Chapter 20 - Marcus
MARCUS
The commotion at the front door had Marcus jerking awake and reaching for the gun hidden under the sofa.
“Marcus! Where are you?” he heard his brother, Ace, shout from the hallway.
What was going on?
Marcus took a step forward before Ace, Lucas, and Gavin appeared in the hallway.
“Where the hell were you guys?” Marcus asked, pissed that they hadn’t left a note or answered any of the hundred texts he had sent them.
They had left a mess in the living room, a graveyard of empty bottles of wine and random clothing thrown all over the furniture.
Marcus would have been concerned if it hadn’t been for the text Caden sent him letting him know that Lucas had been sexting him, while the others were busy dancing on the dance floor.
Which dance floor? Caden had no idea.
“Marcus! He found him,” Ace rushed, helping a clearly distraught Gavin into the living room.
“He’s going to kill me,” Gavin muttered, his eyes unfocused and staring at the floor. “He’s going to hack me to bits and leave a card in my pocket.” The boy was speaking to himself, apparently unaware of the people standing around him.
“Gavin, are you alright?” Marcus asked, grabbing him by the face and staring into his unfocused eyes.
The sound of his voice seemed to jerk Gavin out of whatever trauma he was experiencing. His eyes came back into focus and settled on his with a sudden gasp.
“Marcus!” the boy cried, lunging at him and wrapping his arms around his body. “He found me. He’s here. He’s going to kill me.”
What? The boy wasn’t making any sense.
“Please don’t let him kill me,” Gavin begged, sobbing into his chest.
That plea broke Marcus’s heart.
“What? What’s going on?” Marcus asked, holding Gavin tight while looking over at his brother.
Ace held up Gavin’s phone so he could read the message on the screen.
Rage suddenly flooded Marcus’s system.
The fucker was here. Watching Gavin. Right under their very noses.
Running his hand over the back of Gavin’s head, Marcus tried to comfort him.
“Shhh, it’s alright, Gav. I got you now. You’re safe here, with us.” Marcus looked over at Ace, who was already on his phone, calling Blade and the rest of the crew. Ace walked into the kitchen so Gavin wouldn’t overhear what he was saying on the phone.
“You trust me, right, Gav?” Marcus asked, holding his breath as he waited for an answer.
Gavin nodded into his chest as he clung to him with a strength Marcus had never felt before.
“And you know, I would rather die than let anything bad ever happen to you?”
Gavin nodded once again without lifting his face.
Marcus caught Lucas looking over at him, taking note of the pledge he was making to the man he held in his arms.
“I need you to trust me and know that you are safe here in this house. The guys and I will be right here with you at all times. We won’t let this bastard anywhere near you.
” Marcus hoped that at least some of his words would get through to the terrified boy, help comfort him, and reassure him that everything was going to be okay.
Sniffling, Gavin nodded his head once again.
“Thank you, Marcus. You always make me feel safe when I’m around you.”
Relief set in knowing that he was getting through to the boy. He held him close, caressing the back of Gavin’s head as he watched Ace walk back into the room.
“Blade and the others are on their way over,” Ace explained.
“Good. Call Alexis and Jake and tell them what’s going on.
I want all Vipers on alert. I want their eyes and ears open.
I want to know if there are any new guys here in this town, and if there are, where are they staying?
This here is top priority. I want this fucker found, and I want him found now,” Marcus growled, feeling the beast inside him stir.
Someone had stepped into his town and threatened the people he loved. Gavin, Ace, Lucas, Blade, and all the members of the Shadow Vipers were under his protection. A threat to one was a threat to them all.
This would not stand, and an example needed to be made of this so-called serial killer.
If it was a fight this guy wanted, it was a fight he was going to get.
He might be kind and loving to those he cared about—or so he was told—but he was also mean and ruthless when it came to protecting those he loved. Just asked anyone who’d betrayed him… if you could find their body, or any part of them that still functioned.
