Page 135 of Unbroken

“Perfect. Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Devon straightened and resumed his stance, pointing the gun at Jeffrey’s fuming, frustrated face. I stepped around him and let my hand trace across his lower back. A quick reassuring and appreciative touch. His lips twitched in a smile, but he didn’t move.

I quickly opened the back door and gathered the supplies we’d brought along. Sifting through the contents, I freed the five lengths of rope and turned back to the two men. Jeffrey was heaving angry, shallow breaths out of his nose. His face was red and sweat beaded on his forehead.

Satisfaction made my legs feel lighter as they carried me back across the room.

“Now, Jeff, are you going to cooperate or am I going to have to use this?” I showed him the rope in my hands.

He glanced at it and hardened his expression. “I wouldn’t bet on cooperation.”

I shrugged because his decision didn’t change anything. Iwas resolved in my plan and was determined to see it through. Stepping forward, there was no hesitation in my movements as I pulled my hand back and backhanded him across the face.

Spittle flew from his mouth, and red immediately bloomed across his cheek. A small scratch appeared, blood pooling against his angry skin, where I must have nicked him with my nail. Once he realized what I’d done, he tried to lurch for me.

I stood my ground, an unmoving statue, as Devon shoved him back into the chair.

When he straightened, I looked at Devon. “Your turn.”

Like me, he didn’t hesitate. The gun remained in his right hand, but his left reared back and landed a resounding punch across the opposite cheek. It was hard enough that Jeffrey’s head lolled, and his body went limp.

Devon shook out his hand and resumed his position. “Go for it,” he said, motioning to Jeff with the gun. I made quick work of tying his legs and arms to the chair, then, for good measure, I tied another the best I could around his midsection and the back of the chair.

I took a step back and looked at my work. My knots were sturdy thanks to my Boy Scout standing next to me.

My heart was pounding a furious beat in my chest, but it wasn’t nerves; it was anticipation.

Jeffrey was slowly coming to, blinking back the fog and trying to focus his eyes. “What—” he started and fought his restraints. He tried to yank his arms free or move his legs, but they didn’t budge.

“What the hell are you two doing?” he seethed.

“Ten minutes,” Devon reminded me, and I gave him a quick nod. I made a mental note to tell him again how much he meant to me. How I wouldn’t have made it this far without him. How I likely wouldn’t be alive without him.

I’d tell him—and show him—every day just how much I loved him.

Knowing he was by my side, I drew the knife I’d stashed inmy back pocket. In one swift flick, I flipped open the blade and eyed the sharp tip. I’d spent thirty minutes the night before learning from Devon how to sharpen a knife. We’d sat at the kitchen table and gone over the plan while he prepped the blade.

“You’ve gotta be fucking?—”

“Your turn is over,” I snapped. “I don’t want to hear another fucking word. But you can scream as loud as you want. No one is going to hear you.”

“Stop screaming. No one can hear you.”

My words were so reminiscent of his that the memory pushed through to the forefront of my mind. It only fueled my vengeful indignation.

Devon followed my lead and walked around the chair as I stood in front of him. He gripped Jeffrey’s brown hair at the root and yanked his head back, but not too far back where he couldn’t see exactly what I was about to do.

Jeffrey howled in pain, but there wasn’t anything he could do. With dexterous fingers, I rolled his right sleeve up past his elbow, exposing his forearm. I dragged my nail down the smooth skin and met his terrified eyes as I replaced my finger with the knife.

“Now, try to stay still or I might hit something important.”

The first press of the blade into his skin, and he was already bellowing. But his pain propelled me forward. Blood pooled against his pale flesh, and I carved into it with ease. The rope did its job, and Devon kept his head and shoulders from flailing.

With each letter, my soul lightened, and another part of me healed. Every letter mended what he hadtriedto break.

U.

N.

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