Chapter 44 Ryder #2
“I did this morning.” I can only imagine how damn happy that made Holden. We might all be in this relationship together, but Holden, Zane, and I have a different one of our own. I can’t wait to find out how that plays out in the future because we have one together, a long one.
“Good.” I peck his lips. “Time to kill something.”
Zane grins, showing he’s more than ready. We walk out into the pool hall, where everyone is gathered. I breathe it all in. “You know what to do.”
With a nod from Ghost, they all scatter, leaving us to wait until they’re in place. No one says anything, just letting the adrenaline build, so hopefully, when it hits its peak, Jay’s face is in front of us.
Ghost gives the signal five minutes later, and we take off out of the door. Walking through Concrete Row in all black, with automatic rifles strapped to our backs, no one even bats an eye.
We hit the hill that will take us to the tree line, and I sneak a look at the rest of them.
Everyone has their mouth set in hard, determined lines, even Holden.
Les and Zane will have the hardest time walking through these woods again.
It isn’t a memory I’m sure they want to relive, but they’re here, which shows how damn strong they are.
As soon as we step through the trees, I hear Les suck in a breath.
I stop to turn around to check on her, and she shakes her head in warning.
The guys and I made a pact before we left the house, which is going to piss Les off.
If shit goes sideways, whoever is closest to her will grab her and run by any means necessary.
We fan out, walking quietly through the woods, occasionally stopping to listen for any commotion.
It’s about a fifteen-minute walk from this way, a much shorter walk than what Zane and Les ran the other way.
The closer we get to the house, the nervous feeling intensifies, almost to the point that I’m already ready to grab Les and get the fuck out of here.
I see the break in the trees and hold my hand up in the signal to stop. Les wanted to make a statement, so we slide our black masks over our faces, flipping up our hoods. She knows he’ll know who we are, but she said he doesn’t deserve to see her face, and we all agreed.
When Jay goes out, he’s going to go out Les’ way. The Black Demon way.
I count to three on my fingers. Gage gives the signal of a howling wolf, and we take off at a dead sprint, breaking through the trees.
Team one knows that means they have a fifteen-second pause before they swarm the front.
We storm up the back porch, checking as quickly as possible for explosives.
Not finding any, Dex doesn’t hesitate to lift his boot and kick it in.
It shatters around the hinges, and we know our stealth is gone.
Sweeping every open door on the way through, we break into the living room.
Right on time, Ghost and his team bust in the front.
We search the downstairs rooms one by one, leaving that damn room with all the monitors for last. When we get there, I see Les steel her spine, throw her shoulders back, and shove the double swinging doors open.
“Is that my Precious?” My head whips up at the sound of Jay’s voice. “Why the mask? I’d love to see those pouty lips.”
“He has speakers in here,” Holden whispers.
Les’ whole body is rigid. “Come get me, and you can,” she taunts. “I came all this way, and you’re going to hide?”
“I’m not hiding, Precious,” Jay purrs. “Take a closer look at the monitors.”
We walk as one to the big wall, and each camera on those monitors is pointed at the homes of our loved ones. My dad’s, Evander’s, Gerald and Boone’s.
Les doesn’t react. “We already know you’re a stalker, Jay. Now come on out.”
He chuckles. “I hate to disappoint, Precious, but you wasted a trip.”
“He’s here,” Les hisses under her breath. “Send a team to search upstairs.”
I give a signal, and Ghost disappears with his team.
“We need to search the rest of the house.” We don’t even spare a glance at the screens, acting like we don’t give a shit, so he won’t react and blow them up like I’m sure he’s planning.
We got them all out before coming here, knowing Jay would have plans in place.
We search every corner, crack, and room with no sign of him. We make our way through the room with the big windows, and I can see Les shiver from head to toe. There is only one place left to look. The basement.
I steel myself, sliding my hand across the picture that triggers the lock.
The door pops, and Dex slides it open. The smell hits us first, pure piss and something rotten.
I look at Les and Zane standing side by side, locked into some trance.
Les turns her head to look at me and nods, signaling they’re ready.
Now more than ever, I wish I can see her eyes instead of the blacked-out ones in her mask.
The hallway is narrow, so we fall into a single file with me, Zane, Holden, Les in the front, Gage, and Leo in the middle, with Dex protecting us from the back. When the room Zane and Les were locked in comes into view, we hear an awful screeching noise, then a bang so loud it shakes the walls.
We flip around, and a metal door is blocking us from Gage, Leo, and Dex.
“Are you guys okay?” Les yells frantically.
“We’re fine,” Gage yells back. “We’re going to find a way through. Get that motherfucker!”
“Watch your backs!” I yell.
“We will,” Dex says. “Now go!”
Les bows her head, then jerks her shoulders back, turning to us. “We have to move.”
I nod, and we make our way toward that room, the smell of death getting closer and closer.
“Oh fuck. That’s awful,” Holden chokes out.
“This hallway looks bigger,” Zane mutters, gesturing toward the end of the hallway.
