The Law of Motion (Law Series)

by Di'Nisha Robinson

  "Sh-Shit," the guy sputtered, after wrenching off the side of the table again. "Earl," he panted. "Earl Crawford."

  "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Adrian asked snidely, patting the guy's chest, before turning to Liam.

  "Go get the last one's name, and we can really get started," Liam ordered, pointing toward the well.

  Depending on how weak a person was, dipping was the most terrifying form of torture. I was actually surprised that the man in the well was able to figure out the trick of staying still, not that it stopped his calls for help. Adrian asked the man his name, even going so far as to tell him that he was the only one that hadn't given up a name. When the man didn't answer, Vic let the rope slacken, and the guy sank into the water under the weight of the chair he was still strapped to. I didn't go watch up close, but I could hear the splashes, the struggle, and the sputtering and coughing when Victor pulled him back up.

  They dunked him three times like a giant teabag, before he finally gave up, "Roy Newton," on a coughing groan.

  "Excellent," Liam stated, beaming with false excitement. "Now we all know each other. Right, Myles?"

  "Fuck you," Myles spat.

  I shook my head at Myles’s false bravado, because I could see the sweat beading on his forehead and upper lip, and it wasn't that warm in the barn.

  Liam snickered humorlessly and walked to Myles. He brought his hand back, smacking him hard across the face, knocking Myles and his chair completely over. Dario immediately righted him.

  "This could go really smoothly, or could last for days. Mind your manners, Myles, and it'll all be over soon,” Hunter chided, shaking his head as Liam walked back to the opposite end of the table to hover over Bobby. "What was the bomb for, Bobby?"

  Bobby didn't answer immediately, because Adrian’s presence was making him almost sick with nerves. My boyfriend grabbed another piece of rope as Victor forced Bobby's arms up onto the table. Securing a loop around Bobby's wrists, Adrian pulled the man's arms out straight, Bobby's chest hitting the edge of the table. Liam rummaged through the toolbox, pulling out a pair of pliers.

  "Bomb, Bobby," Liam ordered again, picking up the boy's pinky finger and starting to tug at the boy's fingernail. I could tell he wasn't actually removing it—yet—but the illusion, the threat worked beautifully, because Bobby panicked.

  "No, no, no!" Bobby practically cried, and Liam pulled the pliers away. "A building in downtown D.C, okay? They didn't tell me which one! Look, you don't have to do this shit to me! I'll tell you what you want, what I know... just ...don't!"

  "He's just a kid," Ross whispered, shaking her head. "What the hell was he doing here to begin with?" she asked, like she was thinking out loud.

  Almost as if Bobby had heard her, he blurted out, "I just wanted out of the city, and to make a quick buck... Terry and David didn't tell me about this shit. I didn't know what he was planning, I swear."

  "Let him go," Hunter told Adrian and Victor, who relaxed their grip on him. "Where would Terry and Zoe go, Bob?" he asked him, using a calm, even tone of voice.

  "I don't know," he answered immediately, shaking his head. "I only stayed here at the camp. Hell, I've never even been inside the house," he gushed. "I know that they needed money," he continued, and his eyes looked up at me.

  "Don't look at her!" Adrian snapped, bring his fist down onto the table, where it gave an eerie crack. His shoulders and arms seemed to expand with his hatred, his protection of me as he loomed over Bobby.

  Liam smiled, and it was sinister but controlled. "Okay, Bobby, then who amongst you would know?"

  "Myles," the kid answered, jerking his chin toward the other end of the table.

  "You stupid bastard!" Myles snapped, trying to lunge for him, but was caught in Dario’s strong grip. "I'll fucking kill you!" he threatened, fighting against handcuffs and rough hands.

  "Oh no, you don't," Dario crooned, forcing Myles back down. "Move again, and I'll hang you from that hook...right there." Dario pointed to a large bent metal hook that was high on the closest wooden post.

  "He's been with David since the beginning," Bobby continued, giving a sideways glance to Myles before continuing. "He and David brought in Zoe. I'm not sure why. I heard David’s dead, though..."

  "He is," Hunter admitted to him. "What was the money for?"

