Chapter 41
Maddox
King is with me, and we’re running through the docks, winding our way between stacks of containers. He stops, looks at his phone, then points west. “That way,” he says.
I race past him, too fast for him to keep up.
We figured out not long ago that there was another phone in play.
The tracking system showed Fallon heading through the Holland Tunnel, from Jersey to the city.
To Red Hook, which was confirmed by the photo guy.
He found a minuscule scrap of a serial number in a magnified corner of the picture, giving us the proof we needed.
While he was on the move, though, Fallon used his new burner—the one he didn’t think we had access to—to call one more number.
That one was situated at the park where the drop-off was scheduled to take place.
The main priority is to get Ellie back, but if we can catch Fallon and anybody else involved in this fucked up plan as well, so much the better.
Nathan is handling the Jersey end of it.
He looks enough like me to make it work.
He’s heading there with a bag full of cash and enough rage on my behalf to take down an army.
But just in case, he also has back-up from the Ryans.
Now, King and I are here, just the two of us because we didn’t want to risk alerting Fallon to our presence.
If he realizes he’s been rumbled, who knows what he’ll do?
He could run. He could hurt her. He could kill her.
No, I tell myself, that will not happen. King is way behind me now. The man is fit as fuck, but he doesn’t have my motivation. I will do anything to get to Ellie. He waves me forward and gestures to the right.
We know from some toll booth camera footage that Fallon is driving a piece-of-shit Honda, and as I round the corner, I see it.
A total rustbucket, parked in an open space at the end of a row of containers.
I make myself stop and breathe. I won’t do Ellie any favors if I fuck this up now.
I pause and look around. Lots of space. Lots more containers. No people. No cameras. No witnesses.
King will catch me up any second, but he doesn’t count. He won’t be sharing this story with anybody outside the family, no matter what he sees.
Satisfied, I stalk towards the container. The door is open a crack, and I freeze as I hear noise coming from inside.
“You little bitch,” he snarls. “I’ll show you who’s in charge here.”
I eat up the last two hundred meters faster than an Olympic sprinter and crash land right through that fucking door. It opens, slamming backwards with a shrieking bang. Even if it was locked, I swear I’d have gone right through it.
Fallon is on the ground, straddling my sweet Ellie. Her sweats are tugged down and her T-shirt is ripped. His filthy hands are around her precious neck, and he’s squeezing the life out of her.
I let out a roar that comes from the monster deep inside me, and he freezes, looking up in terror as I barrel towards him.
I hit him full force. We roll together over and over.
He’s not a small man, and he’s jail hard, but that means fuck-all to me.
I ignore his kicks and punches and slam my fist into his face.
My knuckles impact hard, and his teeth scatter.
I’m bleeding too, but that doesn’t slow me down.
I pin him to the floor and rain down blows with all my strength.
With every fiber of my being, I want to kill this fucker.
But as soon as he’s unconscious, I sling him off to one side like the piece of trash he is.
I’ll deal with him later. Right now, there is only one person who matters.
Her. She’s lying still and silent on the floor of the container.
Too still, too silent. I scoot over to her side, gently cradling her face in my hands.
“Ellie? Baby, I’m here. Come back to me”
King skids into the place and crouches down next to me. He gets out his phone, makes a call, then starts to check her over.
He’s a lot calmer than me, and he does all the stuff you’re supposed to do—checks her pulse, lifts her eyelids, makes sure she’s breathing. “I think she’s just unconscious, Mad. Give her a moment. Fuck, it’s boiling in here.”
I hadn’t even noticed, but now that he says it, I realize he’s right. The temperature is insane, and the place reeks like a zoo. My girl has been locked in here. That evil fuck didn’t even leave her anything to eat or drink.
I slide her head onto my lap and gently kiss her eyelids, her forehead, her poor scabbed lips. “Come back to us, El. You’re safe. I’m here, and it’s all going to be okay. Come on, baby. You know I can’t do life without you.”
She murmurs, the quietest and sweetest sounds I’ve ever heard. Her eyes flutter open, but it takes her a while to focus. “Maddox?” she mumbles. “Is it really you?”
“It’s me, baby. It’s really me.” Her fingers are weak in mine, but she manages a slight squeeze.
King looks relieved and gets to his feet. “I’ve called a nurse I know and trust. She needs fluids, urgently, and we should get her to hospital for a scan. But for now, I’ll give you guys a moment.”
Ellie gazes up at me with those amazing blue eyes, and manages a small, fragile smile. “You’re crying,” she whispers, her voice a hoarse rasp.
“Yeah? I don’t care. I’m just so happy to have you back baby. I thought I’d lost you.”
She manages to shuffle upright, leaning back into my arms. She wrinkles her nose. “I stink,” she mutters. “No hospital. Home. Shower. With you.”
I laugh. “Anything you want, El. Anything you want. You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna be okay.”
She nods, and I know it’s true now. She’s in rough shape, but she’ll recover. Physically, she’ll get better quickly. Emotionally and mentally? That might be a longer road, but I’ll be there with her, every step of the way.
I’m so busy tending to my girl, lost in the relief of having her in my arms, that at first I don’t notice the movement from the other side of this foul container.
I glance over, see that Fallon is up. Staggering, bloodied, and missing his front teeth—but moving.
He’s a resilient fucker, I’ll give him that.
