Page 29 of Abundance of Obsession

Ryker’s eyebrows shoot up, but he asks the very question that’s also on my mind. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that they happened to be there?”

“Hard to say. Maybe or maybe not.”

“Fuck. We need to find our spy quickly. We need to get to someone high at Veirix. They’re moving faster than I thought.”

“You have—no idea what’s coming your way,” Nelson whispers.

Ryker and I direct our attention to him.

Nelson hardly raises his head. Only enough to look at us from under his swollen eyelids.

Has he just regained consciousness? Or maybe he heard our entire conversation?

Either way, it doesn’t matter. Nelson is already a dead man. Nothing that falls into this basement ever leaves here alive to see the light of day.

“What are you going to do with him, Eli?”

“And what is the punishment for treason?”

Nelson shakes his head.

“You—betrayed us too. You killed—James,” he gasps with effort.

“Aiden didn’t tell you the whole truth, did he? You worked for Aiden, who didn’t mention he was the one who ordered James’s death.”

“That bitch should have been the one to die.”

Before my exhausted brain can process what is happening, Ryker’s hands are also smeared with blood. He strikes Nelson’s face so hard that his head snaps back and sways as if on a string. And then my brother grabs him by the neck and starts choking him. Bringing his face close to Nelson’s. Baring his teeth in an animalistic snarl.

In a way, that’s the truth. He’s a wild beast.

I watch everything from the sidelines, not wanting to interrupt my brother’s moment.

“Say that again, I dare you,” Ryker hisses ice-cold in his face. “Say that about my wife one more time. Don’t be a pussy, Nelson. Not now that you’ve finally found your balls.”

Nelson says nothing, perhaps because he doesn’t have the strength to respond when every breath is precious.

My friend stares at our victim. He wants… No, he doesn’t want. He craves Nelson to accept the challenge.

But as Ryker understands that these are Nelson’s last moments, he slowly lets go, ultimately removing his hand from the traitor’s neck. Not even a cough or a throat clearing comes from the man. Only gasps.

I place my hand on Ryker’s shoulder and divert his attention. “Ash is waiting. Go home. I’ll take care of this.”

For a moment, he looks at me with a dazed expression. It’s amazing how quickly he can transform into a deadly weapon, into the Jackal.

When Ryker snaps out of his trance, he nods.

“Go,” I say again.

Surrendering, he sighs. “I’ll call you in the morning.” With that, he turns and leaves us alone. The door closes behind him.

“You really don’t know what’s good for you, Nelson. You should thank me, or you wouldn’t be breathing right now.”

“Fuck you.”

The smile on my face is fitting for a psychopath.

Approaching the table against the wall, I pick up a bottle with a clear liquid. I unscrew the cap and toss it into a dark corner.