Page 25 of Meet Me In The Dark

But there was no sense in thinking about that, now.

“Can someone look at Luke’s shoulder?”

Conor could hear the desperation in his voice. Usually, he’d hate it, but he couldn’t deny the truth of the sound. So what if he seemed weak, if it saved his lover and friend?

“If you give me Kara's location, I’ll make sure he’s patched up and good as new. In fact, I'll spare you both. Clear your names, drop you off back at home. Isn't that what you always wanted?”

Once. Once Conor thought he had. Now, all he wanted was to be free and safe and happy with his family.

Neither he nor Luke spoke.

“Well. Guess we better get to it, then,” the professor said.

He motioned to two of the guards behind them—tall assholes with square jaws and dead eyes—who came forward. Conor immediately lost his inertia, jumping in to defend Luke, but four men wrestled him to the ground and chained him to the floor, then forced his face forward so he had no choice but to watch them land blow after blow. Luke held out for a while—he was a big, strong man—but when three, four, five, six men descended on him, he couldn't hold up any longer. Between that and the blood loss, he was no match for them. Kick after kick landed on his ribs. Conor heard them crack. Someone pressed on Luke’s shoulder where the wound was, and Luke grunted.

It may as well have been a scream.

And Conor was forced to observe all of it. They were going to kill his best friend and the person he jockeyed the most with for power and loved so completely it threatened to destroy him. And all he could do was watch. He’d seen Luke tortured before, but he’d never worried about their survival before…because he’d never admitted his feelings before.

If Conor could shoot his feelings in the fucking face, he would.

“Conor, there's a reason why I chose Luke first. See, I think you know that this whole...situation...was your fault from the moment you asked your friends to watch Kara instead of letting her pass through your life the way she wanted. It's been your fault this whole time, and what happens next? It's your fault, as well. I hope you know I plan to keep you alive for a long time...because when I do catchKara and your other lover, I'll make you watch as I do the same to them. And you know what?” The professor cocked his head. “That will be your fault, too.”

And as Conor was forced to watch the man he loved get beaten and tortured, he knew it was the truth.

7

It had only been a few hours, and Micah already missed her. He made it an unbroken habit to never let himself feel regret or self-doubt—that way lay paralysis, and as a SEAL, and then a hitman, paralysis meant death. This was one more thing Kara had thrown into complete chaos, just like the rest of his life.

And yet he still loved her. Loved herfor it, even.

Micah glanced at the gas gage on the dashboard. Damn it. He was only about forty minutes out from the airport, but he'd been so caught up in his thoughts, he hadn't realized he was near empty.

He'd have to stop.

He pulled into a gas station, got out of the car, filled up his tank. Checked his phone to see if he'd heard anything from Billy. His silence was concerning.

Kara okay?he texted on his burner.

She's fine. Spitting mad, but fine, came the reply.

Micah chuckled. Sounded about right.

No matter what happened, she'd be angry. And no matter what happened, she'd be fine. He had to believe that.She was strong, she'd make it through. He was just going to do everything in his power to make sure they all made it through together.

As the tank filled, Micah briefly left the car at the pump, going into the gas station to buy water and some snacks with the credit card Billy had given him. The cashier gave him a strange look when she handed him his receipt—a look that sent his senses pinging.

Something was up.

Outside of the building, he grabbed his gun and slowly made his way back to the car, praying that he didn’t have to blow someone’s head off at the pump and run the risk of blowing up the entire station—and himself.

As he reached the pump, he lowered the gun and shook his head.

“How'd you get away from Billy?”

Kara stood, her now-purple hair lit by the glow of the gas station lights and the quiet TV. The woman on the screen was reading out lottery numbers.

“Told him I knew the perfect woman for him, and I'd give him her number if he let me take the car and his phone,” she said.

---