Page 128 of Silent Damage

We look at each other for a long moment, then Jason opens his arms, letting me melt into him.

He kisses the top of my head. “Dude, you’re not losing me again. I’ll be careful. I know what I’m doing.”

Do you?

Jason pushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “I did really well today, Gabe. Like…really well. I’m good at this. It’s going to be okay.”

Our gazes meet, and I see the excitement in his eyes.

“I’m proud of you,” I tell him. “I’m sure it was hard.”

Then, Jason pauses, looking at the ground before saying, “Tobias wants me to help with a job on Friday.”

A cold streak runs down my back. “Like…this Friday?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Jason replies warily.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “What are you doing?” I ask, trying to stay as composed as humanly possible.

“We’re stealing a necklace,” he says too quickly. “Tobias says it’s chill—a job for a newbie.”

Jason’s an awful liar. “Okay.”

“Are you okay?” he finally asks.

I’m not okay, but telling him that won’t help anything. “I’m good. Just be careful, okay?”

Chapter 30

Jason

Training resumed at the sugar factory. I knew we’d be working with guns today and, needless to say, I was bummed as fuck when Tobias handed me a paintball marker.

“If you can’t keep your finger off the trigger with this, you sure as fuck aren’t touching a Glock,” he said when he saw the flash of disappointment in my eyes.

Tobias’s demeanor has shifted since training started. Before the fight, he was all devilish smirks and catcalls, but now…

He’s like a drill sergeant.

Tobias's men taught us stance, grip, sight picture, and how to squeeze the trigger rather than jerk it. We spent the morning shooting targets and learned the difference between cover and concealment. Concrete can cover you—bullets can’t penetrate a concrete wall. Concealment is just hiding…you can hide under a table, but it won’t protect you from a shootout.

The day was long and hot, but then Tobias put us in a van and took us back to the Kitty Cat Club. For a brief moment, I thought we’d chill and have some drinks or something.

No such luck.

We all stand in the dungeon as Tobias walks down the line. “Standing still gets you killed. If you're on a job and you get ambushed, you’ll need to use everything we learned today like it’s second nature. Need to think for a moment?” Tobias points his fingers at my head. “You’re dead.”

I swallow hard, trying to school my features while Tobias locks eyes with me—his fingers like the ghost of a gun against my forehead.

After a long moment, Tobias removes his hand. “And never point a real gun at one of your own.”

Holy shit…

“My men are positioned throughout the maze,” he continues. “Your job as a unit is to reach the end without getting shot. The lights are dim, which mirrors when most jobs take place: at night.” He gives us all a once-over before adding, “Line up at the entrance. This won’t be timed—speed doesn’t matter if you die.”

We nod and make our way to the maze entrance.

“Begin,” Tobias yells.