AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I was taken into custody by military police out of nowhere. They sat me down and showed me a series of photos. A whole village—annihilated. They’d said I did it, but that was a lie. I wasn’t anywhere near there. I was framed.”
Gage’s grip loosens. “So you’re saying you didn’t kill anyone?”
“Oh, I’ve killed plenty, but it was all in service.”
He releases me, and I push off the table, keeping my eyes trained on Dane.
“Is there anything exonerating you from the crime?” Dane asks. “Or are we just supposed to take your word for it? Because as Cole said, a bunch of women were hanged.”
“I had no part in that!”
Dane cocks his head arrogantly. “Another thing you can’t prove.”
“Calm the fuck down!” Cole snaps. “I don’t know what the fuck happened, but I know for a damn fact that we don’t need this bickering.” He turns to me. “How’d you end up here?”
“A short time after I was sentenced, a guy going by the name of Saber offered me a deal, and I took it. That’s when I became a CP. I was stationed in the south, but they allowed me to relocate.”
“Here’s a question,” Blake says. “Did this Saber guy know you were innocent? Or was he trying to recruit a psychopath?”
I shrug. “No clue.”
“We need to write this shit down,” Gage says. “Every little thing we know, so we can figure out what they were doing at the other outposts.”
“You’re right,” Cole agrees. “But first, we need to do some politicking. I’m reaching out to Russ’s group at the farm. They’re good people, and they should know about the impending threats.”
Dane snorts in distaste. “Why?”
“So they’ll warn us if they see something unusual, like a goddamn rager chicken.”
Dane nods. “Point taken.”
“And we need to find out where the new club is located.”
“There’s a man named Hank that helped me locate Brooke. I still owe him.”
“We’ll reach out to him, and for the time being, we need to cut down on pest control.”
“So you’re pulling us in?” Dane snaps. “Every day that goes by, our chances of finding more women lessen—”
“You misunderstand me, boy,” Cole interrupts. “We’re cutting down on pest control and shifting to people finding. We’re going to scour each building, looking for survivors. We could use the Vultures.”
His suggestion intensifies my once subdued rage. “Have you forgotten what good ol Roy did to me? To fucking Brooke!”
“I haven’t, but they’re not all bad.”
“And you think there’s a litmus test for that?” I snarl.
“Fuck, I’m doing the best I can,” Cole huffs out.
Blake casts a stern look around the room. “Is it not enough that we’re fighting the goddamn world? How about we end this little catfight?”
“Easy for you to say when you have a redheaded tart eager to spread her legs for you each night,” Dane sneers.
I can’t blame him. No one can. So we don’t.
“A reckoning is coming,” Cole deadpans. “We need strength, loyalty, and something to fight for. I aim to get ahead of this mess, and heaven help me, if any of you stand in my way, I’ll feed you to the dead myself!” His expression turns thoughtful. “Or Christine. Pick your poison.”
“Are we done?” Dane asks, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