  "Us...everyone," he replied, shrugging. "We're broke. Most of us lost everything when C&K got shut down. They'd lost homes and shit. We could hunt and grow food, but not much else. There was a rumor that we were about to lose this place."

  "So what did Terry have to do with C&K?" Liam asked. "He wasn’t a worker."

  "Terry got brought in by Myles and David’s boss to make sure that they did their job. Whatever that was. I heard Myles and David talking about how they didn’t need babysitters one day..."

  "So let me guess," Doc muttered ever so softly in my ear. "Everyone in this has an agenda of their own. Terry just recruits any angry person with a quandary. Angry C&K workers, whatever, and he’s promising to fix it. The guy has a God complex and this shit has gone to his head. This means whoever brought him into the mix has to be more fucked up than he is, and has an issue with Neil Industries on top of it because they wouldn’t be ‘making you pay’ if someone didn’t point them in your direction."

  Liam heard her and studied her face for a moment, waving her off when she mouthed, "Sorry."

  He huffed once, but nodded. "You might be right. And he combined the two problems in order to obtain money. "

  "Interesting," Hunter mused, rubbing his stubbly chin. "Bobby, you've been an outstanding help," he praised, and then turned to Victor. "Take him inside the house, get him something to eat, and have one of my men stand guard over him until transport gets here."

  Vic removed the restraints from Bobby's legs, allowing him to stand up slowly. With a large hand on the back of his neck, he guided him out of the barn and toward the house.

  "I'm gonna fucking kill him!" Myles growled, shifting in his seat.

  "What did I tell you?" Dario asked smoothly, not yelling, but using the low, rumbling tone that was fucking scary. He pulled out a large, sharp knife and cut Myles's leg restraints, yanking him up from the chair. "Arms up, asshole," he commanded, holding the knife to his throat. Dario lifted him effortlessly, catching Myles's cuffs on the hook on the post. His feet dangled about six inches from the ground. "Now. Don't fucking move, or I'll gut you like a pig. Got me?"

  Adrian's impassive face flickered with just a touch of evil amusement, but he said nothing as he waited for Liam's next step, which was the man strapped to the table. I instantly understood the method that they were using; they were saving Myles for last.

  It took several buckets of water on Earl to find out that he was fairly new, but he had been responsible for security at C&K as well. When they were absolutely sure that he had no idea what building that bomb was going to be used on, they ceased their torture on him, moving on to Roy outside in the well. Roy knew even less, but he did give up the name of the bomb destination. Neil Industries. The only problem with that was, there were six buildings owned by Neil Industries in D.C alone.

  With a quick text to Tink to research a way to narrow it down, I turned my attention to Myles, who was hanging silently with his eyes locked onto the activity at the water well.

  I turned to Doc and Ross. "Terry was using them all," I stated, just loudly enough so that I could block out the screams from out at the well, because I needed a break from it all, but also, I wanted to make sure that Myles could hear me. "I'd be willing to bet that these people wouldn't have ever seen a dime of money. I bet he would have ran off with the money, splitting it with this mystery boss."

  Doc hummed in approval, her eyebrows shooting up. "You might be right. He may still run on them, leaving whoever he thinks is left to this fucking mess. Hunt's charging them with some sort of...terrorist shit. I'm not sure what. They'll lose their rights the second they gets them behind bars. They'll be sent to prison to live out the
remainder of their lives. I heard Danny talking this morning..."

  I glanced up at Danny, who was still guarding the doorway of the barn, and he was nodding slowly. "Huh," I breathed with a nod. "Guantanamo Bay?" I verified, and they both nodded.

  "They're military prisoners now," Ross added with a shrug. "A terrorist would be considered a threat to the country...no matter how personal the reasons are..."

  I glanced up at Myles, and noted that he was listening with rapt attention. "This won't be jail Myles—or in this case, America," I told him, tilting my head at him. "Is Terry and this boss worthy of your loyalty? You won't see any money, him, or Zoe. Ever. Funny she’s off with him instead of you." I mused with a hint of a smile.

  Ross snickered softly, shaking her head when he didn't answer me. "Honestly?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "I don't think Myles will make it out of this barn. The others, yes. Him...no."

