Page 35 of Shadow Redemption

A soft whistle from Brent. “Hope your medical insurance is up to date.”

Ben scowled. “I’m tempted to ship the two idiots to east Tennessee with my ride to explain the damage to Bear themselves.”

His boss chuckled, then said, “Ruth.”

She straightened. “Yes, sir?”

“Are you all right?”

She was shaking and cold. Adrenaline dump. Again. Definitely not her favorite thing to weather. Maybe this would be the last time. Right. Pipe dream, that. “I’m not hurt, just dealing with adrenaline dump.”

Ben adjusted the temperature in the SUV and turned on her seat heater.

“That will pass soon. Ben, what should Eli and Jon do with your two friends?”

“If they tell us what we want to know, turn them over to the cops. If not, dump them in a black site until they do.”

“And after they’re persuaded to tell us what we need to know?”

“I don’t care what happens to them as long as they’re no threat to Ruth.”

“What if they won’t talk?” Ruth asked.

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Brent said, his tone wry. “Jon’s the best interrogator we have. Those boys don’t stand a chance against his skills.”

She swallowed hard. How dangerous was Jon Smith?

“How soon will you arrive, Ben?”

“Barring any more trouble, about forty-five minutes. We’re coming in hot. I don’t know if the Explorer guys had friends close.”

“We’ll be ready.” Brent ended the call.

“What did he mean by that?” Ruth asked.

“He’ll have reinforcements at the gate to discourage a tail from following us onto Fortress property. If they’re stupid enough to try for us anyway, they’ll regret their choice.” He slid her another glance before returning his attention to the road. “Is the heat helping with the shakes?”

“Some. I’d feel better with you holding me.”

He reached for her hand. “If I knew you were safe, I’d pull over in a heartbeat.”

She squeezed his fingers. “I’ll stop whining now, but I hate that we were in this situation because of me.”

“We don’t know that.”

She heard what that creep said. They had come for her. “Brent said Jon is good at interrogation.”

“Not just good. He’s amazing.”

She would probably regret asking her next question, but Ruth needed the answer. No more hiding. She’d survived an ugly experience and was slowly pulling herself back together. She could handle the truth. She hoped. “Will he kill the men?”

Ben shook his head. “He’ll make them think he is.”

“Why?”

“They’ll talk to bargain for their lives.”

She listened to what he said and what he didn’t. He was holding back information. Did she really want to know the whole truth? “Talk isn’t all he’ll do, is it?”

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