Chapter Thirty-Three
Vandal
She was quiet. Too fucking quiet.
I held Macy against my chest, one arm locked around her back, the other cradling her head, and I waited for something, for anything to come.
I would take anger, screaming or even fucking tears.
But nothing? That shit was terrifying. I understood why, of course I did.
You didn’t go through the shit she just had, didn’t witness what she did and snap back instantly.
Even knowing all that, the silence fucked with my head. She’d been silent for the entire ride back to the clubhouse. When she’d climbed behind me on my bike, she’d been a shadow of her usual self. “Tell me you’re okay, Mace.”
She nodded. She didn’t say a word, but her gaze slammed into mine, those violet eyes so sharp yet glassy from tears she refused to let fall. She worried that lush bottom lip between her teeth and nodded again, as if that was supposed to convince me.
It didn’t. I knew her too well to believe that, but I also knew there was something more to her silence right now.
It wasn’t just silence, it was a blankness, an absence of emotion that I could not fucking handle.
Not right now. “If you hate me,” I began in a quiet voice, “or if you’re scared of me, just tell me.
I need you to tell me, Mace.” My heart was racing by the time I finished that sentence.
I hated that I had to say it, hated that doubt even existed.
But it had to be said and now it sat like a fucking lead weight between us.
“Jesus, fuck, Drew!” She shook her head, finally breaking the silence. Fucking finally. “Of course I don’t hate you. And you’re probably the only person in the world I’m not scared of.” Her brows pulled together. “How could you even think that?”
“Because you’re quiet,” I said. “Way quieter than usual. And I know something’s wrong.”
She nodded, acknowledging my worst fucking fear.
“Yeah, I’m quiet Drew. I just watched a man get killed.
” Her voice didn’t shake but her fingers tightened in my shirt.
“He deserved it, there’s no fucking question about that.
But it was right there, in my face.” Her eyes slammed closed and she let out a deep, shaky breath.
“I’m covered in his blood and….” She motioned to the red stains, the bits of flesh that clung to her and shuddered.
“That’s… it’s gonna take more than a minute to process. ”
“Yeah,” I replied on a soft sigh. “Okay.” I didn’t like it, but I accepted it, pulling her in tighter before I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
I inhaled her scent until it was part of me, happy she was here and safe.
Alive. “You take whatever time you need, babe.” I inhaled her scent again. “I’m right here. Whatever you need.”
She smiled up at me, and it was soft and stunning and so full of love, it nearly wrecked me.
Despite everything she’d been through, this year and in her life, she smiled at me with pure fucking bravery.
“I know,” she said in a sweet voice. Her hand came up to cup my cheek, gentle like I was something precious to her.
“I’ve always known. And I’ve always loved you for it. ”
“I’m always here, Mace,” I said. “Always.” I kissed her hair again. “Just tell me you’re okay.”
“Working on it.” The smile she hit me with was soft, but it was real. Macy wanted to be all right, and that mattered more than anything else.
“Good.” I kissed her again just because I could. “We’ll work on it together.” I glanced to the bathroom just behind her, and grinned. “How about we wash Ruiz’s brains off you?”
A snort laugh escaped as she nodded. “Hell yeah.”
She was already undressing before I made it to the bathroom.
I cranked on the shower and smiled when steam filled the room.
The sound of running water was loud in the small space and I braced my hands on the wall, the steam made it easy for my mind to get lost in thoughts of that asshole with his gun trained on my girl.
My jaw clenched tight as the scene replayed, Macy trying so fucking hard to be brave even as pure terror filled her eyes.
It was a look I’d never forget.
Her hand landed on my shoulder, yanking me from my thoughts. “Hey,” she said softly. “Are you okay?”
I nodded before turning to face her. “No,” I admitted. “But you’re here. You’re safe. And I’m working on it.”
She gifted me with another smile and wrapped her arms around me. “Thanks, Drew. For always having my back.”
She opened her mouth to say something else, but a loud knock cut her off.
“Vandal,” Maverick shouted from the other side of the door. “We’ve got a problem.”
I dropped my head forward and sighed. “Fuck.” I pressed a quick kiss to those irresistible lips and stepped back. “Stay here. Let me see what’s going on.”
I yanked the door open, scowling. “What the fuck is the problem?”
Maverick’s lips twitched but there was almost no humor in it as he nodded towards the door. “Come see for yourself.”
