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The second we step off the boat that we fuckin' stole, we know that it's too late. We know that somehow, they fuckin' knew we were comin'. The island is dead, not a single soul for miles. The house lights are off, and there isn't a guard or person anywhere to be seen. Alarick, Cohen, Samson, Bohdi, and I decided we'd be the only ones to come, being that we had to find a way onto the boat, threaten someone to bring us out here, and then take down god knows how many men.
That was a fuckin' challenge in itself, but we got onto it.
We came early evening when it was dark. We found the boat Samson pointed out, and we took it over. There were only two people on it at the time. We tied one and forced the other at gunpoint to bring us to the island. Somehow, even though one of us was watching the entire fuckin' time, they alerted Steven that we're coming.
"We're too fuckin' late," I bark, slamming my fist into the ship's side, then I turn on the man we've got tied and grab him by the shirt. "Did you fuckin' squeal? I'll blow your fuckin' brains out."
"I have been tied up the entire fucking time, you dick," he spits in my face.
Rage fills my body, and I slam him to the ground, pulling out my gun and aiming it at his face.
"Kendric, stop," Alarick orders. "Not yet."
My hand shakes as I look down at the man staring up at me with wide eyes. I shove my boot into his chest. "If nobody is here, you and your friend fuckin' die."
Then I turn to Alarick. "There ain't a soul here."
"He's too smart, I fuckin' warned you," Samson growls.
"Let's go check it out," Alarick mutters. "Move."
We get off the boat, Bohdi and Cohen dragging the two men with us. We go through a large house that is empty except for furniture. Some of the beds are unmade, which means they were here and got out quickly. My chest tightens with every step we take, and when we finish searching the house and go outside, I about fuckin' roar with relief. In a group of fuckin' cages, sits Zariah. She's in the middle one, right at the door, her fingers curled around the wire. When she sees me, she cries out, and I move.
Fuck, do I move.
I reach the cage and squat down, staring at her, feelin' somethin' explode into my chest.
Relief.
Pure relief.
"You came," she croaks, smiling weakly at me.
"Of course. Would never let you get hurt."
"Alarick!" I bark, and a moment later, Alarick comes running outside.
The moment he sees her, he mutters something to himself and moves quickly towards the cages. I stand, rattling the padlock. "It's locked. Zariah, step back."
Zariah stands and moves to the back of the cage. I pull out my gun, aim it at the lock, pray it doesn't bounce back, and shoot. The loud shot is piercing to my ears, but the lock busts open, and I quickly shove my gun into my jeans and pull the lock off. Zariah moves fast, and before I can say a word, she throws herself into my arms.
I wrap them around her, feeling how she trembles just a little when I hold her.
She's fuckin' brave.
Beautiful.
I let her down by treatin' her the way I did.
"I'm sorry, Zariah. Never meant what I said. You matter to me more than you know. You hear me?"
She looks up, nodding. "I hear you. Jayden?"
"He's safe, would never let anything happen to your boy."
She makes a pained sound, and whispers, "Thank you."
"You alone here, Zariah?" Alarick asks.
She steps away from me, but her fingers stay clutched around my hand. "Yes. He found out you were coming, and he left. He disappeared and..."
Her eyes go past Alarick, and she sees Samson walk out beside Cohen. The moment she sees him, she lets go of my hand and moves. The way she rushes towards him, I fear she's goin' to break his nose or something, but she doesn't. She throws her arms around him. Shocked, we look on. She hangs onto him like he's her best god damned friend, and she hasn't seen him in years.
Alarick and I move closer.
Samson wraps his arms around her, too, the pain in his face real.
Zariah murmurs something to him, and his eyes clenched closed.
What does she know?
She pulls back and hands Samson a small folded piece of paper. He looks to her for a moment, and then glances down at it and opens it. Whatever he reads, makes his face scrunch in pain. He bellows some curse words, and Zariah puts a hand on his arm, giving him a sympathetic look.
What the fuck is goin' on?
"You want to tell us what went on?" I ask her.
She looks at us. "I met his daughter. Steven has her. She's so beautiful, Kendric. She's beautiful, and she's scared. She left me a note."
Pain stabs into my heart when I look to my brother's face and see the pain in his eyes as he reads over the note, his eyes scanning it repeatedly.
"What does it say?" I ask, my voice thick.
"It says 'I'm sorry, daddy. Please come and get me.'" Zariah whispers.
Alarick makes a sound next to me, and then, in a low voice, murmurs, "Fuck."
"Yeah," I roughly say.
"We have to find them, Alarick," Zariah says, her voice careful. "I know it's hard, now more than ever, but we have to find him. He'll hurt her."
"We'll find him. Startin' with this island," Alarick announces. "Bohdi, find somewhere to tie those fuckers. We're goin' to search this place."
"He said he left nothing," Zariah tells us. "He told me that he took anything that could link him to this."
