Live Free or Die Complete Series Boxed Set: Age Of Madness - A Kurtherian Gambit Series Hayley Lawson (ebook reader play store .TXT) 📖

told Tightwad. She’d not have made it through last night if he hadn’t passed her the knife she’d used to kill Pavel. Tightwad was a funny-looking man. With his colorful hand-knitted sweater, his tattoos, and his wild hair, he had the air of a free spirit, someone who didn’t give two fucks about what other people thought of him.

Ryder liked people like Tightwad. Carter was a bit like him, with his bows in his beard, but he teased her far too often for her to ever admit it. Tightwad acted like a chilled version of Carter—possibly chilled because he was wasted.

Tightwad got to shaky feet. “You’re very welcome. I’m sorry I couldn’t have done more. It was because I was seeing two of everything, and I was scared I might have injured the wrong person.”

Ryder knew exactly what that felt like. “I understand. The knife was all I needed.”

“You were very good with the knife and your bow. That man did seem like an awful human.”

“That’s putting it very nicely,” Ryder agreed. She knew that Sergei and Yegor would be close by. They were hunters, and they wouldn’t rest until they got their kill. Sergei had wanted to kill Ryder for years, and now he had his chance. But she’d be ready for him when he came for her.

“What are you guys up to?” Tightwad asked, as though he’d only just realized that they were all there for a reason.

Massimo grinned. “We’re going to help Ryder break her friends out of an underground bunker-prison. You want to join us?”

Tightwad looked longingly at the ruined pub for a moment. He turned back to Massimo and shrugged. “Sure. Got nothing else to do until the Old Dog gets cleaned up.”

Well, that was easier than I thought it would be, Massimo mused. “Get yourself some liquor from the bar on the house and sober up. We are gathering up a few more people, and will come for you on the way back,” he told Tightwad.

“I left money inside for my water, and now you’re telling me it’s free?” Tightwad staggered to his feet. “I’m taking my money back if it’s on the house.”

“Sure,” Massimo murmured as he glanced inside the Old Dog. He couldn’t help but look—just like when he was a kid so long ago and his parents told him not to watch a certain horror movie. He had watched anyway…and had spent the next few months having nightmares about clowns and wishing he had listened to his parents.

Massimo quickly turned and headed toward the church to see if the people had gathered there.

The church was where the fire had originally come from, after Massimo had burned the first bodies in hopes of stopping the disease. The church was empty, and so were the streets.

“Is it always this quiet?” Carter asked Leandro.

“No, but I can understand it after everything that happened yesterday. People are probably scared, so they’re staying indoors. I don’t blame them. Let’s head out of town, to Clint’s house.” Leandro suggested.

Ryder was glad to leave. It was a ghost town.

Chapter Eight

Terrier breathed a sigh of relief when he found Mama Lou talking to Peter in a quiet spot. She’d asked him to count all the men in the tunnels since they needed to keep an eye on them, and he had bad news for her.

He hurried over to them. “Mama Lou, sorry to interrupt, but one of the men is missing.”

“Do you know who?” Mama Lou asked.

“No. A man from Tunnel Five. I checked four times, and it was the same count as last night.”

Mama Lou set off in the direction of Tunnel Five. “What are you two waiting for? We need to get to Tunnel Four before the men leave.”

“They’re already leaving the tunnels, they’re headed for the main area of Level Six,” Terrier informed her sheepishly. He thought he just had to do a head count once, so he hadn’t made them stay down there.

When Mama Lou turned and looked at Terrier, he knew something was wrong. “What’s happened?” he asked.

“Another girl killed herself last night—or it was made to look that way.” Mama Lou told him gently.

Terrier staggered, his mind reeling. “I should have done a better job of watching over them. Who?” Please don’t let it be Natalie.

Mama Lou placed her hand on Terrier’s. She knew he took the safety of the women and kids seriously. “It’s not your fault. There are just too many people to watch over down here.”

“Who was it?” Terrier asked again. Not Natalie, please.

“Eva,” Mama Lou told him soberly.

“Let’s get this fucker.” Terrier steamrollered across Level six to Tunnel Five, closely followed by Peter.

They grabbed everyone who was by the entrance or nearby, stopping anyone else from leaving.

“Against the wall,” Terrier ordered. The men did as they were told. They could see that Terrier and Peter weren’t fucking around.

“What’s going on?” one of the men asked.

Mama Lou came forward with her hands on her hips. “That’s what we’re here to work out. Who’s missing from your level?”

The men looked up and down the line, and named a few people who were standing by the other tunnel. “Get them,” she told Terrier.

He was already on his way over. He dragged the men back and pinned them against the wall, then counted again. Everyone was accounted for except one.

Terrier examined their faces to work out which one was missing. It was hard, since they all looked like dirty, ugly fuckers.

Mama Lou placed a hand on Terrier’s arm. “Do you know who is missing?”

Terrier could feel everyone’s eyes on him.

He sighed. He didn’t.

“You can’t hold us here,” another man protested.

Mama Lou rounded on the man with an imperious snort. “I can do whatever the hell I want to protect the people on Level Six!” She walked up and down the line of men with Peter and he had her back. “I’m going to find out which one of you scum-sucking bastards killed Eva and make sure he pays for it!”

Terrier watched the