Chapter Twenty-Six
River
Even though I’m trying to stay calm and collected, inside I’m dying. Nothing can happen to my sister—I will never forgive myself.
Damon arrives, and I don’t miss the panic in his eyes. I know exactly how he feels, and I don’t have the time to argue with him now. The tightness of his jaw lets us know he’s not going to take no for an answer, and I don’t think even Romeo could stop him.
“We need someone to stay behind,” I say, giving him a long look.
Testing him?
Maybe.
He throws a glance in my direction. “Well, it’s not fucking going to be me.”
I take a step in his direction.
“I can wait,” Jag offers, looking between me and Damon, stopping me in my tracks. “I’ll probably be more help from the security room anyway.”
“Okay,” Romeo agrees, nodding. I don’t miss the assessing stare he gives Damon. “Damon, you listen to whatever I say. We need everyone to stay focused. Do you understand?”
Damon nods, rolling his shoulders back. “Yes, I’ll do whatever I have to.”
Right answer.
“I’ll send you the coordinates for her car,” Jag says, nodding. “Good luck.”
“Look after them,” I say, and he puts his hand on his heart.
“You know I will.”
He goes inside and I get on my Harley, ready to go and bring Corey home where she belongs. And whoever has her? They have fucked with the wrong man.
The rumble of engines fires up and then we are off, following behind Romeo, darting by other cars on the road, until we see Corey’s on the side of a main road. We all stop to inspect it. Nothing looks too amiss, except the keys are still in the engine and there’s a burner phone on the front seat.
I pick it up, my fingers trembling slightly and hand it to Romeo, while I keep looking for anything else that might help us. It rings a few moments later.
Romeo has a short conversation with them, and then ends the call.
“What did they say?” I ask, gritting my teeth.
If anything happens to my sister—
“They gave me an address to go to, but only I can show up or they will kill her,” he says, clenching his jaw.
Fuck.
“You’re not going alone,” I reply. If he does, they will kill him. He’d be giving them what they want and walking right into their trap. And if he goes in alone, Corey might not make it out if it goes to hell and no one else is there to save her.
“We can stay close by,” Jeremiah suggests, scanning the area. “What other options do we have?”
“They’ll hear the bikes—we need a car,” Damon says, eying Corey’s. “What are the chances that they’ve done something to this one?”
“It’s on a main road. I don’t think they would have time to do anything other than grab her,” I say, watching the many cars drive past.
Romeo paces a little, hands in his hair in frustration. “Okay, I’ll go on my bike, the rest of you take the car. I’ll call Jag and tell him the location and see if he can tell us the best way to do this.”
We don’t have a fucking plan.
We just need to show up, and hope for the best, because there is no alternative.
Corey is going to get out of there alive, or I’m going to set this fucking town on fire.
And judging by the hard look on Damon’s face, he’s going to help me.
I get in the driver’s seat and wait for Romeo to make up the plan with Jag. Jeremiah and Damon get in the car. Damon still looks like shit, with a black eye and swollen face, and if I wasn’t such an asshole I’d probably apologize to him for that.
Romeo shows me a map on his phone. “They want me to go to this warehouse. You guys could park right here. Just know that they are likely expecting this, and I have no idea what we’re walking into right now.”
“We will make it work, we always do,” I tell him, nodding. “Let’s go, we’ve got this.”
Except we fucking don’t. We’re going in blind. We don’t even know how many people will be there, nothing.
But fuck it, I’ve had a good run.
As long as we get Corey out safely, I don’t fucking care what happens to me.
I put the location into my GPS and get on our way.
“I hope we fucking know what we are doing,” Jeremiah says. He’s wearing his usual leather getup; I just hope he can run in those pants.
“We just need to get her out alive. I don’t care what we need to do,” Damon says, echoing my thoughts from the back seat. I hate to admit it, but I’m glad he’s here. I need someone with that mentality. Because I don’t care what we need to fucking do either.
There’s no boundaries I wouldn’t cross right now to make sure she gets home safe and sound.
We drive behind Romeo, then part as we get closer to the warehouse. We go around the back and park, while Romeo heads up the front and gets off his bike.
As he walks in with his hands in the air, we move closer on foot, surrounding the warehouse exits.
Do they have her standing out there with them, waiting for Romeo? I wonder if I can run in when the time’s right, guns blazing, and—
I freeze when I feel the barrel of cold steel pushed against my temple. I curse myself for being so distracted and not seeing that coming.
Concentrate, River.
“Get up,” a familiar voice says. I stand up and turn around to look at Mark. That piece of shit. “I knew you’d show up.”
I want to murder him with my bare hands, but I need him to walk me inside the warehouse so I can see what’s going on and figure out how to get us all out.
“You’re the one who took Corey?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No, I’m not. Come on.”
When I step inside the warehouse, I see Romeo sitting on a chair, and in front of him is none other than Cathy.
Now that isn’t a surprise to me, at all. We had a suspicion it was her trying to kill Romeo in revenge for him killing Victor.
But the real shock is the person standing next to Cathy.
Rosalind.
Julianna’s sister, and Romeo’s ex.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
This bitch must have been holding on to this anger and decided to team up with Cathy to get some old-fashioned revenge. She played it well, because we thought she was cool with Julianna, and that all was forgiven.
We welcomed her into our home.
“We knew that wherever Romeo is, you would be,” Cathy says, pursing her pink lips. “I was only going to kill Romeo, but I suppose taking out his enforcer is also a win.”
“I thought you and Julianna were close now,” Romeo says to Rosalind, his jaw clenched tight.
