Chapter Forty-Three
Present - Ryder
EVIE HAS PROBABLY been worried sick. You’d think it’d be easy to find a phone charger laying around these days, but apparently, I’m the only person who hasn’t upgraded to the new iPhone and thus, the new charger.
Despite the shitstorm I’m about to walk into for being unreachable for half the day, I smile as the elevator doors open. I’ll let Evie cross her arms and chew me out, get all red and splotchy with rage until I get her to forgive me. Then I’ll take her to Tiffany’s.
But my heart drops as I turn the corner, finding the door to her— our apartment—ajar. Slowly pushing it open, I find her purse still on the entryway table. “Evie?”
Glancing around, nothing appears out of place. Her keys are nowhere to be found, and neither is her phone. I walk to our bedroom and plug in my phone, fingers tapping on my knees while I wait. My phone will turn on and I’ll be able to reach her and we’ll laugh, because this was just some diabolical plan of hers to make me understand how scared she felt when I didn’t answer.
Finally, the apple icon appears on the screen, finally having enough juice to turn on. My stomach sinks as I take in notification after notification coming through from Ring. I tap on the first one, nausea rocking my gut as I watch three of Stefan’s men approach the apartment door.
Stefan knows.
And somehow, he knew exactly where to look.
Frantic, I click the next notification, which opens to a clip of Evie running through the apartment, fast forwarding until she’s dragged back out to the living room by her hair. One of the men puts her into a chokehold as the other covers her face with a rag. I force myself to watch her fight with everything she has, but it’s not enough. Her body goes slack, the men grabbing her keys before dragging her out the front door.
A text message comes through next.
Evelyn: 3 men taking me i love you remember that you did the right thing
The world isn’t crumbling around me. The breaking belongs to me.
Three words echo in my mind, over and over.
They’ve taken her. They’ve taken her. They’ve taken her.
Everything goes quiet, as if a vacuum with enough power to rob the universe of all sound has taken it away. And yet, it’s deafening.
The home we’ve begun to build, the kind of home that dwells inside of you, our metaphorical glass roof built so preciously around sharp, unmoving, steel comes crashing down, shards slicing through my very soul.
Returning to that bleak fate, a world encased in the ash of burnt-down dreams, shame, and self-loathing, where black eyes meet me in the mirror, is no longer an option. Becoming nothing but a chemical response, I’m moving before I have the conscious thought to do so.
Everything blurs as I speed through the streets, racing the wind, until I’m running up the stairs to the shitty apartment where we’ve been meeting. Bursting through the door, I rip the chain right off the wall, coming face first with the barrel of a sleek, black gun.
“What the fuck!?” Blackhall lowers the gun. “I almost shot you!”
“They have Evie.” My voice is terrifyingly calm, nothing like what’s happening inside. “I don’t know where and I don’t know why, but they have her.”
“Fuck. FUCK!” Blackhall throws his burner phone against the wall, shattering it to pieces before it scatters across the floor. Agent Lincoln Blackhall looks to the sky, pleading. “I said no more innocents.”
“Help me get her back.”
“I–I will. I swear that I will, but I need a bit of time.” Lincoln sees the look in my eyes and gets right up in my face. “We can’t just storm the place, it’s suicide for all of us—including Evie. We’d need a small army to have any chance of getting her out of there alive.”
“Stefan must know I’m the rat. The longer we wait, the longer they’ll have to…” I cover my mouth, the urge to vomit nearly sending me to my knees. “He will do the worst he can to her.”
“Ryder.” Blackhall places his hand on my shoulder, gripping tightly. “We will get her back.”
“Then let’s go. Right now.”
“There’s protocol for this.”
“Fuck your protocol! You didn’t care about protocol when you put us in danger to begin with, roping us into this stupid crusade!”
“What good are we going to be if you and I end up dead before we even get through the front door? What do you think will happen to her then ?”
Every second that ticks by, my chances of extracting her dwindle. And even if I do find her alive, there are some things you just don’t recover from. Decision made.
Turning my back on Agent Lincoln Blackhall, I head out the door that now hangs unevenly on one of its hinges.
“Ryder, where are you going?”
I don’t stop. Agent Blackhall already knows the answer.
“If you’d wait, I can go with you!”
I can’t wait. I may already be too late.
“We don’t even know where she is!” Blackhall swears. “Ryder! Don’t do anything stupid!”
If I turned around, he’d see the cold calculation in my eyes, void of humanity, void of mercy, and he’d stop being concerned with stupidity, when bodies are about to fall around me like red snow. I refuse to allow the rearview mirror to become her only place in my life.
Even if I have to pull this entire city apart, I will get her back, but The Swan seems like the most obvious place to start. As I cross the Howard Frankland Bridge, I redline my bike, pushing past her limits until I’m on the other side, weaving through cars and running red lights.
Not wanting to give away my approach, I leave my bike in a nearby parking garage and take cover around the side of the building across from the bar. Staying low, I creep along the wall until I can see what I’m dealing with. Four armed men guard the front door, likely the same set up in the alley and back area.
