Chapter 50
AMother’s Wrath
Deja
I’ve been pacing the front room since Logan arrived to say Cole took off to handle the problem on his own. That was yesterday. Cole hasn’t returned and Graham was the last one to have contact with him.
I stop and spin for the door when it opens. Ronan is the first one through, followed by Dean. I was told to keep it to myself, but she’s Ronan’s wife. Next to come through the door are LaSalle and Tasha.
I’m a bit surprised when Sammy and his sisters come through the door with them. I wouldn’t have thought any of them would have brought their children with them. Heck, I want to wrap my girls in bubble wrap and send them away.
Roni and John are the next familiar faces to come through the doors, followed by all the other brothers, then Sim, Micheal, Annabella, and Nate. When Kate, Connie, Dylan, Jamie, and Ciara walk in, my knees almost buckle.
Cole has so many people who care about him. We can’t lose him. He has to come back to me and the girls.
“You guys can come with me. I think I have a lead on where he is. We can get a plan going and roll out,” Logan calls out as he appears.
He’s been in the study with the McGowans for the last two hours. I want to follow after them, but Tasha comes to pull me into a hug. “Stay here. We’ve got you.”
I pull away from her and nod. Val comes over once Uri is out of sight. Sim is right behind her.
“Are you all right?” Val asks as she brushes a hand over my hair.
“No, I want to be out there. He needs me.”
“That’s why we’re here. Pam is waiting in the SUV. We’ll give it a couple of minutes and head out,” Tasha says with a smile.
“I smell trouble, and my middle name is Maker. I want in,” Dean says.
“See, I told you I liked her,” Val says to Tasha.
“How will we find him?” I ask as I wring my hands.
“Sammy. There’s been a development with him and the girls. They work together. We’ll explain on the way. We have an exact location,” Tasha replies.
“The kid who called me?” Dean asks.
“That’s my son,” Tasha says proudly.
“Yer not going without us.” Blair appears with a determined look on her face.
“You’ve done enough. Please stay here with the girls. I need to know they are safe so I can focus on bringing their father home.”
“I hate it, and Callum is going to be pissed.”
“Next time, Demon. We can’t take you out there clipped,” Val says.
“Fine. Be careful,” she says and pulls me into a hug.
“Okay, Bellas. Let’s move out,” Val says.
Val and Tasha lead the way as Sim, Roni, Dean, Annabella, and I follow. Pam is behind the wheel as we get to the SUV. Sim hops into the front seat and punches in an address as the rest of us load in.
Seeing it’s going to be a tight fit, Val tosses Roni the keys to one of the other SUVs, and I follow them and Tasha to climb into that vehicle. Kate and Connie come running out at the last minute.
“Ya didn’t think ya were going to do this without us, did ya?” Connie asks as she hops in.
“Not a chance,” Val says.
***
We pull up not far from the location Sammy gave to the ladies. Apparently, one of his sisters sees numbers. She then gives them to Sammy and he sees what they mean and how to use them.
That’s how he knew what numbers to call. The kid is amazing. There’s no telling what he will be capable of when he’s older.
We all climb out of the SUV and round to the one Pam and the others are in. Pam pops the boot and there are vests, comms, and firepower waiting for us.
We all suit up and get ready. I fear what we will find when we get inside. I try to push that out of my mind so we can get in there and get to my man.
“Val, you’re with me. Sim, you head in with DJ, Sammy is going to lead you to where they’re holding Brooklyn. We’ll cover you and push in to get you out.
“Connie, Kate, Roni, you do the same from the south side. Annabella will be here as our medic. Pam, you stay with Annabella and cover her just in case.”
“Right, stay in the car so my husband doesn’t kill us all,” Pam says.
“You’re as important as the rest of us,” Tasha says.
“We all get out untouched. Do as we were trained, ladies. This is what we were built for,” Val says.
“Okay, let’s go,” I say and take off.
Sim is right beside me. I take out two guys as I move forward for the entrance. Sim puts down another two.
“He’s on the first level. A large space toward the back of the building. Hurry, you have to be quick. She hasn’t made a decision,” Sammy says into the comm.
I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but I nod and wave for Sim to move with me. I tuck my gun and move to take out the guy ahead of us. Not having a lot of time, I take him out at the knees then snap his neck.
I then pull my gun again and jog toward the back. A door comes into view with two guys guarding it. Sim takes them both down before I can do it myself.
“Time is running out,” Sammy says.
“Tasha, Val, what have you done?” Logan’s heated voice comes through the comm. “Stand down. We’re on the way.”
“It’s too late, we’re here,” I say.
“You enter, I will stand guard here,” Sim says.
I nod and push into the room behind the door, wanting to groan when I see it’s not a room but another wide-open space with crates and cargo everywhere. However, I do see Cole bound to a chair in the distance, his back to me.
I growl when I see a guy standing before him as if he’s been beating him. I move behind one of the large crates before I’m spotted. Inhaling deeply, I then peek out to see if I have a shot.
I’m frustrated when I can’t find a clear shot. I look up to see if I have any other options. Not seeing any, I decide to get closer. Good thing I do, as more guys come into view.
