We waited until the house went dark and the sounds inside died down. This time of night? Those fuckers were probably passed out, especially given the day they’d had. Doc, Thor, and Saint stood to one side of me just beyond the tree line, their eyes on the house and their hands folded in front of them. Bear and Aris stood on the other.
I’d done everything I could to convince both Saint and Aris to stay behind. Saint had been in a boot up until a week ago, and Aris’s eyes had gone pitch black when his girls had been taken. I didn’t trust him to stay levelheaded once we got inside. But who the fuck was I to tell him no? There was no one who could keep me from coming to save Alba, to make sure she was okay.
Once we had a location, Castor hacked into their security system and looped the feed, meaning we’d get in and out with no one seeing us.
Anticipation rocked around my stomach like bad sushi, and my nerves were so fucking shot that I thought I might explode. I took deep breaths to calm myself and keep from rushing into the fucking house prematurely. I didn’t want to ruin Thor’s plan, and of the two of us, he was the one thinking like a rational person.
I wanted blood.
I wanted Benito’s head on a fucking spike.
I wanted to wipe out every fucking one of them.
Thor tapped me on the shoulder and nodded, pointing his finger toward the house twice to indicate it was time. He crouched and walked forward, sticking to the shadows at the edge of the property until we got to the house. Two Caputi men sat on the steps in front of the back door, smoking cigarettes and bullshitting. They didn’t see us yet.
Thor held his gun up over the plants, aiming for the one on the left.
Pew! Pew!
The bullets whizzed through the silencer, downing both of them with quiet precision. We took the steps two at a time, carefully avoiding the carcasses and the rapidly growing pools of blood on either side. We slipped inside the back door, thankfully unlocked.
Three guys slept on the couch in the living room. I raised my gun.
Pew! Pew! Pew!
Three guys dead on the couch in the living room.
I didn’t care. The cold blind rage burning inside me had created a monster dead set on one thing and one thing only: finding my girl.
She better be alive.
Or so fucking help me.
The urge to stalk through the house and kill everyone inside boiled through my blood, and if I had more time, I would have done it. But my goal was to find Alba and Ru and get them out.
Thor, Aris, and Doc? They were the assassination squad. They were the ones who got to silently stalk through the house and take out anyone in our way. I counted twenty earlier in the night, including the mob boss and Pie, the fucking prick.
Speak of the Goddamned devil.
When I turned the corner into the kitchen, there he was, sound asleep on the ground in front of a door I assumed led to the basement. I padded softly toward him and squatted, taking the tip of my nine and pressing it to his lips. He woke with a start, his wide eyes meeting mine with panic at first, followed by recognition, and finally hatred.
“I ought to pull the trigger,” I whispered. “But that would be too easy a death for you.” Before he could scream, I hit him in the temple, knocking his Goddamned lights out. Bear grabbed his body and threw him over his shoulder, fireman style. Castor waited just on the other side of the woods with the truck, and Bear would get him there before he woke up and sounded the alarm. Saint followed me into the basement.
I clicked on my flashlight, waving it around the room. Catching the sight in the corner, my heart damn near ripped out of my chest.
Ru and Alba huddled together on the concrete floor, leaning up against each other. Their faces bruised and bloody and—
Fuck, I’d kill that son of a bitch with my bare hands.
“Alba,” I murmured as I knelt. She cracked open her blue eyes and startled, pushing away from me and shaking Ru awake. I held my hands up and recoiled an inch, letting her adjust before I got any closer. “Alba, it’s me. It’s Jericho.”
“Jericho?” Her voice croaked, and I couldn’t stand it any longer. I reached for her face, running a hand along her battered cheek.
“It’s me, sunshine.”
“Is this a dream?”
“No.” I shook my head. “No, it’s me.”
She leaned into my arms, sobbing, broken from the whole experience. Ru leapt at Saint, kissing him and muttering words about never leaving him again.
As much as I wanted to spend the rest of my fucking life soothing her, we didn’t have time. Soon, someone was going to realize we were here, and we were vastly outnumbered. Our rescue mission could turn into a suicide mission real fucking quick.
