The Apocalypse Survival Manual (Three Days Before Doomsday, I Stockpiled Billions) novel Chapter 762

Craig clenched his teeth against the pain, his eyes wide with fear. "If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Depends on what you tell me." Nicole pressed her gun to his forehead. "Or keep your mouth shut, and we can end this now."

His jaw tightened. He said nothing.

Nicole didn't bother trying to beat the answer out of him. She tried a different approach.

"How about this? Tell me who hired you, and I'll tell you what happened to your men."

So she was responsible.

Craig struggled beneath her foot. "What did you do to them?"

Nicole smiled, then shot him in the thigh again. "I used to be a surgeon. I know where to aim if I want to keep you alive. We can keep going. Your choice."

She was in control, and she wasn't about to let him bargain with her.

She fired twice more.

Craig's screams echoed through the mountains. No one came.

He had never dealt with anyone like her. He couldn't predict what she would do next.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

The pain was so bad that death almost seemed preferable.

Then Cola padded over and pressed a paw into one of the wounds in his thigh.

Craig screamed again. Now, he just wanted it to end.

He finally broke.

"A high-ranking official's relative hired me to kill you," he gasped.

Nicole shot him in the leg again. "You're still lying to me?"

Craig nearly passed out.

She kept placing her shots carefully, trying to keep him alive.

His leg was a bloody mess.

He still wasn't sure he believed her. Then she mentioned their training with the submarine unit and said she would let him know when there was an opening.

That got his attention.

After she left, he sent someone to follow her. His man watched her enter the military family housing in Zone A.

"Well, well." Craig listened to the recording several times. "What do we have here?"

He spent the next few days asking around. He couldn't put a name to her, but living in military family housing gave her claim some weight.

With that recording as insurance, he might be able to turn her connections to his advantage.

Besides, several of his men were missing, and he was sure Nicole and Zeph were responsible. This was a chance to settle that score.

When she told him they were heading to the coal yard, he made his move.

He thought he was setting a trap for them. Instead, they set one for him.

Now, he was at their mercy.