Edge of Obsession (SKALS 3)

“Baas, wait! What are you going to do?”

The smell hit him first, the putrid stench enough to drown out the words and world behind him. A tight grimace contorted his face, and he choked back a gag, his eyes swinging to the man shackled in the middle of the room. Burn blisters and open wounds oozed with raging infection. Little of the Dominic he knew remained. Only his eyes were recognizable, and even those had all but vanished behind the swelling and shift of displaced bones. Seeing the traitor broken and afraid was enough to wrest a cruel smile from Sebastian’s stony countenance, but it wasn’t enough to erase the man’s sins.

“I see my men have been treating you well, Dominic.” His voice was soft and conversational, almost soothing in its cadence.

The man muttered a broken curse, his body flattening in a cringe against the back of his chair. Sebastian smirked.

“Baas…please…” the words were muffled, almost incoherent as they tumbled past split and swollen lips.

“It’s a beautiful thing hearing you beg, Agent Chase. I’m glad to see your memory hasn’t failed you as much as your wisdom. Do you know what the funny thing is about hate?” he asked, coming to a stop in front of his former teammate. “It never falters. Even in someone’s absence. It’s a toxic poison that keeps seeping under your skin. No matter how hard you scrub, you can never can’t get rid of it.”

Dominic cowered in his seat as Sebastian steeled his jaw and pulled his knife free. The wicked steel blade glinted beneath the solitary overhead light in a menacing flash.

“I’m sorry…so sorry…not my fault Baas…listen to me.”

The pleas came in a fragmented and broken stream. Leaning over him, Sebastian gripped the back of the chair with a damning shake of his head. “I’m not interested in your excuses,” he stated. “Only in hearing you scream.”

Slamming his hand down, he buried the knife between Dominic’s legs, pinning the man to his seat. The room echoed with his teammate’s earsplitting wails. Bloody mucus shot past his nose and lips as Dominic screamed and bucked against his chair so hard it tipped. Sebastian righted the man with a cold smile.

“You knew you had this coming. Was it worth it?” he whispered, stroking the side of Dominc’s head with mock affection. “Was it worth betraying me and your team? Was it worth going after the woman I love?”

His teammate’s negative simper turned to a deafening scream as Sebastian twisted the knife and yanked his blade free. “As fun as this has been, it’s not nearly gratifying enough. No, there is only one thing I truly want from you, Dominic.”

Steeling his jaw, Sebastian wrenched his pistol free and leveled it at the man’s face. A brief twinge of satisfaction flooded him as the thunderous boom of his Desert Eagle reverberated off concrete and through his skull. Closing his eyes, he relished the warm, telltale mist that splattered his skin. Josh exploded in a flurry of curses behind him. Eyes wide and fearful, his partner flattened against the wall with his hands splayed as he pushed past.

Stopping in the hall, Sebastian wiped his face and tossed the bloody shirt at Vince. The gunshot brought personnel running, and a small crowd was already starting to gather in the grim, grey corridor. Lifting his chin, he regarded them with squared shoulders.

“This is the last act of mercy you will see from me. Cross me or come near my family again and you won’t find yourselves as fortunate,” he warned.

Stunned whispers followed on his heels as he strode toward his office, leaving his team to ponder his words. Josh jogged behind him, his breath coming in quiet pants as he begged Sebastian to wait. Once inside the private chambers, his partner slammed the doors shut and sagged against them, his expression wild and bewildered.

“What the fuck was that? Have you lost your ever loving mind?”

Sebastian set his pistol down, poured himself a drink, and took a seat behind his desk before lifting his gaze. “I believe I made my reasons perfectly clear,” he said, swirling the amaretto whiskey in his glass.

Josh gaped at him in disbelief. “Are you trying to get us both killed?”

His shoulders jerked in a humorless huff and he downed his drink. Setting the thick tumbler on his desk, Sebastian stood. “No, Josh. Believe it or not, I am trying to save us.”

“And just how in the hell do you figure that? Marx is going to have a fucking field day with this one, Baas, and you know it!”

