Chapter 29
Miles
Asharp pain in my jaw—undoubtedly from a punch—dragged me out of the darkness. It took several seconds for my eyes to focus, and confusion swept through me as I took in the scene.
Why the fuck were we at the docks?
And how did we get here?
But all questions went out the window when my gaze landed on Sofia, and murderous rage consumed every fiber of my body.
She was standing at the end of the stone jetty, easily 200 feet away from where I was, and behind her, waves rolled until they crashed against the concrete.
Her cheeks were stained with streaks of black makeup, and her bottom lip wobbled as she tried to hold back more tears.
Dried blood crusted her forehead from a cut, and the beautiful white dress she’d chosen to wear to dinner was covered in red splodges and black grime.
Sofia’s eyes were fixed on me, her gorgeous blue orbs filled with fear, and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I saw why. Her hands were behind her back, and her feet were tied together, a thick rope binding them. The other end of the rope was attached to a concrete slab.
If that wasn’t terrifying enough, the knife pressed to her throat, held by a smartly dressed man I’d never seen before, would have scared anyone.
I started to get up from where I was on my knees, desperate to get to her, only to be held down by an iron-clad grip.
I struggled against it, my head whipping from one side to the other, and finding I was being held by two men in leathers.
Surrounding them were another four bikers, no doubt the ones who wiped out our security.
Something pressed against the back of my head, and a trigger cocked, telling me that there was another person behind me.
It wasn’t the first time I’d had a gun pressed to my head, and if I survived this, it probably wouldn’t be the last; the perks of the life I led. Death had never bothered me, even more so when I was convinced I’d be joining Theo.
But right then, I didn’t want to die.
I couldn’t help Sofia if my brain was splattered over the docks.
I stiffened, letting the men holding me think I was complying, when really, I was buying myself time to think of a way to get my wife out of this situation.
My initial instinct was that the men were part of Herrera. We’d been working with Rafe and had made progress over the last few days to get a meeting with them under the radar; the last thing we wanted was Georgio finding out we wanted to offer a better deal to the cartel than what he had.
But maybe our efforts had pissed them off, and they’d intended to strike all along.
“Mr. Wolfe, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the dick holding the knife to Sofia’s throat said. “It’s a shame we aren’t meeting in better circumstances, but I didn’t think you’d agree to hand this little cunt over willingly.”
At his insult, I reacted before thinking, attempting to stand again so I could kill the motherfucker. My efforts earned me a whack to the back of my head with the butt of the gun from the man behind, adding to the throb already pulsing through it.
“Let her go,” I gritted through the pain.
The man chuckled. “No, I don’t think I will. See, I’ve got a score to settle with this one,” he said, licking the side of Sofia’s face, her eyes closing in disgust.
“Her father’s debt isn’t for her to pay,” I growled, somehow holding onto my restraint.
The man’s brows lifted. “I’m afraid you must have me confused with someone else. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hugo Kent.” His dark eyes flashed with pride as if his name should mean something to me.
“He’s Owen’s brother,” Sofia said, her shaky voice barely audible over the crashing of the waves.
What. The. Fuck?
Hugo smirked. “She’s right. And it was because of this bitch that my baby brother got himself killed. If he hadn’t been so fucking obsessed with her, he would never have made that damn agreement with your friend.”
My mind spun with the turn of events. “Former friend,” I hissed as if that was fucking important at a time like this. “And your brother’s stupidity got him killed. Let her the fuck go, and you and I can deal with this. Just the two of us.”
He chuckled again, a sound that was grating on my already fraying nerves.
“I can’t disagree with you on that point, Mr. Wolfe.
Owen’s stupidity led him to working with the Bianchis in the first place.
He thought he was a big, scary, badass, when in reality, he was an idiot.
But he was my kid brother. And I know how loyalty means a lot to you and your family, so I’m sure you can understand why I’m doing this. ”
I cursed under my breath. Yes, loyalty was something we prided ourselves on, but we’d never fucking hurt innocent people along the way.
“You’ll be pleased to know, though, I’m not like my brother,” Hugo continued.
“I don’t really like blood and gore, so I’m not going to blow her head off like what happened to Owen.
Nor am I going to slit her throat so she bleeds out right here.
