Chapter 15 #2
It shredded my nerves down to the fucking bone.
Give me a target, a weapon, and a direction to move, and I could function.
But standing around while Aubrey was out there somewhere, trapped with a violent psychopath who had every intention of hurting her, felt like being skinned alive one layer at a time.
I braced my shoulder against the bookshelf lining Kane’s office wall, trying to anchor myself with the solid weight of something familiar. I didn’t trust myself to speak, afraid that if I opened my mouth, the edges of my fear and fury would bleed out uncontrollably.
I scanned the faces around the room, each brother locked into their own tense silence.
Kane sat calmly behind his massive desk, a stark contrast to the tension radiating off every man around him.
Edge lounged deceptively loose-limbed beside Jax, but the calculated stillness of his gaze told a different story.
Tripp hunched forward in one of Kane’s leather captain’s chairs, his elbows braced on his knees, hands clasped tight enough to crush bones.
I could feel the waves of guilt and worry rolling off him, mingling with the distrust and anger that simmered in my gut.
However, for the first time since I’d met him, I understood him a little better.
Because I knew exactly what it felt like to have somebody you loved out there in the dark while you couldn’t do a damn thing except wait.
When Jax suddenly stopped typing and lifted his head, every eye in the room zeroed in on him. “I have something.”
I was moving before he finished speaking, crossing the room as he turned the laptop, allowing us all a view of the map glowing on the screen. Red markers dotted across the digital landscape, but Jax zoomed in quickly, narrowing it down with precise motions.
“Walk me through it,” Kane ordered.
Jax nodded. “Started with everything Tripp gave us on Ronnie. A lot of it was dead ends—people locked up, moved on, places burned out, sold off—but patterns don’t vanish completely. Bastards like him always revert to habit.”
My jaw tightened at the mention of Ronnie’s name, teeth grinding until pain shot through my temples.
Jax clicked something on the laptop, and an image appeared.
Grainy security footage from the convenience store parking lot, Aubrey’s car clearly visible under the washed-out glare of lights. My hands fisted helplessly at my sides.
“Sent a couple of prospects out to canvass, and a couple of people in that area reported seeing a white van near the convenience store.” Jax clicked again to show another shot—shadowy, with no plates visible.
“Cameras caught it leaving the parking lot about twenty minutes after she parked. Followed its route using traffic and business cameras, picking it back up every few miles. It headed out toward the outskirts of Parkland.”
That was two towns over from Crossbend, and it was rural and sparsely populated.
“No traffic, very few businesses, no real reason to go there unless you’re trying to disappear.” Jax tapped a spot on the map, an isolated property surrounded by miles of nothingness.” I’m pretty damn sure this is where he took her.”
It was perfect for a man like Ronnie Hanks. A secluded hole to crawl into, far from prying eyes or potential interference.
Kane rose from behind his desk. “Let’s ride.”
The brothers immediately shifted into motion, purpose driving each step.
Weapons and gear were checked swiftly and methodically, a sense of grim resolve settling like armor around each man’s shoulders.
I reached for my gun, feeling the cool metal beneath my fingertips like a lifeline.
Every muscle tightened with anticipation, adrenaline mixing dangerously with the dark, brutal thoughts already spinning inside my head.
As we moved toward the door, Tripp fell into step beside me, a silent presence charged with unresolved tension. I kept my gaze forward, not wanting to acknowledge the unspoken bond forming out of shared desperation. For the moment, we were allies again. It was time to bring Aubrey home.
The property sat at the end of a narrow dirt road surrounded by scrub brush and overgrown trees.
It was a shadowy maze of rusting buildings, reeking of decay.
As soon as we got eyes on it, every ugly piece of the puzzle slid into place.
Men patrolled the perimeter with rifles, vehicles were scattered around the buildings, and lookouts occupied elevated positions.
Ronnie Hanks hadn’t been hiding. He’d been fucking waiting.
My grip tightened around my weapon as we watched from cover. Aubrey was in there. I could feel it.
Call it instinct, desperation, or simply the certainty that a monster like Ronnie wouldn’t go through this much trouble just to leave her somewhere else. Either way, she was close. And probably scared out of her fucking mind.
Every muscle in my body burned with tension as I gave the signal. We moved in swiftly, guns drawn, our footsteps silent against the dirt, violence waiting to erupt from every angle.
A firefight erupted almost immediately after we breached the perimeter. Gunfire shattered the night, muzzle flashes ripping through the darkness as security scrambled to respond. Men shouted. Glass exploded. Somebody screamed.
The operation moved with ruthless speed because hesitation got people killed. My brothers flowed through the property like a tidal wave of violence, crushing resistance before it could organize.
Ronnie’s security was thick, likely remnants of his old crew desperate enough or stupid enough to align with him again.
They fought fiercely, but the Kings fought harder, our brutality tempered by the relentless need to reclaim one of our own.
Every second felt excruciating, a relentless reminder that Aubrey was somewhere in this hell.
Chaos surged around us—men shouting, bullets slicing the air, and debris showering down. A man stepped into my path near one of the side buildings. I shot him twice and kept moving. Another tried to swing a rifle toward me, and Edge had slit his throat before I could put him down.
We pushed toward the main structure when a burst of automatic fire tore through the hallway ahead of us.
Everybody dove for cover. Kane was closest to the opening, and a guard appeared in the hallway, leveling his weapon directly at him.
Before I could even react, Tripp lunged, taking the bullet high in his shoulder.
