Chapter 4
Chapter Four
LARS
My eyes don’t believe the words on the screen, but I would know Hollis’ cadence anywhere. My gut says this is her.
“I found her,” I croak out.
No one is listening to me, so I raise my voice.
“Get your lazy asses up! Hollis just messaged me,” I yell. “I have a location, and it sounds like she’s fucking shit up alone.”
“What?” Brice asked, jumping up.
“I don’t know much, man,” I admit. “She texted me to tell me where she is and that’s about it. I wouldn’t suggest coming with us unless you stay in the car. This isn’t going to be pretty.”
“I care about her , not how she handles this,” Brice growls. “I hope she kills them all. I just want to pick up the pieces afterward. She promised she’d always come back to us, and this is how she’s keeping her promise.”
Damn. I’ve been worried about whether this pack would be able to really understand Hollis, but his words help to settle that. I plan to withhold judgment for now.
“We’ll see,” I grunt, turning to Cian as he stands. “She was using Mr. Domino’s phone. I bet the fucker is dead. Hollis told me to make sure I told you that things may get complicated.”
“Fuck the complications,” Cian says, glancing at Nova as she stands as well. “We’re getting her back.”
As a unit, people begin to walk toward the front door, and I hear Duncan and Caleb giving directions. They’re both better at planning rescues than I am. I simply want to kill everyone standing between me and my best friend.
“Lars,” Nova says so softly I have to glance at her. “This is going to be really bad, isn’t it?”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to,” I say gruffly. “If you can’t handle the sight of death and blood, I suggest you don’t come with us.”
“I deliver dead babies and am elbow deep in blood,” she says, glaring at me. “I do fine with both. I’m coming with you.”
Blowing out a breath, I shrug. “I don’t have time to coddle you, Princess. Stay out of the way.”
A shadow of hurt crosses her gaze, and my chest crumples in pain. Fuck. I keep screwing up when it comes to her. I’m impatient and gruff, and have no idea how to change it.
Everything about her makes me insane. I’m fighting every instinct to pin her against a car and kiss her.
Not the time. Yelling at myself, I take a deep breath that does nothing except make my dick hard, and turn to watch those coming with us leaving the room.
“Make sure weapons are ready!” I call out. “We have no idea how many guards Domino may have.”
“Yes, Captain my captain,” Kane smirks as he jogs out to his vehicle with his baby doll. God, being a crazy fucker shouldn’t look as good as it does on him.
Rolling my eyes, I nod at my brother as I watch Adira join her pack.
I know she can handle herself even while pregnant, so I’m not particularly worried about her becoming a liability.
Quinn and Linus stay at the door as they watch everyone leave, and their alpha Christian stays behind as well to guard them.
Content with that choice, I get into the SUV, where Caleb joins me a moment later.
“Plan is loosely to kill any guards and extract Hollis,” he grunts.
“Wonderful,” I mutter. “I want them all to shit their pants when they see us.”
“You have an obsession with bodily fluids,” Nova says. “That can’t be healthy.”
“Obsession or necessity, it’s all the same,” I say, my back pressing against the seat as Caleb increases his speed.
“Send that link to me and the other packs please,” my brother says curtly.
Forwarding the location pin to everyone doesn’t take long, and I begin to check my weapons as Caleb drives.
“The gun safe is in the trunk,” he says. “Everything you could want is in there, and Kane likes fire so you can help him if you want to burn it all down.”
My lips tip up in a grim smile as I bob my head. I’m a curmudgeon and a hermit, but I don’t mind coming out of retirement for Hollis. The coffee shop is only five years old. I made a choice to walk away from being our father’s enforcer just before Caleb did.
Life is a lot more calm now, but the knowledge has always been there. These days, Caleb is more likely to play fast and loose with the law than I am, and I know our dad isn’t pleased with our choices.
However, my anger and decision to be an enforcer is directly related to our sister’s disappearance. I never stopped wanting to find her, I just didn’t want to lose myself in order to do it.
“Hollis asked me to make sure we pull her back when we find her,” I say softly to Caleb. I know Nova will probably still hear me, but something makes me want to shelter her from this information.
“I got it,” Caleb says, his eyes tracking the GPS on his phone.
She’s in what looks like a home an hour away from Minneapolis. The hours have been flying since she was taken, and the sun is low in the sky.
“What does that mean?” Nova asks.