” A devious smirk pulled at his lips. “That’s what happened to your cousin, right?
Had his throat slit right here at the docks? ”
My features twisted into a snarl as a memory of the morning I discovered Theo’s body tried to push its way into my head. I’d lost one person I loved at this goddamn place, I wasn’t going to lose another.
I needed to think, dammit.
But my focus was on Sofia and how close her feet were to the edge of the jetty. One gust of wind and she’d go over, and I knew just how deep the water was at the end of the jetty.
“Let her go. Take me as punishment for Owen’s death. As you said, it was because of my friend that Owen was killed.”
Hugo’s lips curled into a one-sided smirk.
“No can do. You see, she isn’t the only score to settle tonight.
Why don’t you say hello to Arnold? He’s the one holding the gun to your head, and if I’m not mistaken, I do believe you were responsible for killing both of his brothers, Markus and Adrian Powell. ”
Oh fuck.
After the incident at Bar Forty-Four, Kai had ordered me to hand my investigation into Adrian Powell over to Ash. I’d checked in with him a few times after the wedding, but he was having as much luck trying to figure out who Adrian had been working for as I had.
I’d left him to continue while I tried to get to the bottom of what Georgio had been up to with the cartel.
A mistake that was now biting me on the ass.
The barrel of the gun dug deeper into my head. “Nice to meet you, motherfucker,” Arnold growled from behind me. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kill you. Yet. Me and my boys have got a whole heap of plans for you before your heart stops beating.”
“Right,” Hugo grinned. “Well, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Arnold, but I have what I want, so how about we move this along?”
Several things happened at the same time the words left Hugo’s mouth.
With a violent shove, he pushed Sofia backwards, and her piercing scream filled the air, followed by an almighty splash.
Fear crawled through my veins, turning my blood to ice, and as I yanked with all my strength against the two bikers holding me, a gunshot rang out as the revving of a motorbike engine drew closer.
Arnold toppled over me, and the two bikers holding me released my arms to withdraw their guns, along with the other bikers. I rolled out from underneath Arnold’s body, a gaping hole between his lifeless eyes.
The bikers fired at the newcomer, their attention fixed on whoever my unexpected ally was. Bullets skimmed past me as I took off at a sprint toward the jetty, hoping like fuck I didn’t catch one in the back of my head.
I had no idea who the newcomer was; I knew it wasn’t Kai or any of our men, as far as I knew, they didn’t ride bikes. But it was something to think about another time; right then, my sole focus was on getting to Sofia.
Hugo rushed along the jetty, his face twisted into utter panic, and his eyes darting all around as if he was trying to assess a safe route past the chaos that had erupted.
Too bad for him, he only had two choices: jump into the water, or get past me.
The fucker took too long to deliberate.
With his knife gripped in his hand, he took a swing at me seconds before I crashed into him, knocking him backward and straddling him.
“Motherfucker!” I slammed my fist into his face as he waved the knife around, doing his best to buck me off as blood pissed from his broken nose. “I’ll fucking kill you for hurting my wife.”
My rage powered my fists as they crashed into his face again, yet despite the pain I was causing him, he still attempted to fight back, the knife slicing my arm as he waved it around.
Despite the burn from the gash, I caught his flailing hand with ease, twisting his wrist until a deafening crack rang out, and he screamed in agony. But his screams didn’t last long. Not when I plunged the knife I’d taken from him straight into his heart.
I didn’t wait to see if he stopped breathing before I tugged the blade out and took off again, the knife clutched in my hand. Reaching the edge of the jetty, I glanced around, but Sofia was nowhere to be seen.
Diving in, the freezing water stabbed my body like a thousand needles, and the knife wound in my arm turned into a blazing inferno from the salt water.
With my eyes stinging, I desperately looked around the murky water, trying to find any sign of Sofia, but it was impossible to see anything in the darkness.
When my lungs started burning, I had no choice but to resurface.
As I breached the surface, gunshots still echoed from the docks, but I didn’t dwell. Sucking in a deep breath, I dived under again, forcing myself to go down deeper.
Every muscle in my body burned, and my arm throbbed like fuck as I pushed myself to go further into the darkness. With my vision blurred from the sting of the salt, dread consumed me as all I could see around me was the gloom of the water.
