Page 10 of Ruthless

I pull the boy into my side and glance at Nelson, letting him know that I’m good and that he can go on ahead. That was my first mistake. The second was assuming there is such a thing as innocence in the devil’s playground.

Pain explodes along the back of my head as everything around comes crashing down. Gunfire rings out as chaos erupts all around us. Nelson and Isaac shout at Grady, but their words are lost to me—nothing but white noise against my ringing ears as the world fades to black and I succumb to the darkness pulling me under.

The metallic tang of blood fills the air as my own coats my tongue and drips into the back of my throat, making it hard as fuck to breathe the second I come to. I’m not sure how long they’ve left us strung up like a fucking piñata this time, but it’s long enough that I can’t feel my arms. The heaviness of my limbs is nothing compared to the fire that’s licking up the open wounds on my naked back. The balls of my bare feet barely keep me upright as my body is stretched beyond its limits.

Clanking of chains off to my side has my eyes peeling open. It takes a good minute before the dark spots in my vision subside, and I can focus on my surroundings. Nelson is strung up next to me, and he isn’t any better off than I am. One of his eyes is swollen shut, and his bottom lip is split wide open.

I have no clue where Isaac or Grady is. They taunted us with their screams, but I haven’t set eyes on them myself since we’ve been dragged into hell. I hope they’re better off than we are, but I’m not holding out much hope. They’ve starved and beaten us for so long that the days and nights have bled together into one giant clusterfuck.

The creak of the door opening draws my attention in time to see the fuck with no teeth smiling our way. He gestures with his chin and says something in Pashto that we can’t understand to the other two dipshits behind him, but it doesn’t take long to put two and two together. The bald fucker that had the whip earlier undoes Nelson’s chain and ties his wrists behind his back with some rope before dragging him into the center of the room.

“Fuck you. You cock sucking pricks!” Nelson fights against their hold as best he can, but it’s no use. With no water or food for days, he’s no match for these assholes. It’s a wonder he’s even still coherent. They went at him the hardest because they thought he’d be the first to break since he’s the smallest one in our unit. Little do they know he’s the toughest fucker of us all.

The toothless prick shoves Nelson onto his knees facing us and stands behind him. Holding a machete against Nelson’s throat, he glares in our direction. “Who sent you?” he asks in broken English.

I swallow down the pain shooting through my body and focus on keeping my breathing steady and even as I watch him. My mind runs through different scenarios, weighing our options, but there’s no other outcome. We’re fucked. There’s no way I’m getting out of here alive, but Nelson might have a chance if I can manage to distract them long enough.

He must read the expression on my face because the muscle in his cheek jerks, and he draws their attention back to him. “Don’t tell him shit!” A sheen of sweat drips down the side of his pale face. His chest caves in and out with every breath he takes, but he never breaks.

Toothless grips Nelson by the hair and pulls his head back so far that the tendons in his neck are stretched to their limits and straining from the pressure. He holds the blade tighter against Nelson’s throat until a thin trail of blood trickles down. “Who sent you?”

“Nelson—” I force out the side of my mouth, ignoring the sting of my busted lip, and hold my friend’s stare. He knows what I’m about to say, but he cuts me off.

“No, If I die, then I die my way. You will not cower to them. Do you hear me?” His hazel eyes burn brighter as he takes a shallow breath. “De Oppresso Liber.”

My eyes are glued on Nelson. This is my brother in arms. My best friend. The one who’s always had my back, even when Asher was locked up and Axel was off causing trouble. I shake my head, refusing to believe that this is it. The end of the road for us. It can’t be. I refuse to believe it.

“Say it, Zane.” Nelson’s body trembles as he grunts from the blade’s pressure against his throat.

I glance to the fucker behind him with the corner of his mouth curled up and growl. “No.”

Toothless shouts and jerks his hand against Nelson’s throat, repositioning the machete. “Last chance.”

“Goddammit, Z!” Hearing Nelson’s voice rise an octave is my undoing. He’s never used the nickname my brothers gave me unless he was serious and reality sinks in. This is it. The end of our journey together, but he’s going out on his terms. And not a traitor.

“Until Valhalla.” My throat’s so dry that it feels like I’m swallowing broken glass, but I hold my brother’s stare and vow to myself to take these fuckers out the first chance I get. Even if I have to wait for them to join me in hell, I’ll make sure of it.

No sooner do the words leave my mouth do I see the change in Nelson’s demeanor. He sucks in one last breath and closes his eyes, accepting his fate with open arms.

Toothless curls the corner of his mouth as he moves the machete against Nelson’s neck in slow back and forth motions, tearing into his flesh. The crimson liquid drips down his neck, a stark contrast to his pale skin, pooling into a sea of crimson that coats the skull tattoo on his naked chest. His gargled screams pierce the air like a dagger straight through my fucking heart.

“Fuck you, you motherfucking bastards.” My body thrashes and jerks against the chains, ignoring the burn of my skin ripping along my wrists. Blood drips down my arms, but it’s a small price I’m willing to pay to wrap my hands around this bastard’s throat and snuff the light from his eyes. The cold cement digs into my bare feet, but it’s not enough traction. If I could, I’d break my arms to get free and rip that motherfucker apart—limb from limb—I would.

Every sound of the machete slicing through muscle and bone tears at my frayed nerves—sending me deeper and deeper over the edge. The sliver of sanity I’m grasping onto hangs on by a mere thread that’s ready to snap at any moment. I fight against the metal, hearing the chains buckle under the pressure, but it’s still not enough to set me free.

Nelson’s head rolls to the ground, stopping at my feet as his lifeless body falls to the wayside. His vacant stare glares back at me, making my stomach turn. I grit my teeth until my jaw aches from the pressure. Each shaky breath I take adds to the trembling in my body. The stiffness of my muscles is pushing past the point of no return, and I shut my brain off to it. They won’t see me break. I’ll rip out my own throat and die before that happens.

A shrill scream fills the air causing the hackles at the back of my neck to stand on end. Toothless cranes his head to the side, his eyes watching my every move as a flash of blond hair appears. She’s shoved onto her knees against the hard cement until she’s right in front of me. The stained T-shirt she’s wearing hangs to her knees. Dirt and blood coat the pale skin of her hollow cheeks.

One of the guys behind her grabs a fist full of hair and forces her face up to meet mine. Blue eyes glisten with tears as she takes me in—her tiny body trembles with each breath. Since the picture was taken, she’s lost so much weight, making her appear much younger than eighteen, but there’s no doubt it’s her—Admiral Wallace’s daughter. Her blond hair is covered in dirt, and there’s a tattoo of a paw on the side of her neck. The black ink looks fresh.

“What are you doing?” I push past the fatigue that’s wanting to pull me under and jerk up harder on my chains. They creak and groan under my weight, giving more, but it’s not enough.

“Quiet.” The one holding her hair tightens his grip until she cries out in pain. He laughs the second she does.

“Let her go, asshole. She’s just a fucking kid.” My blood pounds in my ears as I struggle for air.

“No! Let me go!” She screams and fights against them with as much effort as she can, but her tiny body is no match for the two of them. The bald one closes his fist and hits her across the face to silence her while the short one laughs. Her head jerks back, but it doesn’t deter her from attempting to fight them off.

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