Page 31 of Oathbreaker

The problem is, as we discovered when our plane landed, hacking into the vehicle systems has someone in their data security pretty upset. They keep plugging our access points and we have to find new ones.

My lips go numb. The fact that the vehicle isn’t here makes me want to scream. Would we find pieces of it scattered through the woods? Is Winter nearby?

Did she escape?

Is she…?

I fling the door open.

“Wait a minute,” Leo says.

“The fuck I will,” I snarl. It’s been miserable. Two hours on the plane plus two hours in the vehicle has caused my muscles to tense, pulling on my injuries. But none of that matters if I can get to Winter.

God, please. Please let her be alive. Please let her be okay.

I don’t pray, but at this moment….

“H, let Misha’s people secure the area. You don’t know what you’re walking into out there.” He waves his hand around to indicate the men wearing assault rifles. Leo’s endless patience starts to wear thin. I can see it.

His phone pings and his eyes whip down toward the screen. I use his averted gaze as an opportunity to exit the car.

“Goddamn it, H,” he practically yells through the open door, but I leave anyway.

I approach the dead body and feel a wild energy course through me at his mangled form. He hasn’t been dead long. His body is still loose, but the wolves ate most of his face along with part of his torso. A thick nail affixes a broken plank to his forehead.

I rip the plank out.

And even though I had no doubt of the body’s identity, the energy sharpens when I’m finally able to confirm it’s Adam Collins.

White-hot rage pulses through me in time with my heartbeat.

“I’ll instruct the men to start our search around the area,” one of Misha’s men says behind me.

I nod.

“Give me a handgun,” I say to him. He gives me a strange look when I turn to face him but doesn’t protest. I remove the safety with a sense of precise calm and point the gun at Adam Collins’ face.

I shoot him.

Then I shoot him again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Over and over and over and over until the clip is empty.

Then, I spit on him. The grime of his splattered brain matter stains my legs and shirt.

I feel nothing. It’s not enough.

You won’t feel anything until Winter is back, Hunter.

She has to come back.

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