Page 68 of Through the Flames
S: No “hello”? No “missed your stupid face”? Cold, Hunt.
S: So it’s a favor. Love that for me. Someone important?
Hunter: None of your fucking business.
S: Ah. One of those. The quiet ones always get dramatic eventually.
Hunter: You helping or not?
S: Always. You know the rules. A favor in return for a favor.
S: You better know what you’re doing, lover boy. Send me details via the other channel, I’ll get it done.
S: And Hunt? Next time, at least bring vodka.
[Chat terminated by user]
Calling in a favor from Sasha came at a steep cost, but it was a price I was willing to pay for her. A favor from Sasha was like selling your soul.
The question was, could I really sell my soul if it didn’t belong to me anymore?
I wanted Ella in my debt. Wanted the weight of this to settle on her shoulders like a collar. A collar I was already holding the leash to.
***
It was honestly almost laughable how easy it was to set up the final piece of my plan.
The hardest part was containing my excitement for the outcome, not letting my practiced mask slip and letting anyone see the deranged beast thrashing on the inside, waiting for its reward, its prize.
I didn’t have to nudge much. All I had to do was mention Compliance was sniffing around and let the wrong guy overhear at the right time.
The locker room smelled like sweat, antiseptic, and cheap body wash.
Seriously, why did these fuckers only use 12-in-1 shampoo-conditioner-face-wash-engine-degreaser combos? One of them had to have heard of soap that didn’t come in a barrel.
The guys were swearing, stripping tape from wrists, and talking over each other.
“Heard someone’s getting tested. They’re gonna start pulling names,” someone grumbled in the corner. Fucking score.
Knox, never one to know when to keep his mouth shut, chimed in. “Y’all better hope your blood’s clean.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Dom stiffen near his locker, halfway through unlacing his cleats.
He’d picked up on the discrepancies in the logs, the way the trainers flinched when he asked questions. Something wasn’t adding up.
Dom wasn’t stupid. But hisloyaltywas both his strength and his weakness. Loyal guys tried to hold everything together until they couldn’t.
He was already fraying. I just gave the thread a little tug.
The second his hands started shaking, I knew where he’d go. Not to Sierra and not to the team. Toher.
Ella constantly played the role of the fixer. When it came to family, she always came running.
That was the thing about girls like her. They’d burn alive for someone they loved, which happened to be the part I liked best.
I knewexactlywhen she’d reach her limit and who she’d turn to when she did.
Ella didn’t even know she was already mine, that she’d walked into the snare weeks ago.
