Carver

Chapter 5

Five

After Hex confirmed there were actually people wearing collars in the mansion, Carver found his second wind. He should have been tired. Should have needed to drop somewhere for a few hours to recharge.

The news had the opposite effect.

He was ready to tear the fucking world apart. The drive back to Mordecai’s destroyed home took almost half as much time without the added passenger. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Archie by driving too fast and loose. Without him though, Carver was free to be as reckless as he pleased.

When he arrived, he threw his helmet at the nearest Angel before taking off to where Slash stood waiting for him. “Hex said you didn’t sound pleased at the news. Why did you call him?”

Instead of me.

The unasked question was something they’d address later. Slash, as second, should have been who Carver called. But he knew the other man was already strapped tight coordinating everything.

Taking down Mordecai had left more destruction behind than any of them had planned. Thankfully Tank had agreed to letting the Angels handle things how they saw fit. Because even if he hadn’t, there was no way to salvage the place. Burning it to the ground was the only option.

It was also the only way Carver would ever find peace.

Some buildings held darkness within their walls. One could tell from the moment they entered if a place had been home to sinister deeds and unsavory actions. Mordecai’s mansion was one of the worst cases Carver had known. It had taken everything in him not to jump the gun on this one.

He wanted to make it worse. To draw it out and hurt her.

Tank’s favor took that part of the mission away. Finding out there were collars involved made him regret giving the bitch a quick ending. She should have suffered longer for what she’d done.

“Take me to them,” Carver told Slash.

As his second spun to do as he was told, a tremor ran through Carver’s system. There was more to what was happening than they knew. He didn’t know how to explain it. Only that he felt like there were pieces missing.

Slash led him down the hall, past all the bodies, to a set of stairs heading down. Both men kept quiet as they hurried to the nightmare awaiting them. The closer they got to the bottom, the more noise Carver picked up on.

Hex was talking loudly, telling a story about… chickens. No, that couldn’t be it. He couldn’t imagine that being something important to the current situation.

Except when he exited the stairwell, he saw just how wrong he was. Carver had expected to find weeping captives in the basement. He thought they’d be pleading for their lives, worried after the shootout from above.

“He’s been keeping them distracted while we worked upstairs. A lot of them won’t even talk to us. I’m not sure what your plan is with them, but I hope they’re fucking spoiled to pieces after this.”

Carver nodded his agreement. He’d planned on handing everyone over to Royce with strict instructions for the billionaire. There was no doubt that they were the best fit to help these people. It was just a matter of making sure they understood the gravity of the situation.

As he approached the gathered group, several heads turned his way. A few of them were leery until they noticed his leather cut. The Angels insignia on the front had their worried looks shifting to acceptance.

“Hello,” he said to the group.

At his single word greeting, Hex choked out a laugh. “This is my boss, everyone. He’s the reason we made it here to help you.”

It was as if something shifted around the space.

Carver was crowded in an instant as he received thanks in various languages.

He understood a couple, a result of his years building up allies in the criminal world.

The Angels might not be up to their old ways, but he wasn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty when the need arose.

Like this instance. It was nothing for them to take down Mordecai. Shutting down her trafficking ring would free hundreds, if not thousands, more people like there were in this room. All of that was worth the bloodshed. It’s worth ten times that amount.

When the group finally quieted, Carver spoke to them again. “We’re going to help you get out of here and start over. I have a friend. They will be able to give you whatever you need. It’s not an issue, so don’t be afraid to ask.”

A hand went up towards the back. Carver nodded towards it.

“Yes?” he called out since he figured they might not be able to see him.

“Did you kill the pet?”

At the question, several eyes widened. Some people also shook their heads and a few even did the sign of the cross. Carver had seen the move many times as he dealt out punishments through the years as The Butcher. He couldn’t say he understood it’s use just then though.

“Pet? What pet?” Carver turned to Hex. “Did someone mention a pet?”

“Not to me. This is the first time I’m hearing about it.”

Carver then spun to face Slash. The other man turned his device to show he was already dialing Trix’s number. They’d cut the comms off while Carver took Archie back. There wasn’t a need with everyone taken care of.

Except now there was a new element in the mix.

“Go for Trix,” the voice called across the line.

Slash immediately answered. “We’ve got a problem. The survivors are asking if we killed Mordecai’s pet. Do you have records of a dog or a cat in the house? Hopefully the damn thing didn’t get hit. I’m not an animal killer.”

Trix hummed. “I didn’t see anything. I can look… ohhhhh. Or I can pull up the thermal imaging again. Anything with a heartbeat should show on the scan.”

A tiny tap on Carver’s leg drew his attention. He turned to find a small child waiting there. Their little hand was clasped in an adult’s, as if they needed the support simply to speak with him.

Carver decided to do what he should have in the first place. Dropping to a crouch, he made himself eye level with the child.

“What do you need?” he asked softly.

As Trix clicked away on the computer to gather more intel, Carver, Slash, and Hex waited out the young child. It only took a moment for them to answer, and when they did, Carver nearly lost control.

“Pet is not pet. It’s a boy.”

The sound on the phone stopped for a second before speeding up to an alarming rate. Carver knew Trix would feel guilty if an innocent person was taken down in the midst of the fight.

“Got him!” Trix shouted a few moments later. “Shit, boss. They’re… they’re not moving. I can tell they’re still warm. You’ve got to get to him.”

Carver stood abruptly, then snatched Slash’s phone.

As he headed up the stairs, he heard Hex telling them he was going to look for the pet.