I grabbed my knife from my boot and cut the bindings on her wrists and ankles, massaging her hands with my mine when she struggled to move her fingers. They were cold and pale, and if we’d taken any fucking longer, she might have lost them. After a few moments, I helped her to her feet and scooped her into my arms, newlywed style, carrying her up the stairs and back through the house.
But… the best laid plans of mice and men and all that shit.
We made it to the back door in time for a squad of cars to pull up in the lot behind the house. Black Range Rovers and Bentleys as far as the eye could see.
I shook my head and snorted at the fucking flashiness. Leave it to the mob to be prima fucking donnas, bringing diamond-encrusted guns to a knife fight.
“Shit,” Thor muttered, backing into the kitchen. “Okay, time for plan B.”
“What’s plan B?” Saint asked, hitching Ru higher in his arms. For someone who’d been shot in the leg less than a month ago, he was holding onto her surprisingly well. Of course, you’d have to fucking kill me to pry Alba out of my arms, so I could imagine how he felt.
Thor pulled out his phone and sent a text. “We need backup.”
“Backup?” Aris raised an eyebrow. “What backup?”
Benito and his men got out of their cars, coming closer. “Come out, come out, with your hands held high.” Some of his men laughed. “We know you’re in there.”
As soon as he cleared the headlights, something soured in my stomach. Not only were we surrounded by at least thirty guys, but they’d also found our getaway car. Four of Benito’s men held Castor and Bear with their arms behind their back, shoving them to their knees in front of him.
“Now, tell me. Why would Crow send two of his boys to do a man’s job? Hmm?” Benito raised his cigar to his mouth and took a deep inhale, the rings on his fingers glistening as they caught in the light. “Is it because he’s a coward? Is it because he won’t face me himself?”
Benito held out his right hand, and one of his men put a gun into it. He bit the cigar between his teeth before pointing it at Castor. My heart raced. I took slow, deep breaths, trying to keep my shit focused and centered.
“Tell you what.” Benito pursed his lips and tilted his head to the side. “I’ll trade you one of Crow’s little shits for two of Aris’s. Now, I know what you’re thinking. That’s not a fair trade.” Benito shrugged. “You killed my nephew. You killed my legacy. And now, I gotta kill Crow’s.”
“Wait!” I shouted, shoving Alba into Thor’s arms and going for my nine in the holster under my arm.
“KC, what are you doing?” Thor said.
“KC, stop.” Saint shook his head. “Don’t do this.”
“Jer, no. Please.” Alba dropped her legs to the ground, refusing Thor’s help.
“I’m not gonna watch him kill my cousin.” I was out the door before they could stop me, holding my hands up. “You want the guy who killed Julian? That’s me.”
Saint growled behind me. “You stupid son of a—” Then he joined me on the porch. “And me.”
Benito laughed, the headlights beaming me right in the face and making it hard to see anything else.
“There he is. The Killer Cock himself. Put your guns down.” Saint and I did, bending to put them on the porch. I figured my life was over. I figured they would shoot me in the head right there, but at least the guys would get my girl out safely. At least Castor and Bear would be safe. “Come over here.”
Saint and I walked down the wooden steps together, our boots thudding almost as loudly as my heart. I might not have had a plan when I gave myself up, but the closer I got to Benito, the more one started to form in my mind. I met Bear’s pissed-off gaze, the one that chastised me for giving myself up.
Whatever, you fucking prick.
Like I was gonna let him die?
I still had my hunting knife in my boot, and if I could get close enough to Benito, I could ram it in his throat before any of these fuckers could get me. They might fill me with bullet holes after, but I’d end this. Once and for all.
What a way to go. One fucking blaze of glory.
“Release them,” I said, standing in front of my cousins now. “They weren’t there that night.”
Benito tilted his head to either side, considering. “They’re Roses. They’re guilty by association.”
Then a couple of things happened so fast, it took my brain a few seconds to catch up.
First, a pop echoed from the tree line, and one of Benito’s men to my right dropped to the ground. This caused the other Caputi fuckers to turn in that direction, taking their attention off me and my brothers. I went for my knife.
I had it in my hand just as Benito turned back to face me.
Another pop rang out, this one nailing another Caputi in the head, blood splattering me in the face.
