“I’ve got something hanging over my head, something bad, and the box is the only leverage I’ve got,” I said. “Please, just step away from it so I can pick it up. You too, Thornton.”
Thornton didn’t move an inch. His face was stony, defiant. “Make me, asshole.”
Bethany didn’t move, either. “What happens once you have the box? You kill us?”
“Good luck trying,” Thornton said.
“Once I have it, I’ll leave, I promise. I don’t want to hurt anyone.” I lowered the gun to show them I meant what I said.
It was a mistake. Thornton immediately changed into wolf form, and this time I saw it happen. In an instant, his human form melted like water and re-formed itself as the timber wolf. But because he acted so quickly, he hadn’t taken off his coat and clothes first. The material stretched and tore around him, dangling in strips off his back and clinging tightly to his haunches and hind legs. He let out an angry growl, but he was too weak and too tangled in his clothes to do anything but limp over and nudge at me feebly with his snout in an attempt to knock me over. He bit my leg, but his jaws were too frail to give the bite any power and his teeth didn’t even penetrate my jeans. I sighed. Seeing the once formidable wolf reduced to this was heartbreaking.
“Stop,” I said softly. “Thornton, just stop.”
The wolf backed away, growling hoarsely. He stumbled, fell onto his side in the shadow of the car, and remained there, drained and depleted, his eyes still fixed angrily on me. The lights on the amulet pulsed weakly.
Bethany reached for her cargo vest, but I lifted the gun again and she stopped.
“Bethany, please,” I said. “Just step away from the box. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She moved to stand in front of the box, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin defiantly. “That’s funny, coming from someone pointing a gun in my face. No, if you want the box, this time you’re going to have to pull the trigger.”
She wasn’t bluffing. Bethany wasn’t the bluffing kind. She would die to protect that goddamn box. She was brave and dedicated, I’d give her that. She had been since the moment I’d met her. I respected her for it. In another world, one that was more just, we could have been good friends. I would have liked that, but there was no hope of it now, not after this.
I thought about all the terrible things Underwood had manipulated me into doing, and all the while I’d naively believed he’d get the answers I wanted in return. I thought about the chair with the straps, and the drain in the floor, and the monster I worked for, and knew it couldn’t go on like this. I had to get out, and the box was my only ticket. I swallowed, my throat dry as sandpaper. My palms were sweaty against the grip of the gun. My finger trembled on the trigger. I’d been so sure about what I had to do, but now that the moment was here it felt like everything was unraveling, spinning out of control. It shouldn’t have come to this. There should have been another way, but I was so used to acting alone, so used to relying on the intimidating power of a gun to get what I wanted, that, ironically, I’d fallen back on what I’d learned from Underwood. But my training hadn’t prepared me for this, for pointing a gun at the only people who’d ever treated me with kindness.
I guess you can only wonder if you’re a monster so many times before you become one.
Bethany must have read the conflicting emotions in my face because her tone softened. “Whatever’s going on, whatever’s hanging over your head, this isn’t the way.”
But it was too late now. After you pull your gun on someone, there’s no going back. “Just hand over the box, okay?”
“Why?” she demanded, incredulous. “What could you possibly want with it?”
“I’m going to destroy it,” I said. “It’s the only way out for me, and believe it or not, for you, too. Destroying that thing is the only way any of us will be safe.”
Her reaction surprised me. She shook her head. She looked almost sorry for me. “You can’t.”
“Watch me,” I told her.
“Trent, just put the gun down and we can talk about this. Don’t you think others have tried to destroy what’s in this box? Hell, I would destroy it myself if I could, but it can’t be destroyed. It just heals itself, puts itself back together again. It’s like you that way.”
I stared at the box on the floor by her feet. “It’s alive?”
At that moment, the garage door motor roared, startling me. The door rolled up, revealing Chaz standing on the sidewalk outside. He grimaced at us as he pulled his key out of a key box on the outside wall.
He wasn’t alone. Big Joe held Chaz tightly by the arm. Beside him, Tomo flashed me a malicious, triumphant grin, and said, “Why are you always runnin’ away from us, T-Bag? Don’t you wanna play with your friends no more?”
Twenty-two
Keeping a tight grip on Chaz’s tattooed arm, Big Joe pushed him forward into the auto body shop. “Thanks for unlocking the door, kid. Remember when I said we’d let you go afterward? I lied.” In one swift motion, he grabbed Chaz’s head with both hands and twisted. Chaz’s neck snapped with a muffled crack.
“No!” I shouted, but it was too late. He shoved Chaz’s limp body into the corner of the shop.
Big Joe sneered at me. “You’re not gonna act all holier-than-thou, are you, T-Bag? You know you’ve got just as much blood on your hands as I do.”
“You know these men?” Bethany demanded.
“They’re the ones I warned you about,” I said. I looked at Chaz’s body. The kid was dead and I might as well have painted a target on him. They must have caught him running away from the auto shop. I glared at Big Joe and Tomo. My jaw went tight. My finger twitched on the trigger, but as much as I wanted to take them down, I kept the gun pointed down at the floor. I didn’t want things to get any more out of hand than they already were.
Tomo nudged Big Joe with his elbow, chuckling and pointing at Thornton. “Dude, that’s gotta be the most fucked-up dog I’ve ever seen.”
Thornton growled and pushed himself up onto his feet. His legs trembled under his weight.
Bethany reached for her vest, but I held up a hand to stop her. Tomo and Big Joe hadn’t drawn their weapons yet, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind they were armed. They always were, and they were quick on the draw. Bethany would be dead before she could pull out a charm.
“So, you got the box or what?” Tomo demanded. “Underwood’s waitin’.”
“The girl’s got it,” Big Joe said, nodding his chin toward Bethany and the box at her feet. “Yo, T-Bag, you gonna introduce us to your friend? She’s smokin’ hot.”
“Short as hell, though,” Tomo said. “What is she, a kid? You bangin’ her, you fuckin’ perv?” He and Big Joe laughed, and my temper flared.
“Come on, T-Bag,” Big Joe said. “Grab the box, waste the girl, and let’s get out of here. Unless you think we should take turns with her first. Share and share alike, right, T-Bag?”
“Charming,” Bethany said.
I’d had enough. “Back off,” I said, and lifted my gun, pointing it at them.
“Whoa, what the fuck are you doing?” Big Joe demanded. He stared at the barrel of the Bersa semiautomatic for a moment, then grinned. “Look, if this is about before, I’m sorry we kicked your ass, but you had it coming.” When I didn’t say anything or put the gun down, he sighed. “Ah, I see. You’re making a big mistake. A big fucking mistake.” He and Tomo reluctantly put their hands up.
“Tell Underwood he’s not getting the box,” I said. “Tell him I’m done being manipulated and lied to. If he comes after me it’s his own funeral.”