Chapter 17
CAGE
The heavy rumble of my Harley echoed off the cracked asphalt as the brothers rolled in formation behind me, our headlights slicing through the pitch-black night.
I parked at the edge of the industrial district, feeling the familiar, adrenaline-spiked tension in my gut.
We’d tracked the bastard here—the hired gun who thought he could put Hadley in his crosshairs and still breathe another day. Big fucking mistake.
The boys dismounted around me, their heavy boots hitting the ground in quiet thuds, lethal determination radiating off each man.
Nitro was at my side instantly, his eyes narrowed.
Edge moved silently into position beside Kane, his face set in a lethal mask, but a smirk twitched on his lips, betraying the slightly psychotic part of his personality.
“You sure this asshole’s here?” Edge drawled, a knife flipping easily through his fingers. “I hate leaving my woman’s bed in the middle of the night if we’re not about to spill some blood.”
Kane shot him a flat look. “Good to know you’d drag yourself away from Callie if I was dying.”
Edge shrugged. “Long as I’ve finished and she’s satisfied.”
Nitro let out an amused grunt. “Glad you got your priorities straight.”
Before another word was said, Jax stepped out of the shadows, his eyes cold with purpose. “Bastard’s here. Tracked his comms to this location ten minutes ago. He’s meeting someone for the money handoff.”
“Then we’re taking them both,” Kane decreed. “No loose ends.”
We moved forward in silence, spreading out as we approached the warehouse. I mentally replayed every threat they’d made against Hadley, and rage surged like molten steel through my veins. But I channeled it into calculated movement, every muscle ready.
The side door gave way beneath my boot with a satisfying crash, and we poured inside, guns drawn, eyes sharp and alert.
Surprise flashed in the hit man’s face, an expression that quickly twisted into terror as he scrambled for the weapon on the desk.
But he didn’t make it far. Nitro slammed him onto the concrete floor, driving a heavy knee between his shoulder blades, his gun pressed hard against his skull.
“Going somewhere?” Nitro taunted softly.
The hit man wheezed, frozen beneath the icy promise of violence radiating off Nitro.
Edge grabbed the other man, pinning him against the wall, his knife pressed casually to the bastard’s throat. “Nice to finally meet you in person. Too bad it’s about to get messy.”
“You don’t know who you’re fucking with,” the man spat, his eyes wide with fear he was unable to mask with false bravado.
Edge smiled coldly, pressing the blade a little harder, a thin line of blood trickling down the fucker’s neck. “Funny, I was about to tell you the same damn thing.”
I crouched beside the hit man, gripping his chin roughly to force his eyes up to mine. “You put Hadley in your sights. Thought you could threaten someone who belongs to the Redline Kings and keep breathing. Let me clear that up for you.”
In the next second, Nitro dropped the asshole’s limp body to the floor as I released my finger from the trigger of my gun.
Then I shifted my attention to the man in Edge’s hold. His eyes widened, realization dawning too late as I nodded sharply. The crunch of bone beneath Edge’s fist echoed through the warehouse, followed by the man’s groan of pain.
“Get him up,” I commanded coldly. “He’s coming with us.”
“Guess the fun will start later,” Edge snickered, wiping his blade on his thigh to clean off the smear of blood from the shallow slice he’d left on the man’s throat.
My brothers and I moved swiftly, hauling the sniveling weasel out to the waiting van. He’d talk, no question about that. I’d drain him of every shred of intel before he’d feel the consequences of threatening what was ours.
Less than two hours later, the man had spilled everything before his dead body was hauled off to be disposed of. With his intel and everything from Hadley’s parents, we were ready to hit the headquarters of the organization that had sold Hadley as an infant.
We moved like ghosts, methodical and ruthless, collecting evidence with surgical precision. Names, files, and transaction logs—every twisted secret was documented and preserved, ready to deliver justice that would reverberate through every corner of their corrupt network.
But as we gathered file after file, each one revealing another layer of depravity, we made certain Hadley’s name wasn’t among them.
Any record connected directly to her went quietly missing, kept safely hidden.
I wasn’t protecting her parents from exposure.
They could burn for all I fucking cared.
But Hadley would not be dragged through the mud.
She’d already endured enough betrayal. I’d never let their filth touch her again.
Once we had everything, we dismantled their operation, piece by meticulous piece. Documents, servers, and anyone standing in our way.
When we walked back out into the night, Edge grinned, cracking his knuckles as he looked at me. “You feeling better now, Doc? Got all that tension out?”
I snorted, wiping blood from my knuckles on a cloth. “Not quite yet. Still got some unfinished business at home.”
Rev, our club’s captain chuckled, clapping me on the back. “That’s Cage speak for he’s pussy-whipped and wants to hurry home to his woman.”
“Damn right,” I confirmed without hesitation. “Jealous?”
Kane shook his head with a rare smile. “Get out of here, brother. They’ve got this covered.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
By the time I got back to the clubhouse, adrenaline was still pumping hot through my veins, mixed now with raw, possessive need. Hadley was waiting just inside the lounge, her eyes bright with anticipation, and her face softening the moment she saw me.
The world fully righted itself in that moment.
I doubted there would ever be a time when I stopped trying to control everything around me.
But for the first time, I didn’t feel utter rage at the thought of things spiraling beyond my reach.
Because even if chaos reigned around me, I’d always find peace in Hadley.