All Chapters of Double Thorns: The Ashford Inheritance: Chapter 71 - Chapter 74

"I don't have the luxury of playing guessing games, Sebastian. Give me a name or I dump Victor here and start walking toward the nearest Syndicate comms relay to turn myself in."Adrian’s voice hit the cold stone of the drainage pipe, echoing in a hollow, miserable rhythm. The air was thick with the scent of stagnant water and the sharp, metallic tang of his own leaking coolant fluid. His vision pulsed—a jagged strobe light of red error messages flickering at the edge of his periphery."You wouldn't," Sebastian whispered. The static in the line sharpened, sounding like a serrated blade scraping against glass. "You’re too stubborn to die in a ditch, and you’re too attached to that relic of a partner to let him expire in the snow.""Try me. Who is at the mill?""A local contact. A fixer who doesn't ask about the history of the blood on your boots. He’s neutral, Adrian. Or as neutral as anyone can be in the shadow of the Syndicate.""Neutral," Adrian repeated, the word tasting like ash.

"Ten minutes? You’re counting down his life like it’s a subscription service, Sebastian. You’re disgusting." Adrian’s voice was a ragged rasp, his throat scorched by the freezing alpine air. He shifted Victor’s weight higher on his shoulder, his spine protesting with a series of sharp, mechanical clicks. "If I hand over those keys, I’m defenseless. You know that. I’m a sitting target with a terminal illness in his arms.""You’re already a target, Adrian," Sebastian replied, the earpiece crackling with static that sounded like distant gunfire. "The keys are a death sentence anyway. Use them to buy a pulse for your friend. Otherwise, you’re just carrying a heavy, cooling weight toward a grave you’ve dug yourself."Adrian leaned his forehead against the cold, weeping concrete of the drainage pipe. The darkness here was absolute, save for the flickering, erratic glow of his internal tactical display. Victor’s breathing was shallow—a wet, rattling sound that seemed to be synced with the ma