With a grand total of zero weapons, how the fuck am I going to get in there? I could turn myself in, but I’d be knocked out and tied up before I could count to three, if I wasn’t shot on sight. The last thing I need is to be out of commission before getting Evie out of harm’s way. Once she’s freed, I’ll let Stefan and his boys do whatever the fuck they want with me.
Before I do anything, I need to get a look inside.
I’ve spent years at this bar, trading my soul for cash, learning it like the back of my hand. Running my eyes over the building, I mark the windows and buildings next door, but none of them will give me the unobstructed view I’d need. But…the skylights. They’re old and stained, but I may be able to get a good enough look to know whether this is where they’ve got her.
If Evie isn’t here…I don’t let myself go that far. Instead, I focus on the rickety pipe on the far side of the building that sidles up to The Swan, also known as my best option. Keeping my head down, I cross the street and slip into the alley.
The stench of piss invades my nostrils as I take in the faded brick walls, covered in graffiti. Wrapping my hand around the metal pipe, a sharp edge slices through my skin, but I barely feel it, the adrenaline and unadulterated fear convincing my body that it’s invincible. Tearing a bit off the hem of my shirt, I wrap it around my hand before scaling up the side of the building.
Staying low, I army crawl to the skylight that’s closest to me, finding nothing but the empty dance floor. Moving to the one across from it, I peer down at the bar, almost completely empty aside from the one armed guard facing front. The next skylight is another let down, when I find the men’s bathroom, unoccupied. The next reveals the women’s bathroom, also unoccupied.
My jeans scrape against the concrete roof, as I make my way to the fifth skylight, my second to last hope. What I find in the lounge detonates my wrath into something blinding, all encompassing. Preston tips his head back and laughs, before leaning forward and doing a line off the bar.
Closing my eyes, I ground myself, needing to descend into a calm calculation. First, I’ll get my girl. And then I’ll wipe that motherfucker off the face of this Earth.
How could I have underestimated him? Psychotic and bored—a lethal combination.
Preston wanted in. Stefan needed to refill his ranks.
After seeing me with Evie, Preston must have known that I wouldn’t continue this life if I loved her. Fueled by his humiliation and the desire to win Stefan’s loyalty, he put two and two together—or took a lucky guess. It was a gamble, but Preston was right, he exposed me to Stefan and now they’ve taken the only thing that matters to me.
I’m going to kill him for it. But not yet.
As I bring myself over the last skylight, the one that should land me a direct view into Stefan’s office, relief courses through me, followed by a violent wave of unease, as I find Evie tied to a chair, mouth taped shut. She’s unconscious, but thankfully appears otherwise unharmed.
Stefan lounges at his desk made of red marble and gold, staring at her, relishing the sight of his prey completely at his mercy. Knowing they had her was sickening, but seeing it firsthand? It’s almost incapacitating.
Even if I make it alive through the armed guards with no weapon, Stefan’s office is coded to his fingerprint. There is no getting in unless he grants permission.
Maybe Blackhall was right. We need an army.
Now that I know where she is, they won’t have to waste hours and manpower on a search. They just have to get here, and I can watch from above, making sure she isn’t hurt until then. Reaching for my phone, nearly dead again, I halt when movement catches my eye.
Stefan picks up his phone, and although I can’t hear what he says, his demeanor immediately shifts, becoming agitated. His fist comes down on the desk, before clicking his fingers at the guard and pointing to Evie. The guard steps just behind Evie, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back, leaving her throat unnervingly exposed.
No.
Stefan collects a dagger from his desk, running the tip over his finger. I watch in silent horror as a bead of blood flows in its path. He rises from his desk, circling it before coming face to face with Evie. I’m a prisoner, compelled to watch as Stefan leans forward until he’s just inches away from her face. He hesitates before brushing her hair back.
No. Stefan’s touch awakens the beast inside of me. I coax it back to life, letting the darkness bleed into me, knowing where it thrives.
Evie’s head suddenly launches forward, her forehead connecting with his nose. Stefan stumbles back, but not far enough away that he’s safe from her spartan kick right between his legs. A firework explodes in my chest, half pride and half fear, knowing what Stefan is capable of retaliating with.
Now . I have to get in there now .
Getting to my feet, I shake my head and take a deep breath, preparing myself for the shattering impact, before throwing all of my strength into the brittle skylight window. Glass showers down around me as I hit the ground, body yielding to the impact as shards rip through my skin.
Evie screams, tipping backward in her chair while Stefan dives behind his desk, still clutching his manhood and trying to gather his breath. Snapping my head up, the guard screams and covers his face, as blood dribbles down from his eyes. He looked up, right into the glass.
Taking advantage of his blindness, I quickly note the layout of the office before sliding across the floor, retrieving the guard’s gun from the floor and firing a shot into his chest. The painting above Stefan’s desk has been completely torn apart, likely by the very same dagger that he’s been waiting to drive into someone’s skull.
Evie and I lock eyes, tears descending down her face as soon as we do. Then I’m moving, using one of the glass shards to free her. As gently as possible, I remove the tape from Evie’s mouth. “You came for us.”
Us?
“Of course I came for you.” Helping her back to her feet, I place her behind a wooden cabinet. It’s not enough cover if bullets begin flying in earnest, but at least Stefan won’t know where to aim for her. “Stay here.”
