Page 45 of Detonation
Zedd picks up his coffee and hums in agreement. He's been on the same page as me from the start, nervous that things would be taken too far. We chose to stay blissfully unaware on purpose but I can’t stay silent a moment longer. Lana would want someone to make sure we don't become the same as the monsters we're facing, even if they can justify it in the name of helping her.
Serenity leans back in her chair, tipping it onto the back two legs while laughing uncontrollably. Her men look at her and then back to us, smiles on their faces.
They're batshit crazy. It's official.
Serenity plops back down onto all fours and winks at me. "Don't worry, Luke. I'm more into psychological warfare. Flaying the skin from people’s bones doesn't much appeal to me. I've asked a friend to come help me play today and she can be very ... persuasive," she ends cryptically.
Well, that reassures me some.
I sigh in relief. "I’ll admit, I kind of pictured you guys down there as Edward Scissorhands, attempting to drag information out of her by plying her fingernails off."
Leo levels me with a look. "There is pain involved but the bare minimum. We’ve just tried to slowly but surely break her walls down. More invasive measures are needed today."
Hale, who’s stayed quiet so far, cuts in, "I’ll come with you."
Better him than me. I don't think I have the stomach for this at all.
Derrick nods. "That's fine. We'll be taking a day off from training, in honor of our guest arriving today. Meet us down there in thirty minutes, whoever wants to be there."
Serenity and her mates rise from their chairs, leaving us to finish breakfast alone, but she leaves us with a final comment, "Whoever decides to come needs to be okay with the fact that we’re pulling answers from her today and itwillbe forced. There is too much at stake here to fly blind any longer."
They walk out of our house and we exchange looks with each other.
Zedd frowns, his lips turned down. "I'm still not going … but,please, promise me you won't cross the line. Psychological torture can be worse than physical."
Hale rises, "I love Lana enough to respect the limits she wouldn’t want us to cross. I promise you."
I nod and lock eyes with my twin, waiting for him to reassure us as well, but he stays silent. His eyes don't give anything away. For the first time, it’s like I’m looking into the eyes of a stranger, not my brother’s.
* * *
Hale
As we descend the stone steps into the dungeon, I glance over at Leo, who hasn’t said a word since this morning. During the entire walk here, he didn’t once look at me, his sight firmly set on our destination.
I need to be here today to support him and understand what he's going through. I'm also appointing myself as the moral compass in this situation. I'm firmly in the middle of how Leo seems to feel and the fears that Zedd and Luke have on the situation.
"Are you okay?" I question Leo, who hasn't snapped out of his zombie state.
He continues onward, following to the end of the hallway, where I can hear Serenity’s mates speaking amongst themselves. "Let's just get this over with, Hale."
Oh hell no.
I lunge to grab his shoulder, halting him. I stalk around to stand in front of him, my eyes narrowed, "No, Leo. We will not just get this over with."
He clenches his jaw. "Why am I the only one in this group who loves Lana enough to not give a fuck about any damn lines? We need information. Fuck those lines."
Gaia, give me strength."We care about those lines because what good would it be if we got her back and she wouldn't look us in the eyes after she learned what we did?"
His face drops to a blank expression, his voice falling flat, "That’s a risk I’m willing to take. As long as she’s safe, I don’t care what lengths I have to go to." He pushes past me, hitting my shoulder roughly.
I turn towards his retreating back, growling, "I won't let you do that to yourself, Leo."
A harsh bark of laughter is his only response. I hear the unsaid,I’d like to see you stop me.
I jog to catch up with him as we reach the rest of the group and take note of the short, elderly lady who’s chatting with Serenity and patting her hand tenderly.
This is the woman who’s going to force the information out of the prisoner?
