Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
GRAYSON
The motorcycles stop down the street, about six houses from our destination.
Theron does not stop the car.
He creeps up to the address, killing his lights before he pulls into the driveway and kills the engine.
The lights shine through the blinds in the front room.
They’re in there.
Nadine is in there.
I haven’t been able to look at the phone again.
In fact, I ended the call as soon as I climbed into the car because I didn’t want that fuck to know that we were on to him.
I wish I had time to look at the contents of the thumb drive, but Nadine is far more important than a goddamn thumb drive even if I think I am going to find some seriously damming information about a lot of very powerful people.
Landon Tate wouldn’t want it so bad if it weren’t chock-full of powerful men in compromising positions.
“Are you ready?” Theron asks as he turns his head and looks over his shoulder at me.
My gaze shifts from the lit front room to him.
Jerking my chin, I don’t bother saying anything.
He knows I’m ready.
There is no reason to verbalize a fucking thing.
I’m not sure why, but he doesn’t move immediately, almost as if he’s waiting for my verbal confirmation.
“Theron?” I ask.
He smirks.
“The guys are almost here. As much as I know we can go in there and take care of this fucker, at the same time, I don’t want to take the opportunity away from Orion and the Devils because I know they are feeling much like we are.”
My initial reaction is to tell him to fuck off and storm that house alone.
However, he’s right, and if we want to keep our working relationship intact, I should wait for them.
We should do this together—united.
They saved Merrick and Colette’s lives.
As much as I want to beat the shit out of Merrick right now, he is still my brother and human.
Mistakes are made, and as I looked at that footage, I’m not sure I would have been able to protect Nadine, even if I knew about everything that happened in real time.
My phone rings just as Theron opens the driver’s door.
I look down at the screen, and my brow arches.
Think of the devil.
It’s Merrick.
“Merrick,” I say after sliding my thumb across the screen.
He doesn’t speak immediately, and as willing to forgive him for what happened as I am, I also don't want to hash anything out right now. And we will have to hash things out, because there is no way I can just let this go. He wouldn’t if the tables were turned, and he knows it.
“Hale just called me,” he announces.
I’m not sure why the fuck I’m interested in that bit of knowledge, but I wait him out because he thought this was important enough to call me about when he knows I’m here trying to get my woman back and home.
“He’s on his way back from the coast. He said he has information on Tate.”
I open my mouth to ask him what kind of information he could possibly have, but thankfully, he continues quickly.
“We need him alive. I think what Hale has information on is going to fuck Tate up, but not just him, some very powerful people as well. Tate is nothing more than a procurer. His only job was to collect insurance, and he fucked it up. He’s more afraid of that thumb drive getting out than he is of anything else in the whole world. The only reason he was even under investigation was that he had overstayed his position, and the higher-ups wanted him gone.”
“Fuck,” I hiss. “So it really goes all the way to the top?”
I’m not sure which top I’m referencing. I don’t know if it’s the top of the state, the country, or the world. I don’t know, but I know that it’s the top of something. It has to be, because whoever it was would not go to this kind of trouble, and Tate would not be this panicked if it didn’t.
“The goddamn tippy top,” Merrick hisses.
Thanking him, I end the call, but do tell him that I’ll let him know when this is done. Theron has been watching me this entire time, but it’s Vaughn who speaks first. “This is bigger than we thought, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I confirm. “But I still don’t know how big.”
He hums, then shifts in his seat. “I assume that we need to talk to those boys real quick and let them know that Tate needs to be taken alive.”
“Yeah,” I say. “He needs to be alive for now.”
“They’re out for blood,” Theron mutters.
My gaze flicks to Orion, who is standing just a few feet away, waiting and seemingly chomping at the bit to storm inside.
“They are, but they aren’t dumb. They’ll fall into line on this as long as we all stay aboveboard,” I point out, something we all know.
“Only way to be,” Theron states.
We all get out of the car and walk toward the waiting bikers. Then make our way into the house. Using every point of entrance possible, we surround Landon Tate, Nadine, and Brody.
