70. Bay
SEVENTY
bay
I’m taken upstairs and led into what was the dining space of a restaurant. A long, empty bar with stools takes up the right side of the room. Abandoned tables and chairs are shoved toward the walls as I step deeper within the confines of the room until a grunt reaches my ears.
A body is slumped over in the middle of the area with their legs extended across the hardwood floors.
Even with the lack of good light in here, I’d know Torin Wildes with my fucking eyes closed.
His slumped shoulders.
The tawny brown hair that has gotten a bit longer but hangs over his forehead while his chin is tucked into his chest.
My heart seizes at the sight of him, but it’s my hurried footsteps that get him to stir.
I’m right in front of him when his head raises, and our eyes slam into each other with such fervor I don’t know if I’m more disturbed he’s here or if I’d have been more relieved if he weren’t.
Torin being here means Matteo is.
And that doesn’t bode well for Ozzy when it’s all my ex wanted in the first place.
“Where is he?” I blurt out through a murmur, wanting to ask him how he is instead, when I notice the two black eyes and the deep cut gashed across his glossy cheek.
His golden eyes are red, and he’s been…crying?
“Mhm…” He tries to grin at me, but it falls flat when he winces a bit. “Wildfire…you never listen.”
I bend over, aligning my face with his and reaching out to gingerly cup his jaw. “Where is Matteo? Ozzy is—” Torin shakes his head, letting me know we’re safe on that front.
For now.
“How are you here?” I ask, running my thumb softly along the stubble of his chin and notice his hands are tied. “What happened?”
“You need to get out of here,” he croaks out. “You shouldn’t be here. You know that.”
“I was brought here,” I reply, starting to glimpse over my shoulder to see how much space I’ve got between us and the assholes who brought me up when Torin barks out.
“ Don’t .”
My focus jerks back to him, confusion clogging my throat to ask him why. But it doesn’t last long, because it wanes, and I’m overwhelmed with the fact he’s alive.
He might not be feeling the best, but he’s not dead.
He’s fucking here .
Stepping closer, I straddle over his legs and sit in his lap, careful not to put too much weight on him. “This okay?”
He bobs his head. “More than okay. But you’re not listening again.”
“I said I was brought here, Pretty Boy. What do you want me to do? Bound over them and use my super speed to leave?”
“Do something.”
Alright, he’s been hit in the head a few times, or he’s in denial.
I’m with him whether we both want me to be or not, but I think it’s more him than me right now. I’m just happy to be touching him.
“What’s the plan?” I inquire evenly. “Did you hear anything?”
Torin draws in a long inhale, buying himself some time because he couldn’t hide the fact he doesn’t want to answer my question if he had practiced it for months. “It’s not Matteo you need to be thinking about, baby.”
“I know. That’s what these assholes said.”
“Where’s Ozzy?”
“Downstairs.”
Torin exhales, sounding a bit relieved. “Good.”
“How badly are you hurt?”
His eyes slowly scan the area behind me. “I’m fine. Did they hurt you?”
“No.”
“The big one might be hard to take down,” he utters, keeping his eyes pinned on where he probably is. “You got the small one all day.”
“Torin—”
“You’ve got to get the fuck out of here,” he grinds out, pinning his serious expression on me. “My brother is coming. You can’t be here.”
Eh, no shit.
But like he said, I’m never getting past Passenger Prick.
It’s not going to happen.
“Tell me what happened to you,” I emit, brushing another path along his jaw. “So, I know how violently I’m going to kill my ex.”
“I’m not sweating him right now,” Torin retorts, going back to studying the room. “I’m sweating you being here.”
“Do you think if I flash my tits at him, I might be able to get past the big guy?”
“He looks like an ass man.”
I smirk. “Maybe he’d watch my ass all the way out of here.”
“Wildfire,” he remarks, with a bit of steel to it. “I’m not fucking around here.”
“I’m not either. I just left Oz… I’m not dipping out and leaving the both of you. You told me to find you, and I did.”
He directs a scowl at me. “I didn’t mean get yourself caught doing it.”
“You didn’t specify.”
Pretty Boy tries to glower at me but when he attempts to, his arm still hooks around my waist like he can’t help his damn self. “I thought you were smart.”
“I have my moments.”
“You knew what I meant.”
“I was kidnapped,” I vouch simply. “I didn’t get much of a choice here.”
Torin’s nostrils flare. “Fuck…”
“I don’t think we’re there yet. I’m still extremely pissed at you.”
“No, you’re not,” he argues lightly, with a slight roll of his eyes, but I can see his mind moving a million miles a minute while he continues this conversation. “You just have a hard time forgiving.”
“Maybe.”
“No, you do,” he says, stealing another glance at the men behind me. “How many are there?”
“A bunch downstairs. It looks like a shipping compartment down there. They were loading shit up.”
“Give me a number.”
