Chapter 29
While I’d broken up with Dominic, Greyson had searched the cameras in the city, following the convoy with the stolen painting. They tried to throw off the trail a few times, but he always caught them a few minutes later. Eventually, he got a perfect clip of them parking three blocks east of the abandoned ferry terminal in front of a two-story factory. The entire ride there, I was practically vibrating with adrenaline.
We hadn’t had a stealth mission in a long time, and I was surprised by how excited I was at the prospect. Knowing it would piss Cash off that we’d taken something back from under his nose was icing on the cake. I only wished I weren’t already hurt; I wanted to enjoy it more.
Grey pulled my hand onto his lap and dropped two pills into my palm, the mind reader.
“It’s an extra-strength pain reliever,” he said before I could object. The prescription drugs Doc gave me were not a good option to take when wielding a semiautomatic weapon.
I’d been ignoring the pain of the cracked ribs, but the more I thought about it, the more they hurt. Even after wrapping them and the initial pain pill earlier, I didn’t think twice about taking the meds. They’d keep the edge off until we got home and I could medicate properly.
We hopped out of the truck and surveyed the area while we waited for the rest of our group. The Irish lived closer than us, so I was surprised they hadn’t already arrived, but maybe O’Bannon wanted to play hero. If so, he’d show up fashionably late just to irritate the shit out of me.
Following the GPS in our SUV, Tennessee, Moore, and their small retinue of guards showed up not long after us, and we quickly dug into the trunk, strapping ourselves with weapons. I personally handed Dominic his vest to make sure he wore it because, despite everything, I didn’t want him dead.
Though I did ignore the obvious look he gave me.
“What’s the plan?” Moore asked when we were all locked and loaded.
“We get in and get out.” When he kept staring at me, I shrugged. “There’s no way to know what the hell we’re walking into, so be on your toes and don’t fuck off. We’re winging this one.”
Suddenly, he grinned. “My favorite.”
I checked the time and looked around, hoping for a sign that the rest of our entourage was going to show up, but the streets were silent. Nothing.
I peeked at Grey, and he shook his head. No word from O’Bannon. Shit.
Where the hell were the Irish?
With a resigned breath, I motioned us forward. “Let’s go.”
Dominic caught my arm. “We’re going in alone?”
It was still night, but dawn was coming, and that was a problem in and of itself. The terminal was a popular tourist destination, and the last thing we needed was a bunch of outsiders getting caught in the middle of a firefight if it came down to it. The longer we waited, the more prepared Cash could be for us. I wasn’t willing to take that risk.
“Looks like it. We can’t wait on them, or we lose our advantage.”
He wanted to say more, but he couldn’t. He knew I was right. We had one chance to make things right, or we’d have more problems than we could contend with.
Spreading out near the door, we waited for two of Moore’s men to slip inside and check for surprises. Since we hadn’t had time to plan our little heist, they’d volunteered to go first so we weren’t walking into a deathtrap from the start.
Five minutes later, they came back out with the all clear, and unease skittered across my skin. It all felt too easy. “There was no one inside?”
Warner, the eldest of them, shrugged. “There were plenty, but we found a path to the painting that won’t be too bad.”
I looked at Moore, and he gave me an affirmative nod. He trusted the man, and I trusted Moore. That had to count for something. “Let’s go.”
Once inside, we split into three groups. Two would go through the building and take out anyone still awake—a small sacrifice because Cash would kill them for losing his bargaining chip—and my group would find the painting and get it out.
With every step that we didn’t find someone, the prickling sensation of dread got worse. Peering back at Greyson and Dominic, I could tell they felt the same. Something wasn’t right, and knowing Cash, that meant things were about to go very wrong.
We made it into a narrow hallway when it all came to a head.
“Painting’s up ahead,” Warner whispered. I stared at the wood paneling, wondering why it looked so strange. I tried to pull myself away from it, but there was something so odd about it…
“There’s a security panel we’ll have to get through, but I figured he’d know what to do.” Warner jerked his head at Grey like we weren’t all thinking the same thing. Overachiever that he was, Grey pulled something out of his pocket and stepped toward the door.
“Good idea, although I have the keycard if you’d prefer that.” The prickling ran through my body again, and I searched the area until I found what I was looking for. Not far from us, an Ace smirked, dangling something from his hand. The keycard. “I’ll trade you the painting for the girl. Boss would love that.”
Grey and Dominic both took a step forward, looking ready to beat the hell out of him, but the Ace just laughed.
“There’s no need for that. It was just an offer. Tell you what. You get this from me, and we’ll let you have the painting.”
I was about to tell him where to shove his offer when that strange wood paneling swung open, and I realized it looked weird because it had hinges. Each section was a door.
“Fuck.”
