Noble Beginnings Read Online Free PDF Page B

dead.”
    “They were all
innocent,” Bill added.
    My arms pulled
further backward as Nathan’s grip tightened. The strain against my shoulder
shot pain down my arm. They’d obviously rehearsed this several times with other
detainees. I had an idea what would come next.
    Jim leaned in
close. His eyes darted side to side as he looked into my eyes. “You have any
idea how much you disgust me?”
    “I got an
idea.”
    He laughed and
looked down while rubbing his chin with his left hand. He jerked to the side
and his right arm swung up, his fist clenched and aimed at my head. The blow
landed on the side of my face. A flash of white light filled my eye and faded
as pain pulsed through me.
    “Tell us what
happened,” Bill said.
    “Nothing
happened,” I said. “We—”
    He delivered
another blow, this time to my stomach. I prepared for it by tightening my
abdominal muscles. The blow didn’t have the desired effect. Although, I did
catch Jim shaking his hand afterward.
    “We told them
to leave,” I continued. “Made them promise to leave.”
    “And now
they’re dead,” Bill said.
    “Yeah,” I said.
“I’m guessing they didn’t heed our advice.”
    No one said
anything.
    “Look,” I said.
“You need to get Martinez and his guys in here. Separate them. I’m sure their
stories of what transpired after they left will change.”
    “Thanks,” Bill
said. “But we don’t need you to tell us how to do our jobs.” He turned to Jim,
nodded and stepped toward the door, his back to me.
    Jim smiled,
then swung twice. Both blows connected, one with my stomach, this time a bit
higher and more damaging, and the other one to my face. He smiled at his
handiwork and then backed up.
    The second blow
to my stomach had knocked the wind out of me. The burn in my lungs slowly gave
way to the dull ache on my face where I’d been struck twice. I forced air
through my nose and clenched my jaw while shaking my head violently.
    “I can go all
day,” he said. “So keep up the BS.”
    “I got nothing
to say,” I said. “We didn’t kill that family.”
    I wondered if
Bear was getting the same treatment. There had been five guys in the room when
they separated us. Three stayed with him, two came with me. They deemed him the
greater threat because of his size. Would that translate to harsher
interrogation techniques?
    “Logan gave you
up,” Bill said.
    I said nothing.
I knew the line was fabrication.
    “It’s true. We
worked him before we came in here.” He turned and walked toward me and smiled.
“He caved quickly. Of course, he pinned it all on you.”
    “Bullshit,” I
said. “There’s nothing to pin. Bear… Logan wouldn’t give in that quick even if
there was.”
    “I’m tired of
this,” Bill said. He looked past my shoulder and nodded.
    My arms pulled
back further and I felt my body lift and then crash to the floor. Nathan had me
locked up on the floor. I sat upright. His legs wrapped around me and crossed
over mine. I couldn’t move them.
    Bill and Jim
leaned over. Jim grabbed a handful of my hair, forced my head back. I felt
Nathan’s hot breath on my cheek. That wasn’t as bad as the smell of it, though.
    “What do you
want?” I said, struggling to break the big man’s hold on me.
    “We want the
truth.” Bill reached behind himself and retrieved a handgun. “You either give
it to us, or you die.”
    I closed my
eyes and took a deep breath. I had their positions fixed in my head. I just
needed to free one leg, so I pushed back and kicked out with my leg, only it
wouldn’t move. Nathan pushed down with increased force and Jim adjusted his
grip on my head, gathering up even more hair in his grasp.
    Bill brought
the gun up and placed the cold barrel against my forehead.
    The room went
still with only the sounds of our breathing filling the air. I rolled my eyes
back and looked up at the mold covered ceiling.
    What the
hell is above this floor?
    “I’ve got a
question,” I said.
    Bill