Chapter Twenty-Four
Breaker
My fingers tremored in anticipation of a kill.
It had been so fucking long since I’d fed my monster that I felt him in my blood, moving through my flesh, trying to burst out of my skin.
The military made me a monster, but these days, the nightmares full of the evil things I did in the name of my country were gone. Riding in to put the Burning Sinners down wasn’t about war or patriotism; it wasn’t even about winning.
It was all about keeping my wife and children safe.
Kennedy owned me heart and soul, as did Kady, Kai, and the boy my woman carried in her belly. The Sinners had already tried to raze my world apart by taking my baby girl for their sick, perverted needs. Now it was time to ensure they’d never take mine or anyone else’s daughters again.
This was a day of judgment, and I had not one qualm about raining fire and brimstone down on their sorry asses.
No fucks given.
The house we were about to storm was big and ostentatious, not quite as tacky as the house I blew up by the country club, but just as flashy. The metal gates were surrounded by an eight-foot-tall wooden fence, which I already knew was rotting in areas and would be easy enough to kick through. However, if everything went the way we’d planned, I wouldn’t need to.
My cell—which sat in a mount on my handlebars—lit up with a message.
Mason: Gate opening
Raising my hand, I pointed ahead and made a twirling motion with my finger, my lip curling in satisfaction at the loud revs that indicated my brothers were at my back.
The gates slowly began to open, and I adjusted my speed, timing it so we could shoot through the gates without having to stop and wait, which no doubt would give the Sinners an advantage. We needed this mission to go smoothly. We’d sat back and taken their bullshit for too long, but now the boot was on the other foot.
It was time to show the motherfuckers how an ambush was done.
The gates parted and we roared through them. My head swiveled to take in the circular driveway that once would’ve looked pristine but now was full of potholes and oil spills. My bike rolled up next to the huge house, and my focus locked onto the dark mahogany doors with bushy trees planted in a pot at either side.
I reached inside my cut for my loaded weapon, simultaneously closing my eyes and pushing my emotions down to allow the monster to rise. My chest burned as it roared to life, filling me with the craving for violence, blood, and death. My jaw clenched with the desire to feed it until its belly was sated.
The door of the house flew open.
Instinctively, my hands went up, and I pointed my gun, before cursing under my breath and lowering my weapon at the sight of Mason running outside. “Where is everyone?” I demanded.
“They’re mostly passed out,” he relayed. “There was a shitload of smack gettin’ passed around last night. There’s a crowd of them in the kitchen you need to watch out for. It’s at the back of the house, and their music’s so loud it drowned out your pipes.”
“Is Bear here?” I asked, my tone flat.
Mason shook his head. “I haven’t seen him here at all. Henderson came around one time, but it was days ago. They’re laying low after the arrests. I overheard that Bear’s orders were to ride it out.”
“Go, Mase,” Atlas ordered. “Get your ass out of here. We’ll pick you up on the way home. You’ve been a fuckin’ champ, brother.”
“But—”
“Get your ass out, Son,” Atlas repeated. “Things are gonna get bloody and messy. Iris will kick my ass if you become traumatized.”
“I can handle it,” Mason argued. “I’ve had to deal with these fuckheads for what seems like forever, brother. There’s nothing I want more than to see them get their karma. Believe me, there’s nothing you can do that could traumatize me more than they already have.”
Atlas’s hand came out and curled around the back of the prospect’s neck. “What did they do?”
“Nothin’ to me,” he said flatly. “But they don’t treat women good.”
Atlas’s eyes met mine. “No mercy,” he bit out.
I jerked one nod.
“I’ll deal with the upstairs,” I declared, pointing to a collection of single-story structures I assumed were the staff quarters Elise told us about. “You guys check those buildings, clear them and the lower-level rooms, and I’ll meet you in the kitchen. You’ve got twenty minutes. Only fire your weapons if you find yourselves in a situation. I’ll come to you.”
Atlas’s eyes flicked over my face. “You don’t have to do this alone.” His eyes narrowed as he stared into my blank eyes. “Kit?”
I turned and rounded the wall to head around the back of the house while blending into the shadows. The closer I moved to the patio area, the louder the sound of thrash metal became. I could’ve crashed through the fucking fence, and the stupid bastards inside wouldn’t have heard a thing.
A tinge of disappointment hit me. I would’ve loved to go in shooting, but at least this way, I could concentrate on moving through the house, killing silently as I went.
I turned a corner and was met with a window that had been left wide open. Without a thought, I grabbed the pane and hauled myself up and through, landing in a downstairs bathroom.
