Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
DAMON
I step over bodies and around pools of blood, away from the violent frenzy near the entrance. Jasper and Leon’s lives are on the line, yet the relief I feel to have Blake in my arms is unmeasurable. She’s sobbing and trembling, begging me to go back and it kills me to disregard her wishes in favor of her safety. I’d give her the world— but not if it means risking her life.
I’m so close to the exit I can almost feel the crisp dawn air caressing my skin. “Almost there,” I tell her. “I’ve got you.”
Pounding footsteps at my back pull my attention and I duck into a crouch as gunfire hits the wall above us. Setting Blake down, I pull out my gun and fire back, staying as low as I can.
Where are you, motherfucker?
If Leon calculated correctly, there should only be a few guys left. I’d love to find the one who grabbed Blake in front of the house and personally drive a blade through his heart, but that would require leaving some of them alive to find out his identity.
More shots come at me from around the corner, pelting the wall inches from my head. I pick up my pace and round the bend, finding the culprit, and fire three rounds into his torso. I want him to feel pain as he bleeds out.
“Damon!” Jasper shouts. “Cops!”
Shit.
I run back to Blake and scoop her into my arms, ignoring the man’s gurgled cries filling the air. Once I’m outside, I hear the wail of sirens getting closer.
Blake has gone limp and quiet, with blank eyes and trembling parted lips. I run around my car and gingerly sit her in the passenger seat, buckling her belt before hurrying to my side.
Kicking the car into drive, I peel around the corner, searching for Leon’s bike. When I see it missing, I sigh in relief. They must have made it out right before us.
As I turn onto the main road, I spot a black sedan without plates speeding away in the opposite direction. It takes one look at Blake to stop myself from going after them. Those scumbags don’t deserve to go free. Fuck, it kills me. But she’s more important.
I head in the direction of the prearranged site, a cheap motel near the highway. The apartment is no longer safe, and knowing that some of them left the warehouse alive, I’m even more affirmed in our choice to abandon the place.
It takes about thirty minutes to get to the rundown motel, but the stunned silence in the car makes it feel longer. I know Blake needs to process what’s happened, so I don’t push her to talk. I just keep a hand on her thigh like an anchor, letting her know I’ve got her. I won’t let her float out to sea.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Leon’s bike parked near the office entrance. This place should allow us to fade into the background, plus they don’t ask for ID and they take cash. Checking my phone, I notice a text from Falin. She checked us into room numbers ten and eleven. Smart of Leon to park away from our doors. I follow his lead and do the same.
With Blake in my arms, I take stock of the surroundings. The cracked concrete walkway is teeming with weeds that have pushed their way to the surface. Crushed broken glass is scattered around like fairy dust, while empty beer bottles lean against the rust-covered siding. There are only two other cars in the lot, an old pickup and a white minivan. Both look like they’ve been here a while from the layer of dirt on their windows.
I knock twice and Falin swings the door wide, a panicked expression on her face. “Oh shit, is she okay?”
“I think so, but she’s in shock.”
Leon’s sitting at a dilapidated desk in the back of the room, clicking furiously on his laptop while simultaneously checking his phone screen. He turns at our arrival and jumps up. “Fuck, is she alright? Bring her here.” He yells toward the bathroom. “Jas, start the hot water.”
Blake stares ahead, not meeting their eyes. I continue rubbing calming circles on her back. Leon comes up behind me and runs his palm over her blood-stained cheek. I breathe out. “Thank fuck you guys got out okay.”
“It was close, but we took a bunch of them out. They clearly knew we were coming. No idea how.” Leon kisses Blake’s forehead and backs away. “No idea who called the cops either.”
Jasper comes out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel over his damp face. His clothes are covered in brown dried blood. When he spots Blake in my arms, his shoulders slump and his nostrils flare. “Is she?—”
“She’s alright,” I tell him before he has the chance to ask. “Just shocked and exhausted. Let’s get her cleaned up and we can catch each other up. Falin, you grabbed the stuff from the apartment, right?”
“Yeah, whatever I could fit in Mrs. Langston’s car.” She pulls the drape over an inch to peer out the window. “You’re sure you weren’t followed?”
“As sure as I can be,” I say.
“Falin?” Blake says in a hushed tone. Falin’s at our side in a second, speaking low to her best friend.
“Why don’t you let me take care of Blake while you guys catch up?” My arms tighten around her, but Falin’s right. She’s better for this and clearly Blake needs her. I nod, and bring Blake into the bathroom, placing her down on the closed toilet lid.
I bend so I’m eye level with Blake but my gaze volleys between the two of them. “If you need anything, I’ll be right out there.” With a soft kiss on Blake’s forehead, I step out, closing the door behind me.