I tightened my grip around the hilt, and all the rage and fury I’d ever harbored for this fucking shithead barreled out of my chest.
I thought of my father.
I thought of my mother.
I thought of Aunt Gemma and Crow’s old lady, Holly. I thought of Alba and Ru and the bad fucking blood between us.
Enough.
I sank the blade into Benito’s carotid, and he dug his hands into my shoulders, trying to shove me away. But I gripped the back of his neck and plunged the knife deeper. The blade scraped against muscle and tissue until eventually I hit the thud of hard bone.
I didn’t stop.
Chaos erupted after that.
Most of the Caputi men ducked into their cars and took off. Some tried to peel me off their boss, but Saint, Bear, and Castor picked up their own weapons and fired back. Thor and Aris ran out of the house, Slip close behind them, supporting Alba and Ru as they came toward me.
My focus went to watching the life bleed from this asshole.
I was a bad man. I’d told Alba that from the start.
Benito wasn’t the first man I’d killed, and he likely wouldn’t be the last. I wasn’t a violent person by nature. But I recognized all humans were animals, and the worst ones needed to be put down. I wasn’t afraid of doing it.
Especially a fucking scumbag like Benito Caputi.
He’d been rampaging through this town for too long.
Enough now.
Enough.
He sputtered out a bloody last breath, and the light drained from his pale gray eyes.
* * *
In the end, Selene saved us all. She’d been Thor’s backup plan, arriving without any of us knowing it. Setting up in the trees just in case things went south, which they had.
He’d been teaching her how to shoot since she was a child, and she could hit a squirrel in the eye from three hundred yards away. She distracted Caputi’s men long enough for me to take down the main boss. Once he was gone, the rest of those mafia pricks tucked tail and abandoned ship.
But just because Benito was dead didn’t mean the war was over. Some other Caputi fucker would rise up in his place. I’d only created a void, a power grab. However, it gave us some breathing room.
While the Caputi family bickered amongst themselves about who would be the next head of their crime ring, we healed.
And we dealt out justice.
Rumor was that when Doc joined us, Crow and Aris had wanted to nickname him Butcher, on account of how skilled he was with a set of knives. They’d gone with Doc because he generally used those skills for good. When we were hurt or fucked up from whatever bullshit we’d gotten into, Doc put us back together again.
But tonight?
I understood Doc’s dark alter ego.
Doc was short for Doctor Jekyll, because Mr. Hyde was a fucking monster.
I saw it with my own eyes—the change in him, the darkness that took over his mind and his soul when he set to working on someone.
“What’s the plan, Pie?” He cut off another slice of flesh and tossed it in the fire, the smell of cooking meat nearly making me vomit. It reminded me of pork roast, and that both churned my stomach and revoltingly reminded me of the last time I’d eaten, far too long ago.
Pie screamed and writhed on the table, yanking at the restraints and blubbering like a fucking baby. The little stupid shit.
“Were you just going to fuck us forever?” Doc sliced into him again, and Pie’s body went slack, shock taking over and knocking him out again. Doc sighed and shook his head, grabbing some water to splash on Pie’s sweaty face. He startled awake, glancing around between me, Doc, and the few other brothers who had come to see justice dealt. “Did you think I’d let you sleep that easy?” Doc whistled and shook his head. “You must be one stupid fuck. It’s like you don’t know me at all.”
“Please,” Pie said. “Please, I’ll tell you anything. Anything.”
“Aw, I’m almost offended.” Doc shook his head, a furrow on his eyebrows, a fake pout on his lips. “I worked so hard to make a name for myself in this club.” Doc dug his knife into Pie’s armpit, dragging the blade over the skin and peeling back another bit. I grimaced, almost feeling sorry for him. “And now you’re saying I didn’t do a good job.” Doc leaned in, his eyes absolutely terrifying when he said, “Guess I’ll have to start doing better now.” Another long strip tore away from Pie’s body, and he screamed.
“Okay, okay,” he said. “I’ll tell you. Benito, he just wanted Aris and Crow. That’s it.”
“What makes you think I don’t know that?” Doc shook his head. “I wanna know what your plan was. Why’d you betray us? Your own brothers, you piece of shit.”
