Chapter 4
Chapter Four
EMERSON
Ipaced my foyer as two of my men stood alert and ready.
The call came in early that morning. They had captured Riley earlier than expected and were on their way back.
Within minutes, the front door opened. Without turning, I waited for my men to bring her before me.
She was struggling, a string of swears coming from her that would make the hardest of my men cringe.
A black sack covered her head and draped down to her chest where the tip of a tattoo showed.
With her hands bound in front of her, I could see another tattoo of a butterfly on the inside of her wrist. Bare arms led to the straps of her black dress and a gray scarf hung down the front.
I stepped closer, my brows scrunching as I tried to remember details of any visible tattoos on my brother’s new wife and why she would wear a black dress that looked nothing like a wedding dress.
“Shut up and get on your knees,” I told her, nodding to the two to force her down.
“If you think I’m sucking you off, asshole, you might want to rethink it. I bite.”
Pack snickered, and I shot him a look.
“Force her down,” I told them, walking closer to her.
She fought more, but didn’t stand a chance against the brute force behind her. I heard the sharp hiss when her knees hit the tile floor. My men stepped back, and I yanked the hood from her. Rage blinded me and the hood crumpled in my hand.
“Who the fuck is this?” I snarled at my men.
“Tides’ new wife.”
She laughed. “I tried to tell them.”
Grabbing her by the hair, I yanked her head back. “Keep your mouth shut or I’ll kill you right now.”
I pulled a chunk of her blonde hair up, including the pink strands, and looked back at my men. “Does this look like black hair? And why the fuck would a bride wear a black dress?”
“It was dark, boss. We thought she changed after the wedding.”
I drew my gun and shot him straight through the eyes. Her scream accompanied the flop of his body. She tried to get up, and I clamped my hand down on her shoulder.
“Shit, boss. She was on the plane with Tides.”
I turned the gun to her, pressing it against her forehead. “Who are you, and why were you with my brother?”
“It wasn’t Greyson,” she stuttered. “He and Riley took a different plane. This guy was the bartender and if these two imbeciles hadn’t interrupted, I would have gotten laid.”
I tried not to react because my urge to laugh was warring with my need for retribution. Walking around her, I approached my other man.
“I gave you one job. The most important job of your career. Bring me Riley Brinks. And what did you do?”
“Boss, the plane was dark.”
“And that didn’t give you pause? Make you curious as to why Greyson Tides would need his own plane dark?”
“We thought he was gonna fuck her.”
My teeth ground loudly before I brought the gun up and shot him. He stumbled back, clutching his chest, and I sent another bullet through his head.
His body fell in a lump right behind the woman, who was screaming again, holding her ears.
“Stop that incessant screaming before I drag your face through his brains.”
She shut up just as I placed my gun to her temple. “You have three seconds to tell me who the fuck you are and why I should let you live.”
“I’m Ava Shelton. Riley is my friend. I was her bridesmaid, and my uncle works for Greyson.”
“Doing what?” I asked, her value rising with each admission.
“He’s like a right-hand man. He was his best man at the wedding.”
Gun lowering, I stooped in front of her. Big brown eyes, the color of golden caramel, looked back at me.
“You just bought yourself time.”
A relieved breath fled from her lungs.
“Take her to the guest room,” I told Pack, tucking my gun in my pants and rising. “She’ll be staying with us for a while.”
“What? You can’t do that.” She got to her feet, and I turned on her, grabbing her scarf and looping it around my hand so that it cut off her airway.
“I can do anything I want. You’ve got fire and I appreciate that, but I’m an inferno that will swallow your fire whole and decimate it.”
The scarf unraveled but remained in my hand as I shoved her toward Pack. “Play by the rules, Ava Shelton, and you’ll live until my brother comes to rescue you. Push me, and I’ll send your body to him piece by piece. I’m sure your uncle would appreciate that.”
I walked away shoving the scarf in my pocket, hearing her bitch but not caring to listen to what she was going on about.
Rubbing my temples, I questioned if this was a good idea.
She was bound to push my buttons and given the high stakes, my tension was so tight I would snap.
I pulled my jacket off before pouring myself a glass of scotch.
Fuck ups. I had nothing but fuck ups on my team now. Unseasoned and making novice mistakes. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I cursed my situation. It had been my doing and now I was paying the price, my empire hanging in the balance.
Pack returned a few minutes later. “She’s in the north wing. I’ve got two men outside her door.”
“Good.” I sat, planting my elbows on my desk.
“You think killing them was best, Cade?”
Eyes lifting slowly, I studied him. He was the only one I ever let question my methods. One of the few I still trusted.
“Yes.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We wait for my brother to discover she’s missing.
I’m sure someone will go to the hangar since it seems they changed plans.
Brinks and Raines maybe. They’ll inform him and he’ll call me.
Then…” What then? Convince my brother to talk to me, to believe me.
I sat back in my chair, staring out the window.
Maybe he’d listen. “Talk to your contact in Bridgeville. See if they went to their destination or if they changed the itinerary altogether. My brother doesn’t make swift changes like that. ”
“You mean he didn’t make changes, boss. He’s married now, and that’s enough for him to do things differently.”
“Confirm that and let me know what you find out.”
“And the woman?”
With a sigh, I took the scarf out of my pocket and let it drift through my fingers, saying, “Leave her where she is for now. She’s our prisoner, but treat her like a guest. Make sure she has food and whatever she needs.”
“What if Tides doesn’t respond?”
I looked back up at him. “Then I kill her.”