Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
PHOENIX
I could almost feel Javey trembling beside me. Okay, maybe that was me.
Not with fear, no way. I was shaking with rage. Carefully controlled rage, but still.
This was the opportunity I'd been waiting a long time for. My family had its share of enemies, but we deserved better than we currently had.
The DiMarcos should hold as much power as the Brantleys, not the Fiorellis. Their days were done. We'd spent enough time in the shadows. It was past time to walk out and claim what was ours.
This was a big step toward that. My brother Ric would be grateful for what we did here tonight. He fucking better be.
Although, no one was fooled that he held the power.
His girlfriend Daisy Lasalle was the one people increasingly turned to.
They called her Daze. She was as dangerous as they came and just as gorgeous.
Not compared to Sinclair. Before I met her I would have happily wet my cock in Daze.
Even if it meant pissing off my brother.
Okay, especially if it meant that. I was done standing in his shadow too. I'd show them all I was more than Ric's little brother. More than a goalie.
Tonight, I'd make my mark.
I gripped my gun carefully, keeping it in front of me as my gaze swept back and forth.
Javey and I were a few steps behind Aidan and Orion, but I wouldn't let my guard down in case they missed something. One tiny detail and we might all be fucked.
Aidan stopped suddenly, his hand raised.
I narrowly avoided walking into the back of him.
Coast stumbled into me, grabbing my arm with his spare hand to keep us both from falling.
Fuck, his touch sent a rocket of heat through me. One I struggled to contain.
He'd kept me at arm's length for so long, I shoved the feeling away out of habit. It was harder this time than it ever was before. Hard like my cock was getting.
Down boy, I told him.
Now was not the time for an erection. Not until Sinclair was safe and we'd finished what we came here to do. Then, we'd make time to clear the air, once and for all.
Figure out where all four of us stood. I knew what I felt for Sinclair. I loved the woman the moment I first lay eyes on her. Like I did with everyone else, I used my gruff exterior to keep her away.
Between Coast bringing me along for the ride, and her natural magnetism, I was quickly done for. I was loving every minute of it. Even this part. She'd know how hard I'd fight for her. I'd risk everything. I'd die for her, if I had to.
Aidan gestured for half of us to go to the left and the other half to follow him. Several of the guys slipped down a side corridor. The rest of us followed Aidan into a huge living area.
Two people sat on a huge sectional, curled up around each other in front of a fire and a massive television screen.
To my disappointment neither of them was Sawyer. One was his younger sister Kaya. The other was a guy I didn't recognise. Both of them were focused on the rugby game on the TV.
According to the score, the Dusk Bay Smashers were leading by ten points. Good for them.
Aidan stepped up behind Kaya and cocked his gun.
She froze.
The guy with her turned around, jumped up and leapt away. "What the fucking hell?" he shouted.
"Where's Sawyer?" Aidan asked coldly.
"He's probably upstairs," Kaya replied, her tone surprisingly calm.
"Where's Sinclair?" Coast snarled.
"I don't know any Sinclair." To her credit, Kaya hadn't flinched or moved a hair. She sat perfectly still, hands to either side of her, palms pressed down on the black leather.
"I don't know any Sinclair either," the guy stammered. "I swear."
"Henry doesn't know anything," Kaya said. "Whatever my brother is up to, he hasn't said anything to either of us."
"That's right." Henry looked close to panicking. Luckily the floor was tiled, because any moment now, he was going to piss himself. "I don't know anything. I just came over to watch the game with my girlfriend." He held out his hands to either side. His eyes were wide.
"You better find a way to get Sawyer down here," Orion said. "Without shouting."
Kaya nodded. With hands also raised where we could see them, she leaned forward to pick up her phone. She reached behind her to offer it to Aidan.
"The code is one two three seven. Sawyer is in my contacts. He won't know it's not me messaging him."
Aidan took the phone and tapped on the screen. He put in the code and grunted when it actually opened.
There must not be much love lost between Sawyer and his sister, because she seemed only too happy to throw him to the wolves. Presumably she realised cooperating gave her a slight chance of making it out of this alive.
"Everyone step back," Aidan ordered. He pushed the phone into his pocket and stepped back himself. "Sit down, Henry. Relax. Our beef is not with you."
Henry swallowed, and for a moment I thought he might make a run for the door.
Instead, he sat beside Kaya, but he made no move to give her any comfort. Some boyfriend he was. He was more worried about his ass than hers.
After a minute or two, footsteps started coming down the stairs that led to the living area.
"Kaya? What's so important that you couldn't—"
"Sawyer, it's a trap!" Henry shouted. He leapt up and ran. He made it three or four steps towards the door before Coast put a bullet in the back of his head.
Kaya flinched, but otherwise didn't move. Smart girl. She might make it out of this in one piece yet.
Sawyer reached the bottom of the stairs and stared at us. He had his gun in his hand. He must have suspected something funny was up.