It’s possibly the only quality Ellie inherited from this freak of nature.
I know King is outside, but I want to be sure nothing goes wrong. “Give me a second, baby. I just need to take out the trash.” She sees him, and even though I feel her tense, she keeps her eyes on him and does not shy away.
Fuck, I’m so proud of her. I drop one more kiss on her head and follow Frank outside.
He keeps going, dragging himself along, limping and dripping blood.
He emerges out into the sunlight as I follow.
Part of me wants him to run. Wants him to try and escape so I can stop him.
Permanently. He makes it maybe three steps towards freedom before I grab him by the scruff of the neck.
I hold him there, dangling, enjoying the sight of his feet scrabbling for purchase.
I shake him and another tooth comes loose.
I have never wanted to end a life more than I do right now.
Just then, a huge white truck pulls up a little way off.
We both look up as the back panel doors open, and the first thing out of it is a fast-as-lightning streak of fur and fury.
Zeus. The Malinois flies towards us, eating up the ground.
I drop Fallon, and as he hits the deck, the dog buries his teeth in his crotch.
Zeus doesn’t clamp down. If he did, Fallon would be dickless.
Instead he just keeps Frank there, growling and snarling and salivating all over him, like he’s starving and his favorite food is cock and balls.
Fallon responds as most men would—with absolute terror.
Next, three fuck-ass motorcycles come zooming along.
They bump out of the truck and onto the ground, engines revving, tires screeching in the hard-packed dirt and sending up flurries of dust. All three bikes settle, pointing in our direction.
Astride them, three figures, all in leathers, like the fucking horsemen of the apocalypse.
As entrances go, it’s fucking spectacular, and Fallon blubbers even more. The dog has him pinned, but his weaselly eyes dart around looking for an escape route. I’m behind him. King is to one side. And three bikers with death in their eyes are right in front of him. No such luck, pal.
This is the scene that greets Ellie as she staggers out of that fucked-up prison, shielding her eyes against the sun.
She takes in the bikers, the dog, and she smiles, wincing as it cracks her cut lip.
I growl, filled with rage. Just for that I could kill him, never mind the years of torment he put her through as a kid.
He doesn’t deserve to live. I take a step in his direction, hovering above, as feral as the fucking Malinois.
“Hi Kee, dads,” she says her voice a little stronger now.
Romeo climbs off his bike, strides towards her, and hands her a bottle of water.
She takes a few gulps and then sighs out loud.
It seems to renew her, giving her a fresh burst of energy.
She pats him on the arm, then walks slowly and unsteadily towards me.
She ignores the man lying on the ground pissing himself and stares into my eyes. Into my soul.
I know she sees everything. She sees the dark corners of my heart, knows every bad thing I’ve ever done or thought or wanted to do. She knows the way I’m made, and she still fucking loves me.
“Don’t,” she says simply, knowing how desperate I am to wipe this shitbag off the face of the earth.
It would be so damn easy, too. “Please don’t, Maddox.
Don’t let him steal your peace. You worked hard for it, and he doesn’t deserve even one more moment of our time.
Let him go. Not just for me, for you as well. For us.”
I lose myself in her eyes. Fight with my monster. She smiles, and the monster turns into a purring pussycat. He doesn’t stand a chance against her. “Okay baby. For you.”
I take a step back, and she utters the word “leave” to Zeus. The dog looks as unhappy about it as I am, but he obeys, dropping into a crouch by her side, growling a warning that says “one wrong move and you’re mine.” I’m starting to think that Zeus is my fucking spirit animal.
Fallon lies there, covered in his own blood, whimpering and cowering as Keres, Ace, and Romeo stalk towards him. Ace is hefting thick lengths of chain over his leathered shoulder, clinking like some kind of fucking medieval knight.
“Give me a minute, okay?” Ellie says, her voice still quiet but so much stronger. The men defer to Keres, who nods.
Ellie crouches down by Fallon’s side. She looks him right in the eyes and smiles. “Goodbye, Frank. You’ll never see me again.”
He glares up at her, some of his bravado back now she’s close. I’m like a coiled spring, ready to finish him if he tries anything. “Yeah?” he snarls. “What makes you think that, sweetheart? I found you once. I’ll find you again.”
That fucker. Even now he’s threatening her?
Before I can intervene, she leans a little closer.
Meets his nasty gaze, showing not a scrap of fear.
Every inch the fucking warrior now—in fact she’s warrior, Goddess, and queen all rolled into one.
“Oh, no, Frank. I don’t think you quite understood me. You’ll never be seeing anybody again.”
With that she stands, tall and proud and so fucking stunning. Her hair is a greasy tangle, her face is covered in blood and filth, and her clothes stink.
I’ve never seen anybody so fucking beautiful in my entire life.
She slips her hand into mine and looks to Keres, who raises her eyebrows while Ace hefts those huge chains like they weigh nothing. “Time?” Keres asks.
My girl nods. “It’s time.”
Ellie turns to me and King. “We need to go now. Nobody needs to see this.”
Neither of us argues. We stride away, supporting Ellie between us as we head for the nurse and private ambulance that King has arranged.
As we go, we hear those chains clattering.
A man yelling for mercy. A dog barking. Three motorcycle engines, revving and then roaring, the sound coming from everywhere, maybe even the pits of hell itself.
An inhuman scream that ends almost as soon as it begins.
We don’t even look back.