"Then we go to the cops," I throw out. "Let them find this fuckin' island."
"They know about it, they know he owns an island," she goes on. "He has covered everything. Even if we could convince them to bring a team out here, they won't find anything. He's too smart. All they're going to see is a bloody vacation house."
"There are fuckin' cages..."
"That could be dog cages," Zariah sighs. "Look at them, really look at them. He could simply have animals in them. That's not illegal."
"Search," Alarick orders. "Search anyway. Find anything you fuckin' can. We will find this mother fucker and kill him."
Zariah squeezes Samson's shoulder and then walks over to me. I stretch and arm out and pull her close, needin' to have her by my fuckin' side. I can't lose her again. Can't let her out of my sight.
She's mine.
I'll make fuckin' sure of it.
~*~*~*~
ZARIAH WAS RIGHT, NOT a fuckin' thing shows up on the island. He's smart, alright. Everything is as it should be, just a vacation house where someone would come and enjoy themselves. Other than extra security like large fences, there is nothing to indicate he's doing anything wrong here. We upended everything, searched where we could. There isn't a single fuckin' thing that'll give us reason to get the cops out here.
As we're on our way back to land, we all sit in utter fuckin' silence. None of us know what to say, what to do. Yet again, these mother fuckers have taken us for a ride. Without Steven, we have nothin'. We fucked up, we let him get away, and now we're back to square fuckin' one, and I don't know what to fuckin' do about that. None of us do.
Zariah yawns beside me, smelling clean after she used the shower in the house before we left. She said the least he owed her was a fuckin' good shower. We also took all their fuckin' food, expensive items to sell, and anything else that we could take, simply to make us feel better. It's the only way we could flip them the bird. Fuckin' assholes have taken everything from us. It was the least we could do.
"Let's get you somewhere to sleep, goin' to be a long journey," I say, standing and pulling Zariah up.
We move out of the small living quarters, and I glance at Samson on the way past. He is sitting in the corner, hanging his head, utterly defeated. Breaks my fuckin' heart that he's feelin' this way right now. Everything he's done has been for nothin'. That can't feel good. Fuck, it can't feel good at all.
Zariah and I find a room that has a small bed in it. I find a blanket from a cupboard and lay it out over the one already on it. Not layin' on somethin' someone else has been on. I tuck the pillows under the blanket and then shrug off my jacket and get into the bed. Zariah climbs in, squeezing in beside me and pressing her body up against mine. She lays her head on my shoulder, and for a moment, we're both silent.
"You good?" I ask her.
"I think so," she whispers. "I don't know. I can't stop thinking about Samson and Lilian. I hate knowing she's with them."
"We'll find her, Zariah. We will."
"What if we don't..."
"We. Will."
I roll towards her until we're face to face. She studies me and then exhales. "Are you going to kiss me yet? Or are you going to make me wait until forever to see what you taste like?"
My dick jumps in my pants, and I give her a grin that makes her cheeks go red. I lean forward, pressing my lips against hers. They're soft, and plump, and feel so fuckin' good against mine. She whimpers, and that only makes me want her more. Fuck. I want her so badly. I don't know how I went from wantin' her to pay - to needin' her the way I do, but the fact is, I can't get enough of her.
I want to know where this goes.
I want to see what this brings.
She deepens the kiss, and I regret not kissing her sooner. The fact is, I don't kiss many people. Not somethin' I enjoy doing with someone I don't care about. It's just the way I am. I care about Zariah, and I'm sick of fuckin' denying it.
She reaches down and cups my dick in her hand, squeezing.
I growl.
Fuck. She knows what I want. She always knows what I want. She's a fuckin' animal, and she matches me in a way no other woman has.
I pull my mouth from hers and growl, "You want me to fuck you, baby?"
"Yes," she whimpers.
"Right here? Stick my cock deep inside you?"
She trembles.
She fuckin' loves it.
"Yes, please," she pleads.
"Tell me somethin' first?" I growl, finding her throat and nipping at it.
"What?" she pants.
"You want me? In all the ways you can want someone?"
She pulls back and looks at me. "Are you kidding?"
I narrow my eyes. "Why would I be kiddin'?"
"I've wanted you since I met you, Kendric. I just didn't know it right away. You're my kind of dangerous and the only man ever to understand me. So, the answer is yes. What about you?"
"Do I fuckin' want you?"
"Yes."
"Can't you feel my cock?"
"I feel your cock," she smirks. "I'm talking about your heart?"
I feel that, right in my gut. I reach for her face, cupping it in my hand. "I want everything you've got to give, including that cute fuckin' kid that has grown on me. I'm not willing to part with either of you."
Her eyes light up in a way that makes me damned happy.
"Well then," she whispers. "Are you going to fuck me, or are we going to keep talking about feelings?"
I grin.
There she is.
There's my fuckin' girl.