THE BRAVO BOYS - SNAKE EATER [book three]

Chapter FIFTY TWO

Shelby Quinn

My knuckles drip claret to stain the concrete floor as the metallic scent of blood stings my nostrils.. Sanguine vitality is splattered all across my shirt and face, while my eyes are filled with a wash of red.. In my exhausted anger, I struggle to catch my breath.. Slumped against the safehouse wall listening to the sounds of Cassidy and Slater continuing to doll out the punishment I had prescribed for the Bennings CEO.. His screams muffled by the thick bessa brick walls..

Tyler has to talk..He has to!

He must know where Logan is, and if he doesn't then I will punish him for that too.. My rage burns out of control as I force down the rising fear and panic that threatens to break my will.. I have no other leads and no other places to look, and so I found my way back to the Specter black ops site for another round of interrogations, my third visit in so many days..

"AHHHHHH!!" Wailing howls of agony echo off the walls as the guys work Tyler over in my absence, and I reach up to block out the sounds of his torment with my bloody hands.. "AHHH! STOP! NO NO NO!"

Moments later, an eerie silence falls over the place and my ears prick up at the sound of whimpered pleading sobs.. "I want Shelby- I'll only talk to Shelby - get her back in here - please- please.."

Scrambling fast to my feet, I shoulder my way back through the rusted steel doors, stumbling into the black plastic lined kill room.. Tyler sits with his eyes swollen shut and his head hanging limp, tied to a chair at the centre of the room, his face unrecognisably bloody..

"Shelby please! Please!" Tyler begs, a pitiful display of his weakness.. "Make them stop.. I'll tell you everything I know if you just make them stop!"

No matter how much they tortured me in Strysakstan, I never gave them the satisfaction of hearing me beg for my life.. I held on to that one thing, it became my strength in the toughest times, and my anchor in every storm..
Yet somehow, Tyler's pleas seem to crawl beneath my skin and strike a chord..

I can't help but pity the pathetic man-child..

But that doesn't mean I won't kill him if the mission requires it..

Logan would probably tell me that the ends don't justify the means.. He'd say I need to stop, and that I'm acting like a cold, calculated 'Fed'.. And he'd be absolutely correct.. Because I will do anything necessary to make this right.. Even if that means doing something unthinkably wrong..

"You want me to finish this piece of shit, Sargent?" Slater scowls down at the pulpy mess of a man, practising the effectiveness of his intimidation tactics.. At six'six, the man is a wall of staunch muscle and the way Tyler cowers away speaks volumes to the power of Linc's violent persuasion..

Meanwhile, Cassidy unfurls the length of chain that he holds curled around his tattoed knuckles before reaching down to retrieve a hunting blade from his boot.. "Nah, we should give that gobshite melt a proper fucking debriefing!" Duke brandishes the blade in a jovial display of cruelty..

"No.. Leave us.." Waving a dismissive hand at both Cassady and Slater, the two nod and obediently vacate the room, quietly muttering between themselves as they disappear through the double doors..

"You better start talking, Tyler.." Dragging a chair across the concrete floor to park myself in front of our hostage, and I wait.. "You've got about fifteen seconds before I call them back in to finish the job.."

"There's a guy- A Strysaki mercenary-" Rambling desperately Tyler begins, all the while drooling blood all over his faded denim jeans.. "I don't know his name-"

Letting out an exaggerated groan of disappointment, I shift in my seat.. "If you don't know his name, how am I supposed to find the guy, Asshole?" Leaning forward, I plant my hands over his thighs, gouging my thumbs in deep to squeeze at the stab wounds Duke had inflicted..