Page 77 of Unchained

“What do you want?” Cam rasped.

“That’s easy,” Leonetti said, clasping his hands behind his back. “Your compliance.” He nodded at one of the guards.

The guard stepped forward and extended a gun to Isaac’s head. He fired.

Crack!

Isaac’s head snapped to the side. Blood and brain matter spattered the tent’s walls. Cam screamed. Her body went weak as her legs buckled beneath her.

* * *

Brooks covered Cam’s eyes with his hand and steered her away from her murdered nephew. Her sobs ate through his heart. Pulling her against his chest, he murmured meaningless words that did nothing to penetrate her hysteria.

“Oh god no. Isaac!” Cam’s mom sobbed, twisting in her seat. Her face turned to ash and her mouth twisted in horror.

Brooks moved Cam behind him. “You sonofabitch!” He closed the distance between Leonetti and him.

The twisted doctor held up a hand. “That was for Dennis. An eye for an eye.”

Brooks’s blood reached a dangerous temperature. The only thing that kept him in check was Cam’s body burrowed into his as if searching for shelter from her pain. His instinct told him to wait for Nash’s brothers, but he couldn’t. Not another second could be wasted when Cam’s mom was held hostage. Dare and Cole would show any minute. Unless one of the guards got to them first—but they hadn’t mentioned seeing anyone else.

This had to end. Now.

“Enough.” Brooks sliced his hand through the air, anger radiating off his body. He’d get his revenge if it killed him, but he couldn’t do it with Cam and her mom around. “Set them free now and you can administer the drug.”

Leonetti’s eyes sparked. “That didn’t take much convincing.”

“Do it now before I change my mind.”

“Brooks, no!” Cam wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging herself to his side.

His heart constricted. He might not survive Axalantheum this time. Hell, he might slay every person in this room, Cam included. His body was used to one dosage level. To have it upped after he’d been free of it for days . . . that was a recipe for disaster. Cam couldn’t be anywhere near him.

He caught her elbows in his palms and studied the delicate lines of her porcelain face. The tip of her nose was cherry red from crying. The hue matched the rings around her eyes. “I’m sorry I brought you into all this.” His voice grated out the words.

He’d come into her life like a fucking hurricane, destroying everything around her. He couldn’t put her in danger anymore. If he died right here and now, at least he’d done everything he could to keep her safe.

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “P-Please. I need you, Brooks.”

He pulled her head to his pec and pressed kisses to her hair, committing her floral scent to memory. The guard cut Cam’s mom free. The woman leaped to her feet. Her face was puffy as she ran for Cam.

“Go,” he said firmly, without missing a beat. With rough hands, he turned her toward her mom and shoved them both in the direction of the front of the tent. The heavyset guard with curly dark hair kept a gun trained on Nash. The other guard lowered his weapon away from Cam and her mom as they exited the tent.

Please, God, let them get away.

“Manny,” Leonetti said, to the guard watching Cam. “If he tries anything, kill them.” He turned to Brooks and raised his palms. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

“Bro, don’t do this.” Nash’s voice quivered, begging.

Brooks looked at his brother-in-law—or would-have-been brother-in-law, because as it stood, neither of them would get out of here alive. Lexi would hate him. Tonight, she’d lose the remaining people she cared about—unless he could overcome his body’s response to the drug and withstand the compliant behavior the drug induced.

“On the table, thirty-six,” Leonetti instructed. Using his number instead of his name was another method of mind control. Even the tone of Leonetti’s voice had become heavy, almost like a hypnotist’s monotone.

Brooks’s mouth twitched. He’d end this tonight. Leonetti wouldn’t live another day or get the opportunity to test his experimental concoctions on any other victims.

“Nah. I’m not getting restrained again.” He planted his feet on the tent floor. “Do it right here.”

Leonetti’s gaze sharpened with interest. “We’ve increased the dosage 30 percent.”

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