23. Riot
I don’t bother cleaning off any of the blood coating my skin as I make my way up the stairs to the apartment. I bet my left ball that Ali will get off on seeing me like this, my savage little beastie. Plus, I’m sure I can talk her into showering with me for some one-on-one time. As I get closer, I can hear the murmuring of voices just beyond, so I shove open the door and step through.
“Honey, I’m home.” I sing-song, dropping my duffle bag full of goodies before glancing around the living area. I spot Cash and Arsen sitting on the couch going over files they must have collected on their jobs. Frowning, I head for the room, peeking inside to see that it’s empty. “Where’s Ali?” I finally ask when she doesn’t pop out of thin air.
“She’s not back yet. Said she needed to make one more stop,” Cash says casually as he flips another page on his stack of papers.
I open my mouth to ask where she was going, but Arsen looks up from his tablet, cutting me off. “Before you ask, check your phone. She didn’t say where she was going.” Pulling out my phone, I read through all the missed texts. I was so preoccupied that I didn’t bother checking in, and by the time I was done, I just wanted to get home to Ali.
BOSSMAN: Got what I needed. Taking the scenic route back now.
Scenic route might mean he was going to drive around a bit to make sure he wasn’t followed or seen.
BESTIE: Headed home. Found out something interesting.
WIFEY: Okay. I’m grabbing the last of the supplies and then need to make one last stop.
WIFEY: See you all soon. *kissy face emoji*
That was sent thirty minutes ago, so she should be home soon. Feeling better, I head for the couch, taking a seat. I don’t have any files to share, but I did get some information.
“I see you had a bit of fun. Did you at least get some intel?” Cash asks, cocking a brow at me. I shrug.
“You first.” The man simply rolls his eyes, used to my antics, but decides to give in instead of arguing with me.
“It seems James has been a naughty little boy.” It’s my turn to cock a brow in question, especially because that could have many meanings. “James was skimming the books. I’ve found at least two accounts so far that aren’t linked to the society but seem to have deposits on the same day as the other accounts do. I’m hoping one of you might know a hacker or someone who might be able to trace the accounts.” Hearing Cash’s words, I’m not too surprised by James’ actions. Not when I found out my own information about my father.
Arsen scoffs as he scrolls through the tablet in his lap. “Funny. Henry has a list of clubs he owns, but I’ve never heard of them. They seem to be spread out through the state like he was trying to expand his reach. It wouldn’t surprise me if we looked into it; women in these areas have started to go missing,” he pauses and takes a deep breath before finally looking up. “But that’s not the interesting thing I found out.” I frown, wondering what is more interesting than finding out all three of our sperm donors were hiding shit from each other. They were supposed to be best friends, taught that the Society comes above all else. At least that’s what they tried to teach us.
My mind starts to wander back to the warehouse I just came from. I picked this one because it was one of the smaller ones we owned, which meant fewer men guarding it. And I was right; there were only three men on site. I also lucked out because apparently they thought because this was a small site that they could fuck around. I found all three of them in a small office playing cards. Not a single one of them noticed me approaching until I was behind a guy with my knife at his throat, grinning with glee. That had gotten their attention, and the moment they realized who was in front of them, I saw the fear.
One of the men rushes to stand, keeping his hands in the air for me to see as he shifts his eyes around the room. Is he looking for an escape? I do love when prey runs. “Ri-Riot, sir. We weren’t expecting you today.” He stutters as I stare at him, still holding my knife firmly against this guy’s neck. I warred with myself for a minute on whether to drag out my visit or get this all over with. Choices, choices.
I must have been thinking a little too hard because the man under my blade hisses out in pain. Oops. Well, might as well get this all over with. I have a wife to get home to. “You should always be expecting someone; we don’t pay you to sit around doing nothing.” Then I yank my knife across this asshole’s throat. Blood spurts out, covering the table as the two still breathing jump back in shock. I shift so that I’m blocking the only exit. The man, now bleeding out, attempts to cover his neck to apply pressure, but it’s no use; the damage is done, and no one will be helping him.
When the man finally stops moving, he slumps over and falls to the floor. “Now,” I turn to face the remaining men. “Let’s all have a seat and chat. If you tell me what I wanna know, you can walk out of this door alive. If not…” I glance down at their now dead friend. “Well, it’s best you just tell me what I wanna know, yeah?” The men immediately nod their heads in understanding, eyes still a bit wide in shock. I give them a reassuring smile; at least I try to, but I think it might scare them a bit because both men flinch. Waving my hand to the now bloody table, I step forward and take my own seat, setting my knife on the table in front of us. The men move slowly, never once taking their eyes off the predator in the room. Smart.
