Chapter Sixteen #3
“They probably had her drugged,” Griffin said softly. “Easier to keep her compliant.” Griffin hovered but stayed well back so as not to startle Tessa.
I dropped to my knees beside Tessa. I laid my gun down before pulling my own small knife and cutting her zip ties. I reached for Tessa, cupping her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me.
“Tessa,” I said, my voice breaking. “Tessa, it’s me. It’s Veda. I’m here. I found you.”
Her eyes moved, tracking slowly to my face. It took her a long moment to focus on me. Then, like sunlight breaking through clouds, recognition brightened her eyes. “Veda?” Her voice was barely a whisper, raw and broken. “You came?”
“Of course I came,” I sobbed out in a whisper, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’ll always come for you. Always.”
“Quite the reunion.”
I froze. I knew the voice. Iron. Even though I’d been expecting him, being in the same room with the man after the night at the club office hit me harder than I’d expected it would.
He entered from a door off the kitchen. Iron’s gaze flicked to Tessa, then back to me, an infuriating smirk on his face.
I looked up to see Iron step into the light, a pistol leveled at Griffin’s back. He was unhurried, almost relaxed, his eyes moving from Griffin to me.
“You should have died in the fire,” he said to me. “Would have been cleaner for everyone.”
“Yeah, well. I’d apologize, but I don’t like to lie.”
“You’ve cost me a lot of money, bitch. I had to hold your sister to draw you out when she should have already reached her new owner.” I could see Iron’s expression, the certainty in his eyes. The bastard thought he’d won.
“Do you have any idea the magnitude of shit storm headed our way, Iron?” Griffin didn’t look worried at all. In fact, the man looked almost relaxed. Amused even.
For the first time, Iron looked wary. He sensed the trap now. He scanned the room, taking a step back, but it was too late.
“Before you decide to set up shop in a new city, you should really look into who owns the city.” Tonio Miles and two of his men appeared behind Iron.
Iron jerked and spun around. He took in Tonio and for the first time I saw real fear flicker through his face. It was gone as fast as it came, replaced by calculation and seething anger.
Tonio smiled, small and wolfish. “It will be easier for you to do what I want, Iron. But if you think there is a scenario where you stay alive much longer, you’re even dumber than I first thought.”
Iron did not drop the gun. He edged back, looking for cover but not finding it. Now Iron couldn’t seem to decide whether to cover Tonio or Griffin. “Right,” he said. “You think Miles wants this to go off in his backyard?”
Tonio’s smile widened. “I know more about my father’s wishes than you, Iron. My father is very clear about what he wants. He wants the club’s business undisturbed. He wants the girl found. And he wants the liabilities erased.” He gave a little shrug. “You are a liability, Iron.”
Iron’s eyes darted to me and Tessa, then past me to Knuckles and Hannah fanned at the exits. He knew he didn’t have a way out, but men like Iron always made ugly choices on the way down.
Iron lunged sideways, dragging Griffin off balance and firing at Tonio in one twisted motion.
The shot ricocheted with an ear-splitting BANG, splintering the door frame behind Tonio’s head.
Griffin twisted, ramming his elbow into Iron’s ribs.
The gun clattered across the linoleum, spinning under a table.
Everybody moved at once. Knuckles crashed toward the brawl. Tonio’s men dove for cover, hands going for their own guns. Hannah lunged for Tessa and me, shoving us behind the battered booth.
I barely registered the commotion because all I saw was Griffin and Iron rolling across the floor, grappling for leverage and blood. Inferno swept in from the side, launching a kick at Iron’s gut that sent a wet, explosive noise through the room.
Iron hit the ground and didn’t get up. I wanted him to.
I wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he finally realized he was mortally, undeniably fucked.
But Griffin hauled Iron upright by the collar and slammed him face-down on the table.
In the same breath, Knuckles was there, zip-tying Iron’s hands behind his back.
