TWENTY-ONE
Nyx
When I leave, I take the back road because it's closer to the warehouse where I'm meeting Cale. I have Tucker trying to track down Raya; he's good at finding people, just like Cale is. That's why I keep the two well-compensated; they are the best.
Something up ahead has me pressing down on the accelerator until I'm upon the scene, and I slam on the brakes. It's the same car that my little lamb left in only now it's smashed and toppled over. My heart drops into my gut, as I jump from my car.
"RAYA!" I call out as I run over to the twisted scene.
A few more feet and the vehicle would have hit the guardrail and gone over the side, which has a massive drop-off. I'm trying to figure out how this could have happened as I continue to call out her name.
"Help!" A weak voice reaches my ears, but it's male.
I skid to a halt, falling to my knees, looking inside the smashed car. There is no sign of Raya, only the driver hanging upside down by his seatbelt with a piece of metal going through him. I jump back to my feet and run to the other side to see if she crawled out, but she's nowhere.
I look over at the guardrail and start tugging at my hair. What if she was thrown from the car and went over the side? No, that can't be! There is no way I can lose her like this!
I rush back to the driver and question him. "Where is the woman you were driving for?"
"W-what? Please, help me…"
As much as I want information, I can't just leave him hanging there, so I help him out of the seatbelt and drag him out and away from the car. There is no evidence of a gas leak, but I don't want to take any chances.
Once I have him at a safe distance, I ask again, "Tell me where the woman is who you were transporting."
"Please, call for help…"
"I will, but if you don't answer my fucking question, the only help you will need is the coroner!" I'm losing my patience.
"I d-don't know where she w-went. He t-took her…"
"He? Who the fuck is he?"
"I don't k-know. H-he ran us off t-the road then took her," the driver states.
"What was he driving?"
"I don't know, i-it's too dark…"
"FUCK!" I yell out, frustrated, before pulling my phone out and calling for help.
I start walking back to my car when the driver calls out, "Where are you g-going?"
"I'm going to go kill some motherfuckers…"
Walking through the warehouse, I don't stop when Cale starts trying to talk to me. I keep going until I come to the room where we hold the fuckers we need to question, or torture, however you want to look at it.
Lieutenant Giles is hanging by his wrists, his feet barely touching the floor. Evidence of Cale's questioning covers the fuckers face, but I don't let that stop me from walking right up to the guy and giving him a right hook to his jaw.
You can hear the crack of his jaw echo through the room. I swing again, this time landing my fist in his ribcage. I then grab his shirt and glower at him when I growl out my only question for him, "Where the fuck is she?"
When he doesn't answer me, I start using him as a punching bag, letting out all my anger. I can feel Cale's presence as he stands there, leaning against the door, taking in the show before him. Only when I need a little break to catch my breath do I glance over at my right-hand man.
"Why the fuck isn't he talking?" I run my hand through my hair to get it out of my face .
"Probably because he can't without this…" Cale holds up a severed tongue between his fingers.
"What the fuck? I hope you got answers before you decided to cut it out!" I glare at him.
"Of course I did."
"Then why didn't you not stop me just now?"
Cale grins. "Because you looked like you needed to let off some steam—and it was fun to watch."
I scoff but then look back at the bloody asshole just dangling there, now unconscious. I wipe my bloody hands off on the only clean area of the guy's shirt before joining Cale, where he leans by the door.
"So? I don't have time, Cale. Someone took Raya, and I need to fucking find her!"
"Well, had you stopped when you arrived, I would have told you. You have been wasting time on this fucker, so I just let you get it out of the way. Now, I suggest you head to the junkyard because that's where you'll find her."
"Junkyard?" I question, but don't stay to hear an explanation.
Cale calls out behind me, "I've already sent Tucker a text. He'll meet you there!"
I can't remember the last time I ran. My men run, I don't, but you better believe I will for her. The video flashes through my head, and pain slices through me again. Fuck, I'll be spending the rest of my days making it up to her. That is, if she lets me.
Getting to my car, I start the engine and take off before my door is even closed.
Leaning over to the passenger side, I open the glovebox and pull out my Glock, checking it to ensure it's loaded.
I still have no idea who these fuckers are, but I'm about to find out.
I assume it's another corrupt cop if Lieutenant Giles was involved.
Looks like I'll be cleaning up the PD as soon as all this shit is over with.
They fucked with the wrong person this time.
You know what they say when someone fucks around— fuck around and find out .
That's precisely what's going to happen—they're going to find out what happens when you fuck around with what's mine .
I turn the headlights off as I pull off to the side of the road, where I see Tucker climbing out of the cab of his truck. He's dressed in all black, whereas I'm still in my suit, but I don't give a shit. I'd go in there, guns blazing, if I knew it wouldn't hurt Saraya.
"Do not let Raya get hurt," I warn Tucker. "Let's assess the situation, and then we will move in. No one leaves here alive. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Sir."
We hurry through the entrance and keep to the shadows until we hear angry voices. It makes no difference to me what they're saying, the fact they're speaking to my little lamb with such disrespect has their death warrant already filled out.
