Chapter 10
ten
Ace
Hex's room is exactly how I remember it. Pushing the door open, the bottom brushes against more wires than carpet.
It's like someone shoved a Best Buy into a tiny room. Everywhere I step is a possible tripping hazard.
"Good, you're here." Hex doesn't even look my way as her fingers move in a blur. "You got my message."
"If that's what you want to call that..." Stepping toward her, I notice she's not alone. Surprisingly, against the wall, Trouble's here too. Busy with the activity book spread out on his lap.
She beckons me over, and I take a minute to look at her six monitors. Two of them have camera feeds playing. Another one looks like an open email. Another—
"Right here." She taps the monitor directly in front of her.
"Your guy has stationed himself at some motel for the last two days.
He hasn't left since checking in, so there's no telling whether he's alive.
Could've taken himself out for all we know.
If he'd been a little more active, I could've found him sooner. "
She starts pulling up new feeds, dragging them to the same monitor. Her nail barely bumps the screen.
"That's him?"
I've only seen him in photos, but holy shit. The guy frozen on her screen looks terrible. Sunken cheeks. Hollowed gaze. Like a damn skeleton.
Looks like I gained a few points in the attractiveness pool.
"Looks like it." Squinting as she scrolls through different photos, I pause when she stops at him walking halfway through his motel door. "No fucking way."
"That's what I said too." She leans back. "Less than twenty minutes away. Crazy, isn't it?"
He's in Steelwood's territory. I'll give him credit—what better place to run than your enemy's backyard?
I slap her chair in excitement. She scolds me instantly.
"How the hell am I going to return the favor? Keep me posted if he moves, will you?" Grinning, I return my gaze to her monitor and feel something twist in my chest. Something stronger than excitement.
"I've been babysitting the feed since I found him." She sighs. "But sure, I can do it. Before you go—"
"Ace, before you go," Trouble suddenly makes his presence known, lifting a hand. At Hex's soft groan, he smiles.
Looking between the two, I slowly raise a brow.
"I need a six-letter word for a pastry that is deep-fried in ghee." He taps his crossword puzzle. "What the hell is ghee? She won't look it up for me."
"Uh..."
Hex stares at her screen before pulling on her red strands. She looks exhausted and agitated in one instant wave. "It's fucking butter."
Letting out a forced sigh, she's breathing heavier. I don't think I've seen her this worked up before.
"While it fits, I don't think butter is a pastry." He keeps tapping, trying to sound sincere, but that smirk is outright lethal.
Twisting in her chair, she turns her pointed glare on me instead of him. "You want to pay me back? Take him with you. Give me an hour of peace, please. Because of him, I've been behind for weeks."
Looking between the two of them, I debate if I want to get involved in whatever... this is between them. But after days of hunting, I owe her this.
"Samosa." Trouble's holding his phone now, staring at the screen to show he could've found his answer much quicker without bothering our drained hacker. "Would you look at that? Indian street food."
Hex ignores him, but her glare at me sharpens.
"Uh, Trouble? I think you're with me." Tilting my head, I meet his smile. "Want to go kidnap someone?"
He doesn't move at first, and I worry she's going to expect me to move him on my own. Dude is built like Smoke. He's not going anywhere he doesn't want to.
Thankfully, Trouble closes his book and flops it down against something that's flashing lights. She hisses at him, and he passes by with a chuckle rolling off his tongue.
"Try not to miss me too much, Red." He tries to touch her hair, but she slaps his hand away, much to his amusement.
Instead of entertaining him, she returns her attention to her displays. "Stand in front of a gun, would you?"
Grimacing, I follow after Trouble and shut the door behind me. "Well, that was..."
He shrugs, looking unbothered. "Don't let her fool you. She loves me. Now, want to fill me in? Hex wasn't very informative when I tried to ask."
I fill him in on everything by the time we reach the open section of the warehouse. Devil's already waiting. He's got a pair of keys in his fingers, wiggling them.