There are five in all. The one standing in front of Cole and four others. I also note there are two other entrances to the space that I can now see.
“Make the call. Get Deja here and ya can get on with yer life,” the guy snarls and punches Cole in the face.
Cole sits unfazed, with a grin on his lips and his head held high. Something about the guy’s voice tickles my brain, but I lose that thought as I get around the crates and Cole’s face comes into view.
“Ya do know when I get free, I’m going to kill ya, right?” Cole taunts and laughs.
“Shut the fuck up. Ya have none of the power here. I’m not afraid of ya. Everything ya have belongs to me.”
Cole rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Yer not man enough for anything I have. Ya can’t even throw a proper punch. Do ya really think yer going to get me to do anything ya say?”
The guy pulls a gun and cocks it. Without thinking, I holster my pistol and pull the rifle from my back as I aim and move from cover.
“Looking for me?” I say, shooting two of the other four guys.
The guy aiming at Cole spins to face me. He then rushes to stand behind Cole, using him as a shield as he sits in the wooden chair.
“Boyle?” I say in confusion as I look into the eyes of the asshole holding a gun to my man’s head.
“Decision made, they all die,” Sammy says into the comm.
I’m distracted for only a moment. However, it’s all the moment they need. More men storm the area from one of the side doors and a blond woman appears with them.
“We finally meet,” the woman says with a thick Russian accent as she glares at me with her cold blue eyes. “If I knew man all it takes, I would have started with him. Mother should have taught you to be heartless. She wouldn’t have come for him.”
“Who the fuck are you?” I snarl.
“You don’t need to know. You will be dead soon and who I am won’t matter.”
I can clear this room and get out of here, but Cole is tied to that chair. I’ll risk him getting hit if I try something. Suddenly, gunfire can be heard in the distance.
“You two. See what problem is,” the blond orders, causing two of their men to leave, bettering my odds.
Boyle laughs, drawing my attention to him. He’s still aiming at Cole’s head. He’s the first one I need to put down.
“Ya let yerself go, Deja,” Boyle snarls at me as he looks me up and down with a cross between lust and disgust.
Cole snorts as rage fills his face. “Ya mean, ya have no idea what to do with her. Little dick syndrome, aye? Yer better off with that skinny bitch. She might feel your tickles.”
I would laugh if we weren’t being held at gunpoint. Only Cole would talk as if he had the upper hand while we’re outnumbered. I think I love him more than ever in this moment.
I’m not about to allow this prick to body-shame me. I carry my curves with pride. Even after two babies, I know I look good.
I want to shoot him even more. Why is he even here and who’s the bitch with him? My blood is beginning to boil.
“We’re cornered. It’s going to take a second to get through them. Can you hold on?” Val says into the comm.
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
I gasp. I know that voice. My hands begin to shake, and tears burn the backs of my eyes.
That’s when everything begins to move in slow motion. Looking like a thick Black Lora Croft, my mother appears, wielding two huge axes in her hands. She spins one over her head and then chops off the head of the guy before her.
Not skipping a beat, she spins both axes and turns her body as she moves and chops the next guy’s legs out from under him. His upper body drops to the ground like a Jenga tower. It’s his screams that draw everyone else’s attention away from me.
I glance at Cole. He winks at me as a cocky grin comes to his lips. He then front flips his body and the chair he’s restrained to, doing a full rotation then bringing his weight down on the chair as he lands on his back, breaking the chair.
He snaps the zip tie from his wrists and swiftly grabs one of the broken legs from the now splintered chair. With the force of a savage, he drives the chair leg through Boyle’s chest. The other end coming through his back.
The blond woman screams and turns her gun on me. I’m still in shock. Not having the wherewithal to move out of the line of fire, I stand here blinking.
My mother places the bloody axes on her back and pulls two pistols to start clearing out the place. She’s amazing.
Remember, if I can’t fix this and keep it away from you, I will be there when you need me most.
“No,” Cole roars, pulling me from my shock.
I feel the impact of the bullet just before he knocks me to the ground with his big body. He pulls one of the guns from my thigh and begins to fire at the blond.
She grabs one of her men by his hair and tugs him in front of her like a shield as she backs away and continues to fire at us. Her human shield jerks in front of her as Cole fills him with holes.
Her gun jams or something, causing her to curse and toss it aside, not that her aim is any good anyway. With the gun forgotten, she drops the guy’s body and turns to run. Cole lifts from on top of me and begins to check me over.
“I’m fine. She caught me in the vest,” I say to ease his panic.
He stands and lifts me in his arms. “Put me down. We’re outnumbered. I need to help.”
“Who says we’re outnumbered?” Logan’s voice comes through the comms.
The sound of the gunfire shifts. I peek around Cole to see Logan, LaSalle, Dylan, Jamie, the Blacks, McGowans, and my uncles rushing the building as they join the Bellas to clear the place out.
“You and Cole get out of here. We’ve got this,” my mum says into the earpiece.
“I was wondering when ye were going to show up,” Uncle Ewan says.
“I’ve been around, but today my baby needed me,” Mum replies.