“Wh-what would you like to know, sir?”
“I’m glad that you asked.” I give them another smile but know that this might be a long shot. These two might not know a single thing, but I’m not stupid. There are tons of rumors, and sometimes you just have to ask the right questions. “Tell me everything you know about William Parker, like where he could be hiding.”
Unfortunately, they couldn’t give me much except what they’ve heard from others, but now I have a small list of places that we could hit that would impact my father’s business. They even told me William was trying to move products to new places. Sadly, since these were lower-level men, I know they wouldn’t know much, but now I know where to look for more answers. I wanted to head there next, but for once I stopped my impulsive thoughts. No, it would be smart to have backup going into the unknown.
I’m pulled from my thoughts of earlier by Arsen’s next words. “I think Ethan may be a bigger threat than anticipated.” My head snaps in his direction.
“What do you mean?” I demand.
“One of the girls at Club X told me about a client who made comments to some of them. Talking about how things were going to be changing. She said his name was Mr. E. Or that’s what they called him.” He scrolls through his tablet some more, but I’m confused what this has to do with Ethan, but I don’t ask.
Instead, I shrug my shoulders, wondering if he is going to get to the point. “Okay. Do we know if it’s him?” Because if it is, maybe I can pay him a visit at the club. He did touch my wife after all, so I should be able to take his hands. Fair is fair.
Arsen lets out a heavy breath, a look of disgust crossing his face which suddenly puts me on edge. “I have a feeling it’s him.” What kind of information does he have that would make him think that little pissant is a threat? And why isn’t he spitting it out already?
“Why?” Cash asks in a more calm manner as Arsen finally gives us his full attention again.
“The girl said lately Mr. E has been asking the girls to wear a black and pink wig and a bunny mask.” I freeze, my body going tight. “He even calls them Ali when he is fucking them.” I see red.
“What the fuck!” I scream, standing and rushing to the nearest wall. Throwing my fist into it, I curse as pain shoots up my arm, but I embrace it in the next second. “That sick fuck needs to go,” I say turning back to couches. Anger resonates through my brothers, who look just as disgusted and pissed off by this news. But wait until Ali finds out.
Speaking of, where the fuck is my wife? The sun has started to set, and she is still not back. Something akin to worry sets in, but I push that emotion away. Ali is fierce and can take care of herself. She’s probably just being extra careful coming back or maybe picking up extra junk food for me.
“Okay, we all need to calm down. We shouldn’t make any decisions without Ali here.” Arsen sets his tablet down and stands. Turning to me, he says, “Why don’t you go get cleaned up?” He pointedly eyes the dry blood covering my skin. But what was I supposed to do, leave the men alive to possibly warn William and James? Fuck that, I have a reputation to uphold, and leaving people alive is not a part of it. “I’ll start making something to eat while we wait for Ali to get home. She should be here soon, then we can tell her what we found together.” I grumble under my breath, but he’s right. Ali needs to know about Ethan, and I need to calm down, or I might go hunt the fucker right now.
I turn without another word and stomp to the bathroom before slamming the door shut. Quickly I strip out of my clothes and jump in the shower. I don’t even care that it’s icy cold for a minute before it warms. Going about my routine, I wash my hair and body but pause to stroke my cock a few times. Fuck, even the thought of seeing our woman makes me hard as fuck. I have to stop myself from jerking off, waiting to save every ounce of my seed for Ali’s sweet pussy. Washing off the soap, I finally step out and wrap a towel around my waist before heading to the room and grabbing the first pair of sweats I spot.
I make my way to the kitchen, hoping and expecting to see Ali already home but still only see Arsen and Cash. “Where the fuck is she?” I’m getting annoyed now. Maybe I should place a tracker on her somehow. I wonder if they make vaginal ones; that way, it can’t be easily removed. I need to look into this.
Cash stands, a look I can’t describe on his face as he pulls out his phone. “I don’t know, but I’ll call Shane and see if he has seen her.” His normal cold, hard voice has a soft tone to it, and I would have been shocked to hear it if I didn’t know he cares for our girl. Even if he tries to act like a hard ass with her. The man is just as whipped as I am; we all are.
Before his call can even go through, a noise sounds from downstairs. Finally, she’s home. But relief is short-lived when loud, hurried stomping is followed. The footsteps sounding far too heavy to be Ali’s and moving right for the front door. Immediately we’re all on high alert as I rush forward to the duffel bag I dropped near the kitchen when I got back. Before I left the warehouse, I picked up a few presents I thought Ali and the guys might like. Reaching in, I grab the first gun my hand touches. Knowing it’s already loaded, I lift and point at the door, ready for whatever comes through it next.