While everyone else was busy securing Iron, I held Tessa. She shook, head lolling, eyes half-slitted and wild with confusion. Whatever they’d pumped into her kept her body limp but her fear alive. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”
A pair of black dress shoes stopped next to me. I looked up as Tonio Miles knelt next to me looking every inch the mob prince. Which made him kneeling with us all the more unexpected.
He reached out to curl his finger gently under Tessa’s chin. “You did good, Miss Garrison,” he said, voice low. “You stayed alive until your sister found you.”
Tessa looked up at Tonio with slightly unfocused eyes. “You look scary. Like the others.” Her voice slurred, and she looked confused instead of the terrified I thought she had to be. “But… you’re not.”
“No, honey. I’m not like the others.”
“There’s more…” Her voice trailed off as her body tried to succumb to sleep. Tessa forced her eyes open and shook her head slightly. “More women. There’s more.”
“I know. And I’m going to make sure I free any of them still alive. And I’m going to kill everyone involved.”
I stiffened, not wanting him to scare Tessa any more than she had to be already. But to my surprise, Tessa gave him a relieved smile.
“Do you promise?”
“Miss Garrison, I have no honor, so I can’t swear on that. But I will swear to you. I will hunt down every single person responsible for what happened to you. And every one of them will die. That will be my gift to you.”
Tessa lifted her hand weakly, reaching out to Tonio. He took her hand and held it between both of his. She didn’t say anything else and neither did Tonio, but somehow, I thought maybe they understood each other.
Griffin stood up, his chest rising and falling with exertion, his eyes fixed on Iron, who lay defeated on the table. “What’re we gonna do with this bastard?”
“I promised Veda she could have the kill,” Hannah said, meeting Knuckles’ gaze. “I stand by that promise.” Hannah knelt beside Tessa and me, a hand on each of our shoulders, offering silent support in the chaos. Tessa’s gaze stayed steady on Tonio.
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want him alive, but I don’t want to kill anyone else.” I turned to look at Hannah. “Thank you.” The other woman smiled back at me.
Knuckles and Inferno hauled Iron out to a waiting cage where Tonio and his men could deal with the bastard as they saw fit.
Finally, Tonio gave a small, frustrated sigh. “Tessa. Honey.” A single tear slid down Tessa’s cheek, and Tonio scrubbed a hand over his face. “You don’t know me, Tessa.”
“You said you’d kill anyone who did this.” It broke my heart to hear Tessa’s voice so raw and terrified.
“I did.”
“That’s all I need to know.” Tessa’s gaze never wavered from Tonio’s.
“Have you met Tonio before, Tessa?” I didn’t think the man would be the kind of person to hurt women when he’d made getting Tessa back the priority over anything to do with his businesses, but the guy was the aforementioned mafia prince.
Tessa shook her head slowly. “No.”
“She sees me,” Tonio said simply. “Don’t you, Miss Garrison?” When she said nothing further, Tonio continued. “Do you trust me, Tessa?”
“Yes.”
Tonio gave a small, crisp nod, then he turned his attention to Hannah. “Would you mind having a room at Haven prepared for Tessa? She’ll need room for medical equipment. I’ll have some things delivered for her care.”
Knuckles grunted. “You know, once she’s in Haven she’s under our protection. If she doesn’t want to see you, even if you buy the whole fucking compound, we’re not letting you in. Right?”
Tonio smiled. “She’s capable of making her own decisions and I will abide by them. I’m still seeing to her care.”
“As long as we understand each other,” Hannah added.
Tessa looked up at me. “He can stay.”
I didn’t know what to do with that. So I just shrugged. “Well. I guess that means he can stay.”
“Well, shit, boss.” One of the guys with Tonio scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “Warn me next time. If I’d known she was yours I’d have already had the doc on the way.”
Tonio shook his head. “Kiss of Death has a doctor they all trust. Pain will take care of Tessa and call me if he needs anything.” Tonio looked at Knuckles. “Yes?”
Knuckles grinned. “I’ll relay the fuckin’ message, Tonio.”