*****

TRIGGER WARNING

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*****

Lila

Chris stood just inside the door, glanced back into the hall, then turned to her. He swallowed and Lila's stomach dipped.

"There's a new video."

She felt her skin go cold and waited until she knew she could speak without her voice breaking. "Show me."

His jaw twitched. "I'm not sure—"

"Chris. I'm not having this argument again. Show me."

They stared at a each for a minute, then he sighed. "You need to come with me."

She didn't even question, just followed him out into the hallway and up to the conference room that they'd turned into an operation room for the Becky Hanson case.

There was only a handful of staff in there, but their faces were all serious to the point of pain. Lila walked in, then stopped when they looked at her. "What's going on? What is it?" she asked.

Tonya looked away as Chris walked up behind her and put a hand to her shoulder. "His dad went public this time," he said quietly.

Lila gasped and covered her mouth. She stared at Chris, pleading with her eyes. He just gave her an apologetic look. "I think you better sit down," he said.

She couldn't see any choice, so she did.

*****

Dane was a machine. Ruthless, focused, and cruel.

It was obvious when the video started that he'd already been working the guy over for some time. He was breathing heavily and sweating. And the guy was sprawled on the floor, bleeding from more than one wound.

"Talk. Now," the young Dane snarled.

When the man on the ground didn't say anything, Dane kicked him in the ribs with all the power and force of his athletic, well-over-six-foot frame. Lila's breath caught, her own ribs aching in sympathy.

Then he leaned down in the man's face, while the man choked and groaned. "If you don't start talking now, we're going to bring your wife in here and it won't be pretty."

A few minutes of torment and cruelty without an ounce of compassion later, they did just that. She was a pretty, if slightly overweight brunette, and she was already in tears. Dane didn't even give her a chance to beg, he grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the floor next to her husband. She shrieked, and kept shrieking, begging, pleading, trying to bargain. "Shut up before I kill you and your husband!" Dane screamed.

And she did, clapping her hands over her mouth and sobbing into them. Dane walked around them, those little muscles in the back of his jaw twitching.

Lila swallowed a sob—all the time she'd seen him do that, all the times she'd found it attractive, watching him fight his urges. She wanted to look away. Didn't want to see anymore. But she knew she had to. She had to watch. Had to let herself be repulsed. Had to let herself show how much she hated it.

She had to let them think she was falling out of love with Dane.

And she had to make sure she didn't.

He was unrecognizable to her in this film—all that strength and determination that had always made her feel so safe and cared for, now turned to destruction.

Was this what his father was making him do? Right now? Was this what Dane had given himself over to, just to save her?

There was a voice off camera though Lila couldn't catch the words, and Dane's eyes darted to look at whoever spoke, then back to the people on the floor.

He sighed. The woman had fallen awkwardly, but hadn't moved after Dane screamed, so she lay on one arm, her back to her husband, but she was trying to check him, whispering to him.

He lay there, very clearly in pain and not entirely aware of what was happening around him. When Dane knelt next to her the poor woman just fell apart, crying so hard her entire body shook.

"You're too noisy," he said quietly, and she tried desperately to block her own cries, choking into her own hand.

And Dane smiled.

The cruelty, the utter helplessness of these people, and the way he seemed to enjoy what he was doing. Lila felt sick to her stomach.

"Tell your husband," he said, in a voice only slightly higher than his voice now, which was chilling, "that if he doesn't tell me where they are, you're going to become very familiar with my friend," he said, and stroked one hand down her leg, while he put his other hand up, and someone else placed a crowbar in it. "I don't think you want to get to know my friend. He's very… unforgiving."

Lila almost screamed. The tone Dane was using there, the way his voice sounded pleasant, but was saying very unpleasant things... it was just like his father. Exactly the same. Lila began to shake, her own fears and memories triggered by hearing it again.

On the video there was a tense minute where the woman sobbed, and the man groaned, then Dane shook his head and stood, shifting his the crowbar in his hand as if he were a baseball player trying to find a good grip.

He didn't give them warning. Didn't make a face. Nothing.

He just raised it above his head and brought it down with every ounce of strength in his impressive body. There was a scream of pain and the video went black.

Tonya was crying. Another woman at the table looked like she was about to. Even a couple of the men were swallowing hard.

Lila gagged, and caught herself. Closed her eyes. Chris said something, and someone brought a trash can over next to her. But she was breathing and thinking and she wouldn't let this happen.

When she finally opened her eyes, she was still shaky, but she was glad she hadn't eaten lunch. She didn't think she would have kept a lid on a full stomach. But she took a breath and made herself meet Chris's worried gaze.

"Who has it?" she asked, her voice faint.

"We don't know. It came to us as a blind copy email. But we've had phone calls from three different news networks and a dozen websites already. And that was before I came to get you. He didn't cherry pick. My guess is, everyone."

Lila closed her eyes and stood. "Give me a minute."

"Lila, you don't have to—"

"I said, give me a minute."

Then she walked out.