"You do know who Nyx Beckam is, don't you?" I hear my little lamb's snarky voice, which brings a grin to my lips, and I thank the big guy for keeping her safe.
"You think I'm worried about the fucking Heirs?" A snicker comes from a male. I don't have eyes on them yet, but I already know he's in charge.
"You should be…" Raya warns, and she's right; they would do well to listen to my girl.
More chatting ensues as we make our way closer, trying to find a good position. When I finally lay eyes on my little lamb, I… see… red. Her clothing being torn is bad enough, but when I see the swelling around her cheek and eye, it takes Tucker everything he has to hold me back.
Screams grab my attention just before blood sprays out from the car crusher. Jesus, is that what they plan on doing to my little lamb? Wanting to ready my gun, I shrug Tucker off, letting him know that I'm good before I find a position where I can take out everyone who needs to be taken out.
I point up at the guy working the machinery, indicating that Tucker is to secure that position.
He nods and falls back into the shadows as I turn my attention back to Raya and the dead men walking.
I grin when I hear her curse at the fucker, but it doesn't last long.
The moment the two goons start dragging my girl toward the crusher, and she starts calling out, I raise my gun, take aim, and pop off two rounds—hitting each of my targets.
"She can't admit it because it isn't true. I killed that piece of shit husband of hers; I finished him off days after he attacked her."
I don't dare look at Raya because I can already feel her stare burning through me. She's pissed, but I'll deal with that later. I walk out of the shadows, my gun now pointed at the last asshole standing. Fucking Captain Frank Denver. I always knew he was a corrupt cop.
"Untie your ankles, Raya, and come to me," I instruct, but Frank is fast and has his own gun pointed at my little lamb in a matter of seconds.
"Not so fast, Beckam. She still has to own up to stabbing her husband," the fucker growls out.
"The fuck she does. If you saw the video, then you know it was self-defense!"
"Not as many times as she stabbed him. Besides, she made sure the evidence was taken care of."
"Hey, dumbass, did you forget that you sent me the video?"
The captain blinks before realizing the mistake he made. He makes another one when he cocks his gun and says, "No whore deserves to live when a good man is dead because of her!"
"I suggest taking that fucking gun off her right now and step away from her." I stop about ten feet away from them.
Frank gives me a wicked grin and says, "Go ahead and shoot me, and I'll make sure I take her with me."
A noise from above catches Frank's attention, and he looks up. I take this time to lunge forward just as Raya frees her ankles and rushes toward me. Frank swings his head back in our direction, and a shot rings out just before I unload my gun into him.
Everything happens in slow motion. I can almost see every bullet fly through the air, embedding itself into the captain.
His body jerks every which way as blood seeps through his clothing instantly.
I drop to the ground, my breathing heavy.
It isn't until all goes quiet that I feel the sting at the same time Raya cries out.
"Nyx!"
She rushes toward me, her wrists still bound, and drops to her knees beside me. I reach out to take hold of the rope, but pain slices through my chest, stopping me from moving any further. Looking down, I see the red stain growing bigger and bigger on my chest.
"Stay with me, Nyx! Don't you dare fucking die!"
I hear Tucker rush over and tell me that our men are on their way, but I don't pay him any attention as I stare at my little lamb. She's pissed, but I can see her eyes beginning to water.
"You're safe, little lamb. Don't cry. "
Tucker uses this time to pull his knife out and cut through the rope on Raya's wrists.
"Yeah, well, you're not! You are in so much shit with me, so don't you dare die on me!" She tries glaring, but it doesn't come off that way; she's scared.
"Do you honestly think I would allow myself to get killed when I have a hot little woman to turn over my knee and spank the shit out of for running away from me?" I try to chuckle, but the pain is too much, and it turns into a loud groan.
Raya pulls her shirt off, not caring that she's left in just a sports bra, and presses her shirt against my chest. Putting pressure on it, the action causes her to get really close to me, and I can't help putting in a special request.
"Kiss me, little lamb."
"What? No, you're bleeding out, Nyx!!"
"Well, if I'm going to die, then I want to feel your lips against mine one last time," I tell her, more as a joke than anything, but it would be the truth if I were dying.
"No, because you're not dying. I won't let you—"
"Get that fucking mouth over here right now, Raya. Don't make me tell you again." I cut her off with my demanding voice.
I notice the lust enter her beautiful brown eyes just before she lowers her head and brushes her lips against mine. However, it's very short-lived because she's pulling away a few seconds later. She hovers over my mouth as she stares into my eyes.
"Talk to me that way again, and I'll let you bleed to death." Raya cocks her brow as I grin.
"You love it, don't deny it. That cunt is dripping for me right now, isn't it?"
"You're an asshole—"
"Nyx!" Another female voice interrupts Raya's, and then Amara stares down at me with concern written all over her face. "We've got you. You're going to be fine."
I'm being lifted and try to reach out to Raya, but she's no longer beside me. I can't see her. "Raya," I try calling out, but there's no response. An oxygen mask gets placed over my face, and that's the last thing I remember.