Stefan swears from behind his desk. Needing to keep his attention away from her, I roll across the room, taking cover behind a sofa. It’s even worse as far as bullet-proofness goes, but it’s all I’ve got.
Stefan laughs. “Nothing more than a rat coming for his cheese.”
Fists pound against Stefan’s door, but they’re kept out, having no access without his fingerprint. I’m positioned between Stefan and the door, meaning he has to go through me. Now that I’m armed, I’ll take care of Stefan. Then Evie and I can wait in here safely, until the rest of the cavalry arrives. All I need to do is draw him out.
Thankfully, I know his weakness. “You’d think a mighty crime boss would think to watch the fucking roof.”
“I’m going to peel the skin off your body and shove it down your little girlfriend’s throat,” Stefan spits back.
I force out a laugh, and wince, finding a piece of glass sticking out of my torso. That’s not good. “I already fooled you once, embarrassed you in front of all your men. Bernard swore to you that I was the rat, and I still managed to pull a hood over your eyes.”
Stefan screams, standing abruptly and firing shots throughout the entire room. Evie covers her head and ears, until his firing ceases, no bullets finding their mark. I risk a glance, just for a bullet to whizz by, so close to my cheek that I feel its heat. Positioning my gun around the sofa, I shoot back, aiming blindly.
Stefan fires again, a bullet going straight through the barrel of my gun. Hot metal lands on my hand, burning through my skin.
Dropping the gun, I rip farther into my tattered shirt, wrapping another bit of cloth around my burns. Evie’s eyes are wide with alarm, as she looks at our only weapon from where it now lays on the floor, obliterated.
But I still have one more trick up my sleeve.
“I know the truth about you, Stefan. I can see through the act. It’s why you’re always hiding behind your guns and your men, waiting until your enemy is tied up to a chair before inflicting any real pain. You’re a coward.”
Stefan laughs. “You think you can get a rise out of me?”
Yes . “No. I know you’d never have the balls to fight me man to man.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Prove it.” I take possibly the greatest risk of my life, standing from behind the sofa, no cover. If Stefan decides to shoot me, I’m dead right here. But I’m betting on his ego, his pride. “Fight me. Man to man.”
“Ryder! No!” Evie yells from across the room.
Stefan snarls, before lifting his gun and pointing it at my head. “I don’t have to prove shit to a dead man.”
Click.
Stefan glances at his gun, bewildered, pulling the trigger again.
Click.
Had his clip not been out, I’d be dead right now. But it was out and I’m not dead.
It’s time to take advantage of that.
Three long strides and I’m diving over the desk, tackling Stefan to the ground. My entire body screams in pain, but especially where the glass shard still protrudes out of my side. We roll and I come out on top, maximizing his shock by pinning his arms down with my knees.
My vision goes red, wasting no time before I’m landing hit after hit to his face. I pour every ounce of my strength and vengeance into my fists, determined to watch them break through the front of his skull and meet the floor behind his head. Soon, I can’t tell my own blood coming through my knuckles from his.
And then there’s a soft hand on my shoulder. “Ryder.”
I prepare for another hit, the one that will be the final blow, but a soft hand catches my wrist. “Be better than him.”
It’s nowhere near enough. He deserves to face the kind of pain that makes him scream so loud that it rattles the city, but as I lift my black eyes to hers, I’m reminded of the love that resides in those golden-green depths, reserved for the version of me that walks with honor.
I’m not Stefan’s judge. I’m not his jury. I won’t be his executioner.
Pulling back, glass cracks as I get to my feet, Evie catching me as I stagger.
She hisses, noticing my side and the glass sticking out of it. “We need to get you an ambulance.”
“Stefan had a phone in here somewhere.” Blackness creeps into the corner of my eyes, but I shake my head, shooing it away. I’ve lost too much blood. “It should be over there–”
But as I point over to where Stefan’s body should lie unmoving, motion catches my eye.
“You didn’t think you were the only one with a button, did you?” With a bloodied smile, Stefan reaches under his desk, pushing a panic button I didn’t know was there.
“ Noooo !”
Men rush in, some go right past us to come to their master’s aid, while the rest have their guns pointed at our heads within seconds, fingers playing dangerously on the triggers. Wrapping my arms around Evie, I shield her body with mine, but we’re surrounded.
“Ryder?” Evie squeezes me, needing reassurance. “What do we do?”
Defeat threatens. More than anything, I want to reveal a well-thought-out plan I’d been waiting until now to execute, but as I spin us around, considering every option and every angle, there is no reassurance to give.
“Evie.” I turn, bringing my hands to her face. “I love you. I will find a way to get you out of this. I swear, okay?”
“Okay.” She nods, tears running down her face as her hand drops to her stomach. “You always keep your promises.”
“Isn’t this sweet?” A painfully familiar voice purrs. I turn, placing Evie behind me once more. Preston smiles, as he slowly walks up to me, pupils as wide as saucers. “I’d be lying if I said I won’t take pleasure in this.”
With a crack of pain, the light winks out, darkness surrounding me entirely.