Chapter 24
Noah
“Fuck, he’s heavy,” Blayke growled as he tugged on the Russian leader’s ankles, dragging him to the back of the van.
Gidget, who was standing near the van doors, grunted in annoyance at Blayke’s bitching.
He never said much, but he didn’t really need to.
He had a way of letting everyone around him know what he thought of something by a simple noise or one look.
Blayke’s biceps flexed as he tugged on the Russian again, finally getting his body out of the van far enough for Gidget to grab his shoulders.
Halo came to stand next to me, and we watched the two men carry the Russian toward the basement door.
And if I admired the way Blayke’s muscles flexed and rolled as he worked…
well, who the fuck could blame me? In that regard, I was no better than a man.
Because Blayke was hot as fuck.
Blayke’s phone suddenly went off in his pocket.
He growled and dropped the man’s legs to the ground unceremoniously before tugging his burner phone from his pocket.
The look Gidget shot Blayke for dropping the man without warning could have killed him, but Blayke ignored him as he raised his phone to his ear.
“What, Prez? I’m in the middle of something.
” Blayke rested his hand on his hip and stared at the ground while he listened to Johnston.
“You have absolutely shit timing, brother. Yes, I’m fucking busy.
” He paused. “No, I’m not fucking Noah, you asshole.
I was carrying a heavy Russian fucker into Alejandro’s basement. I’ll call you once I’m done here.”
He hung up without waiting for Johnston to respond, then held his phone out to me. “He’s going to call me back,” he said as I hurried forward to grab his phone. “Deal with him.”
“Me?” I asked, arching a brow at him. “I’m a mere prospect, Blayke.
And I really don’t like Johnston.” He was a sexist pig, and the only reason I was still prospecting to be part of the club was because of Blayke.
Without Blayke, I’d have already hit the road and headed on somewhere else, to hell with my dad’s dream for me.
“He gives you shit, just tell me,” Blayke told me. Then, he grabbed up the Russian’s legs again, and he and Gidget disappeared through the doorway. Blayke’s phone went off in my hand again. I stared at the number for a moment, then heaved an exasperated sigh and answered the call.
“You’ve got Noah,” I grumbled.
“Put Blayke on the phone,” Johnston snapped at me.
“He’s busy and put me in charge of his phone.
Told me to deal with you,” I retorted. Johnston growled at the disrespect.
“If you want an update, I can give it to you since I was present for everything that went down. But if you’re going to be a sexist jackass, I can hang up the phone.
Might even smash it while I’m fucking at it so you don’t get any—”
“I really don’t fucking know what Blayke sees in you,” he growled. “You’ve got a problem with authority, girly.”
“Actually,” I bit back, “I don’t have a problem with authority. But I’m a fucking adult, and respect goes two damn ways, Johnston. You might be able to run all over your men, but that shit won’t work on me. I came to you respectfully, and you pulled sexist bullshit on me.”
“Listen—”
“No, you listen,” I snapped, so over his shit.
“I’m not done talking. I have busted my fucking ass from the moment I rode off the lot with your men.
I have done nothing but prove my worth and show everyone that I’m just as capable of doing the same shit your men do despite the fact that I have a fucking vagina.
But make no mistake, Johnston, my dick is still bigger than yours. ”
I drew in a deep breath, and miraculously, Johnston kept his big mouth shut.
“Now, if you must know, Geek found the compound the Russians and the Mexicans were holed up in. We infiltrated the building, took out all the unnecessary players, and captured the two leaders. They’re currently unconscious and being tied up in Alejandro’s basement, but once they’re awake, we will find out whatever information you’re looking for, alright?
That enough of an update for you, or would you like me to type it up using MLA format and email it to you in an encrypted file?
Unless that’s too tech savvy for someone with a pea-sized brain like yours—”
Halo cackled so hard next to me, he sent himself into a coughing fit.
“Enough,” Johnston growled. “Jesus fucking Christ.” I clenched my jaw. “I appreciate the update. Tell Blayke to call me once he’s taken care of all of that. As for you… You fucking know what? You’re Blayke’s problem.”
He hung up the phone. Drawing in a deep breath, I slowly turned to face the basement once more, only to find Blayke leaning against the wall, a blunt between his lips.
He was watching me, amusement glimmering in his eyes.
When I let my eyes run over him, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to find his dick hard and pressing against the zipper of his jeans.
“You always get me so fucking hot and bothered when you’re telling someone off,” he rasped as he pushed off the wall.
