36. Kai
Kai
“We’ve got rifles, but fuck all to feed them with,” Xavier grumbles. “Handguns and machine guns are doing alright, but with no new orders coming anytime soon, we’ve got to conserve ammo.”
Ash pinches the bridge of his nose. He knows this already but hearing it from Xavier just solidifies it. There are certain things you need for a gang war. Guns are at the top of the list.
We have the manpower, though.
And right now, all I can think about is exterminating the world of two certain Kavanagh boys. If Zeke wants to string me up like an animal again afterwards, I can deal with it when the time comes.
Things just got personal.
“Here is the plan.” Ash straightens, his face turning into the lethal president we know he can be.
“We suspect the Kavanagh boys are making a play for president in Zeke’s absence.
Roxy mentioned something about the freezer, their old safe house.
If they aren’t there, we’ll keep looking.
If they are, we set Kai and Kaleb on them.
You guys can make them spill their secrets and dispose of them however you want. ”
Kaleb smirks, sitting up straighter at the mention of free rein. I feel his excitement. It’s the same feeling stirring inside my chest.
“But we do it quietly,” Ash continues. “We can’t afford to lose any more weapons. And I will not fucking lose another Devil. Not this year.”
Leon nods along. It’s just us five. Matt and Griff are with Maddy, and my girl is upstairs sleeping. She was out cold when we left, and being down here by the entrances gave me enough comfort to run down here and plead my case.
And we won.
Leon stretches and cracks his neck. He starts bouncing on his seat, unable to sit still. I try to focus on Ash, but the kid won’t stop fidgeting. He watches Ash, but it doesn’t look like anything is sinking in.
“One last thing, we...” Ash turns to look at Leon, a look of exasperation pulling at his features. “What the fuck is your problem?”
Leon bites his lip. “Are you done with your thing? I’ve got news!”
For a moment, I’m glad Griff is upstairs. This overactive toddler interruption would burst his forehead vein.
Ash sighs, flapping his hand in the air. “Go ahead, Leon.”
Leon’s face breaks out in a smile. “One of Zeke’s accounts moved.”
All of our attention snaps to him.
“Are you fucking serious?” Xavier growls. “And you didn’t start with that?”
Leon drums his fingers on his laptop, shrugging. “If you’ve got good cards, you don’t show them straight away.”
“What the fuck does that even... You know what, I don’t fucking care,” Ash grits out. “Go on.”
“I’ve been watching his accounts like a hawk. There is most likely an offshore account, but the ones I’ve got here haven’t been touched since the night he disappeared. Until yesterday. Someone withdrew from it.”
“Where?” Kaleb asks.
“Still working on that,” Leon murmurs, clearly annoyed with himself.
“So it could be anyone,” Ash grumbles.
“Could be,” Leon shrugs. “But whoever it is has access to money Zeke has left untouched for months. Unless you’re a genius like me, it’s actually incredibly hard to do.”
Ash scoffs, but I can see his mind whirring.
“He might be closer than we think,” Leon adds, before falling back into his chair.
“Keep watching it,” Ash demands.
The conversation continues, but I hear something. Barely anything. Just the sound of wood shifting, so faint that it’s most likely the building shifting. My attention snaps to the wall it came from. Nobody else seems to hear it.
Everyone’s voices fade as I strain my ears to listen. I don’t hear it again. Still, every hair on the back of my neck rises. An unsettled sensation settles under my skin.
Something feels fucking wrong.
My mind goes to Roxy first. It seems to be doing that a lot. She is most likely still asleep. But I can’t shake the feeling.
I push away from the table, all eyes landing on me.
I look only at Kaleb.
“Just going to check on Roxy,” I murmur.
He nods, but I feel him watching my back until I’m out of the meeting room. I take the steps two at a time, moving as quickly as I can through the stairwell. As soon as I see her, I can go back and finish the meeting.
Actually, scrap that. I’ll take her down with me. Sit her on my lap and hold her. Then I won’t have a thing to worry about.
She’s safe, I remind myself.
The clubhouse is full of Devils, and every entrance is secured. Nobody gets in here without us knowing.
Yet, here I am, running up these fucking stairs. The hallway is quiet, and I unlock our apartment door, turning on every light I pass.
“Roxy,” I call out before even making it to Kaleb’s room, where she sleeps.
The crawling sensation turns fucking sickening. I shove the bedroom door open, and silence is the only thing I find.
The bed is empty.
For a second too long, I just stare at the tangled sheets.
“Roxy?” I bark, louder this time, feeling the mattress for any warmth.
Cold. Fucking cold.
Checking the clock on the wall, it’s only half past midnight.
I’ve barely been gone an hour. I cross the room and check the bathroom before tearing into my bedroom.
