10. We Had It All Wrong
ten
We Had It All Wrong
Pulling up at the mill, the first thing I notice is multiple cars in the parking lot.
It’s damn near the middle of the night, so my only guess is that all these cars belong to Kane’s men.
I swear Flynn has men stashed in the states, making his transactions here much smoother than we already provide for his business dealings.
Shutting off the car, I climb out and head inside. Stepping into the building, I see Gio and Kane putting their men to work. Kane turns his head and notices that I have arrived. He saunters over, pulling me into a hug.
“I’ve missed you, man. Ireland isn’t the same without the Stallion,” he laughs, and I punch his arm.
“Yea, yea. Fucker!” I say, and he laughs harder. “What we got going on here?” I ask, and Gio turns around and pulls me into a hug.
“So good to see you, son. You are definitely unrecognizable, but I’m so glad you’re here,” he whispers as I hug him back.
“Thanks for holding down the fort. I can always count on you,” I tell him, and he nods, turning back to the computers lined up on tables just outside the ring.
“Prima Famiglia, Dario. Always. Let’s get to work,” he says, and I nod, looking at the screens.
“Spade and Ryder both have trackers on their phones. Ryder’s is still at the crash site, but Spade’s signal is bouncing all over the place,” Kane informs me.
“This would be an opportune time for Jameson to be here. He would find Spade with just a few clicks,” I say, and the kid sitting to the side of me, typing vigorously, turns his head, raising a brow at me.
“I’ll find them. I just need a little more time,” he tells me, and I laugh, sticking my hand out.
“I’m Zayn. I meant nothing by my statement. Please don’t take offense,” I say as he shakes my hand, nodding.
“I’m Maverick, but you can call me Mav,” he tells me, but I already knew that.
Harley Cyprus' younger brother Maverick. We’ve worked together before when we needed to get Jameson out of the Institution.
Looking over at Kane, he gestures to the stairs and starts walking over to them.
I follow behind as he sits on the steps.
“What you got for me?” I ask, and he pinches the bridge of his nose.
“This is the only update I have. Teagan, Carmine, and Abran are MIA. Once she left with Abran, the night you saw them, they completely disappeared off the grid,” he says, and I take a deep breath.
“Do you think they are the ones who have my brother and Ryder?” I ask, and he nods.
“My money is on them, but I don’t have the proof, but what’s even more worrisome is that we have a mole in the castle and I can’t fucking figure out who the fuck it is. One minute Flynn is on his deathbed and the next he’s getting better. I don’t fucking understand,” he says, and I raise a brow.
“What has changed? The nurses? Doctors? Security? Meds? Anything?”
“New meds, yes, but the doctor has always been the same. Listen, I’m glad he’s getting better, but it’s almost too good to be true.” He sighs.
“It’s like we’re waiting for the next ball to drop and not knowing where or when it’s going to happen,” I say, and he nods.
“Exactly, and I don’t fucking like it.”
Sitting next to him, I shoulder bump him as he looks over at me.
“We will figure it out. We just need more time,” I say, trying to reassure him.
“But what if time isn’t on our side?” he asks, and I laugh.
“It never is. We can only control what we can. Otherwise, we have to let the pieces fall where they may.”
“I know, you’re right. Hopefully, we can find Spade and Ryder and figure out our next move,” he says, and I nod.
“One can only hope, right?” I smile, and he does the same.
Over the next few hours, Gio sends his men out to see a few locations that the signal stays at.
Until we get confirmation of their whereabouts, we go through the shed and bring out all the weapons and ammo we have in there.
Not knowing who we are dealing with is troublesome, but I'd rather be prepared than not.
Walking over to Mav, I sit next to him as he continues to watch the screen, waiting for the signal to finally stop.
“You need anything, kid?” I ask, but he shakes his head, lifting his energy drink, never moving his eyes from the screen.
There’s not much else we can do other than wait.
I’m sure Jade woke up to my bullshit note by now and is ready to put my head on a spit.
I fucking hate leaving, but I vowed to protect my family, including Spade and Ryder, so she can be pissed all she wants. Gio walks over and smirks at me.
“Your wife is angry and worried. Rafe told her we are out scouring the towns, which isn’t a total lie, but she’s big mad,” he tells me, and I shove my face in my hands.
I can only imagine how she feels. I keep hurting her, and when she finds out the truth, she’s really never going to forgive me.
