Page 73 of Brutal Truths

Knowing we’re on a time crunch, I check it over. No wires. No triggers. It’s clear, so I rip it open and step inside.

A chilling rage washes over me as I take in the scene. When I get my hands on Rurik, he will suffer a slow death, one I’ll enjoy more than I should.

“Fuck,” Zander breathes out behind me.

Fuck is right.

The barn is packed with explosives. Wires run from the dynamite to larger barrels. I have no idea what’s inside them. I don’t care. When this thing goes, it’s taking everything with it.

Including the three people tied to the support beams. Gagged. Handcuffed. Razor wire wrapped around them.

Sick bastard.

There’s a body on the floor. I don’t have time to check it.

My attention stays on the three bodies still breathing, eyes locked on me, fear written all over their faces. They know it. We’re running out of time.

Jen.

Merial.

And Freya. Silas’s daughter.

Fuck me.

I head for her first. She’s only fourteen. No way am I letting her die, even if her dad’s a prick.

The handcuffs will be the easiest challenge to get through. Picking this lock will take me seconds.

It’s the damn razor wire around her neck that’s the problem. One wrong move could sever a major vein. She bleeds out before I can’t stop it.

I calm my breathing. Careful. Controlled. No sudden movements.

And I need her to stay just as calm. Something that won’t be easy, especially for a young girl who’s scared out of her mind.

“Freya, don’t move. I know you want to, but don’t.”

I pull out my Leatherman and flip it open, angling the wire cutter so she can see it. “I need to cut this wire off of you, but I need to do it carefully. Trust me. Blink. Breathe. Don’t move.”

Keeping my eyes on her. “I promise I’m getting this off, okay? Blink twice when you’re ready.”

She blinks, and I slip the wire cutter under the coil, making the first careful snip. Blood trickles down her neck from where the wire has nicked her skin, but it’s minor. Nothing life-threatening.

I need to get this off, fast and clean, before it becomes a real problem.

It’s a good thing Silas isn’t with us. He’d make this so much worse.

And right on cue, I hear him. Stomping in like a toddler, not even trying to be quiet.

“Where the fuck did you guys go?”

I hold Freya’s gaze, willing her to stay perfectly still as I call out without looking away. “Silas, I told you not to move.”

“Like I’d—” He breaks off mid-thought. “What the actual fuck?”

Freya whimpers behind the duct tape, her body tightening before she squeezes her eyes shut. The wire shifts, biting deeper into her neck.

“Freya!” Silas surges forward, all control gone, and Zander is forced to halt his task, stepping in to block him. “Let me go! That’s my daughter!”