Alive, but barely.
Suspicion crept in next, sharp and uneasy. If Mick was truly a captive, it meant the Brotherhood was ready to sacrifice their own.
Or maybe Mick was playing another angle.
One meant to get Avery killed.
Chapter Twelve
Avery couldn’t look away from the screen. Mick’s face filled it, bloodied and broken, his head slumped forward. Every bruise looked fresh. Every cut screamed pain.
Her stomach went into a hard knot. She’d seen enough photos like this in her old life to know it wasn’t staged. Still, a small voice in her head whispered,What if?
Then the distorted voice poured through the speakers again, dragging her attention away from the image.
“The photo of Mick should have gotten your full attention.”
Noah stepped closer to the console, his expression carved from stone. “You already had our attention,” he said. “Is this a hoax?”
The caller gave a low, almost amused sound. “No hoax. Mick has been a very bad boy. A traitor. And this is what happens to traitors.”
A new alert popped up on Isla’s monitor. Another file.
“Another image coming in,” she said quietly.
The second photo filled the screen. Riley and Megan again. But this time Riley’s face was swollen, blood streaking down from a cut near her temple. Megan’s expression was frozen in terror, her eyes wide and wet.
Avery felt her chest tighten until she could barely draw breath.
Riley had been fine in the first image. Now she was hurt.
The message was clear.
They weren’t bluffing.
Avery’s stomach tightened so hard she thought she might be sick. The image of Riley’s battered face burned into her mind, and she couldn’t take it anymore.
She stepped closer to the console. “What do I have to do?” she asked, her voice unsteady but loud enough to carry.
Both Noah and Jackson turned toward her, the same sharp look in their eyes. Neither of them liked her stepping in. Jackson’s jaw tightened, and Noah’s hand moved toward the mic like he meant to cut her off.
Before he could, the altered voice came through again, smooth and mocking. “There she is. The woman of the hour.” A short chuckle followed, low and ugly. “You’ll get your instructions soon, Avery Hastings.”
A chill ran through her. “When?” she demanded.
“In thirty minutes,” the caller said. “We’ll call you back. Follow the instructions exactly, and the three hostages will be released.”
The line went dead, leaving nothing but static.
Avery stared at the screen, her heart pounding so hard she felt it in her throat. She didn’t move until Noah reached forward and killed the feed completely.
The room was silent, every tech and operative frozen in place.
Thirty minutes.
That was all she had to wait, but it already felt like forever.
Jackson’s voice broke the silence first. “They won’t release them,” he said flatly. “If they get their hands on Avery, there’s nothing stopping them from killing all three hostages anyway.”
