bChapter /bb227 /b

    Briar’s eyes flicked to the door, where Brandon’s men stood guard. She also kept her voice low as she said, “Not sure yet. The intel from our base is pretty thin. Even though Geoff and his family match a lot of evidence from thebs, I don’t think he’s Ben,”

    Briar smiled. “You noticed too?”

    Ben, a guy who single–handedly set up humanbs all over the world and managed to stay out of the hands of every power for years, shouldn’t panic that easily.

    ‘If Ben were that easy to catch, he’d never have made it onto the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base’s list in the first ce. And there’s no way that Briar’s intel is wrong.‘

    Plus, with a mercenary’s instinct for danger,n could tell that Geoff was just too weak, just a scapegoat, set up to take the heat for someone else.

    “Even if he’s not Ben, the Garzas must be rted to Ben behind the scenes,” Briar said, her eyes icy cold like she was staring at a dead man walking.

    She’d shown no mercy while interrogating Geoff. If he just told the truth, maybe he’d suffer a little less.

    But if he insisted on lying, he was about to learn what it truly meant to beg for death and not be granted it.

    ‘With me here, there’s no way I’d let our elite instructor waste her energy on something this trivial,n thought.

    Briar was okay with that. Honestly, she was getting bored of beating them up anyway. A break sounded good to her.

    Since they knew Briar wasing down to the basement for the interrogation, Brandon had his men stock the table ahead of time with all her favorite snacks and sweets.

    Briar speared a piece of fruit and tossed it into her mouth, watching asn tried every trick in the book to get answers. She didn’t find it gruesome, just dull.

    Ashton finished up his work and came down to check on the basement. Standing at the door, he nced up and saw Briar sitting at the table, looking like the boss, munching on fruit while watching the interrogation unfold.

    Ashton walked over to Briar, nced at her soft, clean hands, and asked casually, “Didn’t get your hands dirty?”

    Briar instantly switched from her bossy posture to a good girl pose. “Yeah, I did. But I got tired, and my hand hurts, so I’m taking a

    break.”

    Ashton’s skeptical gaze shifted back to her hand. “Hurts? Is there an injury?”

    10:21 Mon, 25 Aug @J

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    Briar immediately held out her left hand, wiggling her pinky. Sure enough, there was a tiny, thin, slightly red scratch on the inside of her finger.

    Luckily, Briar’s skin was soft and delicate, and Ashton had asked just in time. Anyter, and that tiny wound would’ve vanished

    without a trace.

    “Look, it’s all red. It hurts,” Briar insisted, soundingpletely justified and a little pouty.

    Ashton was speechless.

    But what could he do? It was his girl, so of course, he had to pamper her.

    Hence, Ashton crouched down beside her, gently took her injured pinky, blew on it softly, and then pressed a kiss to it.

    Under Ashton’s meticulous care, that tiny red scratch faded to nearly nothing. He asked, “Does it still hurt?”

    Briar shook her head. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

    Only then did Ashton stand up, and together, he and Briar turned their attention back to the Garzas, who were suffering a thorough beating fromn.

    Ashton frowned atn’s shy interrogation methods. “Got anything yet?”

    Briar chewed on a sweet piece of fruit and replied, “Nope. All they’ve admitted to is trafficking in human organs. Nothing else.”

    A flicker of disgust crossed Ashton’s eyes. “Then you’re not hitting them hard enough. Ian, put some muscle into it. Did you skip breakfast or something?”

    Ashton replied indifferently, “If they die, I’ll take the heat. It won’te back on you.”

    “Alright! Mr. Wade, you can sit back and enjoy the show!”n immediately tossed aside the little whip in his hand and grabbed a massive iron rod, as thick as an adult’s arm.

    With someone else taking the me, what am I waiting for? Time to cut loose and show them what I can do,‘n thought.

    At this point, Geoff honestly just wanted to die. Ian had whipped him from every possible angle, leaving him in so much agony he was practically wishing for death.

    if Ben hadn’t pumped him full of those body–altering drugs, Briar andn’s nonstop beatings would’ve finished him long ago.

    Now, seeing that massive iron rod inn’s hands, Geoff’s blood ran cold.

    Rusty nails of all sizes jutted from the iron bbar/b. Getting hit with that would be way worse than anything the little whip could do.

    And from the way Ashton was talking just plow, Geoff thought, ‘was he seriouslyining thatn was going too easy on me?

    ‘If I didn’t know that slipping up would lead to a fate worse than torture, a death far more unjust, I would’ve confessed everything right thenb. /b

    ‘Now that my whole family has fallen into Ashton’s hands, if Ben finds out I’ve kept my lips sealed and haven’t spilled a single secret, I’m sure he’ll send someone to bust us out.

    10:21 Mon, 25 Aug bR /b

    ? ???, 57%–

    ‘And once I get out, every bit of pain Ashton, Briar, and the others have put us through, I’ll pay it back tenfold, a hundredfold, a

    thousandfold if I can.”

    +38)

    Noticing the murderous intent still burning in Geoff’s eyes,n didn’t say a word. He just grabbed the iron rod and started beating

    him.

    “Oh, still got the nerve to re at me? Guess I have been too soft on you. Alright, let’s see how tough you are nowi…/ii” /in said.

    In no time, the basement echoed with blood–curdling, hopeless screams. But this time, they onlysted a minute before Geoff

    went dead silent.

    “Well, the only thing tough about you is that mouth of yours,”n said, giving the motionless Geoff a poke with his blood–soaked iron rod. “What, ying dead again?”

    Meanwhile, Qeturah, Norma, and Manny were utterly petrified, thinking it was beyond terrifying.

    Turned out, what truly terrified them wasn’t being hunted down by Ashton’s men but being beaten like animals, with no mercy at

    all.

    Geoff’s body was drug–augmented, making him as strong as a man in his prime. And yet, he still ended up like this, which meant that once Ashton got his hands on them, they were as good as dead.

    Manny was the calmest of the three. Even if Geoff would rather die than tell the truth, she’d do whatever it took to survive.

    AD