I nodded and followed him through the clubhouse and out to the parking lot. That’s when I saw half a dozen Mexican men armed with automatic weapons, standing tall and proud as if this was their turf instead of ours.
Diesel, Rocky, Gio, Rebel and half a dozen more Steel Demons had already gathered with guns visible but not raised. The air was tense, on the verge of chaos and violence. It was restrained, but barely.
The asshole at the center wasn’t familiar but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was Diego’s boss.
The head of the Sombra Negra Cartel. Carlos Martinez-Vasquez stood over six feet tall with a commanding presence.
Dressed in an expensive suit, confidence radiated off him despite the men with guns standing feet from him.
He knew he was big shit and that hint of a smile told me he wanted us to know it too.
“Where is Ruiz?” The question came out in smooth English, his voice impressively calm.
I snorted, shrugging my shoulders. “Who?”
His gaze narrowed and I saw the flash of anger before he hid it. “Don’t be cute, asshole. He was in this town looking for a bitch who stole from me.”
“Fuck that,” I said and took a step forward, not giving one fuck when his men raised their guns. “Your man had a thing for kidnapping underage girls.”
Carlos laughed. “And you are what, the protector of those girls?”
I took another step forward, ready to pummel that motherfucker into next week but Diesel stepped between us.
“Diego has a type,” he began slowly, his gaze met Carlos’ head on.
“Our friend fit the type, petite and youthful looking, except she’s a grown ass woman.
” He nodded over his left shoulder to Slate.
Diesel stepped forward. “You might also be interested to know about his other activities.” He gestured to Slate. “He was skimming.”
“Bullshit!” Carlos spat back but he hesitated for just a minute.
“It’s true. Off your gun and drug shipments.”
Slate pulled up the accounts, laying it all out and turned his screen towards Carlos. “I’m sure you’ll recognize the account numbers.”
“How the fuck did you get this?” he roared the question to nobody in particular.
“Irrelevant,” Slate waved a hand in the air. “What you might find relevant is all the information gathered by ten different law enforcement agencies in Georgia and Alabama, all implicating your man in the disappearance, death, and assault of a bunch of young girls.”
Carlos listened. Quiet. Calculating. Angry as fuck. “Where is Diego?” he asked again.
“Diego isn’t here,” I answered loudly, smiling and completely fucking unapologetic.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means,” I began slowly, meeting his gaze without a hint of sorrow. “He put a gun to my woman’s head and that’s not something I can forgive.”
Carlos eyed me for a long moment, stared at me like he wanted to put a gun in my head. But eventually the fire in him extinguished itself and he nodded.
Rocky stepped forward with his hands up, the way he did when he was playing peacekeeper. “We do have something for you that I think could make us square.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze bouncing between Diesel and Rocky. “How?”
A smile spread across Diesel’s face. “Come with me.”
All six men moved as one the moment Carlos did.
“One of your men can come with you and that’s it.” Diesel’s tone left no room for argument.
Carlos nodded at one of his men and the rest fell back. They followed Diesel and Rocky across the lot and down into the cellar.
I stepped forward once the prospects closed the door behind us, shutting out the rest of the world. “Are you familiar with Detective Halloran?”
“I assume he is one of the cops in Diego’s pocket,” he said, waving dismissively at the man strapped to the metal chair.
“Not just one of his dirty cops,” I grinned. “The one who helped him steal from you. Who didn’t even bother covering up the crimes that still might fall back on you.”
Halloran’s eyes went wide. “What the fuck was I supposed to do? I ain’t tampering with evidence to cover for that freak!” He was scared now and dancing to save his ass.
“You should have come to me.” Carlos’ voice was smooth and deep. “But you didn’t.”
I watched, waiting for the moment Halloran gave up the fight. His shoulders fell and he let out a resigned sigh. “No, I didn’t.”
“Too bad.” Carlos held out a hand to his man, who quickly placed the gun in his palm. Without ceremony, he raised the gun, took aim and squeezed the trigger twice.
The gunshots echoed in the air, loud and final.
Diego was dead and now Halloran was dead too.
Carlos nodded once at Diesel and turned on his heels, climbing the stairs silently before he disappeared into the sunlight.
The threat was neutralized. Both of them.
They were gone and Macy was safe, but it would be a long fucking time before she felt safe from external threats. She was mine to keep safe.
Mine to steady.
So I followed Carlos’ path and went to my woman, confident that whatever came next, we could handle it.