The other Enforcers had gathered in Talyn’s study, each one of them with a somber expression.
“We sneaking into McBride territory?” Quad Cash asked.
“No,” Talyn said as he headed toward the door. “We’re invading it.”
* * * *
Coop had one massive-ass headache as he slowly opened his eyes. The room was cast in shadows, or that could be his vision on the fritz. Fisher had hit him pretty hard on the head. Coop tried to reach up to see if he had a lump but found he could only raise his arm an inch. Chains rattled as he realized he was shackled to a bare metal bedframe. When he looked down his body, he saw that his ankles were restrained as well.
“Well shit,” he groused. “How the hell am I supposed to get out of this?”
His gaze swept the small, barren room to see that he was alone. Where was Karidon? Coop yanked his arms upward, but the chains held.
“Fuck!” he shouted as his head fell back down. The image of Olin being struck surfaced, and Coop’s anger boiled like lava in his veins. He was going to kill Craig if it was the last thing he ever did.
But first he had to get out of here. The room was no bigger than a prison cell. Only a prison cell at least had a toilet and sink. This room did not. As far as he could see, the bare-spring frame was the only piece of furniture in here. There wasn’t even a window, just a bare bulb that hung above his head, and the wattage had to be twenty-five because it barely lit the ceiling, let alone the room.
Coop moved around slightly, the springs sticking into his back. The only clothing he had on was his pair of pajama pants. He looked down at his stomach to see a large piece of bandage over the wound he’d sustained helping Mya out the window.
Someone had taken the time to patch him up.
The question was, who?
He wasn’t going to get any answers just lying there. “Someone get your fucking ass in here now,” he shouted over and over again until he heard a lock click.
Coop bared his canines when Fisher walked into the room, a scowl on his face. “Acting like a complete idiot isn’t going to help you,” he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Coop laughed as if he’d lost his mind when he recognized the look in Fisher’s eyes. “You didn’t get paid, did you?”
Fisher kicked the bed frame, making the metal groan as the bed jerked, but didn’t move. There was nowhere for it to move. The frame was already butted against the wall. “Keep it quiet, or I’ll shoot you.”
Coop rose up as far as he could and spat at Fisher. He hit the guy square on the jaw. “Fuck you. When I get loose, you’re the second person I’m coming after.”
Fisher used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the spit from his face. He glared daggers at Coop. “Get loose?” The guy chuckled. “You’ll be dead within the hour. And I have to say”—Fisher pressed the boot of his foot on the edge of the frame—”I’m looking forward to hearing you beg as much as your friend Karidon did.”
Coop strained every single muscle in his body as he tried to break the chains. “If you killed Karidon, I’ll not only gut you and Craig, but I’ll slaughter your families, friends, and your entire coalition, you sorry son of a bitch!”
Pure, unadulterated fear spiked through Coop’s body as he thought of Karidon dead. No. It couldn’t be true. Coop wouldn’t allow it to be true. This bastard was lying to rile him. He refused to entertain any thought that he had lost his best friend to these savages.
The skin around his wrist started to bleed as Coop continued to struggle to free himself. He strained until his body ached.
“As entertaining as this is, I have a deal to close.” Fisher moved into the room, and that was when Coop saw the syringe in the man’s hand.
“Don’t you fucking dare.” Coop tried to jerk back, to escape the needle, but he was bound and had nowhere to go. He shouted when Fisher jabbed the needle into his neck.
“Sleep tight.” The guy walked to the door and paused at Coop’s threat.
“I’m coming for you, Fisher. You better sleep with both eyes open and a rifle resting at your side,” Coop warned before the door shut.
Coop closed his eyes as he panted. No, no, no. Karidon isn’t dead. Please god, please don’t let them have killed him.
He threw his head back and screamed until he no longer had a voice, and then he screamed in his head until the darkness pulled him under.
* * * *
Karidon knelt naked on the cold slab floor, his wrists wrapped in chains, and he barely remained conscious. He couldn’t see out of his right eye, and there was blood dribbling from his swollen mouth.