However, I don't blame her. I deserve it. I’ll take whatever punishment she gives me if it means I get back in her good graces.
“Hopefully we find them soon, and she will relax a bit,” I say, and he laughs.
“You know your wife. She won’t rest until everyone is safe. Be grateful she’s not here barking orders at us,” he says, and now it’s my turn to laugh.
“You’re right.” I say as an alarm sound blares through the computer's speakers.
“Fuck yea!” Mav shouts, fist bumping into the air.
“I think I found them,” he says, tapping his fingers like a madman against the keyboard.
“Come on, you motherfucker. Ten more seconds,” he says as we all surround the screen, watching the timer drop as the signal stays completely still.
I hold my breath, praying it doesn’t bounce.
“Five more seconds. Come on, baby. Don’t do me dirty,” he sweet talks the screen.
I can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm as the signal never moves.
“Fuck yea. They are at a warehouse on the other side of town. Here’s the address,” he says, jotting down the address.
My eyes widen along with Gio’s at the piece of paper.
“No fucking way.” I say, and Gio shakes his head. “This whole fucking time. How did no one check there?”
"I sent a few people to check there, and they reported that it was locked up tight," he says, and I shake my head.
“Alright, let’s suit up and head out,” I order as everyone moves fast around the room, grabbing as many weapons and ammo as they can.
“Mav, link up into the property. There are cameras everywhere. We need to know who is on the ground guarding it,” I command, and he nods, doing his thing quickly.
Turning to Kane, he smiles as he riddles his body with weapons.
This man loves to fight and kill. It’s probably why we get along so well.
An hour later, we are ready to go. Kane has the men lined up, waiting for orders. Standing in front of them, I look at each one of them and give them the orders.
“I want three teams of six. Team A goes in the back. Make sure to take the cutters for the chain-link fence. Team B, you take the front and cover Team C, which will be with me. Everyone is to wear their earpiece, and you shoot to kill. No one gets to live,” I command, and they all nod.
“Alright, let’s go kill some motherfuckers,” I holler, and they all move out as Kane directs which team goes into which vehicles.
I climb into Kane’s G-Wagon with Gio, Mav, and three of Kane’s men.
“You ready, D?” Kane asks, and I smile sinisterly.
“Roll out!” I shout, sticking my finger out of the window and whirling it in the wind, signaling everyone to move.
It doesn’t take long to get to Spade’s warehouse on the other side of town.
Mav was able to get into the cameras and watched men come and go on the ride over.
We definitely have more manpower, but I need his thermal camera to tell me how many are inside and we can’t do that without being close enough for him to send his drone over the roof, which will also give us eyes in the sky.
Jade would’ve loved to be a part of this, especially if she got to use her sniper rifle.
“Send team A around the back. Mav, let the drone loose. Team B, you’re on standby, only move on my signal,” I command as everyone gets into place.
We park down the road in the parking lot of another abandoned warehouse that will be ours soon.
We want to own this entire area and have already started the paperwork.
I may have had a different identity, but I’m still working remotely to make sure we have legal businesses, amongst other things, in place in case we need to run for a bit.
“Sir. We got three armed men in the back, blocking the double doors. Two on the sides of the warehouse and four on each corner of the gates,” Rome says into my earpiece.
“Stay still until I give the go ahead. Just focus on them. Light on your toes, breathe through your nose,” I order, making me think of Jameson. He always knew how to be stealthy and undetectable.
“Alright, sending Lucille out into the wild,” Mav says from behind me as he drives his drone along the treeline as we watch through his computer screen.
“Holy shit, Lad. That's really cool,” Kane says excitedly as his leg bounces. He’s antsy as fuck, ready to take down these pricks.
“Right, she’s the only other woman in my life that I love,” he purrs as we all laugh at him. “Alright, see all that red and orange. That’s hot spots. It looks like there are only five people inside. Two of which look to be laying on something with three others in the room.
“Okay, you are our eyes and ears while we are in there. You got it?” I say, and he nods. “Team A, make some noise. Team B, on standby. We are heading your way. Watch our six,” I command as we file out of the G-Wagon, leaving Mav to watch us. We jog along the treeline as shots ring out.
“The ones in the front are moving to the back. It’s go time,” Mav says in my ear.
