getting Liv back.

The phone signal here at the clearing is pretty strong and stays strong even as we hit the tracks.

Dammit, I almost wish it wasn’t. Boss’s phone pings with another text and I know, just know, it’s gonna be another fucking video.

My gut churns while we wait for him to open it. Nothing, nothing prepares me for what I see. Him, that sick fuck Houdini, rubbing her ass. The fucking cattle prod. Her blood-curdling cries. Thenholy goddamn, he whips her. My Liv. I feel so useless. Traipsing around the wilderness while she’s getting the shit beat out of her. I want to hit something. Hard and repeatedly. But that won’t do her any good. No. What I got to do is find her. Rescue her.

The video keeps playing and he keeps right on brutalizing my woman, switching between the two, never giving her a break. Her screams turn to shrieks, until they stop altogether. Her tears continue to fall but when she opens her mouth, there’s no sound. He literally beat the voice out of Liv. I can’t take it. “For God’s sake, turn it off.”

On a nod of his head, Boss does as I ask.

“Fuuuck,” I scream at the sky, wiping my hands over my face and take off at a full run, not looking back at my brothers. I feel them at my back. And they don’t bother to talk to me either, though I hear them whispering between each other.

The heel of my boot gets caught on the wooden slats of the rail several times. This is bullshit.

Rocks and woods spread out ahead as far as the eye can see. Thick tree trunks line the edge; they look like a line of security guards holding back the cacophony of wildlife trying to push forward. As with every protest rally or rock concert, someone breaks through the line. This fucking line breaker snarls at us, crouched low, baring and gnashing his teeth. His thick muddy-brown fur bristles, especially around his neck and shoulders, making him appear twice as large.

The three of us stop short about twenty feet back. I scan the area for others, and I suppose they could be hiding in the tree line waiting to pounce. By all appearances, he’s alone.

A lone wolf.

There’s a crazed hunger in the beast’s eyes. He’s ready to eat. I hate the thought of killing it. He’s just following natural instinct.

But another beast roams these woods, an abomination who goes against the laws of the natural world. And he’s got my Liv. My woman.

The first shot’s my warning.Go now, wolfie—get the fuck out.Instead of taking the opening, he lunges, ready to rip us apart. The second shot, the one from Boss’s gun, hits below the ear. There’s a split-second whimper and the thing drops dead. Blood leaking from the head, dripping over the tracks to stain the gray pebbles below it in red.

It’s risky for us to discharge our weapons. We can only hope hunters pass through the area enough that a couple rogue shots won’t tip anyone off to our presence.

Now we have to move faster. The danger level increased. We’re at DEFCON 2.

“Keep your eyes open,” I order. Though it’s more for something to distract myself. These men know their shit.

God knows how many hours we follow the tracks. The woods get thicker, denser. Blocking out the light from above, putting us at even greater risk of meeting something wedon’twant to meet.

The railroad finally opens into another patch of grassland. We’d been without cell service for far too long, hours. Anything could’ve happened in that time. Andshit—I prepare for the worst when Boss’s phone pings with more texts. Can’t be Houdini; it’s too soon.

My body goes tight, I grit my teeth. Waiting. Thank fuck he understands me and shakes his head once, then swipes to read them.

“Motherfucker,” Boss grumbles.

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