His body slammed into Kane and sent both of them crashing into the wall.
“Fuck!” Nitro roared.
The shooter didn’t get a second chance. Half the hallway opened fire, and the bastard was unrecognizable as a human when the air cleared.
I looked at Tripp as he staggered to the side, blood staining his shirt dark, and a furious curse spilling from his lips. I snorted, unable to suppress a barbed comment, “Least you fucking deserve for lying to us, asshole.”
Tripp scowled, pain tight around his mouth. “Good to see your bedside manner still sucks.”
Normally, I’d have enjoyed the argument, but right then, I didn’t give a shit.
Aubrey was all I could focus on because she was still somewhere inside this place.
I left the others behind and kept moving, every instinct driving me deeper into the building.
Tripp staggered behind me, stubbornly keeping pace as we tore through rooms, kicking open doors, searching each one frantically until I heard a muffled whimper through the final locked door at the end of the hallway.
My pulse exploded, and I kicked the door open. It flew inward, wood splintering and hinges groaning. And there she was.
Aubrey was lying on a dirty mattress, her wrists raw from ropes tying her hands behind her back. When her head turned toward the noise, tears streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were wide and glassy from whatever drugs Ronnie had forced into her system. Terror bled from her like an open wound.
But she was fucking alive. The relief hit so hard it nearly brought me to my knees.
“Aubrey,” I rasped.
Her eyes slowly drifted to my face, and there was confusion, then recognition, followed by tears. “Canyon.”
My entire world narrowed to that one broken whisper, but Ronnie Hanks was still breathing. And that was un-fucking-acceptable.
He stood near her, his twisted face frozen in shock for a heartbeat before his hand dropped toward the weapon tucked into his waistband.
A single gunshot cracked, echoing in the small room. Ronnie’s head snapped back, blood spraying the wall behind him, his lifeless body dropping heavily to the floor. Tripp lowered his weapon slowly, his jaw tight with grim satisfaction.
Rage exploded inside me. I spun around and drove my fist directly into Tripp’s jaw.
His head snapped sideways, and he stumbled. “What the fuck?”
“That was my fucking kill,” I snarled, my eyes blazing with barely controlled fury.
Tripp rubbed his jaw but didn’t retaliate, something like regret flickering briefly in his eyes before he masked it with stubborn defiance.
“She’s my sister,” he shot back through gritted teeth, as if that justified everything.
I moved toward Aubrey. “She’s my woman.”
“He’s the reason she’s here.”
“Exactly. Which means he belonged to me,” I growled.
“He was reaching for a gun,” Tripp explained.
“I don’t care.”
“You absolutely should care,” he shot back.
“I wanted him alive long enough to suffer.”
The argument kept going while I sliced through the restraints binding Aubrey. Her eyes met mine, filled with relief as I pulled her swiftly into my arms, her trembling body pressing into my chest as she clung to me.
“You’re safe now, sunshine.” I pressed my lips gently against her temple.
Her tears soaked into my shirt, her quiet sobs tearing into my chest. She was so exhausted and still fuzzy from the drugs that she passed out. Carefully, I lifted her into my arms, shielding her from any further harm.
Behind me, Tripp was still bitching. When I glanced back at him, it was clear from the look in his eyes that this was his way of keeping it together. “You punched me.”
“You’re lucky that’s all I did.”
“He was actively reaching for a weapon,” he repeated, clearly exasperated.
“You should’ve let him finish.”
“That’s not how law enforcement works.”
I glared at him as I stood, still holding Aubrey close. “You’re not law enforcement right now.”
That actually shut him up for about three seconds, then he pointed at me. “You’ve got issues.”
I rolled my eyes and moved toward the door. “You’re bleeding.”
“You’re deflecting.”
“I’m speaking the truth. You got fucking shot.”
He lifted a shoulder. “You punched a federal agent.”
“And you lied to a fucking motorcycle club. She’s the only reason you’re still breathing. ”
The glare he sent me could’ve melted steel, but I carried Aubrey out without another word.
By the time we reached the yard, the operation was winding down. Bodies were being collected. Weapons secured. Evidence that needed disappearing was already gone.
Tripp grumbled as he dragged Ronnie’s corpse by the ankles across the dirt toward one of the vans where several brothers were already loading bodies.
Blood darkened his shirt, but the stubborn bastard wouldn’t shut his mouth, muttering complaints about me being a violent asshole as he wrestled the corpse into place.
I ignored him, carrying Aubrey toward the waiting SUVs, her weight precious in my arms.
Tripp eventually climbed painfully into the passenger seat, holding a towel pressed tightly against his bleeding shoulder.
In the back seat, I whispered apologies and promises into Aubrey’s hair. “I should’ve told you sooner. I love you, Aubrey. So damn much.”
My voice cracked on the confession, free at least. Her trembling eased slightly, and she sank deeper into my embrace, making me wonder if she heard my words, but she didn’t stir again.
Her brother twisted awkwardly, checking on Aubrey over the seat back, his eyes alert despite the pain.
For a charged moment, our gazes locked, a silent understanding passing between us.
It wasn’t friendship or forgiveness for the betrayals that still stung beneath the surface.
Not yet. But a recognition born of sacrifice and shared love for the woman curled safely against my chest.
He gave me a brief, grim nod, and I returned it, acknowledging the tenuous bond forged in blood and desperation. I had a feeling that someday we’d find trust again, maybe even something like brotherhood. But for now, Aubrey was safe, alive, warm, and real in my arms, and that was enough.