“Marx…right,” he repeated as he made his way over to the window gracing the right side of the room. “I did what needed done. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it elsewhere. Let me deal with Marx as I see fit.”

Josh flung his arms open in helpless display. “And how are you gonna do that? Huh? You just gonna walk in there and shoot him too, Baas? What do you think will happen to you then? Hell, how are you going to do anything when you’re locked down in a reconditioning cell? If you have a plan for that one, I’d really love to hear it.”

“My plans are not your concern. Send Agent Pellagreeni in on your way out.”

He tensed at the sound of shattering glass behind him. Turning, he took in the broken remains of the framed diploma Josh had batted off the wall. Blue clashed with green. Shooting him a look of disgust, his partner flung the door open and slammed it behind him with enough force to rattle the room.

Sebastian’s shoulders dropped. The rift was upsetting, but there was nothing he could do. Not yet. Sometimes in order to truly save someone, you had to let them go. His thoughts spun to Taylor and his heart wrenched as he prayed it never came down to that with her. Losing his partner, even losing his career he could handle. But Taylor…Taylor was everything.

A loud knock announced Vincent’s arrival. Calling the other man in, he glanced at the clock and tried to assess how much time he had before Marx came barging through the door. However long it was, it wouldn’t be long enough.

“You requested to see me, sir?” Vince asked, doing his best to conceal the rattle of uncertainty in his voice.

He nodded. “I did. Would you like a drink, Agent Pellagreeni?”

“No, sir. Thank you. About what happened earlier, I—”

“Relax,” Sebastian ordered with a forced smile. Judging from the way the other man flinched, the attempt only served to heighten his teammate’s anxiety. “We’ve worked together for a long time now, Vincent. It’s been what? Five years now? Six?”

“Six this summer, sir.”

“Right,” he stated. Sauntering behind his desk, he retrieved his pistol, not missing the way the other man’s eyes flared. “And in that time, there have been many changes. Not all of them have been beneficial to this team. Would you agree with that assessment?”

The other man’s terrified gaze remained locked on the gun in his hand. “I…uh…yes, sir. I suppose.”

“It’s a simple question, Vincent. Yes or no.”

“Please…”

Sebastian cut him off with an annoyed wave of his hand. The technician winced, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Sweat beaded beneath the line of his dark blond hair and he glanced at the door, as if silently begging someon

e to come bail him out.

Ignoring the man, Sebastian continued: “Two team members have turned in the past six months. That tells me there is a very serious issue with this organization. What concerns me even more is what happened with Laychee. Once they have someone in their sights, nothing escapes SKALS attention. I would like to know how a man we had under surveillance managed to not only slip through the cracks, but break into my home and damn near kill the woman I keep in my bed.”

“I—I don’t know, sir. I wasn’t on duty that night. I swear.”

“I believe you,” Sebastian said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Do you know where I am headed with this?”

“I’m assuming you believe Laychee had help from someone else besides Agent Chase, sir. Someone else on the inside.”

“Smart man,” Sebastian said with a terse smile. Setting his gun down, he took a long swill of whiskey. His eyes closed as he relished the sweet burn and released a heavy sigh. “One slight screw-up aside, you have always served me and this team well, Vincent, and despite everything that has happened lately, that is exactly what we are. We are a team. A well-oiled unit that functions together. I have done what I could to preserve those ties, and I have always aimed to protect those under me, no matter how high the cost.”

“You have, sir,” Vincent agreed.

“You have been angling for a promotion for quite some time. What this organization needs is change. I am going to move you out of Com-Tech and place you in Intelligence and Recon, but you are going to do something for me in exchange.”

“Really? I mean…yes, sir. Thank you. Anything,” Vince said, the troubled lines on his forehead subsiding as gratitude replaced his fear.

Strolling across the room, Sebastian closed in on the man. Their eyes locked when the deep boom of Marx’s voice rolled through the hall beyond his office.

“Dominic didn’t act alone. I need to know who else was in on this. I want names. Bring me whatever information you can find. Your discretion is of vast importance in these matters, because I swear to you, when all is said and done, I will have their fucking heads on a stick. Are we clear?”