I held my breath, trying to regulate the rush of blood in my ears. My heart hammered in my chest, and my blood pulsed. My ass hit the toilet seat, and I bent my neck, steepled my fingers to my forehead, and closed my eyes. Breathing gently through my nose and past my lips, I succumbed to the adrenaline surging through my veins, allowing it to take me over.
My heart rate slowly began to settle, and I continued breathing in and out, rinse and repeat. I imagined a mountain, a sunrise, and peace. My heart slowed and began pumping steadily again.
I stood and crept to the door, putting my ear to the lacquered wood, trying to listen for sounds outside.
As soon as I was certain it was clear, I cracked it open an inch and peered through the gap, seeing the hallway was empty. Then, I unsheathed my knife from its holder strapped to my side, gingerly stepped outside, and headed to the wide staircase situated in the middle of the hallway, which fanned out left and right at the top. Silently, I ascended, backing into the wall the second I reached the top, then headed right, toward the far bedroom.
As I neared the last door, it suddenly opened, and a straggly-haired huge behemoth of a man emerged, bare-chested with his jeans undone. His eyes came straight to me, his stare fixating on my cut. He opened his mouth to shout out for one of his asshole brothers.
In a flash, I brought my arm up in a backhanded motion and sliced my blade across his throat. My monster roared with satisfaction as I watched his flesh open from right to left like a zipper. His hands flew to his neck, and he made a gurgling noise.
I brought a leg up and kicked him back into the room, gently closing the door the second he was clear of it. The last thing I needed was for his blood to drip on the floor. I didn’t want to leave any signs. I needed to work through the rooms silently and efficiently and wipe out as many Sinners as I could.
A frightened squeal hit the hallway, followed by soft sobs and the voice of a female begging for somebody to leave her alone. My feet moved toward the room, and I silently cracked the door open and peered inside, my grip tightening around my knife at the sight before me.
A young girl lay on her back, naked on top of a filthy bed with her face turned toward the door. She sobbed as a lanky, long-haired guy rutted against her.
Bile rose through my chest and my blood turned to ice.
Silently, I stepped into the room, holding my finger up to my mouth, indicating for the girl to stay quiet as she noticed my movement from the corner of her eye.
Her shocked stare widened, and I noticed her body shaking with terror.
The monster howled inside my head, and as if on autopilot, I stepped forward and raised my knife before sinking it into his brain stem.
His body convulsed for a few seconds before his deadweight slumped on top of the girl.
I snarled, grabbing his shoulders and tossing him away. “Get some clothes on and get out,” I ordered flatly. “There are men out front who’ll get you to safety.”
Her eyes fixated on me before swerving toward the dead Sinner and back again. “I’m staying with you.”
“No,” I snarled. “Get out.”
“Y—You saved m—me from him,” she stuttered. “I d—don’t wanna leave you.”
I pulled air in through my nose, staring down at her. “Get some fuckin’ clothes on.”
She scrambled from the bed and grabbed a tee from the floor, slipping it over her head.
“More,” I ordered.
Her eyes lifted to mine, and she whispered, “It’s all they gave me.”
My monster roared again, and my chest burned.
“There’s others,” she relayed. “There were three other girls in the van when they kidnapped me.” She looked down at the dead man and spat, “That pig forced me up here, but I don’t know what they did with the others.”
“You need to get outta here,” I reiterated urgently. “My brothers will help you. You can’t witness what’s about to go down.”
Her eyes slashed back to the body, which by then was lying in a small pool of blood, and she nodded, tucking a lock of her brown hair behind her ear with tremoring fingers.
I took her elbow and guided her over to the door. “Stay silent. Move quickly, and whatever happens, run for the door and don’t look back.”
“What about you?” she asked.
I cracked the door open an inch and peered outside. “I can look after myself.” My lips almost twitched when I heard her murmur, “You don’t say,” from behind me.
Stepping out into the hallway, I jerked my head toward the stairs. “Go.”
I heard her let out a sharp breath before she slid past me and quickly ran barefoot down the carpeted stairs.
Pulling my firearm from its holster, I stuck my head over the stair railing and covered the girl as she crept toward the exit. With a last glance up the stairs, she opened the door and slipped outside.
I heaved a relieved sigh and slid my gun back into the holster.
The last thing I wanted to do was fire off a round. The instant we alerted the Sinners that something was going down, we’d lose the element of surprise. I wanted to put as many down as I could before we started shooting. Bear may have deserted these motherfuckers to save his own skin, but they were still trafficking rapist pieces of shit who deserved to die.