My lungs began to burn, desperate for air, and when I thought I was going to have to return to the surface, a flash of white appeared through the darkness.
Determination propelled me as hope bloomed in my chest. Surely I wasn’t too late? I couldn’t be. I couldn’t lose her.
My lungs screamed in protest as I reached the weightless form of Sofia, her brown hair floating gently around her, and her eyes closed. I grabbed her arm and shook her, hoping her eyes would shoot open and she’d know I was there for her, that I’d come to save her.
But they didn’t.
Not ready to give up, I used her body to crawl to where her feet were tethered to the slab, weighing her down. Black spots danced in my vision, my head growing lighter the longer my lungs went without oxygen, but I didn’t care. If Sofia died under the water, I’d die with her.
Without her, without Theo, my life was empty.
With fading energy, I got to work, sawing at the rope with the knife, and ignoring the survival instinct in my head screeching at me to get the fuck up to the surface.
My arm ached as if I’d been weightlifting a car, and just when I thought I couldn’t hold on anymore, the final frays of the rope broke, freeing Sofia.
I dropped the knife and wrapped my arms around her, and with the last bit of strength, I kicked my legs as hard as I could, pushing us to the surface.
When we broke through, my lungs caught fire as I took deep gulps of air before hauling Sofia over to the side of the jetty. Despite the oxygen now circling my body, my head was still hazy, and I had no clue how I was going to get her out of the water.
Until a hand reached down. “Give her to me.”
My head snapped up. The biker who’d come to our rescue had removed his helmet, and it registered that the gunfight had fallen quiet.
Despite splashes of blood coating his face, I recognized him, having seen him once before.
But what the hell he was doing here, I had no clue, and I wasn’t going to waste time finding out.
With strength I wasn’t sure I had, I lifted Sofia into his waiting arms, enormous relief coursing through me when he pulled her onto the jetty.
Adrenaline, mixed with a desperate need to get to Sofia pushed me to somehow climb the three iron bars attached to the side of the concrete. A shiver traveled the length of my spine as I pulled myself onto the jetty, but it wasn’t from the cool air.
It was at finding Sofia flat on her back while the man in leathers pumped her chest.
“Get out of the way!” I shoved him and took over pumping her chest, my heart cracking down the middle at Sofia’s lifeless face. “Come on, Sofe,” I panted, my breath already coming out in short spurts. “Please, Jailbait. I need you to wake up.”
I lowered my mouth, transferring air from my lungs into hers. Her chest inflated, but instantly, the air whooshed out. Giving her another three breaths, I started pumping her chest again, my eyes welling with tears I refused to let fall.
She wasn’t dead.
This wasn’t how our story ended.
Not when it was just beginning.
“Please, Sofe,” I begged, my voice breaking. “Breathe for me. Just fucking breathe.”
Somewhere in the distance, tires screeched. I didn’t dare look away, too focused on Sofia and silently begging her to come back to me.
“It’s Kai. I’ll get help.” I’d forgotten he was there as he took off, and as the padding of his retreating footsteps fell silent, I blew more breath into Sofia before continuing with the chest pumps.
“Come on, Sofia!” I hissed, the tears I’d been trying to hold back now sliding down my cheeks.
“I need you to wake up, Sofe. I…I fucking love you and I never told you.” Pump, pump, pump.
“I should have told you that I knew the exact moment I fell in love with you.” Pump, pump, pump.
“It was when you walked down the aisle, and you were so fucking beautiful.” I gulped in several breaths, my lungs once again screaming as I blew them into her before returning to pumping her heart.
“Please, Sofe. I can’t live without you.
Come back to me, and I promise I’ll tell you every fucking day that I love you. ”
Panicked shouts from down by the dock reached my ears as I lowered my face to hers once more, and just as I was about to cover her mouth, her body jolted.
She coughed.
Water spewed from her mouth.
Monumental relief swept through me as I rolled her onto her side. She coughed and coughed while I rubbed her back, throwing up water until there was nothing.
When there was no more water to come up, and as the approaching footsteps signaled the arrival of help, Sofia rolled onto her back. Moving quickly, I caught her so her head rested in my lap.
Her bright blue eyes, filled with tears, blinked up at me, and when she spoke, her voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. “I…love you too.”