Instead of freezing at the sight of more Aces, we moved as one. We shifted until we had most of the hall covered. I instinctively checked on the boys. Grey was on the farthest edge of the group from me, though Dominic was close by, and they were looking at each other. I tried to decipher their silent conversation, but I didn’t have the time. Before I could figure out what was happening, the first Ace rushed us.
The good thing was, we were all trained to fight, so even though we’d already had one round with the Aces, I was sure we’d make it through another.
At first, we all stayed close to one another. It felt like a group training session in the gym, one I forced my men into at least twice a week. You had to learn how to work together, not only developing muscle memory, but knowing how the others in your group thought. It was much harder than it looked, but we nailed it. Punch, kick, punch, kick. Where one needed help, the others were ready. We moved like we’d fought together for years because, other than Dominic, we had.
And the Aces fell at our feet.
But they figured it out soon enough. It started with one cutting between us, and we dealt with it. Then another. And another. Finally, I was too focused on keeping myself upright to see anyone else. I knew we were winning because despite there being more men than we were expecting, they were slow to be replaced.
Then everything changed when Moore yelled. “Greyson, gun!”
None of us had pulled guns because, like in the warehouse earlier, we were in too tight of an area to do it smartly. But Grey was at the fringe of the group, working on the door with Warner close by, giving him room.
No.I didn’t know how, but I had to get to him.I threw off my current attacker and ducked the next one, only for him to grab me at the last moment. My shoulder ached from his grip, but I didn’t care. I had to save Greyson. I kicked and punched, doing anything to get away. I’d fight against the devil to get to Greyson.
The pop of a gun stopped me in my tracks. Every part of me froze with panic. Heart racing with fear, I twisted, praying with everything I had that I wasn’t about to see the love of my life dead.
The first thing I noticed was Greyson on the ground. The second thing was Dominic on top of him. A little blood was dripping from Grey’s temple, but that was all I could see.
Dominic met my eyes, and my heart lurched in my chest. Then he nodded. Relief hit me so hard, I nearly sobbed.
He’s alive.
I barely had time to think about it before I was pulled into the fray again, but it didn’t matter.
I was about to pull my gun and start shooting, tight space be damned, when someone grabbed my wrist. Moving on instinct, I twisted to punch them, only to have my other hand caught too. By Dominic.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Getting you out.”
He grabbed me, pulling me behind him even as I yanked away. “No! We’re not leaving him!”
“Moore’s got him, but we need to go, Mari.”
The way he wouldn’t look at me didn’t feel right, and I dug my feet in. I wasn’t going anywhere. Not yet. “Promise they’re right behind us.”
“Yes. Now, move.” He didn’t flinch. He held my eyes as he said it, and for the first time ever, I hated him.
Because he was lying.
“No!” I lurched back toward the fight, toward Greyson, and Dominic struck. He snatched me around the waist and hauled me behind him. My ribs ached, but I still fought. Kicking and scratching and clawing. Any skin I could find, I dug into. “Let me go!”
“Will you stop?” he bellowed. “You’re going to get us killed.”
“We have to go back!”
“No.”
“Y—”
“I can’t take you back!”
What?
Looking around to make sure we were alone, Dominic shoved me against the wall with a hand on my throat to keep me there. “Greyson and I made a deal. If one of us got caught, the other had to get you out, no matter what. So, I’m not going to take you back. I can’t.”
No.
“Why?” I shoved him, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. “Why would you do that? Who gave you the right?”
“Because we love you, and you matter more.” He snatched my hands to his chest. “That’s what gave us the right.”
I couldn’t say I wouldn’t have made the same deal, but I couldn’t handle the fact that we were leaving without one of us.
“But Greyson—” My voice cracked, and I felt it through my whole body. Cracking, breaking, splitting open. It felt like the end.
“Will either get out or he won’t, but we have to go, Mari.”
My chest felt like it was caving in. These men. These idiotic, bullheaded men. Didn’t they know they mattered too? They were my heart. I couldn’t survive without them. Just when I thought about saying fuck it and going back anyway, Dominic’s words from weeks ago fluttered through my mind.
Rey died doing his duty. Protecting his queen. Don’t dishonor him by wishing that away.
I knew Greyson. I knew his heart and his mind. If I died trying to get to him, he’d never get over it. They’d made the deal for a reason, and I loved Grey enough to know I had to let him go. I had to honor his choice.
Tears fell down my face as I nodded, looking up to find Dominic just as heartbroken. As awful as it was, knowing that he was hurting and still trying to do what he’d promised propelled me further. A relieved breath shuddered out of him, and he squeezed my throat gently before letting go. “Good girl.”
We crept through the factory, and I flinched at every shot from above, wondering if it was the one that took the last good piece of me from the world. What would I become without Greyson? Without my light. Would I turn into my father—or, worse, Cash? Would all this fighting be for nothing? I had no clear answers, and it was more salt on a wound that had barely begun to sting.