To be honest, if I was as big an asshole as him, I'd be armed all the time too. Someone would always be wanting to kill me.
"Nice of you to join us," Coast said. "Why don't you come and sit down with your sister?" He aimed the gun at her head.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Tank and BJ stiffen. Yeah, it figured. Of course they wouldn't want her threatened if they were working with her brother. Unless…
I looked at them both full on. They weren't angry, they were scared. For her. That made sense. Their loyalty wasn't with Sawyer, it was with Kaya.
"If Sawyer does as he's told, she doesn't need to get hurt," I said, my voice low and even.
Coast and Javey looked at me in surprise, but quickly realised who I was looking at and why.
"We don't want anything to do with him," Tank said. "Please, don't hurt her. She's not a part of any of this."
"But you are?" Javey narrowed his eyes at them.
"No, we're not," BJ said quickly. "She wanted us to keep an eye out for anything he did so we could make sure it didn't come back on her." He gave her a look that both said what he felt for her and that he'd do his best to protect her.
"So Henry was—" I looked at them questioningly.
"A decoy," Kaya said softly. "So my brother didn't suspect I was working behind his back."
"Fucking bitch," Sawyer snarled. "Are you working with Nicholas and Celine?"
She looked over at him, unflinching. "No. I'm working for myself. I want nothing to do with them or you."
"Aren't you just putting the fun back into dysfunctional?" Coast said cheerfully.
"None of this is getting Sinclair back," Javey said. He pointed his gun right at Sawyer. "Where is she?"
"Why should I tell you?" Sawyer hedged. He gave Javey a look like he was something he scraped off the bottom of his patent leather shoes. Or expensive as fuck Nikes.
"Because if you let her and her friend go, we might let you live," Aidan said. "We don't care about you either. Until this, you were a blip on our radar. You can go back to being exactly that. Or you can be as dead as Henry there. Your call."
Sawyer glanced down at the dead man and swallowed. The fact he even hesitated suggested to me he wasn't very bright.
No, there was more to it than that. His gaze flicked towards the door to the other side of the room.
I aimed my gun right at his face. "Expecting someone? Because if you are, I'd tell them to fuck off before I put a hole right between your eyes."
"If you do that, you'll never find her or her friend," he said. "If they don't hear from me, they'll kill both of them. Don't think you can fool them with a text message. They need to hear my voice."
"Then get on the fucking phone and tell them to let her go," Coast said. He smiled, but it was a dangerous, vicious look. He wouldn't hesitate to kill everyone in this room if he had to. Even me.
Aidan slipped Kaya's phone out of his pocket and handed it to Sawyer. "I suggest you be quick. The guys have had a long day and they're tired. When they get this tired, they get…" He considered his words. "Trigger-happy? Impatient? Violent?"
"All of the above," Coast said without taking his eyes off Sawyer.
Sawyer glanced at the door again before tapping on the screen of the phone and putting it to his ear. Apparently she trusted him with the pass code too. With this phone anyway. A girl like her would have a phone she used in public and a private one for personal use, like calling BJ and Tank.
"Gus, this is Sawyer. How are our pretty little packages?" He looked right at Coast when he spoke. He had some balls to taunt a man who had a gun aimed at his face. If he had a death wish, he only had to provoke us a little more. I half hoped he would. That would serve the prick right.
"Good to hear they're doing well," Sawyer replied to the person on the other end. "We have a change in plans."
For a heartbeat, I thought he was about to tell this Gus guy to kill them. He'd be dead before he finished speaking the words.
Instead, he said, "I want you to let them go." He listened for a moment. "You heard right. We don't need them anymore, let them go."
Why the fuck did he look triumphant? Even if this was a trap, he was still the one staring down the barrel of several guns.
Sawyer ended the call and handed the phone back to Aidan. "They're at the old Seahawk Motel near the beach on Collins Street."
"Coast." Aidan nodded to him.
"I'm on my way." Coast tucked the gun into his jeans.
"I'm coming with you," Tiger said. He had that expression on his face like it wasn't worth arguing with him. Nothing was keeping him from getting to Wren.
Aidan nodded and ordered a couple of the other guys to go with them, including Bray. "The rest of us will stay here until we know they're free and alive."
There was something in his eyes that put me on edge. I wanted to go with Coast, but I wasn't one of the ones he sent. Neither was Javey. Aidan never did anything without good reason. He better have a fucking good one for keeping me from Sinclair.
Coast glanced at me and gave me a nod. I gave him one back.
I thought that was it, he'd step out the door and go to her. I'd stay here and wait, and hope like hell she really was okay. At the last moment, he stepped towards me, kissed my mouth and then turned and left.
That was so unexpected I was tempted to run after him, but I had to stay firm. When all of this was over, we'd sort it out.
I exchanged glances with Javey who smiled. His expression was tense. He wanted to go with Coast as well.
"So what's—" I started to say.
The entire room was shaken as the front door was blown apart.