I wanted to stay and watch the rest of it. Doc was an artist with a blade and motivation, but I had a shaken-up girl to tend to. And I didn’t want her ever thinking I wouldn’t be there for her again. It had been a long fucking day, and I needed to curl up next to her in the worst way, if only to reassure myself she was okay and safely back with me, mostly unharmed.
I left the barn and walked across the property, my hands in my pockets and memories of plunging that knife into Benito’s throat going through my mind. My brothers had taken out nearly fifteen of those assholes, more after Selene started shooting from the trees.
Quick. Lethal. Efficient. That was Thor’s style, and I couldn’t fault it.
This fight was far from over, unfortunately. All of us knew it.
I got on my bike and drove the short twenty minutes down to the hospital, where the rest had gathered as we waited to hear news about Trojan. After rescuing Alba and Ru, Aris had insisted they be checked out, and Doc had other things to do with his time.
Last I heard, Trojan had been taken back for surgery. Now, we sat around in dank chairs and waited for news. Nikki had shown up a few hours ago, insisting she didn’t know Pie was betraying us. Alba and Ru tried to vouch for her, saying Pie had told them the same in Benito’s basement, but none of us believed her.
Least of all me.
Nikki could spin a web of fucking lies if she wanted. I knew that better than anyone, so when Crow ordered her back to her house and to stay fucking put, she went with no argument.
Things weren’t great when I entered the waiting room this time. Hollywood sat with his face in his hands and his elbows on his knees, shaking his head back and forth. Crow held him under an arm, whispering something low in his ear. Aris and Selene sat next to Marissa, Trojan’s old lady, who wept in my sister’s arms.
“No, no, no,” Marissa whimpered, sobs racking her body.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I looked to Fingers, who shook her head and sighed.
“Trojan died a few minutes ago. He never made it out of surgery.”
My heart fell into my gut, and I dragged my ass over to Hollywood, squatting in front of him so I could grab his hands and press my forehead to his.
“I’m here, brother,” I told him. “I’m here, and I share this fucking pain with you.”
“He’s gone,” Hollywood groaned, his red-rimmed eyes full of tears streaking down his cheeks. “He’s gone.”
I sat next to him, holding him through this as best I could. I should have gone to find Alba, but my brother needed me, and I thought she might understand.
When she emerged a few minutes later, she hunkered down next to me, wrapping an arm over Hollywood’s shoulder to pull him into a hug and resting his head under her chin. She’d been patched up, the cuts on her face stitched and her broken nose reset and splinted. Despite it all, she was still the most radiant person I’d ever seen. My heart beat for her and her alone.
Hollywood nodded and held her closer. Between the few people in that waiting room, we processed it as a family, knowing we had each other.
A few hours later, we all went back to the clubhouse.
Thor returned to announce Pie was now fertilizing the back forty, and Crow personally saw to Marissa and Hollywood in his alpha way—loving them, hugging them, and making sure they knew he was there as the proverbial patriarch of this fucking madhouse.
Alba and I went to the back room, where I’d fucked her senseless a week ago. I showered and she joined me, if only so she could cling to me and hold me the entire time.
“Thank you for coming for me.”
The broken tone of her voice almost shattered what remained of my heart. “I’ll always come for you. I mean that.”
“I’m sorry I said we were only friends.” She wiped at her cheeks and pressed her forehead into my sternum. “It wasn’t true.”
I cupped her cheek and tilted her face up, careful not to push anywhere that might hurt her. Looking down at her battered features made me want to kill Pie and Benito all over again.
“I know,” I said, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her lips. The top one was busted and she’d bitten the bottom one when someone punched her. Still, she kissed me back, pushing up on her toes to get more of me, all of me. I let her have it. And then I dried her off, put her in one of my old T-shirts, and led her to the bed, insisting she take the space closest to the wall.
“From now on, I sleep in between you and the door. Got it?”
She laughed. The urge to argue went through her eyes, but she didn’t. She just gave me another kiss, rolled onto her side, and relaxed into the mattress. I curled my body around hers, wrapped my arms over her waist, and tucked her in close, damned determined to never let her go again.