Page 111 of Misery

"I don't care. He took months of my life. Made me feel worthless. Compared me to her every day without me knowing."She pulls something else from her purse—a small .380. "I know how to use this. Dad made sure of that before I left home."

"This isn't a movie," Magnus warns. "People will die."

"Good. As long as one of them is Thiago." She looks at me. "Or are you going to protect him? Your 'brother'?"

"He stopped being my brother when he touched my ol’ lady."

"Then we understand each other."

Runes starts barking orders. "Magnus, Tor, Dag—you're with me. Fenrir, coordinate backup. Vanir, eyes on the plant. I want to know what we're walking into."

Vanir's already on his laptop. "Pulling up satellite images now. Building's been off the grid for years, but... there. Heat signatures. At least eight people inside. Maybe more."

"Armed?"

"Assume yes."

I check my weapons. Two Glocks, spare magazines, knife in my boot, another at my belt.

The weight of them familiar, comforting.

This is what I know.

How to be violent. Protection through bloodshed.

"What's the layout?" I ask Eleyna.

She grabs a napkin, starts sketching. "Main entrance here. Loading dock here. The actual killing floor is in the center—that's where he probably has your friend's father. Cold storage rooms along the back. Office space up top with good sight lines."

"You paid attention."

"I was trying to understand him. Before I knew what he really was." Her hand shakes slightly as she draws. "There's a drainage tunnel here. Leads to the old sewer system. He showed it to me, said it was important to always have an exit strategy."

"He would," I mutter. Thiago always did plan for failure, even when he expected success.

"There's something else," Eleyna says. "He has explosives. Saw them in a storage room. C4, detonators. Enough to level the building."

"Why would he—" Magnus starts.

"Because if he can't have her, no one can," I finished. "If this goes wrong, he'll blow it all. Take everyone with him."

"Including himself?"

"Death before defeat. It's how he thinks."

Eleyna nods. "He said something yesterday. 'The little artist will understand that love requires sacrifice. Even if that sacrifice is everything.'"

"Fucking psycho," Tor spits.

"We need a different approach," I say. "Can't just storm in if he's wired the place."

"What do you suggest?" Runes asks.

I look at Eleyna. "He knows you found the room. Knows you left. He'll be suspicious if you show up."

"Maybe. But he's also arrogant. He'll think I came crawling back. That I couldn't stay away." She touches her bruised cheek. "He's used to women forgiving him. Coming back for more."

"It's still dangerous."