While it wasn’t what they’d call the boy when they did find him, it made more sense to share in a way the others would understand.

They needed to remain calm for as long as possible. It was best for everyone involved.

As he took the stairs two at a time, he listened to Trix give him basic instructions on where to go next. “Head upstairs. On the main level, head to the back hall. There’s another set of stairs there. Take them to the second floor.”

He followed the directions as quickly as he could. With each step he took, his heart rate increased. This chase, this search, felt pivotal. Whatever awaited him would change his life. He just knew it.

“Turn into the next room on your left,” Trix shouted.

Carver pivoted, nearly tripping over a dead body. The door to the room had been left open in a way that suggested the man face down on the floor had exited in a hurry during the fight earlier. It also had enough locks on it to make him aware something important had been kept here.

When he stepped into the room, ice swept through his veins. A large bed sat to one side of the room made up in a way that said it hadn’t been recently used. There were various sex toys on multiple shelves on either side of the large monstrosity.

But neither of those things were what had him fighting for control.

No, it was the goddamn cage.

The cage with an open door and nothing more than a small blanket laying inside. A dirty blanket.

“FUCK!” Carver roared the word into the empty space.

“Boss? What’s going on? You’ve got to keep going. You’re almost to him.”

Trix’s voice had him refocused in an instant. He stepped forward, then realized what Trix was saying couldn’t be possible.

“There’s nothing else here. You’ve got to be wrong. Not unless—”

“Tunnels.” They spoke the word at the same time.

Clicking away at his keyboard, Trix bit out, “Give me two minutes. I’ll get whatever is in there disabled.”

While Carver understood how short of a time it was, each second felt eternally long as he waited for Trix to figure out their next steps.

“Keep your eye on the wall across from the entry. A light should flash green… now.”

The tiny dot would have never caught his eye had Trix not been telling him to look for it.

Whatever the fuck Mordecai was doing here, she wanted to make sure there was a path to safety.

Thank goodness she didn’t make it this far.

The arrogance she’d used to build her empire was the same that caused her downfall.

Carver approached the spot where the light had gone off. Up close, he could see the seam indicating there was a door. Since there was no handle, he pushed against where he suspected the edge would be. The door creaked open.

“You see him yet?” Trix asked.

“Not yet. I’m going to…” His voice faded as the small form in the distance caught his sight.

He ran over to the body, dropping down to floor without a care to anything. If this had been a trap, then he’d have been caught. There was nothing that could have stopped him from helping the boy.

Memories assaulted him, one after another. He wasn’t in this hidden tunnel. Wasn’t finding a complete stranger.

It was someone else. Someone equally as small and hurt.

Carver shook his head to push away the visions clouding his mind. He reached down to check for a pulse. It took a second to find one.

“He’s alive. Breathing. Heartbeat is low though.” He paused to see if the boy would react to his touch or his voice. “And he’s not responsive, Trix. We’re going to need a medic for this one.”

“Understood, Boss. I’ll get it arranged. Bring him straight here.”

While others might have bristled at being given orders, Carver took pride in knowing his men could step up to lead. He wouldn’t always be around. They needed to know what to do in such an event.

He lifted the boy slowly, careful not to jostle him too much. Whatever was wrong with him, it didn’t involve blood. He didn’t appear to have any broken bones either. Carver knew because he could practically feel every single one of them.

The boy was malnourished. There was no doubt.

Once he felt confident there wasn’t anything to be gentle about, he rushed from the tunnel and back into the horrid bedroom. He didn’t stop moving, his feet eating up the distance to the entry.

Slash came into view as he rounded the open doorway. “Boss!”

Carver moved in his direction. He could see they were finally getting the others loaded into the trucks. It seemed like once they knew the boy was taken care of, they were willing to leave.

“You made sure to get everyone out?” he asked his second.

“Hex is doing a final run through now. Trix said he was double checking too, since you know, he missed this one.” Slash nodded to the unconscious form.

As if he heard his name, Hex came jogging out of the house. “All is clear. The only bodies in there are the ones we took out. What’s the plan with it now, boss?”

“Burn it all down. And record that shit. I want proof that it’s nothing but dust and metal left behind. We’ll melt down the rest of it to repurpose somehow.”

Hex’s face lit up. “Sounds like a good time. You mind if I lead the efforts?”

Carver shook his head, a smirk tilting his lips. “Not at all. Figured you’d want to take care of it. The rest of us can handle this.”

He tilted his head to the trucks that now held all the survivors. They were watching the men with cautious glances. It would take a long time for them to come around.

Facing the group, he looked several of them in the eye before announcing, “I’ve found the one that was missing.

He needs medical attention immediately. I’m taking him to my personal doctor for help.

The rest of you will go meet my friend who will help you get resettled.

You have no reason to be afraid anymore. ”

There was a collective sigh from everyone, as if his words alone alleviated the tension they’d been holding. Carver nodded to his men, then took off for the front of the truck.

“Slash, you’re going to drop us at the compound, then you’ll keep on to Royce. Hex, you’ll take my bike back when you’re done.”

Hex saluted him, then turned to face the few other Angels in attendance. “Alright boys, time to play a game. Let’s light this bitch up.”

Carver went to the passenger door, which Slash opened as he chuckled at Hex’s antics. It took some adjusting to get them both in the cab. Once they settled, Slash went around to drive them.

The pair remained quiet during the trip. There wasn’t anything that needed to be said between them. Not when they had more questions than answers about the boy in Carver’s arms.

Hopefully they’d get answers soon. Though Carver worried the answers would only lead to more problems.