“I didn’t count.”
He looks back at me. “ Guess for me.”
I lift my shoulders. “Maybe a dozen.”
His brows clench together. “You’re sure?”
“Give or take.”
Torin looks back at the guys. “Run.”
A small tsk sounds from my lips. “What?”
“Try for the door. Don’t look back. If you get through, keep running. You know where I am.”
“No, I don’t know?—”
“There’s an underground tunnel from a bunch of cabins in the woods. Where were you when you got caught?”
“I was kidnapped .”
“Where?”
“Woods…”
Torin lifts his legs for me to get off him. “Go on.”
“Are you fuckin’ serious?—”
“Haven Astor,” a smooth and cool voice cuts in and reverberates through the air. My whole body seizes in what I can only describe as fear. An omen, really, of the only motherfucker next to my ex I didn’t want to see. “It’s so nice to see you, little sis.”
Torin tenses with me, each of us knowing what’s about to happen.
I’m about to Titan fight this bitch with a fucked-up game that leaves one of us dead and the other one living.
Craning my head to my right, Torin’s hand shoots out and clutches around my jaw so tight I think he’s going to leave a bruise.
“ Don’t ,” he growls, his expression darkening with each millisecond that passes.
That’s the second time he’s done that.
And I’m starting to think something else is seriously wrong in this room.
“Torin, chill out,” Ramsey soothes, his body showing up behind his brother, and I can’t help but flick my focus up to him and balk in displeasure.
“You’re a bitch,” I clip out. “You seriously kidnapped me for this ?”
Ramsey quirks an eyebrow. “You honestly think your boys were going to sit down and watch you play a round of Russian Roulette?” He releases an unimpressed scoff. “Or did you think I did?”
“I never said you were a dumbass,” I rebuke sharply. “I said you were a bitch.”
He smirks at me, and that’s when a few more men file in behind him, sending an uncomfortable twist in my gut. “I could say the same about you. You got my brother wrapped into this, and he’s had to pay dire consequences because of it.”
My interest falls to the man at hand, and Torin’s too busy staring into my chest.
Words escape me again, because I’m already imagining the unthinkable of what he could mean.
I’m not entirely sure I want to know, but I’ve never seen the outline of sheer devastation on Pretty Boy’s face like I do now.
Except for when he almost drowned me in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Goosebumps skate violently across my skin as I latch onto Torin’s hand still deadlocked around my chin.
“Pretty Boy…” I start, not continuing until his full attention span is centered on me. It takes a few seconds, each one more devastating than the other, when his eyes finally tap up to mine. “How bad?”
His eyes gloss over with unshed tears, and my heart shatters.
Everything falls to the wayside.
He’s broken, breaking, and I’m here adding more stress to the situation, when all I was trying to do was save him.
“He’ll get over it,” Ramsey dismisses, glancing over his shoulder before pivoting. But not before saying, “It was just a dog.”
No.
No. No. No. No.
I squeeze Torin’s hand harder as his face drops into his chin, exactly where I found him when I waltzed in here.
“Torin,” I quaver, trying the best I can to manage this while keeping my cool. We both can’t be out of whack. One of us has to have a level head here. One of us has to be the strength and I know it has to be me. “He didn’t.”
A broken sob fragments from Torin’s chest, and I want to die from just the agonizing sound of it.
His own fucking brother…he murdered one of his dogs.
“Baby,” I croon, lightly pressing my forehead into his. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“File them up,” Ramsey barks out loudly. “If anyone moves, shoot them, and we’ll bring in one of the others.”
“He’s dead,” I promise, ignoring what’s going on around us. “I won’t allow this to not go unpunished. Pretty Boy, I’m?—”
“Lock the doors. We need ten minutes.”
Something hard pushes into the back of my skull, and I immediately go still. I’m experienced enough—unfortunately—to know there’s a gun pressed against my head, and Ramsey is eager to get this over with.
“Five bullets,” I hear him say, not giving a fuck I’m consoling his brother or the current state he’s in. “You have your six South Shore men, and I have mine. This is a proper Titan fight, minus the crowd and distractions.”
Torin’s arm around my waist tightens, pulling me as close as possible with our chests pressed together and our breathing mixed with different emotions.
“If you win,” Ramsey continues, obviously not giving a flying shit about reading the room, “You go free. My men have orders to let you, my brother, and your men go.”
“Bullshit,” I grind out, keeping my eyes safely closed. I don’t want to be anywhere near this conversation, let alone away from Pretty Boy.
“That’s what I just said,” Ramsey replies flatly. “There’s no point in killing you, too. It’s the rules. One lives…the other either bows down or dies.”
“Then bow down,” I sneer, breaking free of Torin’s forehead and looking up at the prick wanting some medieval bullshit fight. He stands behind Torin again, and he doesn’t move from his stance. “You don’t want to fuck with me, Ramsey. I’m said to be the devil’s spawn.”
