Page 463 of Lodestar

I jerked my chin up in understanding, aware that was Brennan’s center of operations on the border between Brooklyn and Queens.

When Forrest climbed into the passenger seat, Bagpipes took off, and we made our way to the peculiar dead zone that had always fascinated me.

“Is it true there’s an unofficial graveyard in the Hole?” I asked once we crossed the East River and made it into Flushing, cutting into their argument about whether the Bruins could beat the Maple Leafs.

“It’s not exactly a graveyard,” Forrest answered. “Ain’t no headstones.”

I snorted. “I’d never have guessed.”

He beamed a grin at me. “Aidan Sr. and his da used to dump bodies there. That’s half the reason it’s a dead zone, I think. Brennan never said but I’m pretty sure that the O’Donnellys own this area, or part of it, and they kept it off-grid. It’s the only reason why the city wouldn’t have developed this neighborhood.”

That made sense, especially when I caught sight of the dump that Brennan called ‘the office.’

When we drove over a series of massive potholes that were flooded with groundwater, they jostled the SUV, rocking Priestley from side to side.

As her dislocated arm collided with the floor of the vehicle, she groaned and began to stir.

Putting extra pressure on her shoulder, I spat, “The only escape you’re going to get is when you’re unconscious so if I were you, I’d stay fucking quiet.”

Soft whimpers whispered from her but she kept it low on the volume levels until we made it to Brennan’s HQ.

“Oh, my God, is this the Hole?” she moaned as I hauled her out of the SUV a few minutes later.

I grabbed her bad arm and tugged, which had her dropping to her knees on the mud-strewn parking lot with a scream of pain.

Dirt splattered everywhere, grimy water from the puddles too. Her once-pristine outfit was marred by myriad stains, andher cheeks were coated in filth—the only clean parts were the tracks where her tears coursed.

“You can either walk to the door or you can be dragged by your arm,” I told her blandly as I took in her pathetic figure. “The choice is yours.”

“Why are you doing this? Wasn’t killing my husbandenough?” she screamed.

I huffed out a laugh. “It’s funny how you two were perfect for each other. He was a fucking traitor and you’re a treacherous cunt.

"Now make a decision.”

She sniffled. "I'll walk."

Forrest and Bagpipes shot each other looks but said nothing as I towed her into the weird building that was Brennan’s base, which appeared to be some kind of brothel from the forties. Bright red and brocade. Bizarre and oddly fancy for a place to torture people.

Forrest guided me to a back room where there were cattle hooks on the ceiling. The weird front had calmed her down, lulled her into a false sense of security as we wandered through rooms decorated in that strangely ornate way, but when she saw the easy-to-clean slaughterhouse, that was when she started struggling.

One tug on her arm was enough to keep her under control, though.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have a high pain threshold because there were plenty of worse things I could have done to her.Wouldhave done, too, if she wasn’t such an easy mark.

Shoving her onto a lone seat in the center of the barren space, I watched her clutch at her arm as she peered at me through panda eyes.

“I have a son,” she cried, shoulders quaking with her sobs. “He needs his mommy.”

“It’s okay,” I told her. “He’s with his grandmother. She can raise him. And when she dies, if he needs a home, I’ll take him in. I’m surprisingly good with messed-up kids.

“Though I’m thinking he’s too young for you to have fucked him up with poison about how crappy the O’Donnellys are. Lucky for you.”

Her mouth wobbled but she surged off her seat in a pathetic attempt at an attack. “You can’t have my baby!”

As she came at me, I stuck out my foot, sent her flying, then I dropped to my knees next to her on the ground, stuck my fingers in her nose, and snapped it.

When she howled, I shoved my fist under her chin, snapped her mouth shut, and snarled, “I told you to stop with the screaming. Yourbabybarely sees you, Priestley. I don’t think he’ll miss you too much when you’re gone.”

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