"About time. I thought Butcher was going to kill me if I beat him again." Stepping away from the wall, he looks Trouble up and down before nodding. "Duo's now a trio, huh?"
When Trouble's smirk melts away, his usual frown returns. "I'm just here for the drive."
Proving his point, he snatches the keys from Devil's fingers, earning him a curse.
"Children sit in the back." Back to being grumpy, he continues to move. I don't help by correcting him.
Devil’s easily insulted as we pass him, glaring at both of us before following behind. He's no child, but he is one of the youngest members.
"You might actually catch a bullet at this rate," I murmur, eyeing them both. Trouble shrugs.
We find ourselves in front of four identical vans, all with the same logo. A button push later, we're tucked inside one. Devil's still huffing about sitting in the back while I relax in the passenger seat, punching in our destination.
As much as I love to ride, the sound of our bikes will make him run. We've got to come when he doesn't expect it.
Thankfully, we've got no issue making it to our destination.
The motel looks like something out of a horror movie. Cracked pavement, flickering sign, half the letters burnt out. Fitting for a place for someone to hide out in, or possibly die if their luck runs out.
Trouble kills the engine, and we sit in silence for a beat. Curtains are drawn in every room, and if it weren’t for the numbers on the doors, it would be impossible to tell which one he occupied.
"You sure he's in there?" Devil leans forward between the seats, eyeing the door Hex pointed out earlier.
"Smells like trash, so must be." I reach for the door handle. "Let me handle this. Trouble, keep it running. Devil, watch my back."
Trouble nods, hands already back on the wheel. Devil's out the door before I finish speaking, falling into position like he's done this a hundred times, because he has.
I don’t miss the disappointment on his expression when he doesn’t get to join in on the ‘fun’ part.
I cradle the handle of my gun tucked in my holster as I walk. The weight settles into my palm like an old friend. I’ve gone too many days since I’ve needed it. Pulling it out risks fucking everything up, but if I have to pull it out and shoot, then that's a decision I won't regret.
The door is cheap wood, probably hollow. I don't hesitate or waste any precious seconds. My boot connects just below the handle, and the frame splinters on impact. The door slams against the inside wall with a crack that echoes down the whole damn row.
Johnny's already scrambling.
He's off the bed, back against the far wall, eyes wide and wild.
My smile is nowhere to be found.
"You—" Johnny's hand dives for the nightstand and comes up with a gun. Probably thinking all of us in leather look the same, he doesn’t even hesitate. He fires.
The shot goes wide, punching through the open doorway behind me. A little to the left, and he could’ve got Devil. My ears ring, but I don't flinch. Don't even blink.
Sirens won't be far. Someone heard that shot. The chance is high that someone is already calling it in.
I close the distance before he can fire again.
My free hand grabs the barrel, wrenching it sideways.
His finger's still on the trigger when the second shot goes off—into the wall this time.
I twist, hard, and the gun clatters to the floor, and I fight every instinct in me to shove my gun beneath his chin and blow his brains out.
That’s the easy way to end this, but a death so quick isn’t deserving. It’s what allows him to keep breathing as he makes a sloppy attempt to swing at me in one last desperate attempt.
I’d hoped to shoot him in the thigh, maybe. But the thought of him bleeding out stops me there, too.
So I opt to use my fist. One punch with a crunch leaves Johnny boy stumbling toward the stained carpet. He trips over his own feet, and I'm on him before he can get up.
The chokehold comes easy. Arm around his throat, knee in his spine. He gasps and claws at my forearm, but I've got him.
"You left them." My teeth are gritted. "You left Penny and that little girl to face those animals alone."
He's choking and turning my favorite shades of purple. I ease up just enough for him to breathe, to know that I’m the one in control, not him.
"You’re going to get what you deserve," I murmur against his ear. "And I know you’re going to wish I had killed you right now.”
His eyes go wide, filled with enough terror to barely scratch the surface of satisfying me.
I grin then, already thinking about the future. "Don't worry. I'm going to take real good care of your girls. Better than you ever did."
