The Enforcer's Redemption (Sins of the O'Rourke Empire #2)

27. Declan

27

DECLAN

W ith the car rumbling down the highway toward the docks, it's hard to think straight. I have so much adrenaline coursing through my body right now, I don't even know what calm is anymore. Sebastian stole my wife, and all I can think about is getting her back and destroying him.

"How will we find the right container?" Lochlan asks. He's seated next to me in the back of the car. Nicholas is driving, Brynn in the passenger seat. Lochlan chambers a round in his gun and drops his clip to replace the one round from the clip to ensure his gun is fully loaded.

I've already done that on all three of my weapons. And I have an extra clip for each one. After that showdown at Sebastian's compound, I'm not taking any chances. I rub my sore shoulder absently as I answer him.

"Aiden's man at the docks narrowed it down for us. It'll be on dock seven for sure. That's where O’Reilly always ports his ship." I rub the back of my neck, my palms sweaty. My foot bounces, bobbing my knee rapidly. We're not alone. Ronan and Connor each have a car full of men, and Finn will join us at the docks with Aiden and another group. If Sebastian suspects our coming, this could be a full bloodbath.

"So what, we just shoot them up or…?" Brynn is an idiot. His question angers me.

"Shoot them up? There are people in those containers. My wife is in one. Why the feck would I shoot them up?" I need to rein in my temper or I'm going to lose it on him before we even get there. He's lucky he's even allowed to come along with me. I should've split his skull after that stunt he pulled going behind my back to Ronan.

"We'll listen…" Lochlan's voice is low and even. He has no emotions at stake in this. His purpose is to keep me in check and make sure our alliance is restored. I appreciate that he's here because I'm ready to take no prisoners, and I need his more even keel to do this correctly. "Once we get through security, there will be a ruckus, I'm sure. Sebastian's men won't like us just showing up. We'll end up making noise, and when the women in that container hear it, they'll scream for help."

His gaze is concentrated on the road ahead. He acts like this is something we do every day, like he's seen it so many times it's old hat. It's the first time we've ever attempted something this brazen, to storm an enemy's territory and openly steal from them under cover of darkness. And tonight is especially dark.

"And if we don't hear them?" Brynn's eyes meet mine in the mirror on the back side of his visor. I can see his wheels turning, still scheming. He won't stop until he pushes me too far now because he knows Ronan is confident in me. He'll never have my position, and he hates that.

"We'll hear them," I grunt, and the car slows as Nicholas pulls up to the security gates surrounding the dock access point.

The guard walks out of the guard shack. He's a hulk of a man, towering to at least six and a half feet tall. His chest is covered by a Kevlar vest, a gun on his hip and another on his chest. He probably has mace and a few knives tucked away too, and a radio is strapped to his chest on the left side. He strolls right up to the car as Nicholas lowers his window and leans down to peer inside the car.

"Evening, gentlemen," he says calmly, but I sense an edge of hostility in his tone. Aiden's man said we may have trouble getting through the gate, but this dumb fucker doesn't know I'm willing to do anything to get Isla back. Including putting a lead slug into his brain if he tries to stop us.

"Evening, sir," Nicholas responds. "We just have some business at dock seven." His voice is tight and stiff. He's no stranger to this type of situation. I imagine his hand rests on the butt of his gun holstered at his hip just like mine.

"I'll need to see some sort of ID, please." The guard's eyes flick to meet mine then narrow at me. "What sort of business?" I watch his fingers twitch, his nostrils flare. The bastard is going to call for more security or something. I can see it in his eyes. He has to be on Sebastian's payroll.

Before he can even flinch, my gun is out and aimed at his head. He grips the side of the car as both Lochlan and Nicholas also raise their guns.

"We are going in, with or without your permission," I tell him, but then I get a better idea. This man might be able to help us narrow down the search even more. If he works for the O’Reillys, he might know which container has the women.

I nudge Lochlan, and he opens the door. With three guns—and Brynn's very slowly raised fourth—on him, the man can only straighten and keep his hands raised in surrender. We both slide out of the car on his side, and I walk over to him and put the gun against the side of his neck.

"Hand my driver your weapons," I tell him calmly, and the man complies with me. He doesn't twitch or whimper. His hands are steady, and his breathing is still calm and shallow as he slips the weapons out of their holsters and into Nicholas's hands. "Now tell me what you know about Sebastian O’Reilly," I order, but suddenly, the man is tight-lipped. He presses his lips into line and his nostrils flare again.

"If you know what's good for ya, you'll tell him." Lochlan leans against the side of the car and glances back at the row of black sedans behind us. Ronan is there, Connor, and it appears Aiden's car has just brought up the rear. My entire family has turned up to help me end this thing once and for all.

"He runs out of dock seven. That's all I know." The man's dark skin is beading with sweat. It's not even a hot night. He's just terrified. He knows I'll kill him.

"Does he ship women?" I ask, pressing the tip of my gun against his neck harder. Brynn climbs out of the car and rounds the front of it to join me with a menacing expression on his face. I can handle this, but he's got to show me up. "Answer me!" I snap when the man is slow to respond.

"How the feck am I supposed to know what the bastard ships? He just pays me to keep an eye on the gate and tell him who comes and goes. This is a public dock, you know?"

My temper flares, and I use the butt of the gun to smack him hard on the back of the head. He crumples to the ground in a grunt, holding the spot I smacked, and I pull off my tie and start lashing it around his hands. Dragging him to the gate shack, I use his badge to open the door. Brynn follows along behind me, kicking the guard every few strides.