My pulse races, eyes darting. Snagging on the dresser.A torn piece of paper.
And sitting on top of it... is the black diamond necklace I gave her.
And Kaleb’s knife. Two things she’d never leave behind.
My eyes lock there, unseeing, as every part of me turns to ice.
But then I see her handwriting beneath them. Slowly, I lift the knife, squeezing my palm around it. I move the necklace as if it will burn me before picking up the note.
I’m a coward. Because I’m terrified of the words on the page.
Kai and Kaleb,
All I can say is that I’m sorry. For what I’ve done. For what I’m about to do.
Thank you for giving me something I never thought I’d have.
I love you both.
Please forgive me.
-Your Roxy
I read them once. Twice. The words keep moving on the page. None of it makes sense.
For what I’ve done.
My eyes drag painfully over the letter, one more time.
For what I’m about to do.
Fuck.
My body goes scarily still. Every part of me has forgotten how to function while my mind tries to rearrange her words into something that doesn’t feel like goodbye. Like betrayal.
She loves us.
Us.
And she left.
My eyes drag over the bedroom like I might see her buried in the blankets the way she does, smirking at me with those pouty lips before telling me this is some kind of cruel joke.
But when I see her baseball bat is missing, I know this is no joke. My fist closes around the letter, the paper crumpling in my grip.
Please forgive me.
Something happened. Something fucking happened, and she didn’t tell us. This isn’t her. It can’t be. I refuse to believe it.
With the note in one hand and Kaleb’s knife in the other, I make my way back to the club. This plan of ours just got pushed up. Because I’m going to kill those boys, and I’m going to make it as painful as fucking possible.
A stillness settles over me with each step. The one I find myself slipping into often. Anger makes people do stupid things. Like make mistakes. My empty, deadly precision makes me the nightmare I’m known for.
Reaching the ground level, an icy wind blows through the stairwell. The back door is wide open, swinging with each gust and banging against the wall.
That door is never left open.
And it wasn’t open when I left to go upstairs a minute ago. Slowing my steps, I scan the space. Wind whistles through the open doorway, carrying the smell of damp concrete.
My eyes roam over everything. The muddy footsteps, too many to count. They lead through to the door of the clubhouse. No blood.
I stride into the club through the other door, but no voices find me. Not Ash grumbling or Leon joking. Fucking silence, except for the door, a constant bang of wood on wood.
By the time I step into the meeting room, I already know what I’m going to see.
Up turned seats. Smashed glass. Blood. Too much. And none of my fucking family. Kaleb’s chair on the floor, tossed across the room. Blood stains the wood behind it, and I crouch beside it. Running my fingers through it. Wet and warm. I’ve missed them by one fucking minute.
My twin. His absence is a missing limb, ripped straight from my chest.
My teeth grind so hard I’m surprised they don’t crack. They have my brother. Ash, Leon, and Xavier too.
Maybe even Roxy. I look down at the crumpled letter still trapped in my fist.
For what I’ve done. For what I’m about to do.
She wasn’t apologising for running. She’s apologising for whatever this is.
This happened minutes ago. I could go out and chase them, but whoever did this brought enough men to take down four of the strongest Devils.
No, I need a plan.
I force air slowly into my lungs and stare at the destruction around me until the rage and fear settle back into the numbness I need.
This time, when I enter the stairwell, I go to the penthouse, my fist knocking furiously on the door. Sounds of happiness and fun echo in the room, sounds that I’m about to steal.
My thumb dusts over the sun, inked into my skin. It’s the only thing keeping me tethered.
Footsteps skip towards the door as I knock again, rougher this time. Maddison pulls the door open, eyes widening when she sees me.
“What happened?” she whispers.
I push past her to where Griff and Matt sit at the table with cards in their hands. Half-empty glasses sit between them, a pile of chips in the middle, and music blasts from a speaker.
Maddison tugs at my arm. “Kai? Is Ash okay?”
Her voice draws the attention of the men, and they stand in an instant, facing me. Griff’s eyes dip to the blood that still coats my fingers, and he drops his cards on the table. Turning into the perfect soldier before my eyes.
“No, Maddison. Ash is not okay,” I murmur, turning to her. “They have him.”
Maddison covers her mouth as a sob tears free. Her body folds forward before she catches herself against the edge of the table. Matt catches her, holding her as she falls apart.
“Who has him?” she chokes out. “Is he alive?”
I feel bad for the girl. But I don’t have time for reassurances that I don’t believe. Chances are he’s dead. Chances are, they are all fucking dead.
I turn to Matt. “Call every Devil and get them here. Right. Fucking. Now. Call the Garage. Call every motherfucker who’s still on our side and tell them we’re at war. Out fucking president has been captured.”
And my brother. And my heart.