Les looks around. “Because it is.” She gestures with her gun. “That’s the same door he just trapped the guys behind.” She looks at me. “That means there are more rooms down here than this one.”
“Which means he can be any damn where,” I grit out.
I jerk my head to the first door. “Zane and I go in.” I hold up a hand when Les opens her mouth.
“We don’t know who’s in there.” It can be anyone Jay could use to hurt Les.
Zane jerks a nod, stepping beside me, gun ready.
“You look like such a fucking cop right now,” I joke, trying to break the tension in his shoulders.
“Keep it up, and you’ll find out how fast I can slap handcuffs on your ass,” he jokes back, his shoulders dropping a little.
Shaking my head to rid myself of that mental image, I put my hand on the door, count down, and jerk it open.
I can’t stop the gag when the smell hits us right in the face.
We sweep the small room, working our way toward the curtain. Counting down again, I jerk it open.
“I guess that explains where Mani went,” I say. Mani is lying there, a bullet hole between his eyes.
“Jay must have taken him out when we figured out he was the fucking mole,” Zane answers, nodding his head toward the door. “Let’s move on.”
“Nice detective work, Zane.” Jay’s voice crackles through the speakers again. “You have to admit, three years of undercover work is one for the record books.”
“Fuck off,” Zane growls. “Where are you? Two big of a pussy to come out and face me?”
“Is that any way to talk to your partner?”
“You’re not my goddamn partner! Where are you?!” Zane bellows.
“RYDER! ZANE!” Les screams, the sound abruptly cut off.
Zane and I sprint from the room, and she and Holden are nowhere to be seen.
“You piece of shit!” I yell, looking everywhere. We run our hands all over the walls, looking for where they could have gone. We search the metal doors we’re trapped between, and nothing.
“Where the hell did they go?” Zane asks, pulling his mask to the top of his head. “Where did you take them?!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt Precious,” Jay pauses. “Much. Your little hacker, on the other hand? I’m going to make him wish he died in that explosion.” I hear Holden scream in pain, and I see fucking red.
“Fuck! Jay, goddamnit!” Zane yells, slamming his fist on the metal door.
We start frantically searching for a way out when we hear that screeching noise, and the door that slammed shut opens up with Dex on the other side; he jerks his arm for us to follow him and takes off running, us right on his heels.
We skid into the window room, sweeping around us. “Leo found the switch in the monitor room. This place has secret rooms every fucking where,” Dex explains, making his way slowly to that room.
“They have Les and Holden,” Zane says. “Find him.”
We hit the living room doorway right when Jay presses a gun to Holden’s forehead, and Leo and Gage come out of the camera room. “That’s far enough,” Jay says, pushing harder. Holden locks scared eyes on me, and I have to swallow the panic threatening to bubble over.
We all hold our hands up, stopping in our tracks. “Just let him go, Jay,” Zane bargains. “You can have me. Let him go.” I jerk my head at Zane, and he subtly shakes his head.
“You never did fucking listen,” Jay growls, swinging wild eyes at us. “Everyone fucking dies. Then. She. Is. Mine.” He jerks a remote from his pocket, stabbing a button. A glass door slams down in front of us, blocking us in. Gage and Leo jump back to keep from getting smashed.
“Jay!” Zane pounds on the door. “You don’t have to fucking do this!”
Holden locks eyes with me again; his eyes harden. “HOLDEN! NO!” I yell.
Holden sweeps his leg out, knocking Jay off his feet.
I watch in horror as they grapple for the gun.
Holden starts to get the upper hand when Jay smashes the gun into his face, knocking him back to the floor.
Jay jumps to his feet, shoving the gun back to Holden’s head, finger tightening on the trigger.
“HOLDEN!” We all yell at the same time. God, please, not Holden.
We start banging the thick glass door, knowing it will just ricochet if we shot at it.
I can feel the sweat pouring down my back under my hoodie, praying we’re strong enough to break it.
Where the fuck is Ghost?
I see movement behind Jay and glance over. Les is creeping up behind him while his whole focus is on killing Holden, knife shining in her hand.
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” I chant under my breath. “You got this, Il mio sole.”
She leaps, and Jay turns with the gun aimed right at her. She hits him hard, the gun skittering across the floor. Holden scrambles back, grabbing for it.
“Come on, Baby girl!”
“END THIS, BEAUTIFUL!”
They both land on the floor hard, her underneath him. She jerks her head up, smashing right into his nose. Howling in pain, he drops back, rolls, and tries to get away. She leaps, grabbing him by the hair and jerking his head back.
“MARCIUME ALL’INFERNO!”
Her signature line rings loud and clear as she slices his throat, letting him drop to the ground.
We watch in slow motion as she drops to her knees behind him, chest heaving. Holden slides up behind her before she can go down completely. “The button, Il mio sole!” I stab my finger at the glass. “Hit the button.”
In slow motion, she reaches over, hitting the button. We all run out, dropping to our knees around her and Holden. “It’s over,” she whispers.
Surrounding her, we say the one thing we’ve wanted to say since this started.
It is truly over.