The word landed heavy.
Honest.
Real.
Flick’s breath caught softly.
But she didn’t pull away.
Didn’t look horrified.
Didn’t flinch.
Instead—
her hand slowly lifted to my face.
Gentle.
Like she already knew there was more pain attached to that answer than violence.
“Hersh…”
I swallowed once.
“He had a girl chained in the back of a truck.”
The tavern went completely silent.
Flick’s eyes filled instantly.
Because now she understood exactly why I pulled the trigger.
And downstairs on the floor?—
for the first time all night?—
Eric Vaughn stopped smiling.
30
FELICITY
“He had a girl chained in the back of a truck.”
The words settled over the tavern like a shockwave.
Everything inside me went painfully still.
Because suddenly I could see it.
Younger Hersh.
Army Ranger.
Standing in the desert staring at monsters wearing human skin.
And choosing to kill a monster to save somebody innocent.
