Killing Land (Rune Alexander Book 8) by Laken Cane Page A

world. But it was worse for Will the Assassin.
    “I can’t go back,” Will murmured .
“God help me. I can’t.”
    The last was a whispered plea that shocked Rune to her core. And, for one short second, caused her to feel a tiny twinge
of sympathy. “You’re afraid.”
    “What he did to me I grew accustomed to. He tortured me from
birth. I am…I am slightly mad. I understand that. I can’t feel things the way
other people feel things. But I can’t go back. If he catches me…” He stopped,
his rusty voice seeming to simply run out of steam. “I can’t go back.”
    It was the raw agony in his voice that made her believe him.
The tortured truth was there, and she heard it.
    So did Jack. She saw it in his face.
    “You want to join Shiv Crew for protection,” Denim said.
“You want Rune to protect you from your daddy.”
    “Shut up, Denim,” Jack said, mildly. “How many times did
Rune protect you two from Lex’s mommy?”
    Denim’s face paled, then reddened.
He backed away, shrugging off Levi’s hand when his brother clasped his
shoulder.
    “There’s something else in Killing Land,” Will said,
ignoring the sudden tension. “Accept me as Shiv Crew and I’ll get you inside.”
    “What else?” Rune asked.
    He shook his head. “Accept me.”
    “How the fuck do you know all
this?” she asked.
    He ignored the question. “Accept me, Rune.”
    She glanced at Jack, then Raze. They both nodded.
    “On a probationary basis,” she finally agreed. “I’ll give
you two weeks. After that, we’ll decide about a more permanent position. Or not.”
    “Agreed,” he said, quickly.
    Roma, watchful and quiet at Rune’s back, moved forward to
stand in front of the assassin. “I’ll be watching you.”
    He ignored her completely.
    He’d gotten what he wanted.
    If he had told them the entire truth Rune would have been
surprised, but it didn’t matter. If there was more to his story, she’d find out
sooner or later.
    “One recruit down,” Jack said. “How many to go?”
    “I don’t know. Fucking Eugene. Two or three, maybe a couple more.”
    “What’s the other thing?” Ellis asked, stepping out from
behind Levi.
    “What do you mean, Ellie?” she asked.
    “Will said there was something else in Killing Land.”
    “He did.” She turned to look at the assassin. “Answer the
question. What’s the other thing?”
    He was silent for a beat, as though considering whether to
tell the truth or make something up. “Not what,” he said, finally, his voice so
low she frowned and leaned closer.
    “Pardon?” she said.
    “Not what,” he repeated. “Who.”
    She drew back, her hand to her chest. “Who?”
    God please, please…
    Give me this.
    “Your ghoul,” he answered, his voice low and dark and full
of something she didn’t want to acknowledge. “Gunnar the Ghoul is in Killing
Land.”
     
     

Chapter
Fifteen
    “The town,” Will said, hours later when they were gathered
in Rune’s living room, drinking beer and making plans. “Those people feed the
monster. They can’t kill him but they help keep him…” He paused, then shrugged
and went on. “Calm. They help keep him fed.”
    “How do they feed him?”
    “They feed him outsiders.” He said it so matter-of-factly
that it took Rune a moment to understand the horror of his words.
    “Fuck me,” she said, her voice
hoarse.
    They were killing outsiders to keep their monster from
killing them .
    Yeah, she was going in.
    And Gunnar was there.
    Either he’d somehow forced the path to drop her there, or
he’d known it was going to.
    Why else would he be there?
    The assassin wasn’t the only one who knew things.
    “Shit.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Gunnar,
Gunnar.”
    Ellis reached across her coffee table and took her hand, his
eyes wide. “The monster is a cannibal. You can’t go, Rune. Please, don’t go.”
    “Okay baby,” Rune said. “I’ll just stay here and let the
monster go on eating people. I might even