He barely has the energy to bare his teeth at me before his body goes limp in my arms.
I hold him there for an extra beat, just to be sure, before letting him drop to the filthy carpet. My chest is heaving. Adrenaline is burning through my veins like fire.
Devil's head appears in the doorway. He takes one look at Johnny, one look at me, and lifts a brow.
“Thanks for the backup,” I say, releasing my annoyance at the chance of eating two bullets.
His mouth curls into a sinister smile. "My bad. I thought the adults could handle it."
I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face. "Just help me move the body before the cops show up."
Together, we haul Johnny's dead weight toward the door. Devil's efficient—quick with the ropes, wrists, and ankles bound before the guy even stirs. When Johnny groans, eyelids fluttering, Devil slaps a strip of tape over his mouth without missing a beat.
"Shh," Devil murmurs, almost sweetly. "Go back to sleep."
In the distance, I can already hear the sirens. Thankfully, we’re already on the road before the lights hit. Hex will clear the feeds, and anyone who risks being a witness has also seen the patch on our back. They’ll know better than to say anything.
Reaching the Outlaw Sinner's territory takes the longest out of this entire venture. We know where their clubhouse is, and the moment we cross the line, the air in the van shifts.
Devil's playing with his gun to have an excuse in his hands while Trouble keeps his grip on the wheel tight.
"We're not here to spill blood." Saying the words out loud like I need to remind myself, I watch as we roll up to the outside of a worn-down bar.
Slowing to a stop, Trouble lays on the horn long enough to gain attention. The two assholes that come out already start off great with their hands already resting at their hip. One of them has their nose nice and bandaged. Oh, good. That's going to make this so much easier.
"God, look at them." Devil pokes his head between us. "Can't they ever look happy to see us?"
Rolling my eyes, I'm shoving my door open to step out.
Not willing to risk asking for his help in case another familiar face makes them more hostile, I drag out Johnny by myself.
He's already woken up, muffling what I guess is probably pleas for mercy.
Dragging him to the front of the van, I drop him like a heavy sack before bending back to stretch out my lower muscles.
"Happy fucking birthday." Giving them a pinched smile, I wave toward their present and look at the familiar face of the man who'd left my ribs sore. "I kept my word. Now, I need you to give me yours." My smile melts away. "Leave the mother and her daughter alone."
I try not to threaten them, but it's impossible to pretend I'm not bothered. I can feel the hatred seething behind my eyes.
The two of them look at me before looking down at Johnny.
Then, without a word, the bar opens again, and two more bodies step out.
Already outnumbered, my fingers twitch as they come toward me.
Gritting my teeth, I watch them get a good look at Johnny before nodding, scooping him up to take him to who-the-fuck-cares where.
Broken nose then approaches, his scowl much deeper than mine. He looks me up and down, like he's sizing me up. Maybe he lost a few memories when I clocked him, who knows.
"Pretty face like hers? It'll be hard to forget.
" His eyes crinkle in amusement at my sudden growl, and he gives me a second to decide if I'm going to let my anger be what gives him the excuse to pull out whatever he's packing.
When I just clench my fists, he clicks his tongue and jerks his chin.
"She's one of yours, so she's not welcome back.
Now, take your little crew and get the fuck out. "
I want to argue, to demand he let her live her normal life, but he's acknowledged something much bigger. Something irreversible. Whether Penny wants it or not, the two of them are now considered a piece of Steelwood.
In this piece of shit's eyes, she's a threat.
Trouble honks at me when I can't make up my mind, and I curse under my breath. Making my way back inside, he doesn't waste time peeling off before we're chased out.
"You think they could've offered a little thanks for our hard work?"
Trouble swats at Devil's face, motioning him to sit down. "You barely did anything."
While they go back and forth, I settle on the fact that I'm going to have to break the bad news to Penny when I get back. It'll be up to her if I've made this better or worse. Whatever the outcome is, I'm going to have to accept it.