I sit against the cement wall in their water heater room, restrained to a thick pipe, and stare into the darkness until I can no longer tell whether my eyes are even open or not. It’s dark.
As dark as it was when Callum buried me.
29
ROMAN
Fuck.My head hurts.I press my palm against my forehead and blink past the blinding light.
“Hey, he’s waking up.” Is that Bensen? Ugh, why do I feel hung over and groggy?
“Syxx, sir, how are you feeling?” John is at my side in a second and helping me sit up. I keep my eyes squinted because everything is so fucking bright in here.
“I feel like I just got done partying for ten hours.” Gale shuts the blinds, and it’s much easier to see. I blink a few times and look around the room. All the guys are here, ?but— “Where’s Briar?”
Their relieved expressions all but disappear at the mention of her name.
My brows knit, and I look each of them in the eye. “What’s going on?”
They fill me in on last night’s events. My head is throbbing, but it’s coming back to me now. Briar handed me the can, and it didn’t take long for me to go downhill from there.
But she wouldn’t do this on purpose. It’s Briar.
Sweet. Innocent. Couldn’t harm a fly even if she wanted to. Briar.
But the men aren’t so certain, and it gives me enough reason to doubt her.
“How long has she been down there?” I ask as I drink a full cup of water. My throat is dry and raspy. “And what the fuck was in that beer?” I rub my head again and try not to focus on the headache.
“She’s been down there for twelve hours, Syxx,” Taylor says with a heartless tone that sets a fire loose in my chest.
“It was a sedative, you’re lucky their target was likely Briar and they didn’t want her dead.” Gale passes me the blood test kit we keep on hand for situations like these. I set the results down to my side, distracted by Taylor’s comment.
“Twelvehours?” I bark at them.
Gale is the only one who looks a little remorseful about it. “We had to wait for you to wake up, Lieutenant. With the fire, you being drugged, and…well we found this in your vest pocket.”
What fucking fire?What the hell did I miss? I’m about to ask when he uncurls his hand and reveals the flash drive. My pulse dashes over a few beats, and I grit my teeth. I wasn’t going to tell anyone that I’d found it until after we captured Callum.
It’s my only chance at saving Briar.
I glare at Gale. “What the fuck does that have to do with anything?”
They look at one another and share an unspoken silence that makes my stomach feel weak.They looked through it already?
John grabs his laptop from the counter and plugs in the flash drive before setting it down on my lap. I stare at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.
“I’m sorry, sir. It’s better if you just watch it,” John says solemnly as he works his jaw before looking away and nodding to the others to leave the room.
I wait until I hear the click of the door and then stare down at the Play button on the black screen. I didn’t think what was onit would be relevant to Briar. I thought she only had the code to open a folder on it.
Swallowing the knot in my throat, I press Play.
A man steps into frame. It takes a moment for me to recognize him.
Arnold?I narrow my eyes at the screen as Arnold sits down and threads his fingers together in front of him.
He looks tired and beat to shit. Cuts are all over his face, and deep bruises mark his arms.
