15. Blaine
BLAINE
Spyder dances out of reach before I can slam my fist into his ugly mug. Growling in frustration, I amble forward into his space then duck the blow he attempts to land, using momentum to strike him in the gut.
At his grunt, my foot sweeps out to catch his ankles. The giant bastard lands with a thud that seems to shake the factory floor and every last empty workbench scattered around us.
“Motherfucker!” he roars.
Raye snickers from her nearby perch, watching us fight with a beer in hand. “You suck, Spyder.”
“Fuck off.” He glowers up at the ceiling. “Shit, that hurt.”
“He’s half your size!”
“And twice as fast,” I reply coolly.
Spyder takes the hand that I outstretch to heave him up. We clap each other’s backs, breaking apart to take swigs from our beers. I can feel them both eyeing me, but I don’t react. I’m a breath from snapping, and they don’t deserve to bear the brunt of it.
Instead, I’ll continue systematically beating the shit out of my crew until I can think logically again. Something tells me I’ll run out of volunteers before I can screw my head back on straight, but I’m still willing to try anything.
“Again?” Spyder invites.
“Nah.” The beer moistens my dry throat. “Raye’s right; you suck.”
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you!”
“Then you’re a fool.”
Smirking, I polish off my beer then turn to face Raye. I’m not afraid to hit her. Raye’s gender has no bearing on me. I think she’d give me a run for my money, even though I really hate to lose. And right now, I need a challenge.
“Now you want to play in the big leagues?” She grins at me.
“Come give it your best shot.”
“Not sure hitting my employer is the best career move, but you’re the one offering.” She cackles. “Frankly, I’d love to punch your stupid face to stop you from moping around here like a lost puppy.”
“I am not moping.” I roll my tense shoulders.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Warner Mead told me to leave, so I left. That’s all.”
“You got caught with your pants down,” Raye lectures. “Big deal. Ice your fucking face, strap on a pair, and get back out there. We made this deal for a reason, or have you forgotten?”
“I’ve forgotten nothing.”
“Then step up. We have to find Nolan.”
“Agreed,” Spyder chimes in. “Before he decides to wipe out the last of his abandoned operation and kill us all while he’s at it.”
“You included.” Raye motions to me.
“I know what’s at stake!” I shout in exasperation.
“Then what are we doing here, wasting time?”
Without an answer to give, I resist the urge to scream at my two foot soldiers. Lord knows that loyalty is hard to come by these days. Instead, the beer bottle sails from my hand, smashing against the warehouse wall and scattering across the stained concrete.
Neither speaks when I stalk off to ascend the rattly staircase leading to my mezzanine office. Once safely inside, I let my frustration boil over to escape in a violent expulsion. Better this than actually killing one of my people.
The threadbare armchairs crash onto the floor where I tip them over. Paperwork scatters as I toss boxes across the room in a fit of rage. Screwed up shipping documents and receipts are upended from overflowing bins. Nothing escapes my furious whirlwind.
“Goddammit!” I scream. “Fuck!”
What an utter disaster.
This was not the plan.
Find the girl, rescue her, drop our prized bargaining chip into Sabre’s lap. Reap the fucking rewards. Simple, right? Calculated. This was supposed to be our road to eliminating my father for good and clearing my name along the way.
Now we’re almost a year into this disaster, no closer to mounting my father’s head on a stake, and I’m standing here obsessing about what that slip of a woman is doing right now without my lips on hers.
Thanks to Warner fuckin’ Mead, I’m here.
Losing my goddamn mind.
If that straight-laced piece of shit thinks he can toss me out like I didn’t just deliver their best lead to them, he’s got another thing coming. Ember is entitled to be with whomever she likes. Warner’s lucky I didn’t put a bullet between his eyes.
Chest heaving, I dig around in my desk drawer until I locate a rolled joint from the wooden box I keep stashed. A woodsy fragrance curls from the tip when I spark up, taking the smoke deep into my lungs.
If I were a smarter man, I’d cut my losses. Pack up shop. We have connections across the UK and beyond. It would be easy enough to relocate our operations, leave this sordid city and all its bad memories behind for the wolves to tear apart.
Yet the idea of never again looking into Ember’s fierce, blue-grey eyes fills me with dread. Never seeing her carved, scar-stippled muscles. Each luscious curve and tempting angle. The way her gaze narrows in anger when she unveils the beast writhing beneath her skin.
She deserves justice.
I want to be the one to give it to her.
It has to be me.
