CHAPTER TWENTY
– FOSCA –
We watch a prospect wearing a black hoodie pulled tight over his head guide the now blind woman in the direction of the hospital doors.
He gives her a push and walks back toward our SUV when I say in a calm tone, “You know it’s our best option to lure my brother out of the shadows by using me as bait.”
I suggested it earlier, but Sevrin’s harsh reply shut my idea down and didn’t even leave room for discussion. The worst thing? I could see his other club brothers liked the idea.
“Not happening, Fos. Don’t bring it up again.” He doesn’t even spare me a look as he watches the prospect straddle his bike.
Sevrin starts the SUV and drives off.
“Wow. You’re really trying, aren’t you?” I mutter in annoyance.
He shoots me a dark look. “It’s club business, woman. Old ladies don’t interfere with club business.”
I narrow my eyes, but he completely misses it because his attention is directed at the road in front of us.
At least he can hear me when I snap, “I’m in this as deep as you are. This might be club business, but it’s my damn brother who’s on a killing rampage. If it was anyone else you would agree to my plan. I saw the way your brothers liked the idea, so fuckin’ admit it.”
Sevrin hits the brakes, bringing the SUV to an abrupt stop.
Turning half his body, he leans in close to snarl, “If it was any-fucking-one else I would, Fos. But it’s you.
I can’t risk losing you, not when we’re starting something that feels as close to fuckin’ happiness, unlike I’ve ever experienced.
I finally found my balance, I’m damn well whole after having a festering gash in my chest for decades. So, no. Nothing is worth losing you.”
I swallow hard at his admission. It might not be a declaration of love, and yet he just voiced my feelings exactly.
“I feel the same way,” I whisper and give him a small smile.
He blinks, clearly caught off guard. Maybe he expected a different reply, and yet his statement soothes my need to help. It wasn’t my intention to be a martyr. My suggestion was plain logic; my brother is searching for me so why not use me to get him?
Sevrin cups the back of my neck and gives a gentle squeeze. “So, you agree with me. No using you as bait, yeah?”
I place my hand on his cheek and murmur, “Yeah.”
He crashes his mouth over mine and I groan at the intensity of our kiss. Our tongues battle for domination while a zing of pleasure courses through my veins.
He pulls away all too soon. “Then it’s settled. Now, let’s kill some humans.”
I snort while he smirks and guides the car back onto the road.
“So, I’m allowed to mingle with club business as long as it suits you?” I question.
Sevrin shrugs. “You’re not leaving my side until that fucker is dust in the wind. We’ve split up into teams of four brothers to strike all six locations at the same time. Hence your ass sitting next to me.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Nice. So, I’m allowed to join in on the action?”
He grinds his teeth and mutters, “Just stay behind me, and don’t die.”
“Right back at ya.” I wave my hand. “Minus the staying behind me obviously.”
Sevrin reaches for my hand and links his fingers with mine. My belly flutters and I give our joined hands a squeeze when he places them on his thigh. We drive in silence for a few minutes before Karev, who is riding in front of us, brings his bike to a stop.
“Any chance you’d stay put and throw a shield around yourself?” Sevrin asks.
The way his lips twitch in a hint of a smile lets me know he’s aware I won’t stay behind.
“I already have a shield running through my blood to protect the twins, thanks to Triton.” I open the door and look back. “Besides, these are humans we’re taking out. I have enough control over my powers to defend myself and you know it.”
“Just checking,” he mutters under his breath and gets out.
Shock comes up from behind us and points at a house at the end of the road. “It’s that one. I’m going around back with Karev. You two take the front and we’ll meet in the middle.”
I witnessed the discussion before they split into teams. Normally, Karev would take a team himself, but Sevrin wanted him, and their enforcer to stay with us. Another layer of protection I’m guessing, having a hellhound shifter around.
Shock is a descendant of Jupiter and wields lightning as a weapon. Electricity along with our water ability is a nice combination. Yeah, I’m fairly sure Sevrin picked his team just to be prepared for anything coming our way.
