73 Brutality
73 Brutality
Lucian
I couldn’t believe it.
Mara had managed to get the bastard to talk. Just like that.
I turned toward Darian. He was smiling-not smug, just impressed. Maybe he hadn’t been trying to paint me as a monster after all. Maybe he knew Mara would be the one to break him.
I looked at her-and she winked. Calm, confident, completely in control.
She walked over to a chair and sat directly in front of the man, legs crossed, eyes sharp.
“Let his arms down,” she commanded, her voice steady with that unmistakable Gamma authority. The men looked to me.
I nodded. “Do as she says.”
They untied him, and the man collapsed to his knees, barely able to hold himself up.
“What’s your name?” Mara asked, her voice softer now-almost soothing.
“Benard… Benard Garfield,” he rasped.
“Get him some water,” she said, not looking away from him.
One of the guards handed over a bottle, and Benard drank slowly.
“Don’t rush,” Mara warned gently, watching him sip.
Then she leaned forward slightly, voice still calm but with a blade beneath the words. “All this could’ve been avoided, Ben.
All you had to do was give them up. But you didn’t. They used your loyalty. Used you as the fall guy. You think they’d
hesitate to give you up if the roles were reversed?”
Benard didn’t respond, his expression blank.
“I meant what I said,” she continued, voice low. “If you don’t give us something useful, I will take out my anger on your
family. I’m not as kind as my husband.”
He nodded quickly, trembling.
“Speak, Ben. We’re listening.”
She leaned back in the chair, completely composed.
Bennard swallowed, then began.
“Jones. Jones Danewood. He brought the job to us. Said it was the break we’d been waiting for-that we’d be set for life. I needed the money. My wife… Maria, she was starting chemo. I didn’t ask questions. He didn’t give details. Just promised fast cash.”
He paused, ashamed.
“No one met with us in person. Jones claimed he knew the guy behind the job-they went way back, he said. Ethan and I were just… names on a list. I got my cut. Paid for Maria’s treatment. I thought that was it.”
Benard’s voice grew thinner.
“But then, they came to my house. Men I didn’t know. They tied Maria up and gave me a phone. It was Jones. Told me if I didn’t bring my car and follow his instructions, they’d kill her. I didn’t think. I couldn’t.”
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< 73 Brutality
He looked down at his hands like they belonged to someone else.
“I met Jones at the location. That’s when he finally told me what the job was. We were to watch you. Study your patterns. Wait for the green light. A month of tracking you… and then you disappeared off to some resort, so we held back.”
He looked at me briefly, then dropped his eyes again.
“I tried asking questions. Tried figuring out who was behind it all. But all Jones would say was, ‘The man isn’t from around here.’ I didn’t press. I couldn’t risk it. Not with Maria still alive.”
His voice broke a little.
“When they finally gave the kill order, Ethan couldn’t go through with it. He tried to back out. Begged them to ask for something else. Offered to return the money. They didn’t even argue. Just let him go home… and then slaughtered him.
Him, his mate, his kids. All of them.”
Silence fell.
Benard’s breath trembled.
“After that, I stopped questioning. I just obeyed.”
“What happened when you finally did the job?” Mara asked, her tone firm but even.
Benard lowered his head. “Jones told me to report the car stolen and go home to Maria-my mate. He said if I ever got caught, I was to claim full responsibility and take the secret to my grave… or they’d kill her.”
His voice cracked.
“She just went into remission. Fought for her life. I sold my soul to save hers. I couldn’t let them take her after everything.”
That was why he’d rather die than talk. Not for loyalty. For love.
“This Jones Danewood,” I said, stepping forward. “Where is he?”
Benard looked up, defeat in his eyes. “He has no base. No permanent address. He comes and goes as he pleases. He’s not part of your pack, so you can’t track him through the Alpha mark. He’s a ghost.”
Mara leaned forward. “Do you know who he associates with when he does show up?”
Benard hesitated. “They’re innocent, Luna. Most of them don’t know who he really is. To them, he’s just some drifter. A wolf who talks smooth, keeps his head down. They don’t know what he’s capable of.”
Mara didn’t flinch. “Regardless. You’ll give us every name.”
I stepped in beside her. “Your wife is being picked up right now. If you cooperate, no harm will come to her. But if the names lead to nothing-both of your lives are forfeit. So make sure what you give us leads somewhere.”
Benard started sobbing. Even with his swollen face, his body shaking in pain, he still wept. I saw his mate mark, glowing faintly on his neck.
It made sense. Killing her would be like tearing out his soul.
He gave us seven names.
I handed them to Darian. He looked at me-still stiff. I knew why. He was still pissed that I accused him of trying to make me look like a monster in front of Mara.
I swallowed the bitterness in my pride. “Darian,” I said quietly, “I’m sorry.”
He nodded once and took the names without a word. That was enough for now.
The ride home was silent.
Mara wasn’t angry-not outwardly. But I’d yelled at her. In front of everyone. I could feel the chill in her silence, and I knew
she wouldn’t just let it slide. She respected me enough not to call me out there, and for that, I was grateful.
But the silence?
That wae torture
