Page 197 of Brutal Savage

I’ve never seen him look at me this way before.

Fear grips around my throat, and I grab the door handle, pulling, shoving. But it’s locked.

“Open it! What are you doing?”

He removes his own weapon and holds it on his lap.

“No…” I whisper, staring at him in disbelief as the man in the mask opens the door and gets into the back.

“Hi, Ev. It’s been a long time.”

“Where is she?” I holler from the floor of the living room in some broken-down abandoned home they took me to.

I don’t know how long we drove for, but it wasn’t too far. Maybe another town some miles away.

“Where’s my grandmother? What did you do to her?”

I don’t know how many men Jerry has with him, though I saw three standing guard outside the door, and one is inside with us.

There could very well be more. They all had guns. Even if I could escape, they’d shoot me down. My best chance at survival is to draw this out and hope like hell that Tynan’s coming for me.

My icy glare flays Rogue where he stands, not even appearing ashamed at his own betrayal. He’s been lying this whole time.

But why? Why hurt Tynan or me?

“How could you do this to Tynan? To his family!” I shake my head with utter disgust. “I expect Jerry to be a backstabber, but you? He trusted you, and you betrayed him. Why?”

He stares at me with narrowed slits of his eyes, refusing to utter a word.

“Answer me!”

Jerry marches forward, slapping me hard across my face. “Shut your mouth, bitch. You don’t ask questions.”

My cheek burns, and I want to rub at it, but my wrists are tied behind my back, throbbing from the zip ties.

Rogue brushes past Jerry, kneeling down so we’re eye level.

“Do you know how it feels to work for the man who killed your father?” Anger pours from his eyes.

“Wh-what? Tynan killed your dad?”

“No.” His features grow tight. “Patrick did. I was ten when he came into our home and tortured my father until he bled on the floor. I watched it happen from the closet. Watched my own father die. Had to get my mother off the floor as she sobbed.”

My heart truly hurts for him and the child he was, though that excuses nothing.

“I’m sorry. I really am. But that doesn’t mean you have to do this.” I glance at Jerry, hatred winding its way through my skin. “Do you know who you’ve aligned yourself with? They’ve killed children. Do you wanna be a part of that?”

He inhales long and deep, getting to his feet. “I’m not a part of anything. My job was to get you here, and I did that.”

“And the rest of it? What they’ll do to my grandma? Me? It doesn’t matter to you?”

He stares indifferently, and I realize I’ll never get through to him. Revenge is all he knows, and he’ll get it any way possible.

“Enough talking!” Jerry snaps, rushing forward and pressing a gun to my forehead. “If you don’t shut up, I will kill you.”

I shut my eyes, fear settling deep in my stomach. If this is how I die, then so be it.

It’s then I see Tynan and Brody. The days we’ve spent together. How happy I’ve been. How much I’ll miss them.

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