“Your sister is trained to kill people and we found that she likes doing it,” I reply. “John and Louise are going to be a figment of your imagination by the time she’s done with them. If you want them alive, now is the time to say something.”
“Alive? Those people have made my life hell?—“
“You misunderstand,” I rumble. “If you want a chance to hurt them in return, you need to tell me so I can text her. I don’t know if she’ll see the message in time, but I can try so that you can get your revenge, Princess.”
“Oh,” she whispers. “No. Dead is dead to me. Thank you though.”
Caleb and I share a glance before we nod. They’ll definitely be dead by the time Hollis is done with them. We may even have trouble identifying either person.
Hollis doesn’t take kindly to being fucked with. The fact that they took her sister means she’ll have initiative to make it hurt.
Do your worst, Hollis. I know how to get your humanity back.
HOLLIS
My bare feet curl into the soft carpet as I gaze down at my captives, watching their surprise as they attempt to process my words.
“I’m not Nova,” I say patiently, trading out the gun for my knife. I enjoy hurting people in close quarters with it more, and I expect that neither of them are trained to withstand torture.
They’re used to being the ones to hurt others, so the flip end of this is anathema to them.
“Why did you steal her?” I ask. “We were both in our bassinets that night side by side. You admitted it in the basement, and I know what I heard so don’t deny it.”
Moving over to Louise, I pull her hair at her dispassionate expression and use the knife to slice off her ear.
“I will continue to remove body parts until I get my answers. I have people coming for me, and trust me when I say that you don’t want them to take over for me,” I say, slicing down both of Louise’ arms when she moves to hit me.
“You’re the other sister,” John says dully, not moving a muscle. “Paul Edwards is your father.”
“He is,” I state with an evil smile. “I have the full force of the Irish mafia’s power behind me today, and Nova was never as forgotten as you thought she was.”
“I… Mr. Domino wanted to infiltrate and fuck over your family,” Louise says. The need for rope and bindings doesn’t seem necessary as the weight of their actions falls over her. There’s a shocked look in their faces as they realize how badly they’ve fucked themselves. “Is he dead?”
“As a doornail,” I say callously. “Your employer is dead and I don’t think his sons will appreciate that it happened on your watch. I’m unsure of who is scarier honestly.”
“His sons,” John says immediately. “How did you get away from him? Louise and I tied you ourselves.”
“One of you sucks at knots,” I grunt, smirking as Louise goes pale. “What are your real names?”
“Turbis and Louisa Franco,” he breathes. “Fuck. If we’re going to die anyway, may as well do it with a clear conscience.”
“She may make it hurt more,” Louisa mutters.
“You’ll just have to wait and find out,” I say, stabbing her exposed thigh and dragging it up as she screams.
The beige fabric couch is quickly being stained red, and I’m enjoying my new role as interior designer.
Her screams are delicious, and I allow the ice that hides my emotions to crack so that my crazy can shine through.
“Class is now in session,” I murmur. “Lie to me, and I’ll make it hurt. Give me a half assed answer, and I’ll make you regret it. Now, why did Domino want to hurt my family?”
“Of all the senior families, he seemed to be the most aloof and kind,” Turbis says. “Domino doesn’t respect that.”
“How did you infiltrate my family?” I ask, my fingers throbbing as I hold the knife. I have never been part of the hiring process for new staff at my parents’ home, so I can’t speak to how extensive it is.
If there were children in the home, you better believe I would have made sure no one worked for my fucking enemies. I swear, sometimes I feel like my parents are too stupid to live. The bloodlust is spreading through my veins, and I want to kill them for not protecting us better.
My nannies were always mean and cruel, and I don’t remember a single one that I’ve liked. It lowers my expectations of who my parents allowed in their home after my experiences with them.
“I was a maid,” Louisa says, breathing hard. She doesn’t seem to know where to begin keeping the blood in her body as I sit on the coffee table in front of them, and it’s hard not to laugh.
Who’s going to tell her that the blood is simply going to continue to run free?
“Mr. Domino set up a fake temp agency in the Midwest with the ability to set people into specific positions. When your parents had a maid not come into work without notice for three straight days in a row, it allowed me to step into her place.”
“That’s awfully convenient,” I mutter, sinking my knife into Turbis’ thigh so he doesn’t feel left out. I also make sure to twist it around for maximum damage. “Did you kill her?”
“Of course,” Louisa gasps. “Mr. Domino has spies in Minneapolis, and has for years. It was easier to create the opportunity than to wait for one.”