Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 113936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 570(@200wpm)___ 456(@250wpm)___ 380(@300wpm)
“Is there anyone else injured,” he said as he took out his phone. “Never mind, I’ll just take that as a yes.”
“There are a lot of sick prisoners somewhere,” the Jackal said. “By the way, this is Mayhem. Over there are Apex and Callum.”
“I can take you to the prisoners,” the guy named Mayhem murmured. “I’ll show you where they are. I’d ask that you prioritize them over going after the guards.”
Nodding, V texted his mate as well as Manny and the Brotherhood’s own nurse, Ehlena. “You mean those males I saw running off?”
“Yeah. There have to be some of them left around somewhere.”
“Not a problem. Prisoners first. I’m getting medical help right now and the Brotherhood is securing the perimeter. You’re safe, all of you.”
“I couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” the Jackal said. “Sorry.”
V glanced up from his phone. “I’m glad you didn’t. Can you guard these two while your boy takes me to the incarcerated?”
“Yes. I’ll stay here.”
V followed the other prisoner out of a door that appeared to have been—“Did you blow that in?”
“Yeah? I always like to keep some plastics handy. You know, for special occasions.”
“Oh, my God, me too.” He took out a hand-rolled. “Cigarette?”
“You know, I don’t mind if I do.”
As he turned to give the guy the coffin nail, he did a double take. The wall they had stepped out of was set with pairs of pegs, between which brown stains made their purpose self-defining.
“That’s where they were punished,” V said.
“Yes, at this location.” The male—Mayhem? Yeah, that was the name—took what was offered and put it right between his front teeth. Talking around the hand-rolled, he said, “Back at the old camp, there was another setup where we were tortured.”
“Fucking hell.” V Bic’d up and extended the little flame. “Well, that shit’s over now.”
“We need to stay here,” the male said as he lit the hand-rolled and exhaled. “This facility has beds and a kitchen, has a clinic. Don’t move us, please. A lot of the prisoners didn’t survive the trip here in the first place.”
V glanced around. The long hallway had doors opening off of it, and he could smell the cocaine and the heroin.
“Show me everything.” He started walking forward. “I want to see it all.”
Unsurprisingly, the rest of the place was grim. The workrooms where the drugs were packaged were forced labor lockups, the very definition of a toxic environment, and the kitchen was a repurpose of a nineteen seventies facility that was filthy. But the worst was the sleeping quarters. As the male led him down a set of stairs, he could smell the corporeal decay and old sweat and infection already. Then he discovered that prisoners were relegated to sleeping pods that were barely big enough for dogs, the males and females slotted into the cramped spaces, most of them lacking the energy to care when V walked down a room as long as a soccer field.
At the far end, he turned around and couldn’t believe what he was looking at. But what the fuck did he think it was going to be like?
“We’re going to need even more medical help,” he said to himself as he put his hand-rolled out on the bottom of his shitkicker.
“I know someone,” Mayhem said, “who’s going to be invaluable to us. She’s the best of the best, and the prisoners already know and trust her.”
* * *
As Nadya re-formed in the back of the prison camp, she was escorted into the facility by the biggest, most beautiful blond male vampire she had ever seen—who introduced himself as the Black Dagger Brother Rhage. And when she entered the private quarters of the head of the guards, she stopped at a puddle that was…
“Yeeeeeeah,” the Brother said, “whoever that was had a bad night.”
Something in the scent of the remains drew her down to her haunches, and that was when she recognized the tool belt, the uniform, the boots.
“It’s the head of the guards,” she murmured as she stood back up. “The female who… well. I’m going to sleep better during the day, at any rate. She wasn’t too fond of me.”
“Something tells me that’s a compliment.”
Nadya looked across the room to a bedding platform—and her breath caught in her throat.
A female she didn’t recognize, who was wearing the white coat of a human physician or nurse, was taking care of Callum, the wolven, while Apex sat aside, watching with an intensity that she’d seen before. It reminded her of the way he’d been with Kane…
And oh, no. Apex had a head wound that was still bleeding. From time to time, he wiped at it with a hand towel in annoyance. No doubt he had refused to be treated until Callum was.
Underneath his hard exterior, he was a male of worth, loyal and true. And, oh, God, what had happened to the wolven? He looked like he was in some kind of coma.