"Knock it off," I bite out, but Brynn continues anyway.

Inside the gate shack, I lash the man to the leg of the counter that's bolted to the ground. Then I look around his body for some sort of key or badge that might let me open this gate. We could ram it, but we need the car in working order to get out of here.

"Look for a key or something," I snap at Brynn as Lochlan walks through the door. I glance up to see him standing over the guard.

"You guys are gonna get me fired. You can't do this." The guard earns another kick from Brynn, which I ignore. I pull his wallet out, sort through it, toss it to the side, and then put my gun back to his chin.

"How do we open the gate?" I demand, and he shakes his head.

"Uh-uh, no way." He grits his teeth as I shove the gun harder against his jaw from below.

"Open the fucking gate," I say in a growl, and his eyes nervously flick toward Lochlan. Behind my brother on the wall is a large red switch. It makes me crack a smug grin. "Thank you," I tell him, and I give him another hard knock to the head before standing up.

Loch moves out of the way as I reach for the switch. When I flick it, the gates outside start to roll open, the large chain link contraption retracting on itself. Lochlan nods at me and darts through the door toward the car, and I gesture for Brynn.

"Let's get out of here," I snap, just as Brynn's gun discharges.

The guard's blood sprays all over the floor and metal desk. It splatters the window and begins to pool around the guard's body.

"What the feck?" I growl, aiming my weapon at him. "Why'd you do that? You didn't need to kill him. We got what we wanted."

"Loose lips sink ships, Declan. Do your fucking job." Brynn starts to walk past me as I stare down at the dead guard, the mess of his wallet on the ground next to him. There's a picture of him holding a child, standing next to a beautiful woman. He had a family.

My gun feels heavy in my hand as I raise it up and point it at Brynn. He stops and looks me in the eye as I aim it right at his forehead. "The men in this family do not just murder anyone who looks at them wrong." My hand holds steady, fingers itching to put this bastard in the ground. Instead, I walk forward until my gun's nose is pressed right to Brynn's forehead. He leans into it.

"Are you gonna kill me, then?" he asks me, and I clench my jaw, willing myself not to do this right in front of my brother and half the family lined up in those cars.

"Fuck up again and I'll do worse than kill you. I'll make you wish you were dead." I slide my gun to the side of his head and pull the trigger. The boom makes him wince, and he shouts loudly, covering his ear. Even if the blast didn't deafen him, he'll definitely think twice about crossing me again.

Stomping back out to the car, I climb in next to Lochlan. Nicholas waits for Brynn to climb back in and then takes off. All four cars parade across the property until we see the docks marked clearly as dock seven. One by one, the cars empty, my brothers flanking me and Ronan as we lead the charge.

"You sure this is the right place?" Connor asks me, and I nod.

"I'm sure," I say, and I am. Someone's going to pay for taking my family, and I'm prepared to make them hurt.

Our group moves quickly and stealthily toward the large, stacked containers, guns raised and ready for anything. It's silent all around us except for the water lapping against the docks and the creaking of the ships moored at their berths. As we creep closer, I can just make out voices inside one of the containers. I doubt it’s the women, and as I peer around the corner, I see a few men smoking cigarettes and talking.

"In there," I whisper, pointing to a container that has a line of men in front of it. Lochlan, Connor, and Ronan flank me as we approach. Nicholas and Aiden take the other side with Brynn reluctantly following.

"On my signal," I mouth, and they all nod in agreement. "One, two, three!"

We round the corner at once, catching the men by surprise. The element of surprise is on our side as we open fire without mercy. Men fall left and right, their cries muffled by the sound of gunfire. A few of them get a couple of rounds off, but they’re mercilessly slaughtered anyway. I step over a body to reach for the door, but it's locked, not budging.

“Over there!” a man shouts, and instantly, there is a hail of bullets pinging against the containers all around us.

We all take cover, crouching around the corners, ducking behind barrels. Finn hides behind the tow motor and lets a few rounds rip out of his gun, and I take aim on more of Sebastian’s men as they race toward us.

“We’re pinned down!” Connor shouts, and I swear under my breath.

“Lochlan, take the left side, Finn the right. We’ll provide cover!” I yell over the gunfire. Lochlan and Finn nod and bolt out from their hiding spots, spraying bullets as they go.

A bullet whizzes past my head, and I duck low behind a crate. There’s a scream, and I peek my head up to see Brynn staggering backward, his chest covered in blood.

“Dammit!” I scream, scrambling to my feet. We can’t afford loss of life, and the crimson stain blossoming on his shirt tells me it’s bad. “Fecking stay down,” I tell him, shoving one of my spare weapons into his hands for self-defense. I drag him behind the crate and continue on my mission to knock down as many of these men as I can.

Lochlan and Finn have thinned out the herd, but more keep coming. I duck behind the corner of the container, breathing hard as I reload my weapon.

A hand grabs my ankle, and I whip around, ready to end whoever it is. It’s one of Sebastian’s men, clutching at his stomach. I point my gun at his face, prepared to send him to hell when he speaks up.

“I know where they are!” he gasps, blood bubbling from his lips.

“Where?” I demand. He points to a container farther down the docks, and I nod.

“Finn! Lochlan! We got a lead!” I yell over my shoulder as more gunfire erupts behind me.

I hope that poor bastard knows what he's done. I have mercy on him and let him live a few more minutes at least as I dart down the pier toward the dark blue container, praying Isla is there. That I'm not too late.