Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
S ev’s men met them at Cabin 37. Once they explained the plan, they made their way to Cabin 44 without speaking. The time for words was over. Boone was never one for talking, anyway. He was a man of action and now was the time to act.
He kept his body low to the ground as he and the others approached the dilapidated cabin. He looked at Sev one more time, just to confirm they had the right one. Sev gave him a chin lift and kept heading toward the ramshackled structure, so Boone did, too.
Judson had cabins in much better shape. This one still had a roof, which must be the only reason they had for choosing one this far into the woods surrounding the quarry. It was in such bad shape it was a miracle Judson had realized someone was there at all.
They’d strategized different plans on the way there. Sev suggested half of them go in the front and the rest come in the back. Boone wasn’t interested in setting up another situation where Tildi could get caught in the crossfire, so they were all going in the front.
As soon as he heard the shouting from inside, he knew they had the right place. His plan had been to go in as a wall of invaders to overwhelm the men before they had a chance to do anything to Tildi.
Then he heard her scream. Thoughts of anything but getting to his Little girl flew out the window. He lowered his shoulder and tackled the door like a high school linebacker.
The door flew off one of its hinges and Boone shoved it aside as he entered, gun drawn, ready to shoot whoever had made his babygirl scream.
Tildi sat tied to a chair directly in front of him. She glanced to his left and her eyes grew even wider. She screamed again, so he followed her gaze.
Their entrance had broken up a fight between Vinnie the man who’d put his hands on Tildi. The timing sucked for Vinnie since he had a gun, and the other guy only had a knife.
As the common threat, both men turned on Boone, but the Wild Men were there to even the odds. Dutch grabbed the guy with the knife and slung him across the room. Vinnie came at Boone, gun leveled at Boone’s chest.
Boone didn’t hesitate. He fired, catching Vinnie’s right shoulder. Vinnie jerked backward, but all Boone cared about was that he’d dropped his weapon. Grif and Kai jumped Vinnie.
They could have him. Boone needed to get to Tildi. He turned to get her out of that damn chair and his heart froze.
The man with the knife stood behind Tildi, his weapon pressed to her throat. The blade indented her skin, but he hadn’t cut her. Yet.
From the unhinged look in his eyes, Boone knew he had to act fast. The man had snapped. Boone had seconds to decide how to save her.
She stared at him, eyes the size of saucers. Yet mingled with her fear, her eyes held trust and love.
His girl.
He’d lost someone he cared about three years before because he hadn’t listened to that sixth sense. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Boone fired. The man’s head snapped back, a tiny hole in the middle of his forehead. The man’s eyes registered shock for a millisecond before they went blank, and he crumpled to the floor.
Boone paid no attention to the man. His attention was riveted to the thin strip of red across Tildi’s throat. He ran to her, terrified he’d killed her as well.
It took a second to realize there was no blood and the line was no more than an indication of how firmly the blade had been pressed against his Little girl’s throat.
His legs turned to jelly, and he dropped to his knees before her. Her lips were moving, but he couldn’t hear what she said over the roaring in his ears. He’d come so close to losing her.
When he got her home, he was locking her in their room forever. She’d told him once on the yacht that Tangled was one of her favorite movies. Well, she was going to be his Rapunzel, locked away so he knew she was safe.
When the roar receded, her words penetrated. “Daddy? Daddy? Can you get these things off me? They’re hurting me.”
Why was he sitting there like a knot on a log? His girl still needed him. His men needed him. He needed to get his girl home.
“Hold on, babygirl. Daddy’s got you. I’ll fix it.” Grabbing one of the knives strapped to his belt, he sliced the zip ties. They dropped to the floor.
His muscles went rigid as he ran his thumbs over the red markings on her wrists and ankles, and he tried to control his rage. How dare that son of a bitch mark his woman?
“Did they hurt you?”
She shook her head, but he needed to hear her say it. “Use your words, babygirl. Did they hurt you?”
“N-no, Daddy. I’m okay now that you’re here. I’m sorry I got out of the?—”
“We’ll talk about that later, bluebell. Right now, I want to get you out of here.”
Kai walked up to Boone as he helped Tildi stand. “She okay?”
Not trusting himself to speak, Boone settled for a nod.
“That’s good. Um, we’ve got the rest of them contained. What do you want us to do with them?”
As hard as it was for him to say, he forced out the words he’d agreed to say. “Turn them over to Sev. They’re Cosa Nostra. That puts them under his authority, or it will be once Nico gets here, and we put that sick fuck down once and for all.”
“Roger that.”
Kai moved to carry out Boone’s orders, but Boone called him back. “Bind them with zip ties. Make sure they’re good and tight.”
Kai gave a grin that had no humor. “You got it, Chief.”
Boone gave his attention back to his babygirl. “Ready to go home?”
He couldn’t hear her reply over the sound of helicopter rotors that suddenly filled the cabin. Nico Midnight had arrived.
The hardest thing Boone had ever done was turn his babygirl over to Grif while he finished dealing with Midnight. There was no way in hell she was going outside with him where he had no control over her safety.
He couldn’t believe he’d be struggling to hold back a smile right now, but he could hear her shouts and threats from inside the cabin. If she could carry out half of them, they were all in trouble. He was going to owe Grif a bottle of Wyoming’s best whiskey when this was all done.
He stalked to Sev’s side. On his knee with his hands tied behind him, Vinnie glared at Boone. The man was supposed to be something to lure Nico off his chopper, but Boone might shoot him right through those hate-filled eyes if he didn’t point them somewhere else.
The helicopter blew snow everywhere, making it hard to see. He tried to keep his anger shut down, but his control was at its snapping point.
The door of the chopper slid open. Nico didn’t appear. Instead, Nico’s voice boomed out over the helicopter’s speaker.
“This isn’t quite the greeting I expected,” Nico said. “You didn’t have to come all this way to make an appearance, Sevin. I’ll be coming to visit you soon enough. I wouldn’t be so eager for that day if I were you.”
Sev ignored his father. He stared at the doorway to the helicopter, face blank and eyes cold.
Nico wasn’t done. “Vinnie, I thought I could count on you to carry out my plans. I’m disappointed, and I’m never one to handle disappointment well. You, of all people, should know that.”
Boone had had it with all Nico’s posturing and stalling. Enough was enough. He might not have a megaphone, but his rage would work just as well. “You wanna talk? It looks to me like you want to hide like a coward.”
Nico laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think talking is what you and my son have in mind. I’ll be going, but first, a warning. I’d like to say this final act of betrayal surprises me, Sevin. But as always, your plans show inadequate planning and poor execution. Know that you are now my top priority. Not to deal with such blatant disrespect would invite trouble with the other families. Here’s a preview of what is in your near future.”
A shot rang out from inside the helicopter. Vinnie jerked and fell to his side. A bright red stain spread over his chest, spilling onto the snow.
The helicopter door closed, and the blades began to spin. Boone, Dutch, and Kai, along with all Sev’s men opened fire, but it bounced off the skin of the chopper.
Seven moved toward the chopper, firing as he went. But it was no use. The armor plating was too strong. Boone watched in helpless fury as, once again, Nico Midnight got away.