Chapter 7 Creed #2
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little uneasy about taking another man’s life, but the fact that said men are working for the piece of shit who took what’s mine?
That guilt has faded, quickly morphing into determination to bring them to their fucking end.
I won’t allow their deaths to weigh heavy on my conscience, and I will not regret making the decision to raise a gun against any man who stands between me and what’s mine.
Lachlan went over some basic hand signals that Camdan will be giving once we infiltrate the warehouse so that we know his commands and how to communicate without words once ordered into radio silence.
Jett sits so still beside me as he listens to our instructions that I start to question whether he’s actually breathing or not.
I thought I’d be squirming in my seat more, but a lethal calm washes over me just before Camdan and Asher appear in front of the vehicle, signaling for us to file out.
Approaching them, Jett and I check our weapons one last time, rounding the vehicles before we start to make our way through the woods.
The silence that surrounds us as we make our way closer to the clearing that reveals a relatively new-looking warehouse is fucking eerie.
Camdan holds up a fist just ahead of us, signaling for us to stop.
I lift the gun higher, scanning my surroundings but find nothing.
The distant gunfire can be heard coming from around the back of the building has every muscle in my body feeling awfully rigid right now.
It’s one thing to talk plans and make threats, but it’s something else entirely to hear it in action.
I keep my eyes focused on the building in front of me, ignoring the bodies scattered along the ground.
I’m a fucking musician, not a gangster. But I can’t even think about that part of my life until Collins and Riley are back in my arms, and Guy has been wiped off the face of the earth.
My earpiece crackles briefly before a curt announcement comes through. “Perimeter all clear.”
Camdan signals again and his men flank him.
Asher pulls up with the remaining crew, covering me as we all move from the woods into the clearing.
My heart is pounding out an erratic beat with every step that brings me closer to them, the force of each thump threatening to drown out all other sounds.
I take a slow, deep breath and release it just as Camdan’s hand flies up, giving us several commands to follow once the door is open.
I nod in understanding even though he can’t see me.
A split second later, he takes aim and blows the handle from the door.
The sound of the bullet exploding against the metal is muted, but the pang off of the metal handle is startling.
He lifts a massive boot and slams it into the door, the blunt force entry cracking the frame and causing the heavy metal wobble on its hinges.
Camdan’s gun goes off before he’s even lowered his foot, then Asher follows behind, his firearm popping off, bullets hitting their targets in rapid succession.
The rest of us file inside swiftly and silently, the loudest sounds come from the grunts of pain and the bodies hitting the floor one by one.
It’s fucking with my head with just how quiet these firearms are with the suppressors attached to the barrels.
No sooner does my foot cross the threshold does all hell seem to crash down around me. The men Guy had hired to guard the inside of the warehouse are ready to fight back and bullets start to fly all around me.
Camdan’s team fans out as they quickly eliminate Guy’s men.
I turn to check on Asher just in time to witness him sink a bullet right between the eyes of his intended target.
He turns to me and nods, but my eyes are pulled away when movement behind him steals my attention.
A man with a bandana covering his mouth steps out from around an upturned circular table, his gun trained on my best friend.
I don’t think. Gripping my gun tightly, I aim, and I shoot.
The bullet explodes through the side of his neck as blood sprays and his body slumps to the ground.
I’m no stranger to seeing blood, especially after beating the shit out of Tony, but watching a man bleed out with undiluted fear in his eyes is a whole new level of fucked up to witness.
My empty stomach churns, threatening to expel its contents from my body, but another crackling sound comes through my earpiece, followed up with another, “All clear,” that has Asher spinning me on my heel to face him.
His eyes are the only thing exposed through his balaclava, and they bore into me as he grips my face and butts his forehead against mine. “Keep your shit together. We’re so fucking close, brother.”
I nod, breathing heavily through my nose and keeping my pistol raised. I watch as the team splits off into smaller groups to begin sweeping the separate halls and rooms for the possibility of any more of Guy’s hired men hiding out.
As more rooms are cleared, my body starts to vibrate with a new rush of adrenaline.
My blood is fucking thrumming, pounding through my veins in a violent cocktail of venomous rage and anticipation as I look between the two vacant hallways and choose the one that Lachlan had pointed out when going over the plan.
