“Confess to killing him, Mr. Barrington. For once in your life do the right thing.”The right thing would’ve been torturing him for weeks before allowing him his death.
“And what have I done wrong in your eyes, Astrid?”
“You were dishonorably discharged from the Marines.” Fuck. Keep calm, Oak. Don’t give her the reaction she’s craving.“Mentally unfit is what it states in your file.”
“So suffering with mental health issues caused from my times overseas means I’ve done wrong?”
“Leading your unit to their deaths means you have done wrong,Oak.” My name is spoken mockingly. A flare of pain happens in the cavity of chest. My stomach achingly tightens. “Isaac,” she says his name and my heart plummets to the pit of my stomach. “Roman, Jude, Darius and Miguel.” My mouth suddenly becomes very dry, reminiscent of my times overseas. The air gets thinner. I can feel the sand filling my lungs.
Fuck.
Fuck!
“You had a mission and decided to take matters into your own hands. You decided to go against command. You decided to push your unit ahead. And you led them to death, Ethan.”
My vision begins to blur as I start to feel myself lose control. My mind is slipping. It’s dangerously trying to drag me back to the past.
Their screams I hear first. Their deafening screams filled with terror. It’s all I can hear repeatedly.
Deep breaths, Oak. You’re here, not in Iraq.
I take deep breaths but I still don’t feel in control.
Fuck, I’m going to lose it.
“You honestly think you weren’t in the wrong?”
“Astrid,” Travers’ voice strikes hard like a lash. “That’s enough.”
“I’m doing my job,” she insists harshly.
“No,” he disagrees. “What you’re doing is triggering this man into a fucking panic attack. Stop.”
“I’m trying to get him to do the right thing. I’m trying to get him to confess!”
“At what cost? This man’s mental health? And for what? A man who brutally raped a woman and left her to rot on the side of the street?”
“Whose side are you on here, Liam?”
“If you keep going down this path not yours.”
“I’m doing my job! He’s a criminal. A killer! Involved with countless illegal activity.”
“He isn’t Jason Chen, Astrid. Vipers MC isn’t the fucking Triads.” He’s struck more than just a nerve; he’s hit her where it fucking counts.
She squeezes her eyes shut as she swallows thickly. Her hands form into fists, her muscles tighten. “They’re both organized crime. Violence is what they do best and they’re killers. That’s enough similarities for me.”
He sighs disappointedly. “The fact that you can’t see they aren’t the same means you’re too far gone to see past your own shit.”
“I’m not having this conversation here, Liam.”
“And I’m not going to be partners with someone who can’t differentiate her personal vendetta and doing her job.”
“That’s enough! If you don’t like my methods then leave. No one is stopping you.”
Before either one can get another word in edge wise the door bursts open with Nico entering the room and commanding everyone’s attention.
He’s dressed pristine in a luxury three piece suit with no wrinkle in sight. His black wavy hair is slicked back, styled with his signature wet gel that makes him look he stepped straight out of the ocean. Honestly, Nico looks more like a model than a lawyer.