It was time for the Shadow Vipers to go hunting.
An hour later, the house was filled with all of Marcus’s brothers and sisters. Every space of the living room and kitchen was taken over by one member or another.
Marcus was glad they were all here. He wanted to get everyone up to speed and make sure everyone was safe.
“Okay, I think we’re all here,” Marcus began, glancing around the room to be sure that all of his crew was present. “As many of you know, we’ve been protecting Gavin for the past several weeks. What some of you might not know is that we have been protecting Gavin from a serial killer.”
There were a few gasps as some crew members discovered the true nature of the duty they were performing. Most knew they were protecting Gavin from someone, but they didn’t know the details exactly.
They all glanced over at Gavin, who was sitting against the wall between Ace and Lucas, with the puppy whining in his lap. He could sense that something was wrong and kept licking Gavin’s hand as he slowly caressed his fur.
Next to Ace stood Blade, casually flipping his favorite blade in his hand, while Caden stood protectively on the other side of Lucas, arms crossed against his chest, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of danger.
Gavin sat in the center, seemingly unaware of the dangerous crew standing guard around him.
“The Valentine Killer, to be exact,” Marcus added, watching as his crew began to whisper around him. “Tonight, we received a message that appears to indicate that the killer is in town and has been watching us for quite some time.”
Nikolai stepped forward, his fists clenched in anger. “If he has, he’s a dead man. No one threatens my family and gets away with it,” Nikolai growled in a thick Russian accent. His accent always grew thicker the angrier he seemed to get.
“That’s why I asked you all here tonight. First, to make sure that everyone was safe and aware of the situation; second, to come up with a plan to hunt down this psychopath and take him out once and for all.”
Marcus had given up on trying to capture and arrest this piece of shit. This was personal now, and the only way to ensure that his family remained safe was to take the bastard out and eliminate the threat indefinitely.
“We’re with you, boss,” Blade added, nodding his head at his brother-in-law. He was always ready for a fight when it came to family.
“What do you need, boss?” Damian, one of the Viper crew members and a worker at the bar, asked, tucking his hands under his armpits and waiting for his boss to give them instructions.
“Tonight, you’re all going to sleep here, then tomorrow morning, we’re going to come up with a plan.
” Marcus looked over at Nikolai and Midas.
“You guys make sure that the house is secure. Double-check every door, window, and outside security light. Take Caden if you need an extra set of hands. Ace, start thinking of what we might need. We can’t all stay here forever, so whatever solution you can think of, I’m open to suggestions. ”
Marcus looked over at Gavin, who now sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, holding them close to his chest as he sat on the floor rocking slowly. The puppy stared up at him, waiting patiently for his favorite person to do something with him.
The guy had been through so much these past few weeks. His once safe space had now been violated. Marcus made a pledge right there to never again leave the boy’s side.
He was going to find a way to draw out this motherfucker, then end his life, one way or another.
But tonight, they were going to lock down the place, then worry about things in the morning.
Heart beating in his chest, Marcus walked over to the terrified man he had once tossed into his trunk to protect him and scooped him up into his arms.
“Puppy, come,” Marcus ordered, carrying Gavin bodyguard-style down the hallway and into his bedroom.
“I’ll stand guard at the door,” Nikolai announced from the doorway like his own private security.
Marcus nodded without turning as he gently placed Gavin on the bed. He scooped up the puppy and dropped him into the boy’s open arms.
Behind him, Nikolai closed his bedroom door.
Feeling an overwhelming need to stand guard and protect what he loved, Marcus slid into the bed and wrapped his massive body around the boy—and the puppy–protecting them both and making sure they knew they were safe and could let their guard down while they slept.
Marcus would stay awake, watching and listening, making sure everyone under his roof was safe and protected.
No one, no matter how crazy or psychotic they might be, would dare break into a house filled with armed, angry bikers just looking to get into a scrap.