Years of training taught me to not waste ammo unless you know you have the shot. So, I wait to see what is coming, and I’m glad I do. In the next second, the door is kicked in, the sound echoing in the quiet room as Shane stands there, huffing and puffing, covered in blood. But I don’t give a shit about him. No. Panic consumes me as I take in the small bloody form he is cradling in his arms. “Ali?” I question dumbly, but Arsen and Cash are already on the move, rushing forward and taking Ali from Shane’s arms.
“A car dumped her in front of the gym. I didn’t know what to do. She was barely conscious, and there was so much blood. I was going to take her to the hospital, but she kept mumbling about “the guys,” so I brought her here. Fuck. What happened to her?” Shane is freaking out as he explains what he can, and I’m glad he started to, or I would have shot him. I finally break out of my stunned shock and rush to the guys who have placed a limp Ali on the counter. It looks like Arsen shoved everything to the floor to make room.
“Ali, baby, what happened? Who did this to you?” I take in her form, and that rage monster I just barely shoved down pops up roaring in my head. Ali is covered in blood. Not a single sliver of skin is untouched by red, and I thought my vision going red was a metaphor. Arsen leans in and checks her vitals before tapping her cheek.
“Ali. Ali. I need you to stay awake. Tell us who did this.” She moans out, tossing her head from side to side. Fuck, she’s in pain. My eyes drift over her again and spot cuts, some deep and others shallow, but it’s the ones on her thigh that catch my attention. Gently I wrap away the blood and freeze. Oh god.
“Tr-tra-track.” She murmurs what little she can, but I can’t take my eyes off her thigh.
“Track?” Cash frowns. “What track? Track what?”
The others haven’t noticed it yet, and I know when they do, they will have the same reaction I’m having because deep down I know. I know, and now the bastard has moved to my number one spot on my kill list. Ethan Black is a dead man. It was bad enough he touched my wife. Then to find out he fantasizes about her. His own sister at that, but this. The dead man marked my wife.
“Tr- er. Track -er.” she whispers out again, and this time we all hear it.
“Fuck! Search her now!’ Cash barks out, and we all snap into motion, running our hands across her skin as gently and swiftly as we can. When my hands meet her new marks, I wince as she flinches. The guys notice, and their eyes snap to my hands. Arsen’s grey eyes widen in shock as Cash’s blue ones turn glacial. I ignore them as I trace the edges of the M. I. N. and find nothing. I move to the E knowing these are the only deep cuts someone could place a small under-the-skin tracker and pause when I feel it. Quick as I can, I whip out my knife and glare at the spot I need to cut.
“Hold her down.” The moment she is immobilized, I lean in and quickly dig out the small device. Grinding my teeth as she barely makes a sound as I cut into her, but maybe that’s a small mercy. The moment I have it in hand, I slam it against the counter.
“We need to go now,” Cash says, and no one argues as he and Arsen grab up all the files and throw them in backpacks. I gently lift Ali in my arms, trying not to focus on her pale skin and limp arms. Blood immediately coats my skin again, and this time I find no joy in it. Not when it’s my wife’s. I turn to Shane, who still stands there looking a little freaked out. “You know how to use a gun?” I ask. And he silently nods. “Good, grab that duffle bag and stay close.”
“We have company,” Arsen calls out. I turn, catching him looking out the window. “They’re packing heavy heat.” He glances back towards me, a frown of concern on his face as he takes in Ali.
Turning back to Shane, I glare at him. “Change of plan. You take her.” He drops the duffle and holds out his hands as I pass over a still unconscious Ali. He cradles her gently as I lean down and start digging through the duffle and grabbing everything useful at the moment. Since I’m only wearing sweats and nothing else, I throw on a tactical vest and load it up as well before looking back up to Shane. “You protect her with your life. Anything happens to her,” I say with a growl, “I’ll string you up by your feet and slowly skin you alive.” He gulps hard before tightening his hold on my girl and giving me a nod. “Good.”
Turning to my brothers, who have also grabbed some weapons, I grin wide as adrenaline begins to pump through my blood. It’s like taking a shot of drugs, a high I completely embrace. “We keep one alive for questions; otherwise, these fuckers hurt our girl. It’s time for them to pay in blood.”
Vengeance is a storm that rages within my soul. It courses through my veins, relentless and unyielding, demanding retribution for every slight, every hurt, every mark that was left on Ali. Yet, it is not without its costs.
Fortunately, I’m willing to pay the price.