Smoke pours from my nostrils as my head bows, the suffocating weight of an entire dynasty crushing my bones into worthless dust. Everything I’ve done has been for the family business. Now it feels like I’m salvaging the remains of a corpse.
“Food for thought?”
My spine lengthens, steeling with tension. “You’re not welcome here.”
Heavy thuds mark the big bastard’s entrance into my office. I don’t startle or even turn to face Hyland Wesson. My people wouldn’t have allowed him up here if he were armed.
“Why give us this location if you didn’t want us to find you?”
“Poor decision making.” I suck in another drag.
“I doubt the infamous Phantom does anything without a good reason. You’re incapable of poor decision making.”
“At any other time, I’d quite enjoy receiving a compliment from the likes of you. However, I’m fresh out of fucks today, Mr Wesson, so I would advise you to piss off before I have you thrown out.”
“Come on, Madden. No need to be so prickly.”
“Right. Because you’ve been the epitome of welcoming to me so far.”
Bracing the still-smouldering joint between my thumb and forefinger, I turn to face the surly agent. Hyland cocks a blonde brow as he studies my face. The two black eyes are an unfortunate side effect of my newly-broken nose.
“Damn,” he remarks. “Warner really kicked your ass.”
“Your team leader should consider himself lucky that I haven’t ordered a hit on him for this.” I gesture towards my face.
“Pretty sure that would violate the terms of your plea deal.”
“Do I seem overly concerned with your pathetic paperwork right now?”
“If you wish to continue consulting with our team on this investigation, perhaps you should be. This case is far from over.”
Bitter laughter breaks out of me. “As I recall, Mr Mead instructed me to leave and never return. I’m merely following his command.”
“Warner… reacted emotionally,” Hyland grits out. “He’s sorry.”
“Espionage isn’t your strong suit. Leave the lying to the other one.”
“The other one… Axel?” His brows knit in perplexion.
“Bingo.”
I take another drag then stub out the joint in my ashtray. Yet another sting in the tale. Perhaps it would provide some satisfaction to blow their lives to high heaven before I leave the city by revealing Axel Slaughter’s not so little secret.
“Regardless, I don’t intend to trouble you with my presence any longer.” I level him with an assessing stare. “Tell your precious team leader that. You never have to see me or my people again.”
“That isn’t in the terms of your pardon, Madden.”
“Politely, fuck your deal.”
“What, you can’t take a bit of competition?” He chuckles mirthlessly.
“Ember isn’t some kind of contest to me,” I bite back.
“Why is that?”
“Because she matters to me. I want her to get the peace she deserves and to choose her own future without the cartel breathing down her neck. I want to watch her walk free for the first time.”
“Good.” He cocks his head, seeming to internally catalogue something. “Then I don’t have to kill you where you stand. Yet.”
When he grins, I realise that I’ve tripped into some kind of loyalty test. Of course, they’d send their resident guard dog to get the lay of the land. The team enforcer gets to do all the dirty work.
“Cut to the chase. All I care about is seeing Ember.”
“Meaning?” Hyland challenges.
“You know precisely what that means.”
“Humour me with the specifics.”
“This investigation has moved beyond a business transaction. If remaining at a distance is what she wants, then I’ll do it. But don’t think for a second that I’m staying here because I want to.”
A myriad of expressions crosses his face, ranging from primitive jealousy to something almost resembling thoughtfulness. To be honest, I didn’t know the caveman was capable of such emotional range.
“I’d be very interested to know what you do want.” He folds his arms, jaw set tight. “The whole team would be.”
I stand tall, unflinching and unafraid, while delivering my answer. “Her.”
Hyland curses under his breath, glancing up at the vaulted ceiling like it will provide him with an alternative response. It’s almost amusing. If I weren’t knee-deep in this fiasco, I’d laugh.
“She wants you to return,” he reveals unhappily. “I’ve been sent to bring you home.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re part of this team, however temporarily. Warner’s actions were a one-off. Return with me, and help us track down Gracie Livingstone.”
“Last we spoke, you had no desire to find the girl and risk your team.”
“That isn’t true.” He rapidly shakes his head. “I just don’t want us waltzing into another one of Gael’s elaborate traps. We almost didn’t escape the last one.”
“I doubt Ember sees your reluctance that way. You know what that girl means to her.”
“I know,” he snarls.
“Yet I’m the problem?” I smirk good-humouredly. “You treat Ember like she’s made of glass. She’s far from that, and it’s high time the lot of you realised her strength and value to your operation.”
“Are you seriously lecturing me? You of all people?”
“Somebody has to.”
“How gracious of you,” he huffs. “Anything else to say?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”