  "You might be right," I sighed, leaning back against the haystack behind me.

  "You didn't see us with David," she stated, grimacing a bit. “And he only held a gun to Cedrick’s head, this one held a gun to Juan’s and took you.”

  I sneered, fighting my own temper.

  "But it's not just that," Ross continued, locking eyes with Myles. "It's every word Juan said against him once Doc and I got him back. Apparently, Myles likes bullying little kids. He took their food away, made them stay quiet at all times, gave them cough medicine to knock them out when they bugged him. And Juan said that one time, Kris had to take him his inhaler when Myles refused to give it to him. Juan called him ‘The Mean Man.’"

  "I really owe Kris a thank you," Doc sighed, keeping her voice only for us, and Ross nodded in agreement. "I hope he can...stay out of this trouble."

  We both looked up when we saw that they had pulled Roy completely up out of the well. Liam even patted him on the back as Victor lead him away into the house, only to come right back out.

  A surprisingly warm breeze blew through the barn. It was almost November, so it should have been freezing, especially on the mountain but it wasn’t. The smell of more impending rain heading our way, but from the looks of the clouds outside, it was hours before it would be on us. I shirked out of my hoodie as Doc tugged off her jacket. She stood up and stretched, only to sit again. Myles's eyes watched her every move, as she sat by me in a black tank and blue jeans.

  "Come on, princess," Myles chuckled, trying to shift around as he hung there. "You gonna give me a show, too? It's not like I haven't seen you, or touched you, because that drug Terry gave you knocked you out cold."

  Doc gasped the same time that I did, and my heart started racing. My temper flared to an all-time high, and I was up and across the barn before he could take another breath. Danny moved, calling for the men outside, but I had already swung a fist across his face. Another punch to his stomach, and I grabbed one of the knives off of the table. Before I could use it to make sure he’d never piss again and I found myself restrained by three sets strong arms and a velvet voice.

  "Easy, Honeyface," Adrian crooned in my ear as he and Dario held me back.

  Hunter’s face was angry and cold as he looked at Myles, trying to hide his amusement, he turned back at me with a halfhearted sarcastic lecture. "You don't want to use a fist. You want to use an open hand. There's less chance of internal damage that way. I got to turn these guys in when I’m done, Babes.”

  “I don’t care arrest me later.” I spat still trying to get out of Dario and Adrian’s hold. Liam and Victor now coming in to figure out what was going on.

  Adrian wiped his finger on my cheek, and I guessed there was a tear, not that I was calm enough to notice it. “What did he say to you, love?"

  I shook my head, shaking from head to toe as Dario finally released me, but my glare at Myles didn't waver as he coughed and groaned. I noted with complete satisfaction that I'd split the skin of his lip.

  "Tell me, Alyssa," he whispered in my ear, wrapping his arm around my torso and breaking him from my line of vision, "and he will be punished for it. I swear."

  "He touched me...while I was knocked out. He said he fucking touched me!" I wheezed, shaking my head in denial.

  Adrian’s entire demeanor instantly changed completely. He was rigid with his anger, his hands practically shaking claws that were digging into my skin.

  Victor grunted, looking between me and Adrian, and then finally looking to Myles. "You just signed your death warrant, asshole," he stated, taking me from Adrian with surprisingly gentle hands and holding me as Adrian stepped away from us.

  Adrian reached down to the top of his boot and pulled out a long knife with notches in it. He spun it in his hand once, his face dark, and determined. He looked like a dark knight, an avenging angel, and Death come knocking, all rolled into one extraordinary being, because he knew how I felt about being touched against my will. He knew what it would've done to me had I been awake for it. And he wasn't fucking having it.

  Hunter escorted Doc out of the barn before signaling Jeff and Danny to shut the doors behind her. Hunter had his own mask of disdain as he walked back taking the knife from me, softly. With one quick movement, Hunter tossed it past Adrian with perfect accuracy, the blade imbedding itself into his upper thigh.

  I swear you could hear his screams from the bottom of the mountain, though my goal was a little further right, it inflicted pain so I was happy.

  “You think that’s it asshole?” Adrian hissed going towards him, about to cut him down when Liam stepped in.