Asher follows close behind, but we both freeze in our tracks when several sounds filter through the hallway.
The most haunting sound comes from the end of the hall. The hair on the back of my neck rises because it’s the most macabre, blood-curdling broken scream I’ve ever heard in my entire existence.
Asher’s wide, panicked eyes meet mine, and I just fucking know we have the same thought. My heart cracks; a deep, cavernous rift tears the muscle apart within my chest because I know. I fucking know that it belongs to Collins.
All thought, all planning, all reason and rationality flees from my mind, replaced by the primal instinct to save her.
To save them. I take off in a sprint toward the end of the hall, ignoring Asher as he shouts after me, his heavy boots booming down the hall as he trails behind me.
There’s a second gut-wrenching scream from Collins, mixed with the cold words from Guy that have ice spreading through my veins.
“Collins, say goodbye.”
No.
No, no, no.
FUCK.
Hesitation doesn’t have a chance to settle anywhere within my body, and Asher is right there with me when we each raise a boot and kick this fucking door in on the first try.
BANG!
Blood whooshing and ears ringing, I storm in first as Asher starts to yell a command, but I’m not listening. I can’t hear him. Red swallows my vision and everything happens all at once.
Guy with a raised, smoking gun.
Riley slumped at an unnatural angle.
Blood splattered all over the wall behind his head.
Collins’ small, bound ankles in view.
A bullet fired from my gun.
Guy is on the ground with a rapidly growing red puddle beneath a hole that now decorates the center of his forehead.
There’s a beat of silence, my body momentarily paralyzed in the alcove just shy of the room opening, before my feet move of their own accord and sprint forward. I don’t feel the sting in my knees when my body drops down, and I find myself staring at Riley’s unmoving form.
His skin is ashen, and he’s covered in blood, cuts, and bruises. He’s still wearing the same clothes from the last time I saw him two weeks ago. Even through the dark fabric, I can tell it’s stained with blood, both old and new.
What has my heart pounding with undiluted fear, is the fact that he’s not breathing. I drop my gun and rip off my balaclava, followed by my gloves so I can touch his face. His skin is cold to the touch, and he doesn’t react at the contact.
“Riley, baby look at me,” I beg, squeezing him a little tighter. My voice doesn’t sound like my own as it cracks and breaks while I beg, “Open your eyes, can you hear me, Sweet Boy?”
Riley’s hair is still wet from sweat, and I close my eyes tightly when I lift his face, fucking terrified of what I’ll find. I can feel the slick of blood as I grip his cheeks.
Noises and voices ring out around me. I hardly register that Camdan and his medical team have entered the room. Asher is barking panicked orders, but his words don’t register over the sound of the blood whooshing in my ears.
Breaths seize in my lungs when I open my eyes to look at Riley.
A suppressed wail rips from my throat at what I see.
He’s covered in blood, his left eye purple and swollen, but the bullet…
missed its intended target. He has burns and gashes on his cheek and he’s missing the entire top part of his right ear, but the bullet.
Fucking. Missed. My hands slip to his neck, and I press at his pulsepoint, trying to rein in my frantic emotions so that I don’t jostle him.
I wait. And wait. And wait. Panic starts to claw its way up when…
Thump…
My eyes widen.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
It’s there.
He’s here.
He’s here. He’s here. He’s here.
Despite the situation, I smile, even just for a second because my sweet boy, my Riley is still here. Alive. The chaos around me starts to come into clarity as two gloved hands take over mine, poking and prodding at Riley.
“Don’t fucking touch him!” I spit as a fiery flash of rage takes over my body.
My eyes snap to the man trying to take him from me, but his face never wavers from checking on Riley.
Fists clenched, I shoot to my feet, ready to fucking tear this asshole’s face off when a large hand grips the back of my neck and whips me around to face him. It’s Jett.
“He’s going to get him out of here, look him over, and start on his care once he gets to the SUV.
Let him work.” His words are entirely too fucking calm for the situation we’re in.
But then, he looks over his shoulder before looking back at me as I fight against his hold.
Pain radiates through his irises and my mind clears, understanding his next words.
“I’ll make sure he’s taken care of. I swear it. But she needs you now.”
My body goes rigid as I register his words.
Collins.