Page 66 of ’Til You Break

But I can. I believe that, given enough time, I can show Vik another way. That together we can face our pasts... and come out stronger without more bloodshed.

I’ll show him we don’t need anything except each other. Maybe he’ll hate me for trying. Maybe he’ll blame me for standing in the way of what he’s wanted his entire life.

But I can’t stand by and watch Vik destroy himself over something that happened so many years ago.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Vik

Inever thought I’d feel like an empty shell of myself on this day of all days.

Hannah’s trying her best to keep me on the righteous path. I suppose it’d be hard for any normal person to understand what drives a man to kill. Since I’ve spared her the gory details of my hunt for these men, it’s easy for her to believe they’ll be my first.

In the end, I did it to preserve her sanity. If the thought of these three men dying is eating away at her soul, I don’t want to imagine what she’d become if she knew everything. Letting her think these will be the first lives I take is easier than confessing about the bodies I’ve buried along the way.

Even now, Frank Coleman remains imprisoned inside the Bunker. Awaiting a trial that’ll never come. Only his execution.

I lied to her again tonight. Hopefully for the last time. When she asked where I was going, I told her I needed to conduct fieldwork. That I simply needed to do my due diligence. Make sure they really were my targets.

I said I have to tail them. Learn their habits. The usual bullshit you’d see in a movie.

She tried to convince me to let it go.

Again. But eventually she relented after I promised nothing would happen.

Abandoned factories surround me as I step out of my car. The streetlights stopped working in this part of the city years ago, leaving only crackheads and bums to wander the darkness. They pay me no attention as I climb the fence surrounding one of the abandoned lots.

The location Brian Harris arranged for us is almost comically appropriate. Years ago, this was one of the biggest abattoirs in the city. They slaughtered five hundred to a thousand pigs and cattle here every day. The place hasn’t seen any blood in decades.

Tonight, that changes.

My plan is simple. Exchange pleasantries. Earn their trust. Negotiate the deal while lowering their guard with jokes and small talk.

Then... Draw my gun.

And fire without hesitation.

Yeah... simple.

Bet this is going to go swimmingly.

It’ll be a rushed job because I don’t want Hannah thinking I’m out doing something stupid.

The abattoir is dark. Empty. No voices. No scurrying. Nothing to suggest another soul is here. Through walls crumbled by years of neglect, a dim yellow light—candles, I suspect—draws me deeper into the building. I approach cautiously, gun in hand, trusting my instincts more than my eyes if something feels out of place.

When I arrive at my destination, I find only one familiar face.

Brian Harris.

He’s strung upside down, stripped to his boxers. His body is battered and bloody, criss-crossed with knife wounds. A quick inspection tells me what ultimately killed him.

His throat was slit.

They left him here to bleed out.

I knew they were smart. I just didn’t expect them to spot my trap when I’d given them so little reason to be suspicious. Then again...

You don’t survive in their world without being cautious.