Page 70 of Unhinged
August looked amused, Archer bored, Asa and Avi intrigued, and Atticus, as usual, looked like he’d smelled something bad. But Adam found it hard to tear his gaze away from Noah. He looked so sure of himself. It was sexy.
Noah flashed a quick smile in his direction. “Adam said the only way to kill these men is to do it all at once. That prospect seemed less difficult when we were looking at six or seven major players. Now, there could be as many as twenty major players. Politicians. Police. Priests. High value targets that are going to draw a lot of attention.”
“And that changes things how?” August asked.
Noah tilted his head, examining August with the same shrewd gaze he was receiving. “Well, the original plan was for each of you to take out a target on the same night, at the same time. You can’t do that with twenty people. As soon as word hits that one is dead, the others will start scattering like roaches.”
Asa cocked his head. “Go on.”
“Adam said Thomas would probably make you take out the targets one at a time, but that’s not very efficient.”
“Alright?” Atticus said, frowning like he was hoping Noah would get to the point.
“So, we kill two birds with one stone. We make Gary here call up the major players and get them to agree to meet them somewhere desolate, say Gary’s cabin. Then you lock them in, set it on fire, kill the stragglers as they run for their lives. That takes them out all at once and the fire will hide the evidence. It ain’t sexy, but it will work.”
As far as plans went, it was more than a little risky. It was madness if Adam was being honest. But it could be done. Quickly if need be. Adam knew just the place. Not Gary’s cabin, but somewhere equally as desolate.
“Damn,” Asa said with a laugh. “That’s fucking cold, bro. I like it.”
“No way. These guys all deserve to suffer,” Avi said, once more kicking Gary’s fallen chair.
August snickered. “You just like butchering people.”
Avi gave him the finger. “I’m not the one who has a kill playlist on Spotify.”
August bristled, giving an offended scoff. “You know all the screaming and begging gives me a migraine.”
Adam shook his head. He liked guns. They were clean. Efficient. Portable. And left very little mess if you knew what you were doing. Which he did. He didn’t kill for fun. He did it because he knew it needed to be done. Because his father said it was what they were born to do. But his brothers…they weren’t like him. They didn’t just like it, they fucking reveled in it. All but Aiden. Aiden was a lot like Adam. More a soldier than a monster.
But, in this particular case, Adam was willing to forgo guns and knives for fire and flames if that was what Noah wanted. There was some divine justice in watching them all burn. It wasn’t like they didn’t have it coming. He just had to convince his brothers to skip the gore and theatrics for a clean kill.
Adam sighed, looking at August warily. “You don’t always have to use blades. You could just put a bullet in the ones who try to run. I know for a fact you’re an excellent shot,” he reminded, trying and failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice.
August rolled his eyes. “Are you seriously bringing this upagain? I shoot one of your targets, and you harp on it forever. I did you a favor. You froze up.”
“I was thirteen,” Adam shot back.
“You wouldn’t have made it to fourteen if I hadn’t stepped in. So, you’re welcome.”
“Enough!” Atticus shouted. “Can we save the witty banter for later? What Noah is proposing is most definitely the smarter plan.”
Avi shrugged, pouting. “I guess. Can we at least hurt this one?”
Noah frowned. “Are you guys really disappointed that you can’t stab somebody when the alternative is to just set them on fire?”
Asa nodded. “No offense. It’s just a little…hands off for our taste. We take pride in our work.”
“Look, I don’t care how you take them out, but we need to do it all at once and Gary is the key to doing that,” Noah said. “Can we all at least agree on that?”
Adam’s brothers all looked at each other before Atticus nodded. “It will work. We just have to get this one to make the call without signaling the others.”
Adam looked down at the man, still making distressed noises from behind his gag. “Oh, Gary here knows the alternative is a slow, painful death versus a nice quick bullet to the head.”
“He’s going to play ball,” Noah assured them. “Right, Gary?”
The man frantically bobbed his head. Atticus nodded towards the twins and they grabbed the back of the chair and set it upright. Gary’s eyes darted from person to person.
Adam was surprised when Noah approached the man, dropping down onto his thighs until they were nose to nose. “How does it feel to be scared?” he asked, tone chilling. “How does it feel to know you’re going to die?”