She tilts her head back and laughs. “That’s what I wanted you to think. Did you think I was going to let you get away with what you did to me? You broke my heart, and then gave yours to my sister. You killed Victor, who Veronica loved, and then you took over our MC. You’ve done damage to everyone with your selfishness, Romeo. It’s about time you learned a lesson. Cathy told me that I’m allowed to be angry. My feelings matter, too. It’s not just about Julianna.”
“It was you on the phone,” I say, realizing the truth. “You were calling Mark and threatening him, not Cathy.”
Rosalind smirks and looks over at Mark. “Yes, it was me. We put a hit out on Romeo, but after the first man went missing, no one wanted to do the job. Then sweet Bella became the perfect target. After a little digging, Cathy found out that Mark was with the FBI, and I knew he would help me.”
Roger went into hiding, and looks like he did a good job of it.
“The forged signature,” I say, giving Rosalind a bit of credit for the smart plan.
Rosalind smiles, an evil glint in her eyes. “Wasn’t that just perfect? Dear Sally also was a plant. I promised her a load of money if she could keep me posted on what was going on with Julianna and Bella. When she gave me the perfect opportunity to get dirt on Bella? I took it. Bella practically gave me a gift—it was too perfect. So all I had to do was let the information casually fall in Mark’s lap. And then there was Sarah...”
“What about Sarah?” I ask, confused.
“I am Sarah,” Rosalind laughs, winking at Mark, who keeps his expression blank. “We’re in love and would do anything for each other. He was investigating me, or at least my alias. He lost his job at the FBI because of me. And when he thought I was kidnapped, he did whatever was asked of him to get me back. He has proved his loyalty to me, tenfold. I sent my friends dressed up as cops to pick him up from your clubhouse that day, and you guys didn’t even bat an eyelash.” She laughs again, but there’s no emotion behind her eyes. “They weren’t even real cops! I can’t believe the shit you’ve let happen. You have all lost control, and I’ve been loving every second of it. Combining clubs has been the stupidest move you’ve ever made.”
Shit. So she has been using Mark like a puppet this whole time, playing with his emotions by letting him think she was in danger, and he’s still sticking by her? What the fuck is wrong with him? I know her pussy can’t be that good, otherwise Romeo would have hung around longer.
Cathy looks over her firstborn grandson. “It’s sad it has come to this, Romeo. But I lost everything because of you. I got exiled from the family. And now they are all going to feel the pain that I felt.”
“Grandma—”
She looks over at me and smiles. “I heard that you finally learned the truth. It was Victoria, wasn’t it? Give that woman alcohol and her lips are looser than her legs. I’ve always known, from the day that you were born.”
Romeo glances over at me with confusion in his eyes, and I suppose I have some explaining to do. But now is not the time, which Cathy is more than aware of. She just likes to cause trouble everywhere she goes. I must admit, though, I never saw this team-up happening. Apparently Callistos and Montannas can get along—when they both have a mutual enemy.
I look up and see Jeremiah and Damon slowly enter through the other exit, fluid and graceful, and then it’s on. I’m so done listening to these two.
I spin and knock Mark out in one quick movement, just like I did at home in the clubhouse, then I pull out my gun and aim it at his head. His eyes widen as he falls back onto the ground, still facing me, and his mouth opens to object. But it’s too late. He had his chance to make the right choice, and he didn’t. I pull the trigger and shoot him in the head, taking him out in one lethal shot. Him being Bella’s ex just makes it even easier.
I said I’m done playing and I fucking mean it.
Rosalind screams, and I wince from the piercing sound. She tries to run to Mark, but Damon grabs her with an arm around her shoulders and holds her back. Jeremiah unties Romeo, struggling a bit with his injured hand. When Romeo is free, he walks right up to Grandma Cathy and looks her in the eyes.
“You’re not going to stop, are you?” he asks her.
She shakes her head. “No. I have nothing to lose, Romeo.”
And that makes her a very dangerous person.
Only our grandma would be a fucking villain instead of baking cookies.
“Where is Corey?” I ask them, steel in my tone. I probably should have asked before I killed Rosalind’s lover, but them kidnapping my sister has made me a little trigger-happy. And if Corey isn’t safe, it won’t end with just Mark.
“Why would I tell you?” Rosalind cries, trying to get out of Damon’s hold. “You killed him! What, are you jealous that I’ve moved on now?”
Holy fuck, she is crazy.
“Where is Corey?” Romeo demands of Cathy, whose eyes flicker, but she stays silent. She knows Romeo wouldn’t hurt her. She’s a woman, and older, and our fucking grandma.
“Corey is fine!” Rosalind eventually screams, tears dripping down her cheeks.
Jeremiah, who has been searching around the warehouse, eventually finds her in the trunk of their car, tied up with duct tape. He removes the tape from her mouth and lifts her out.
“Took you long enough,” she calls out when she sees me, but her voice is shaky, and I know she must be rattled. She then turns and sees Damon there, and her eyes widen in surprise. Jeremiah holds her up while he unties her wrists, strain etched across his face.
After a few moments, she walks right up to Rosalind, looks her right in the eyes and then slaps her across her face. The sound echoes throughout the warehouse, and no one moves as we watch them intently. “I saw her on the side of the road, so I stopped to help her. That’s how they got me. I stopped to fucking help you, Rosalind. You are the worst type of woman and you are nothing like your sister at all. I don’t even know how the two of you are related. Romeo was right to leave your evil, spoiled ass.” She looks to Mark, dead on the ground. “I feel bad for him, but you got what you deserved.”
Rosalind cups her cheek with her hand, tears still dripping down her cheeks. “Corey—”
“Don’t fucking speak to me ever again!”
Damon holds Corey’s hand and scans her face to make sure she’s okay, and I look away, feeling like I’m intruding on a private moment.
We decide to take the women back to the clubhouse. I don’t think either of us are capable of killing our own grandmother.
And as for Rosalind?
She’s going to be her father’s problem.