“Team B. Let's do it. Give us a clean path.” I command as Kane whoops, with his gun raised, ready to shoot. More gunfire rings out around us as we approach the front gate that is now open for us.
“On your right, one is coming around the corner.” Mav tells us as Kane steps in front of me, waiting for the asshole to make his presence known, then shooting him between the eyes.
“Trouble around the back. There was more than expected. They need help back there,” Mav says as Gio heads towards the back with Kane around the opposite side of the building.
Kicking the door in, I raise my gun and shoot the asshole standing between Spade and Ryder.
The other guys run out the back door, only to be met by spraying bullets and dropping to the ground.
Kane sticks his head in and nods. Walking over to Spade, I rip his blindfold off and smile.
“Hello, Brother.” I say as I reach over to Ryder and pull the gag out of his mouth. He coughs.
“Brother? What the fuck?” Ryder says, and I laugh.
“Don’t be mad at me Ry, but Zayn is Dario,” he says as Ry growls.
“Let me out of these chains so I can kick his ass,” he tells me, as I feel the dead guys' pockets for the keys to the cuffs. Bingo.
“Just let me explain once we get the hell out of here. My body fucking hurts,” Spade whines as I uncuff his hands and help him up.
“Don’t climb off just yet. Get your bearings first,” I tell him, and he rolls his eyes. Sliding over to Ryder, I do the same for him. They both stare at me while Ryder narrows his eyes at Spade. “Do you guys know who is responsible for all of this?” I ask, and they both shake their heads.
“How did you even find us?” Spade asks.
“Your phone and Mav Cyprus,” I tell him, and he nods, Kane and Gio walk in through the back door and head straight for us. “We good?” I ask, and they both nod. “Mav, bring the car around,” I say into the earpiece.
“Coming in hot,” he responds, and I laugh.
Looking at my brother, I raise a brow, “Ready?” I ask, and he climbs off the table, same as Ryder.
They both stumble a bit, and I grip onto Spade with one arm and Ryder with the other.
Kane takes Ryder as I continue to steady my brother as my phone blares in my pocket.
Letting it ring out, we leave the warehouse and get into the G-Wagon.
“I’ll go with the others,” Gio announces as he gets into the van just as my phone rings out again. Ripping it out of my pocket, my eyes widen at the name. What the fuck? Hitting the green button, I bring it to my ear.
“Yea,” I answer.
“Zayn, are you at the house?” Jameson asks, and I’m stunned to hear him sound so normal.
“No, why?” I ask.
“Fuck! I just spoke with Jade. I’ll explain everything later, but why is the fucking Brotherhood surrounding the house?” he asks, and my heart drops.
“What the fuck do you mean?” I growl.
“Exactly. Are you with Spade?” he asks in a panic. Taking the phone away from my ear, I put it on speaker. “We’re all here,” I tell him.
“Reid. We had it all wrong. These threats were never for Jade!” he yells.
“Jay? What the fuck?” Spade yells.
“We don’t have time for this. Someone needs to warn Jade,” I tell him. Taking out my phone–MY phone–and dialing her number, but just rings out, sending me to voicemail.
“Fuck, we need to hurry. There’s too many for me to fight off! They are here for Jaxon!” he screams as I hit Jade’s number again only for it to ring out. Fuck! Looking over at Kane and Spade, I growl.
“This is the only way. She will answer if she sees my number, not a blocked number,” I tell them, and they nod. Entering her number again, this time it will show who is really calling her. It rings a few times until her voice echoes the line.
“Hello?” she says in a shaky voice. Mav guns it through the streets trying to get us home as fast as he possibly can.
“Kitten. Listen to me,” I say, and she gasps.
“Dario?” she says, as the emotions pour out of her voice. Fuck!
“Yes, Kitten, just listen. I know you have a lot of questions, but I need you to get the kids and run. They’re coming, baby. They are coming. You need to move now!” I shout, hoping she can hear the urgency in my tone.
“B-ut, bu-t,” she stammers.
“Jade, focus. Listen to my voice. Get the kids and run, baby. Fucking run!” I scream as glass shatters down the line.
“Dario!” she screams
“Jade! Jade, answer me baby,” I shout, but the line goes dead. I look around the car as everyone stares at me.
“We might be too late,”... TO BE CONTINUED IN REIGN THE FINAL BOOK IN THE KINGS OF CHAOS AND MAYHEM SERIES.