“Even the devil loses, Haven. Your nine lives have to be up by now.” He lifts the butt of a gun in the air and hands it over like I’m stupid enough to take it. “Ladies first.”
“Then I guess you’re up. I’m not the bitch here.”
“Fuck off, Rams,” Torin snarls, his muscles coiling and tensing against my frame. “I told you to leave her out of this, and go find someone else to harass. You’re outnumbered here. It doesn’t matter if you win; you won’t stand up against the Forsaken Crew and The Nameless. You’ll be dead in a week.”
“Well, that’s where my backup plan comes into play, little bro. De Leon’s little Pistol Posse will come in handy.”
Torin scoffs. “I know you’re smarter than that.”
“Who do you think has been recruiting them over the last several years? It’s not like The Void, Torin. I hand-selected these men. And they’re convicted murderers, rapists, and all kinds of?—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Torin shoots out pointedly. “You’ll be fuckin’ dead .”
“But De Leon won’t.”
Fuck me.
Is this stupid prick serious?
“Take the gun, Haven,” Ramsey orders gruffly. “Time’s ticking.”
“I’ve got all the time in the world,” I remark with flared nostrils. “Did you need to take your fuckin’ meds or something?”
“I need to take my crown.” He lifts the gun higher. “Take it.”
Hesitantly, I begin to slide off Torin, but the gun at my head only presses harder.
“You’ll do it right there.”
My eyes widen a bit but like I’ve been told, Ramsey is a fucking psycho.
“Fuck you ,” I spit out, feeling a vein in my temple throb in warning that it’s going to bust if my temper clicks one level higher. “We’re going to do this like men. Not some sick fucking joke to terrorize your brother.”
“I like terrorizing my brother,” Ramsey says pointedly. “It’s a pastime I like reliving over and over again.”
“I should’ve fucking killed you years ago,” Torin rants, his chest heaving in unsteady breaths of frustration and adrenaline. “Fuck having a brother because they’re fuckin’ worthless at doing what they’re supposed to do.”
“Aw,” Ramsey coos, sounding hurt, but the smirk on his face alludes that he’s far from the emotion. “I made sure Emilio kept your silly, stupid ass alive. You owe me for my brotherly love and nature.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
I immediately nudge Torin for the comment but don’t respond to it. Instead, I say to his brother, “I take that gun, and I’m shooting you with it.”
Ramsey stares at me, then releases a heavy sigh, shaking his head as though his plan was futile in the first place and worthless as hell. “Why do you both insist on doing shit the hard way?”
He drops the gun and glances over at the men behind me. “Bring Ryland in.”
If I thought I was semi-panicking before, I’m in full-blown terror at the mention of Ozzy and what the hell Ramsey is going to do now.
“ Wait ,” I appeal, watching Ramsey run his fingers through his light brown hair. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“You obviously can’t be trusted,” he replies vacantly, not bothering to look at me. “And I figured you’d need some motivation to get started. I just didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity.”
“You’re wasting time,” I quickly remind him. “Give me the gun, and let’s get this over with.”
“Too late.” A small smile reconfigures his face, and it’s not a warm one either. It has me practically panting in horror at what’s about to happen next. “Oz, welcome to the party.”
“ Ramsey ,” I rebuke angrily. “Leave him the fuck alone, and let’s do this. It’s between us, not them.”
“You made it their problem.” He peeks over at me. “Don’t you wish you would’ve left South Shore?”
All the air from my lungs feels as though it’s been punched out.
I hear the scuffle of shoes against hardwood, and I know he’s here. I just can’t look at him because the gun on my head won’t allow me to move.
“You touch him,” I warn, “and you won’t get that Titan seat the right way.”
Ramsey’s face lifts in silent challenge. “Won’t I, Haven?” He turns to face me fully. “You’d let your husband get raped over and over again until you decided enough is enough and end this, once and for all?” He shakes his head at me, and then makes a clucking sound with his tongue. “I knew you were a spoiled little bitch, but I didn’t think you were a cruel one, too.”
“ Stop —”
“Take off his pants,” Ramsey orders with a wave of his hand before I hear a grunt and a landed punch, which I’m hoping was Ozzy landing one on someone. “I’m going fuck his ass so hard, he’s going to wish he’d let me have it in the first place.”
I rise from Torin’s lap and ignore the gun pressed at my skull. “Listen, you piece of shit. I said no . It’s a full sentence. You touch him, it doesn’t matter if I’m dead, you’re still going to be ripped to fucking pieces.”
Ramsey rolls his eyes and lifts the gun for me again. “I’ll fuck him one way or another tonight. Whether you’re listening while I do…or he’s lying in a pool of your blood after you’ve placed a bullet in that pretty, stupid head of yours. Take your pick.” His jaw tics. “And make it quick.”