Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
While we had no clue what the guy was up to, we all knew it wasn’t good. The second Cotton discovered there was a connection between Bruton and Ben, he ordered Stitch and me to track him down. We started at the address Bones had given us, but he wasn’t there.
He was with Elsie.
At her college campus.
In a supply closet.
With a gun.
He intended to kidnap her, but we were there to stop him dead in his tracks. We brought him to Stitch’s playroom, and things were not looking good for the guy.
Stitch had secured Ben’s hands over his head with his feet barely touching the floor, and the guy couldn’t have looked more freaked out—as he should be. The asshole was about to experience an unimaginable hell, and as far as I was concerned, he had it coming for fucking with Fury.
He could see Stitch’s tools sprawled out on the table. It was clear what was in store for him, which is why he started shouting, “I wasn’t gonna hurt her. I would never hurt her.”
“I’m gonna give you a piece of advice here, kid.” Stitch stepped closer to him. “Don’t speak until spoken to. You got that?”
Ben nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Good.” Stitch stepped back over to the table and grabbed a pair of brass knuckles. As he slipped them on, he leaned over to me and said, “Remember, sometimes less is more. Start off simple and see where it takes you.”
I nodded, then watched as he stepped back over to Ben. “Tell me what you wanted with the girl.”
“Nothing. I was just...”
Before he could finish his thought, Stitch drew his hand into a fist, tightly clutching his brass knuckles, and slammed it into Ben’s ribs. He immediately started gasping and wailing out in agony. Ignoring his cries, Stitch growled, “A second piece of advice... Don’t try to bullshit me. You lie, you pay.”
“I got nothing to do with all this. I swear it.”
“We both know that isn’t completely true.”
“It is!” Ben wailed. “Come on, man. What do you want from me?”
“Last piece of advice.” Stitch punched him again, causing the air to rush from Ben’s lungs, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”
I stood there watching their exchange, waiting for the moment when I would feel something—guilt, pity, or even some sort of inspiration, but I felt nothing. It was like I was numb to it all, and I had my folks and my stint in the military to thank for that. Seeing Ben in such a rough state took me back to that day in Afghanistan—the one I tried so desperately to forget.
It was a day that I lost over half of my platoon and my faith in humanity. I knew what would happen if I let myself get lost in the memory, so I quickly shook it off and stepped over to Cotton. I kept my eyes trained on Stitch as I asked, “You buying this innocent victim bullshit?”
“Not for a second.” Cotton glanced over at me as he assured me, “Stitch will get him talking. Just gotta give him time.”
We both watched as Stitch punched him again, this time with his other hand and square in Ben’s jaw, momentarily knocking him out. Stitch took a bottle of ice-cold water and dumped it over Ben’s head, bringing him out of his haze. Cotton leaned over to me as he said, “You know, I was concerned when Stitch announced he was thinking about stepping down. As you know, he’s gotten us through some pretty tight spots over the years, and we all hate to see him go. That being said, I’m not sure that you’ve got what it takes to completely fill his shoes, but you’re damn close.”
“I appreciate that, Prez.” It meant a great deal to me that our president had put his faith in me, so I quickly added, “I’ll do my best to make you proud.”
“I have no doubt that you will.”
With that, Cotton turned his attention back to Stitch, and we both watched as he slammed his fist into his side. Brass knuckles to the ribs hurt like a motherfucker. It took him a moment to collect himself, but once he was able to catch his breath, Ben muttered, “I don’t know how I got pulled into this. I was just supposed to show up in one of her classes and ask her out.”
“And why were you supposed to do that?”
“So I could get closer to her and earn her trust.” Stitch’s eyes skirted over to me, giving me a look that signaled the vault had officially been opened. His attention was drawn back to Ben when he added, “I was supposed to get her to talk about you guys and see if I could find out stuff.”
“What were you supposed to find out?”
“Anything. Everything. I wasn’t given any parameters. He just wanted me to get her talking, but she never did. And that was it. I swear it.”