Logan looks at me intently. “There may be a few others, but this is the vast majority of them. The entire Devil Army self-destructed. Terrible loss.”
He doesn’t appear to find it terrible at all, though. I’ve never seen a guy so unfazed by death. He doesn’t strike me as being a psychopath, but I guess he must have been around it most of his life, and it hardened him.
“What do you mean?” frowns Josh. “Why would they have self-destructed?”
“We all thought we were so smart,” shrugs Logan. “Coltello, Moretti’s men, even me. Suddenly realizing how useful the Devil Army was. The army was torn apart, groups following Devil, Moretti’s men, and Coltello. Now they’ve all killed each other.”
“You don’t seem very affected,” comments Josh.
“Well, they’ve proved their worthlessness. They could have had some importance, after all, but they cancelled each other out. Devil Army is no more. Gone. Wiped out. It won’t change a single thing. Good riddance, I say.”
Maybe I should give a shit about this confirmation of what my dad was telling me—that the organization I devoted my life to meant nothing. But I don’t actually care.
“They’re not all wiped out,” I insist. “There are more.”
Logan once more turns an intent, curious look at me. “Oh? Doyou know about the Secret Soldiers medical experiment?”
“Huh?” I blink my tired eyes. I’ve definitely experienced my fair share of strange experiments at Devil Tower during my time as a soldier, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that term—Secret Soldiers. I frown in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” Logan shrugs, and for the first time since I’ve met him, he looks a little flustered. “What areyoutalking about, then?”
“There are at least two more,” I force out. “I’m going to kill them myself.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Is this about those two soldiers you left tied up in your apartment? They were freed by Coltello’s men. I don’t know if they’re here somewhere, but—”
“They’re not,” I interrupt. “I need to find them. I need to kill them. I need to make it hurt.”
“Right.” Logan’s eyes feel like they’re boring into me, but I return his fierce glare. “Want to tell me why, soldier?”
“They…” I swallow, trying to find the courage to say the words out loud. “They raped Piper.”
The hardening of Logan’s features is the only sign that he’s heard. A heavy silence settles between us, broken only by Josh’s loud breathing. Then Logan opens his mouth, clearly meaning to speak, but he’s interrupted by a buzz.
He looks down slowly, as if in a daze, but then, the hard expression on his face is hidden behind a neutral one.
I know that look well, because I’ve worn it before. It’s the kind of expression that tells me he’s just received bad news. And he’s trying to wrap his head around it.
At last, he mutters, “We found Coltello.”
I stare at him, feeling queasy to my stomach. I can’t help but fill in the blanks, but Josh just looks confused.
“And? Where is he?”
“With Piper.”
Fuck.
I close my eyes, my heart racing, feeling like I want to throw up. In the distance, I hear Josh’s voice again.
“With Piper? But… but… Quill’s dad said… he said that she was dead the minute Coltello got to her.”
“Yes.” A loud, shuddering sigh, and then, “I believe that to be true.”
Chapter 39
Quill
Another long, heavy silence follows Logan’s words. This time, it’s punctuated, not by Josh’s loud breathing, but by his equally loud sobs. The sound makes me want to shoot him in the face. Or Logan. No, both.