  "Adrian—" Liam started, but his son held up a quick hand to shut him up.

  "Don't!" he protested, glaring at his father and shaking his head. "This asshole is mine!"

  Adrian dragged the knife lightly around Myles's face, across his neck, and down his torso, as his upper lip curled into a hateful sneer. When he reached the bottom of Myles's t-shirt, he slid the knife under it. With one smooth, slow slice, Myles's shirt lay open, revealing several homemade and professional tattoos.

  Some were grim, some were kind of pretty, but most were a continuous amount of ink spreading over his pecs and shoulders. Adrian sliced again and again, and the shirt fell to the barn floor silently, just below Myles's dangling feet.

  Taking the knife over handed, Adrian jabbed it swiftly into the wood right next to Myles's face, causing him to flinch. He took one step back and turned to me. "Open handed," he stated, raising an eyebrow at me, just before bringing his hand across the knife still in his leg at full speed and strength. Then again at Myles’s face.

  The scream with the smacks that echoed in the barn made us all cringe, but Adrian didn't stop. More slaps popped against Myles's stomach, pecs, and once more across his face.

  "Fuck!" Myles gasped, trying to catch his breath before another hit came. "Make him stop!"

  "Where's Terry and Zoe?" Liam asked, looking resigned at the direction this interrogation was going now.

  "I don't know!" he whimpered, bracing himself when another three hits slashed across his body.

  "Where would they hide, Myles?" Hunter asked, taking a step closer, taking the knife out of his leg.

  Myles's skin was now a bright red, with perfect handprints across his pale stomach and face. His breathing was ragged, as his eyes flickered to Hunter, and then back to Adrian’s raised hand.

  "I swear, I don't know!" he said through gritted teeth, wincing when another hit came to his chest. “There’s another bomb, already in place, stop hurting me and I’ll tell you.

  “Where?” Another slap blurred across his face, this time causing his split lip to bleed, but I spun away from him to look at Liam, Victor still not letting me go.

  Liam placed a hand on his son's shoulder, halting his swinging arm. "Hold on, son," he said softly, turning back to me. "Get with Tink... have her check Neil Industries affiliations with C&K who was running the factory. Then, once we get back, we'll have a chat with Paul Neil."

  Liam’s eyes were dark, almost unfeeling, even though he was directing
his attention to me. And I knew right then, I was being sent from the barn on purpose. I was not to see what would happen next to Myles Thompson.

  I glanced up at the grunting, groaning, wheezing man that was hanging like a piece of meat from a hook. I took a deep breath and let it out, finally looking up at my Adrian—but he wasn't...my Adrian. He was the pure essence of hatred and revenge at the moment. His eyes were black, his hands opening and closing over and over, and every muscle he owned seemed to be pumped up with the poison that was filling him as he glared at the man hanging in front of him. It made me wonder if that is how I looked to my crew when I was filled with fury.

  If it were any other woman in that barn but me, they would have feared him, because they didn’t know how that dark place felt. In fact, looking at him, I wasn't even sure he could be reached.

  "Okay," I finally said to Liam, my brow wrinkling as Dario pulled a battery from a tractor at the end of the barn.

  He snatched the cables that went with it, slamming it all down onto the table next to Myles. Unrolling a piece of duct tape, he taped the black wire to the bare skin of Myles's chest, keeping the red one in his hand. Fuck, if they weren't about to use electric shock on the guy for more information. I shuddered, and if he wasn’t scum under my boot I would have felt sorry for him, because I knew how that felt.

  Myles seemed to come back to himself briefly, looking down at his chest and following the wire that was attached to the battery. His eyes widened, but his attention flickered from Liam, to Hunter, to Victor, to Adrian and then finally to me. And damn, if he didn't have a death wish with the next words that popped out of his mouth.

  "They're real, right?" he panted, a tired, in pain, but a cocky smirk playing on his beaten face.

  I froze, afraid of where he was going with that question, but I had a pretty good idea.

  "Your tits...they're real, right? They felt real," he rasped a harsh laugh. I shuddered.

  It took four men to stop Adrian as he lunged for the knife by Myles's head, and they still called for Macon, who happened to be walking in from outside.