Page 92 of Ruined By a Devil

“I don’t have time for your bullshit,” I say as I grab a handful of his hair, and yank his head back, pressing the gun right under his jaw. “Where’s Nolan?” I demand.

“Who?” He asks, his voice trembling. “I don't know what you’re⁠—"

“I can make this a lot less painful,” I grab his hand, twisting his middle finger backwards until it snaps, causing him to scream and drop to his knees. “If you cooperate.”

“Man, I swear⁠—”

“Don’t swear in vain,” I grab his ring finger, and the man immediately panics. “Which hangar is Nolan Devlin in?”

“Seven!” He sobs, tears streaming down his face. “Hangar seven! Service road at the back of the property!”

“Now, was that so hard?” I ask, tilting my head as I take in the look of terror on his face.

“Sorry!” Miller continues. “I don’t know anything. He said he just wanted the plane, he said no one was going to get hurt⁠—”

“Unfortunately,” I pull him up by the collar, forcing him to face me, “you put the most important person in my life in danger and I can’t just let you walk out of here to tell the tale.”

“No,” his whole body is trembling with fear as the realization hits him. “Please, don’t! I have a wife and family, I⁠—”

“I have a wife, too,” I say, leaning forward. “And she might be dead right now because you made the choice to help Nolan Devlin.”

“Please, no,” the man cries. “Please don’t kill me!”

“Too bad I already made my choice,” I pull the trigger, his brain splattering on the wall behind and some of it getting on my jacket too. His body drops to the floor with a loud thud while I run out.

Just as I’m about to try calling Cain through the radio once again, the glass door behind me opens and I see Zeke walk in with an unsuppressed rifle in his hands. Elijah and Levi are right behind him, and then I spot Cain. He has a dark bruise swelling on his cheekbone, the blood still drying on his collar.

“I got his location,” I tell them and my brothers follow me.

Cain catches up to me, a look of regret on his face as he speaks. “They jammed my comms and locked the outer gate,” he says, his voice thick with rage.

“How many of them are out there?” I ask.

“Not sure,” he responds. “I put two down, but I can’t tell how many of the guards are on Nolan’s payroll.”

“Nolan has her,” I say.

“But you know where they are?” Zeke asks behind me.

“Yes, hangar seven,” I reply. “That’s where we’re heading.”

“Let’s get this son of a bitch once and for all,” Levi says, his voice full of anger.

We fall right into formation. Ezekiel takes the lead, Levi covers the right, and Elijah and Cain watch our backs. I walk in the center, keeping my gun up and my eyes locked on the rusted metal of the hangar at the end of the airfield.

Nolan Devlin isn't his father.

The words keep echoing in my head, making sure I don’t forget it because if I do, and if we approach this the way we’d approach Ronan, we’re screwed. The old man relied on fear and numbers, while Nolan relies on intelligence. He studied us, just like I would have done if the roles had been reversed. And he found the one weakness in our armor, separated the security detail, and isolated the only thing in this world I care about.

Two men in dark tactical gear step out from behind a fuel truck near hangar four, raising automatic weapons. Elijah and Levi fire simultaneously. Both men drop to the asphalt before they can pull their triggers.

The smell of aviation fuel grows stronger as we continue to move forward.

“Wait,” Zeke stops and I turn to look at him. “Can you hear that?”

I listen and that’s when I hear it myself, the low sound a jet engine is making in the distance.

“He’s firing up the turbines,’ Cain says, tracking the sound.