Jasper’s pacing the room, clenching his fists, while Leon is back to his screens. I slump down onto the edge of the bed and release a long winded, “Fuck.”
“What room did you find her in?” Jasper asks. “Tell us everything that happened once we separated.”
I spend the next few minutes recounting how I kept to the edges, searching offices and closets, until I finally found her in a large warehouse storeroom. I filled them in on what I heard in the moments before I found Blake covered in her brother’s blood. What that guy said.
“What do you think you’re doing? You think because you’re Sweeper, you’re above me? Above my uncle’s own flesh and blood? You’re wrong.”
Sweeper—the guy we have been looking for this entire time has been right where we thought. The address was correct. He was just better than most at hiding his true nature.
Jasper and Leon are stunned still, taking in this new development.
“So the guy who shot him? Was it the same guy from the club? King?” Leon asks.
I nod. “The same piece of shit. From what he said, his uncle is involved. Seems like that’s who we really want.”
Jasper goes back to pacing. “What the hell are we going to do?”
I rest my head in my hands and stare down at the threadbare carpet. “Fuck if I know, but we can’t stay here.”
“We don’t have to make any decisions right now. I’m going to call Ray with an update. Tell him to watch his back. Jas, why don’t you go next door and shower?” Leon says.
“Yeah, alright. I’ll be back in a few to check on Blake.” He grabs the other keycard from the desk and heads out the door.
“I’ll go in the other room too, give you all some privacy,” Leon adds. I meet his sympathetic gaze and nod. “Call if you need anything.”
Before he leaves, I say, “Thanks again. If it weren’t for you and Falin tracking that car, we could have been too late.”
His lips pull upward but there’s no joy in the expression. We’re lucky to have gotten out of there intact, yet there’s no reason to celebrate. Not with blood still staining our hands.
Falin and I tuck Blake into one of the full-sized beds, pulling the faded floral comforter up to her chin. By the time I click the bedside lamp off, plunging the room into shadows, her eyelids are already drooping.
Falin brushes a strand of damp hair out of her face before coming around the other side of the bed. “You should go in the other room. I’ll stay with her.” Her tone is laced with resentment and heartache.
“I’m not leaving her,” I say, matter-of-factly. “She needs me right now.”
She sighs and rubs her temples. “Look, you’re not going to want to hear this, but I don’t have it in me to give a shit right now. It’s over between you two. We were leaving. As in, getting the fuck away from you and all of this.”
The ropes of muscle in my chest pull taut as my eyes dart between Blake’s sleeping form and Falin’s unforgiving gaze. “No. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m sorry. I can tell you care for her, but she needs better than this. You have to let her go.” She reaches out to place a hand on my shoulder but I shrug her off.
“Where is this coming from?” Everything was fine before she was taken—as fine as could be expected with Mrs. Langston getting murdered under our noses.
Falin averts her gaze to Blake and we watch slow steady breaths leave her lips. “We found your creepy little box under the bed. Her brother’s necklace, Damon? Really? I’m no expert but you need some serious help.”
My heart hammers like it’s trying to break free from the confines of my chest. “It was from before… I was going to give it all back.”
“I don’t think that matters. You need help, Damon, and Blake… She needs support. I was there after Bryan died and then again only weeks later when she lost her mom. I made sure she ate, showered, and slept. I held her when she sobbed, listened to her when she was ready to talk. Are you even capable of being there for her like that?”
Shame and disgust collide in the pit of my stomach. Both emotions take up a permanent residence in my body, but I’ve never felt them more than I do right now. “I don’t know.”
I’m shocked by my own admission. But I’ve always strived to speak truthfully, sometimes brutally so. I’ve been working toward telling Blake everything, opening up to what Jasper so lovingly calls “my bullshit.”
If I could reach into my skull and remove the fucked up pieces, I’d do it in a heartbeat. My relentless drive, my obsessive nature—it’s as much a part of me as my own DNA. Unchangeable and intrinsic to who I am deep down. I truly believe Blake loves that part of me, she’s just afraid. Who could blame her? I’ve told her time and again that I’d never hurt her, but I lied. I only hope this isn’t the end.
“I’m not leaving unless she asks me to,” I finally say. “Please.”
She gives me a look full of pity, but nods. I’ll take it. Asking for permission like this is different, but it feels right, like trying on a new shirt that’s made for my body. I want to show Falin, as much as Blake, that I’m right for her. That I’m here to stay.
The blood crusted under my fingernails catches my eye. “I’m going to get cleaned up. Yell if you need me.”
As the water washes away the violent acts of the night, I tell myself, whatever it takes . I won’t live without Blake. It’s me and her to the end, no matter what.