Chapter 36
BLAIZE
My fists ached as I dislocated this fucker’s jaw after the fifth punch to his face. He used to be a rat for Elijah and the Vandals, but once things went south, he turned on them. There were no leads on who the traitor could be, and I didn’t like being in the dark.
The funeral was brutal. Even if Zachary didn’t blame me, the intense hatred radiating from Layla’s sister told me Ashtin sure blamed me for everything.
Layla was far from religious, and Ashtin made a mockery of it.
Everything Ranger and Sin wanted got booted the moment Ashtin landed in Westhaven.
Ashtin threw in her religion and disrespected Layla’s final resting place.
I heard a deafening crack, and the man screamed. The rage coursing through my body could be enough to sustain a nuclear power plant. I wanted fucking answers. I was sick and tired of someone trying to ruin me by hurting those I cared about.
My mind wandered to Kadence as I stepped toward my torture table.
What would happen once people knew I was with her?
I loved her, but she would be used against me.
She was my weakness, even when I tried staying away from her.
I was almost destroyed when I lost Olivia and Charlee, and I still struggled with that heart-wrenching loss daily.
If I lost Kadence because someone wanted power, I wouldn’t survive again.
I ran my fingers along the side of my favorite dagger, looking at the whimpering man.
How long would it take for him to squeal like a fucking pig if I started peeling his skin and cutting off extremities?
His eyes grew wide as he struggled weakly.
He wasn’t fighting like I wanted him to. But I didn’t care.
“You’re the biggest rat in this state, Tony. Tell me what I want to know.”
He coughed, groaning at the pain that hit him. “Please, Blaize. I don’t know!”
“You’re a goddamn liar!” I plunged the knife into his thigh, nowhere near any major artery. I didn’t care what it took, I would find this bastard.
He screamed in agony, hyperventilating. “Eli had a twin.”
He stopped me in my tracks, and I looked at him, fuming. A twin? “What are you saying?”
“His brother wants revenge.”
“Elijah West does not have any fucking family.” I stormed out of the basement, leaving him bleeding out, and kicked the door open, walking back up to the clubhouse. “Where the fuck is Doc?”
Right on cue, Doc walked out of the infirmary with his arms folded across his chest. “Yes?”
“You’ve lived in this town the longest. Did Elijah have a brother? A twin?”
“His mother only had one child. She had a difficult pregnancy. The doctor that performed the C-section died a few years back. She couldn’t have any more children.”
“So Tony is a lying bastard?”
Doc shrugged his shoulders. “Could be. Or someone paid him to say that shit because they knew it would rile you up and distract you. Elijah West is dead. No one could have survived that fire. God can’t heal splattered brains or burnt flesh.”
“This is someone that knows everything I did five years ago—the hotel that was his sex operation going up in flames, the drugs I destroyed. Fallon and Layla were both innocents representing the ones that died.” Layla was an innocent that had her life stolen from her, just like the girls who died that night because of Elijah.
Fallon would have, too, if she died, but now she was a loose end.
If this person found out she was alive, they might come back to finish the job.
Doc gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “We’re going to find them, boss.”
“But how many more of our girls are going to die before they get their fill and kill me?”
I wasn’t afraid of death. I’d made peace with this life; if it was my time to pass over, so be it. I’d done enough shit in my life to meet my maker peacefully.
I couldn’t help but see Kadence.
Her aura.
Her bubbly energy being tainted by my blood-soaked hands. Out of the seven billion people on this burning ball of rock, and she wanted me. She was a light in the dark void, and if I could give her the stars in the sky, I would.
“What’s the name of the bar he used to hang around a lot?”
“Pubs. In Bellevue.”
“It’s late. I’ll be going there in the morning.” As I was walking out of the door, Hawke called me. “What is it?”
His voice broke, and my blood turned to ice. “Sh-she’s awake. Fallon is awake.”
“I’m on my way.”
Hawke met me outside of Fallon’s room. He was crying, but it was more tears of relief than agony. “How is she?”
“The doc is running a few tests to make sure everything is okay, but she’s alive. She’s in a lot of pain.”
I grabbed his shoulders, and he did something I never expected—he pulled me in for a tight hug and sobbed into my shoulder. Comfort wasn’t my forte, but I was slowly learning. I wrapped my arms around him. When Fallon’s door opened, Hawke pulled back and looked at the doctor.
“She’s going to be okay,” the doctor started. “She’s going to be in a lot of pain and immobile for a few weeks until she heals more, but she will make a full recovery.”
“Thank you, Doc,” Hawke said.
“You can see her, but do not put stress on her. Her heart can only handle so much right now.”
Hawke thanked the doctor once more before we stepped into the room. Fallon’s face was riddled with pain as she gave us a confused look. “W-what h-happened?”
“You don’t remember?” I questioned.
Fallon squeezed her eyes shut trying to remember what happened, before they snapped open once more. “No—Layla?” Her voice broke. “I-I t-told her to r-run.”
Hawke brushed Fallon’s hair out of her face and kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry, baby. She didn’t make it.”
Tears sprung from her eyes. “N-no! S-she r-ran. I saw her.”
“Whoever shot you had a partner. They got her and…” I didn’t finish. “I’m going to find them, Fallon, I promise.”
Her lip trembled. “D-did she get a funeral? Are Sin and Ranger okay?”
“We had it today. We had to wait for her sister to get back to the country. Sin and Ranger are…” Broken. Destroyed. “They are hurting, but they are remembering their favorite girl,” I told her.
My phone chimed with an incoming text.
KADENCE
I’m gonna stay with Annika tonight and we’re gonna go shopping tomorrow. Are you okay?
ME
I’m okay, princess. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow if you don’t want to stay with Annika again.
Fallon is awake.
KADENCE
OMG! I need to see her. Tell her I’m thinking of her. I hope she can get out of there soon.
ME
Of course, princess. Have fun with Annika.
I knew I needed to talk to her, but I also had to find more information out about this so-called twin.
Elijah would have said something if he had a sibling, let alone a twin brother.
There was something else in the mix that didn’t add up, but I was hoping Damon could shed some light onto the situation.
“Make sure you focus on healing, okay? You have a slew of people waiting to hug you,” I told her.
She gave me a weak smile. “I’ll make sure I am bear hug ready.”