I stayed still, watching him as he erased the distance between us.
Gripping my hip, he tugged me against him, held his blunt out to the side, and leaned in to kiss me soft and slow.
He wreaked havoc on my senses—absolutely tore them apart and obliterated them. “You good?”
I nodded. “I’m fine.” I slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Johnston is just a dick, but nothing I can’t deal with.”
He smirked and stepped back, putting distance between us before he lifted his blunt back to his lips. “He always has been, mama.” He jerked his chin toward the basement. “You ready? Gidget and Halo are handling this one. We just get to watch.”
I shrugged one shoulder. “Sure.”
When he held his hand out, I slipped my palm into his, letting him curl his fingers around mine and tug me after him.
Gidget tapped the tire iron against his palm, waiting for Halo’s instruction.
Halo crouched in front of the Russian and cocked his head to the side.
For someone who was rarely serious, seeing his mask drop and the lifelessness enter his eyes chilled me.
Gidget didn’t look surprised by the change, but Blayke did.
Clearly, this was a side of Halo the VP had never seen.
“You’ve been a right pain in our fucking ass for months,” Halo drawled. “You’ve had us playing a fucked-up game of tag for a while, but now, we’re going to play my game. Want to know the rules?”
“Fuck you,” the Russian hissed, his accent thick.
“No, thanks. You like touching women and kids, and that’s just not my thing.” He plucked at the Russian’s expensive Armani suit, then made a tsking sound, shaking his head. “Too bad this nice suit is going to get ruined. I do love Armani.”
Halo stood and slowly made his way over to the other man.
Gidget tracked every move Halo made with calculating eyes, still waiting on Halo’s instruction.
“Here’s how we’re going to play my game.
I’m going to ask you a question. Every time you don’t give me the right answer, I’m going to have Gidget break your partner’s bones. ”
I frowned. I didn’t understand his method of torture, but I kept my mouth shut. Halo clearly knew what he was doing, and something about the calculating, almost predatory way he was dealing with the Russian told me he knew exactly how to play this.
“That doesn’t even make sense, you fucking—”
“It will,” Halo promised, a smirk curving his lips. “Now, where are your victims being held?”
“None of your fucking business,” the Russian snapped.
Gidget swung the tire iron down, shattering the other man’s collarbone. The man screamed, tears leaking from his eyes. Gidget calmly stood back, waiting once more. Halo shook his head. “Wrong answer. Come on. We played your game for so long. You can’t play mine for a little while? It’s only fair.”
“I’m not telling you shit. You’ll have to kill him.”
Halo laughed. “Okay then. We’ll see. Now, I’ll ask again—where are you holding your victims?”
“Not telling you shit.”
Halo quirked his fingers, and Gidget swung the tire iron again, this time snapping the man’s femur.
He promptly threw up all over himself, tears streaking down his cheeks.
Halo hummed and slid his hands into his pockets, the picture image of chill and laid back.
Like he didn’t have a care in the world. “Again. Where are they being held?”
“You’re never—”
Halo quirked his fingers again, but before Gidget could make contact, the Hispanic man yelled, “Wait!” Gidget paused, lifting his gaze to look at Halo. Halo turned to the other man, a smirk curving his lips. And suddenly, I understood.
He was making one man betray the other.
“Yes?”
The man quickly rattled off an address. “There are thirteen women and thirteen teens—nine girls. Four boys.”
“You fucking—” the Russian snarled, but he didn’t get to finish his sentence because Halo jerked his chin in the Russian’s direction, and Gidget cracked his skull wide the fuck open.
My eyes widened. I’d never had an urge to see what the inside of a person’s head looked like, and fuck, I never wanted to see it again.
I quickly turned my face away. Blayke wrapped his arm around my shoulders and tugged me against his side without a word. When I wasn’t drowning in rage, it was entirely different. My stomach churned.
“Buyers?” Halo asked.
“There’s a memory card in my pocket,” he hurriedly answered. “It has all the information you need.” Gidget quickly made work of emptying the man’s pockets until he came up with a small SD memory card.
“Previous victims?” Halo continued.
“On there as well,” the other man hurriedly answered. “Everything you need is on there. Please don’t kill me. I’ll go away. I swear I will. I—”
Gidget cracked his skull open, too. And while I applauded myself on having a strong stomach, even that was more than I could handle. Apparently, when I wasn’t the one doing the smashing and I wasn’t running on adrenaline and pure rage, my stomach wasn’t all that great.
I leaned over and emptied my stomach all over the basement floor.