“Sounds good,” Sevrin states, and screws a silencer onto his gun. “We can ask questions if they don’t fuck up their lives before we can voice shit. If not, no harm done because humans lie.”
“We know when people lie,” I voice the obvious.
Sevrin’s gaze hits mine. “It’s a waste of time. We have more humans to kill.”
All righty then, shutting up and staying behind the man. We move forward while the other two jog away to enter the house from the back.
“Are you going to give me a gun?”
He doesn’t even spare me a glance when he states, “Fuck, no.”
“You’re not very nice,” I mutter.
I swear I hear the annoying man chuckle as he pulls his arm slightly behind his body while we walk straight to their doorstep.
We haven’t talk things through and it’s why I ask, “Are we going to knock?”
Instead of giving me words, Sevrin simply raises his leg and lets the door splinter with one hard kick.
“Or not,” I whisper and follow him inside the house.
A man jumps into a run and heads for the kitchen. Sevrin aims and shoots the man in his ass. He might have a silencer on the gun, but it still makes a noise. Not as loud as the man screaming in pain, though.
“Stop. Please, stop,” another man begs with his hands palm up as he steps out of the kitchen.
“Why?” Sevrin snarls. “You’ve been helping Cassius murder people and now when your time is up you’re begging for forgiveness or some shit?”
“W-we didn’t h-have a c-choice,” the man stutters.
Karev places a gun on the side of his head as he comes up from behind him. “Bullshit. You had a choice and wanted whatever the fuck your wish was when the chick offered it to you.”
“I didn’t. My father...h-he had no c-choice. We were g-going to lose the house. P-please. We didn’t do a-anything yet. He asked us to...to.”
Karev nudges him with the gun, and snaps, “Stop stuttering and out with it.”
A wet spot slowly spreads between his legs as the man pees his pants. “We only captured the people and didn’t kill them. We should have, but we couldn’t.”
I reach for Sevrin and he gives me a tight nod. We both know who the man is talking about.
“Where are they?” Sevrin asks. “How many people did you kidnap?”
“Three. They’re in the shed,” the bleeding man on the floor groans.
“Karev,” Sevrin says his VP’s name who instantly jumps into action and disappears.
I want to head for the shed as well, but Sevrin stops me and instead orders Shock, “Go with VP and make sure you keep ’em out of here. Let me know if they’re still alive.”
Both men look nervous and I get an eerie feeling. I glance over my shoulder, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
“What’s wrong?” Sevrin asks, worry lacing his words.
“Nothing,” I mutter and rub my own arm, suddenly feeling chilly.
Sevrin keeps his aim on the two men in front of us. “Don’t give me that shit, Fos. I can sense the change in your emotion.”
“I don’t know.” My voice carries a hint of irritation, and it has nothing to do with Sevrin’s persistent demand. “I just feel...eerie? As if something bad is going to happen and I have no clue what. I’ve never experienced it before.”
“Fuck,” Sevrin grits and I have no clue why.
Karev steps back into the kitchen. “Dave and the other two medical examiners are a little banged up, but alive. Shock is calming them down. What do you want to do, Prez? Call Nathan? Let him handle this shit?”
Two soft pops fill the air, and the two men crash to the floor as Sevrin states, “Call Nathan. Let him know you found the three missing persons and that we had to shoot the fuckers who kidnapped them. We don’t want them chattering about whatever they saw or heard.
Keep your eyes and ears open. My old lady has an eerie feeling. ”
“Fuck,” Karev grumbles and glares at me.
“Hey,” I snap. “Don’t blame me, and why the hell is it so weird if I have an eerie feeling? Maybe it’s because of you guys, shooting people in freaking front of me. It’s not like that happens every damn day.”
Karev points at Sevrin. “His Ma always got an eerie feeling right before some bad shit happened. The woman was never wrong. So, don’t think lightly about that shit. A woman’s instinct is rarely off-kilter.”
A chill runs up my spine. “Well, I hate to say it...but the feeling just intensified.”