“Nearly there,” Dominic whispered.
We’d almost made it to the first floor when someone grabbed me again. This time, I knew it wasn’t one of my men. Dominic whirled, shoving the Ace away. They twisted and bucked, throwing punches and kicks as they circled each other the best they could on the stairs. Shoving my grief away, I tried to get in so I could help Dominic, but he had it under control. The only problem was time.
The sound of boots on the stairs above and below us told me we were running out of it.
“Get out of here!” Dominic yelled.
But how? We were stuck between the two floors, and unless I jumped the banister, I wasn’t going to make it past the Aces that were coming.
“There’s another way out.”
I whirled around at the unexpected soft voice. “Sabine?”
“There’s another way out,” she repeated. “Come with me.”
It was a trap—because if she was there, so was Cash—but at least it was one I could survive. If it came down to it, I’d take her out. I’d regret it, though.
Dominic slammed his fist into the other man, sending him careening down the stairs. “Go, Mari.”
“Not without you.” I wasn’t going to leave him too. I couldn’t.
“I’m going to make sure you get out.” Not again. Please, not again. Dominic grabbed me by the back of the neck and pulled me in, but he didn’t kiss me. He gave me that final choice.“Please.”
Fuck.
I kissed him with everything I had. It was the wrong place, wrong time, but that was us, wasn’t it? There was always something holding us apart, even if that something was us. So I gave him all my love, my anger, my heartbreak, my grief. He got the frustration and the joy. He got it all because if it was the last time, he deserved that much.
I only wished I’d done the same to Grey.
Sabine cleared her throat. “We have to go. There’s no time.”
We broke apart, only for him to press another kiss to my forehead as he slid the keys into my pocket. “Take the car and get home. I love you, mariposa.”
I couldn’t say it—not because it wasn’t true, but because I didn’t want it to be the last time I did. So I took the coward’s way out and kept the words to myself, but he knew. He always had.
“Show me the way.”
Without answering, Sabine grabbed the banister and jumped. With a final glance at Dominic, who was already headed back upstairs, I followed her.
I didn’t have time to stumble off the rough landing when Sabine grabbed me by the hand and started running. We slipped into a side hallway, veering abruptly as she pulled me through a swinging door nearly hidden by an alcove. Weaving through room after room, we stayed low and quiet until, finally, we made it to a back hallway. Unlike the rest of the factory, which seemed relatively used, the area was so dark and dingy it seemed lost. Forgotten.
Sabine nodded to the door at the end. “This side of the building backs the water. You should be able to find a safe place to wait for reinforcements.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. This is all my fault.” She swallowed heavily. “Is she…?”
The fact that her first real thought was about her sister wasn’t a surprise. She loved Brittany with her whole soul, and it showed in everything she did. “She’s fine. We moved her to one of our foster homes, so she’s safe and warm and loved.”
Sabine curled in on herself, relieved tears streaming down her face. “Thank god.”
With Antoni gone, sometimes I forgot that I was a sister. That I’d had someone who meant that much to me my whole life. Watching Sabine break apart for Brittany brought an ache to my chest that I couldn’t afford.
I fished the SUV keys out of my pocket and shoved them into her hand. “We’re parked a few blocks away. Go hide in one of the cars while I go back for the boys. I’ll take you to Brittany as soon as we’re out.”
Sabine shook her head, backing away immediately. “I can’t.”
“You can. Just take the keys and go.”
“I’m so sorry.”
My internal clock tick, tick, ticked until I thought I was losing my mind. I needed to get outside and call for backup because where the fuck were the Irish? With them around, I could go back for Greyson and Dominic. “Apologize later. Get the hell out of here now.”
“I’m sorry.” I felt it then, the proverbial other shoe dropping. Sabine’s teary eyes lifted over my shoulder, and I knew I was fucked. My men were in their own battles to survive and in no shape to help, even if they could find me.
For the first time in forever, I was alone.
“It’s okay,” I told her. Even knowing she’d betrayed us, I knew it wasn’t malicious. Sabine would do anything for her sister, even if it meant giving us up. That was loyalty. Family. “Everything’s okay.”
Find the boys,I mouthed, hoping she’d do it and get out. I promised myself that if I made it out of this, I’d get the sisters clear. Set them up somewhere nice where they never had to work again. They deserved to have a normal life together after everything they’d been through.
Taking another step back, Sabine dipped her head in what I hoped was the world’s smallest nod. “Thank you for protecting her when I couldn’t.”
I had no time to answer. I felt the crack against my temple and then nothing but the flickering sight of the concrete coming up to greet me.
My last coherent thought before darkness took me was, please let them be okay.