I was panting heavily as I took in the carnage all around me.
Bastian!
I sucked in a couple of steadying breaths, then stepped on the carpet of corpses and made my way further into the facility.
“Bastian!” I thundered through the place. “Bastian!”
I’d almost searched the entire factory, just one more door to go.
I hadn’t encountered any further hostiles.
Turned out they’d all come out to meet my arrival. Stupid decision on their part.
Lambs to the fucking slaughter.
Just like they’d deserved.
I hadn’t found Jett anywhere. It looked like he’d taken off. That hostile had been telling the truth.
I reached the last door and yanked at the handle. It was locked, so I fired off a shot, tearing through it.
Then I shoved it open, my gun at the ready.
My gaze landed on Bastian.
He was strapped to a chair, his head lolled forward.
“Bastian!” I cried, rushing over there.
I tipped his chin up and an awful shudder rolled through me as his eyes met mine and I saw how dilated his pupils were, how glazed, how fucking high.
I scanned him rapidly and saw the puncture mark from a needle.
“Jesus Christ,” I choked. That motherfucker had shot him up.
With Bastian’s history and what he’d been struggling with recently, it was beyond sick.
“Cal?” he slurred. “Carry me… to bed… it’s late.”
“We’re not home yet, brother. We will be soon, though. It’s gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.”
A sliver of awareness lit his eyes. “Jett?”
“That’s right. He’s gone. His men are down. I’m getting you out of here right now.” With that, I pulled out a blade, then ripped through the ties binding him to the chair.
As I gathered him to me, taking the majority of his weight, because he could barely even put one foot in front of the other, his quiet, unsteady voice echoed around the room. “Elijah Bane… he killed them… did you… did you… know?”
Fuck.
Footsteps sounded, thankfully interrupting a conversation I both didn’t want to have, and which Bastian was absolutely in no state to have.
In the next moment, Caspian’s men barreled into the room. With him at the forefront.
He studied Bastian, and the horror on his face smashed into mine.
I could see it taking him a shit-ton of effort not to comment on it.
That would draw Bastian’s attention to it and scare him while he was like this and high out of his mind.