Page 111 of Soulless Saint

I let out a shaky breath and stepped back in line next to Ma, sheathing it as Séamas squared off with Dad.

“Or,” Dad said. “We can call your bluff, destroy your storehouse and everything in it, and kill the men you brought with you.”

Séamas leaned in conspiratorially. “I never much liked those four anyway,” he said. “So go on, have your boy, what’s his name? Tanner?”

Fuck.

“Yeah, have him blow up my storehouse out in the mountains. I’ll be sure to let the cartel know who to come to to collect for all the drugs they were storing in there.”

Double fuck.

“And one thing you should know about me, Damien, is I never bluff.”

“What do you want?” Dad said through bared teeth.

“I already told you—”

“No. Why here?”

Séamas waved an arm all around him, at the dry canyons where we stood. “I was getting tired of all the rain.”

He lifted an arm to casually look at his watch before clapping his hands together. “Well, time’s up, I’m afraid.”

“No,” Ma gasped. “Wait.”

“Is she always this dramatic?” Séamas asked Dad, jabbing a thumb in Ma’s direction.

I was going to feed him his own dick and watch him choke on it.

Maybe not right now, but very fucking soon.

Séamas turned to his men, waving an impatient hand. “Pauly, bring ’em out.”

Two of Séamas’ men went to the cab of the truck, and the thud of boots hitting the ground was background noise to the static in my head as they dragged two men in the dirt, forcing them to their knees a few yards behind where Séamas stood.

They pulled the black bags from their heads at the same time, but I already knew who they were.

Zade and Archer. Their faces swollen damn near beyond recognition.

We’d lost.

I racked my brain, rifling through every possible outcome, every possible solution.

Our sharpshooters up high in the hills? No good. If they shot him, we’d all die.

A diversion? If I just started shooting up the other four it might provide the cover we needed to get Zade and Archer and get out of here.

…unless he wasn’t bluffing about having explosives at the safehouse. What would stop him from detonating them if we didn’t cooperate.

I knew this bastard’s type. I could see it in his eyes, he would lose no sleep over killing a warehouse full of innocent people.

Think, Hardin. Fucking think.

There was always a way. There had to be a way out of this.

“Heard you paid a visit to The Warden’s men. That’s really too bad. I’d intended to let them all live, but alas, they couldn’t be trusted.”

The Warden had over forty men on his crew, but judging by the looks on Archer and Zade’s faces I could tell the Irishman wasn’t lying. He’d slaughtered them all.

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