Turning back toward the corridor, my stare fell on the door situated between the rooms holding the dead men. I snuck over and pushed it open slightly.
Empty.
I swiftly moved to the next door and peeked inside, but there was nobody there, so I moved on to the next room. My gut twisted when I opened the door and saw a girl inside, her hands and feet bound to the chair with what appeared to be zip ties. She looked to be young—in her teens—and her head had lolled forward.
Moving inside the room, I clicked the door closed behind me and went straight to the girl, crouching down and cutting through her restraints with my blade. Gently, I pulled her head up, my gut churning when I saw a painful-looking gash on her lip and a black eye.
My hand went to my cell, and I pulled it out of my pocket, clicking on Atlas’s number. It rang three times before the call connected, and Atlas barked, “Yo!”
“Did you get the girl?” I asked.
“Yip. Abe got her out.”
“Found another one unconscious and tied to a chair,” I muttered. “There’re more women around. We’re gonna need transport for ‘em.”
“We found one,” he confirmed. “Got her when we cleared one’a the outbuildings. They’d beaten the poor bitch black and blue. Found the fuckers who did it too; pleased to report the world has five less abusers.”
“Make that seven,” I informed him.
Atlas barked a laugh and crowed, “Best day ever.”
My ears pricked as men’s voices filtered into the room from the hallway. “Gotta go,” I whispered before ending the call and slipping my cell phone back into my pocket. I pulled out my other knife, and my head snapped up as the voices got louder.
I stood, slid into position behind the door, held my breath, and waited.
“Where’s Tiny?” I heard one of them ask.
“Lazy fuck’s still catching z’s,” another one replied.
“Better give him a wake-up call soon. We need to get ready to roll in case Bear calls.” The door creaked open, and my fingers tightened around the handles of both blades.
Two Sinners walked inside the room. I could only see their backs, but one was short and stocky, the other not much taller, except he was a skinny fuck.
I held my breath, waiting until they were both clear of the door, stepped forward, and sank a blade into the back of each of their skulls. I hit the skinny one slightly off target, and blood squirted out the back of his head, hitting my shirt as they both sank to the floor.
“Nine down…” I murmured to myself, heading back toward the door.
Sliding through the door, I looked right and left, making sure I was clear, before checking the next room and then next. I slit the throat of a sleeping, skinny, strung-out Sinner who looked to be at death’s door, but every other room on the upper floor was clear.
Finally, I headed back toward the stairs, intending to get back down to Atlas and the boys, when I heard the shouts.
“They’re out front!” a man bellowed.
“Get the weapons,” another one roared. “Those cunts are dead!”
I slipped my second knife back inside its sheath and pulled out my gun. Then, tiptoeing to the stairs, I pointed it down over the railing, waiting for my shot.
Within seconds, a massive, long-haired biker came into view.
I recognized him from the shoot-out at my club, the day before me and my mate were bound together.
“Call Bear,” he yelled. “Tell him we need backup—”
I squeezed the trigger until an almighty bang shook the staircase as my weapon discharged. The back of the Sinner’s head exploded, and he crumpled to the tiled floor. Another one ran to help the dead man, and I squeezed another round off, shooting him in the heart.
His chest rattled loudly, and he dropped to the floor.
The sound of gunfire from outside filled my ears, and I felt the inside of my chest swell until it was almost buoyant. I tipped my head back, looked to the ceiling, and allowed my monster to rear up through my chest, completely taking me over. My mind filled with images of the hell I was about to rain down on those sick perverts.
Every muscle, every bone, every drop of blood hummed with the need for the kill. My mind focused solely on the men downstairs who threatened my club and my woman, and something burst inside.
I craved the feeling I got when I sunk a knife into flesh and watched the life drain from enemy eyes,
I craved the satisfaction that roared through me whenever I protected my mate and our young.
I craved the need to draw blood.
I craved vengeance.
I craved death.
Like a robot, I marched down the stairs, my head swiveling from left to right, my eyes scanning for targets. A door flew open, and a young guy ran toward the entrance, gun in hand.
His head whipped up, his eyes widening with fear the second he noticed me.
My weapon was already raised. I squeezed the trigger and watched, fascinated, as a hole appeared between his eyes, and he fell to the floor.
My heart burst with elation, and a joyful grin spread across my face as my craving for destruction was sated momentarily before the yearning rose through me again.
Another Sinner ran into the hallway and began to yell for help, and I aimed my weapon, my grin widening because something funny hit me.
For once in his life, Atlas was right.
This was the best day ever.