Page 90 of Keeping Laryn
They went up the stairs to the roof and the night air felt like a new beginning. Laryn felt as if she were floating. She had no fears anymore. Tate was there. He’d keep her safe.
She had no idea how much time went by when she was abruptly shifted behind Tate and all four men formed a human shield between her and Altan.
Seeing him actually snapped Laryn out of the semi-trance she’d been in since Mert’s death. Now she felt anger building. Anger at the situation Altan had put her in. At his arrogance in thinking he could force not only her, but everyone else in that hangar to do his bidding. At thinking he could just give her away to Mert.
“It’s Altan,” she told Tate, but it was obvious he knew exactly who the desperate man was in front of them.
“Please! Stay!” he begged, glancing at the men, at the guns pointed at his head, at Laryn. “I need you!”
“Youneedto shut up,” Tate countered.
“Everything I’ve worked for, all the contacts I’ve made, they’ll be for naught if I don’t get those MH-60s retrofitted. You’re the best there is. You know all there is to know about those machines.I need you!”
Laryn opened her mouth to tell him to fuck off. That she didn’t care if he was executed by his own government for not meeting whatever promises he’d made them. But Tate spoke before she could.
“Let’s talk about those contacts,” he said quietly. “How’d you get so many Americans to do your bidding?”
“Money,” Altan blurted succinctly, as if it was obvious. As Laryn supposed it was.
“How’d you find them in the first place?” Pyro pressed.
“The dark web is a vast place, filled with people looking for money in exchange for information. Look…Laryn. I am sorry about how all this went down. But I promise things will be different now. You don’t want a husband? Fine. Is it more money you want? I can do that. I just need you to stay. You don’t understand?—”
“Don’t even look at her, asshole,” Edge growled.
“What’s the matter? You been operating without your leaders’ knowledge or permission?” Chaos asked.
The look on Altan’s face answered the question without him having to say a word.
“You have,” Tate said darkly. “Do they knowanythingabout your little operation here? How you’re using intimidation and threats to get the men to work? Or how youkidnappedLaryn to get her on your little project?”
“They don’t care as long as they get their precious choppers!” Altan yelled. “And the ends justify the means! When they get an MH-60 ready to go that can hold its own against any other military aircraft in the region, they’ll give me everything I was promised. Money, land, respect!”
Laryn was disgusted.
“And it doesn’t matter how many lives you ruin to get there,” Tate retorted.
“The men here are being compensated. Food, a room to sleep, work.”
“They’relockedinside those rooms!” Edge exclaimed. “And I’m guessing the food is shit too. And should we even talk about the men in the dungeon?”
Altan looked shocked. “How do you know about that?”
“We know everything,” Tate said.
Laryn glanced behind her at the glorious sound of an MH-60, now coming in hot.
“We know you kidnap innocent women to force them to do your bidding. That you have no problem standing by while she’s assaulted. That you think nothing of ruining the lives of the men you’ve forced to work for you…all for what? Money? Perceived power? The fact that your government has no idea the lengths you’ll go to for those things makes me feel a hell of a lot better,” Tate bit out.
“If you leave, you’ll regret it,” Altan said with hate in his voice. The fake penitence was now gone. Laryn shivered at the venom she heard. Towardher. “You brought this on yourself! You should have accepted my first offer. If you leave now, this is going to become an international incident. I wouldn’t be surprised if the US found itself in the middle of a huge scandal, maybe even a war with my country! You can’t just cross our borders without suffering the consequences. One way or another, I’ll get you back. Mark my words, I?—”
Laryn jumped at the loud report from Tate’s weapon.
Altan fell to the roof with a thud, just as the MH-60 hovered in the air at the edge of the roof.
“Ready to go?” Tate asked calmly, as if this was just another day of work for him. And she guessed in some ways, it was.
Pyro was already running toward the chopper, and the other two men waited nearby, their weapons at the ready, just in case anyone else decided to check out what was happening on the roof.