The sight that greets me causes my stomach to lurch. It also makes me want to shoot Landon Tate in the head. He has Nadine on her stomach, her eyes are closed, but she doesn’t appear to be conscious. His hands grip her bare hips and her cheeks are spread.
He’s inside of her.
Inside my woman.
Right here in front of my eyes.
Orion roars at the sight. And only then does the asshole lift his eyes. I’m frozen, and it’s only because a million memories start flashing in front of my eyes. I have been in that exact position and been that helpless. Seeing this, the absolute lack of control that Nadine has over her own body, takes me back to the place. Takes me back to that time.
Theron moves in front of me, his eyes meeting mine. “Stop,” he growls. “Come back.”
I can feel Boden slide up behind me, no doubt ready to restrain me. Vaughn moves to stand on Theron’s other side, and my gaze swings to his. I can see the absolute fucking torture in his eyes. These men have been through this as well. They know what I’m feeling, likely because they’re feeling it as well.
We have failed Nadine.
They feel it, but I do more than just feel as if I’ve failed her—it burns inside of me.
I have failed us.
The shouting around me is just white noise. I’m so lost inside my own head that I don’t make out what words are actually being said, but when a roar erupts, I’m taken out of my head and brought back to the moment.
Vaughn and Theron turn their heads to look behind them, and I tilt mine to see to the side, watching as Brody is released from his ropes and charges Landon. He tackles the asshole, dick still out of his pants, and proceeds to beat the shit out of him.
I know that Landon is supposed to be taken alive, but nobody said anything about unscathed. So we allow Brody to do what he needs to do. And I feel like absolute shit, because Brody is protecting his sister while I stand here like a worthless slug.
Orion and Vaughn pull Brody off a beaten and bloodied Landon Tate, and as they begin to drag him away, I watch as Brody swings his booted foot out and slams it into Landon’s balls.
Every man in the room grunts. “Fuck you, piece-of-shit motherfucker. I cannot wait to kill you,” Brody growls.
Then he turns toward Nadine, and even though I want to rush over, I don’t. I still stand like a goddamn useless statue as he dresses her, then picks her up, cradling her, and walks out of the house.
Instinctually, I want to walk away. I am not worthy of Nadine, and I’ve just proven that to every man in this house. And to her. Self-hatred consumes me. But Theron wraps his fingers around my shoulder, giving me a shake and bringing me back here again.
“Stay here with us, Gray. Do not go anywhere.”
His words slam into me. I open my mouth to tell him that I need to leave, I can’t be here, but he only shakes his head and continues. “Be there for her in the way you can right now. Avenge her. You have the drive, you have the asshole, now let’s handle this—together.”
Together .
“The six of us, together,” Vaughn growls. “Always.”
He’s right. It’s always been the six of us, and where one of us falls short, the other five come in and help. I’ve fallen beyond short, and they’re here for me. Never judging, not fucking ever.
So together, we move toward Landon, who is a bloody, moaning mess on the floor. None of us bothers putting his pants back on him, mainly because if he wants to play the humiliation game, we can do that.
Crouching down in front of him, I look into his swelling face before I speak, and when I do, it’s barely above a whisper. I don’t care if anyone else hears me, but I need him to really understand what I’m saying, I mean, full stop.
The rage I feel for this human goes down to my goddamn marrow, and I am going to ensure that he understands fully exactly what a piece of shit he is.
“I hope you’re ready for the final days of your life. They’re going to be fucking humiliating.”
NADINE
There is a noise somewhere in the distance.
Then shouting.
I can’t see anything. Darkness still consumes my vision. Internally, I scream for someone to help me. I try as hard as I can to wake up, but nothing happens. I’m stuck in this place between a conscious and dreamlike state. No matter how much I want to open my eyes, nothing happens.
Hands grab my body.
I don’t know who they belong to, but I don’t feel fear or disgust. I feel fingertips on my skin, gripping me, and then I become weightless. Someone is carrying me. Loud voices surround me, swirling around me like a storm.
When the movements stop, I hear a car’s engine, and then the car moves, causing a rocking motion that lulls me into a complete dreamscape. I stop trying to fight the sleep. A sense of safety washes over me. I’m not sure if it’s real or false, but I accept it.
And then there is nothingness.