Chapter 27
twenty-seven
I clean myself up a little while we wait for the guys to land.
The guys won’t be happy to see me so bruised and battered, but what’s a broken nose between friends?
When Owen told me they would deal with Lincoln, I saw the truth in his eyes.
I trust he will handle it. I’m not the type to hold a grudge, anyway.
I’m stretching a butterfly bandage over the cut in my eyebrow when I hear the familiar rhythmic sound of helicopter blades.
I shuffle out of the warehouse bathroom just in time to see Helo touch down is an open field to the left of the complex.
One by one, my brothers file out of the cabin.
As if I’m being thrown back into my memories, I see them dressed head to toe in black tactical gear.
They came prepared for an extraction at all costs.
I make my way across the empty warehouse, meeting them just outside the open bay doors.
Elijah immediately wraps me in a hug and I wince from the pain of my likely broken ribs, but I hug him back. “Fuck, Ev. Don’t do that shit to me again,” he says, where only I can hear. I can’t imagine what my best friend has gone through since I was taken, but it’s good to see him.
“You look like shit, brother,” Iris pipes up from behind Breaker’s large frame. I haven’t seen him in a few months, but he still came as soon as he was called. It warms my heart to know the brotherhood we forged is still so strong.
“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” I joke, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder.
Iris has always been the tallest and thinnest of us all.
Since leaving the Corps, he’s been working on starting a boxing gym of his own outside Charleston.
In the process, he’s bulked up quite a bit.
My mind immediately draws a parallel between his appearance and a certain tall viking vampire in the show Kelsea keeps making me watch.
Ironic that it takes place in Louisiana, just like the scene unfolding in front of me.
“Nice to see you in one piece, even if you’re a little worse for the wear,” Breaker grumbles, and I nod.
“Made some new friends while you four were sucking each other off, planning my heroic rescue or whatever,” I say with a smirk.
“Should’ve just left your ass here,” Helo replies.
Owen and Axel walk out of the bay doors behind me and my men immediately tense, their fingers itching to pull the trigger on someone.
“Easy there, boys. You’re in my house now,” Owen says, holding his hands up in front of him.
“It’s okay, guys. This is Owen, the president of the Bayou Reapers and owner of this fine piece of land. It was his man that took the contract, unbeknownst to him.” I hear Breaker growl low and sinister behind Eli. He’s connecting the dots to the man who laid his hands on Aurora.
“Who was it?” He grumbles, a deadly look in his eyes.
“He’s being handled. He won’t be a problem for you anymore,” Axel chimes in. Breaker’s hands tighten around the stock of his gun, itching to pick a fight. But he remains silent.
“I’d gladly deal with him,” Eli says. “It was my sister who had a gun against her head, after all.” Venom drips from his words, and Owen looks genuinely apologetic.
“I’m sincerely sorry for any damaged he caused. He will pay for it, trust me.” Owen tells us.
“Trust you? We don’t even fuckin know you,” Iris adds.
“Listen, this is all very sweet, introducing ourselves and all. But we’ve only got about two hours before the congressman and his goons come to collect,” Axel adds, and I agree.
“He’s right. We need to set this trap,” I say.
“I don’t fucking like this. You’re really playing the martyr a little too well today, Everett. I’m fucking over it,” Eli grunts.
“I want this bullshit finished. I won’t let my family or yours be put in danger any more. It ends today.” The finality in my tone comes through loud and clear, daring any of them to argue with me.
“Let’s get this show on the fucking road, shall we?” Iris exclaims.
I go over my plan with everyone again, making sure we iron each detail out.
We can’t afford any mistakes here. Using myself as bait sounded like a brilliant plan in theory, but as the time to execute this plan draws near, I’m second guessing myself.
Before I let my thoughts run me off the track, I close my eyes and all I see is Kelsea.
Her crystal blue eyes shining back at me as she smiles.
This is what I have to do to make her safe.
Taking a deep breath, I go over the plan in my head.
The congressman will enter with his team of muscle.
God knows he doesn’t do any of the grunt work himself.
I’ll be tied to the chair in the middle of the room, my restraints loose enough for me to slip out of them.
Once Owen and Axel have him convinced he’s free to take me, my men will appear from their placements around the warehouse and the congressman won’t know what hit him.
I’m feeling hopeful, if not a little na?ve, about this plan actually working.
But it’s the best option we have to diffuse this situation.
Helo moves his chopper, concealing it in just enough time to avoid it being seen by anyone else. Each man takes their position as the sound of a black SUV coming through the front gates alert us all to the congressman’s arrival.
My arms are stretched behind my back again, the ache in my shoulders almost unbearable.
But this time I know I can slip the cuffs easily.
I just have to wait for the ideal moment.
Owen and Axel stand behind me, just out of my peripheral vision.
I hope I can trust them to have my back, should the need arise.
I hear the slow rhythmic scuff of dress shoes and boots against concrete, the sound drawing nearer.
“Congressman Hoffman, I presume,” Owen says, taking a step forward with his arms crossed over his chest.
“You presume correctly, sir,” the congressman’s voice is nasally and grating, an edge of superiority about it. “This is the waste of oxygen that murdered my son?”
“Your son deserved the bullet I put in his fucking head,” I spit back at him.
Axel’s fist collides with my jaw, my head jerking to the right.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he meant that punch.
But the smirk he’s suppressing gives him away.
The coppery taste of my own blood floods my mouth and I spit towards the congressman, barely missing his expensive Italian loafers.
He sneers in my direction, taking a slight step back.
He’s flanked on either side by security of his own.
Two men with stocky builds and poorly tailored black suits stand guard at his back.
Two more stand at the side of the SUV, hands clasped around their pistols in front of them.
“You’d do best to keep your mouth shut, boy. I told Justin that sister of yours was trash. She was nothing but trouble for him. But he just couldn’t listen. He’s dead because of that slut.” His face reddens with anger as he speaks about Ember.
“This is all very touching, but can we get this shit taken care of? I’ve got better things to do with my evening than this,” Owen says.
“Of course,” Hoffman snaps his fingers and one of his goons turns to retrieve a bag from the backseat of the SUV.
He throws the bag towards Owen and resumes his guard behind the congressman.
I notice a slight shift in his gait and he turns, his right knee giving out slightly before he recovers.
I make a mental note of the weakness. “Your payment, gentlemen. I think you’ll find it’s all in order. ”
“Ya know, when my father took over this club, he was so lost. Searching for something to give his life a purpose. He turned to the drug trade, gun running. Shit, even prostitution if the price was right. But I never agreed with his choices. Flooding the streets of our home with that poison, selling people like they were nothing. It’s just not right.
” Owen steps closer to me, placing a hand on the chair I’m occupying.
“I’m by no means a righteous man, congressman.
I know my hands are not clean. But I can sleep at night next to my ol’ lady, knowing I don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it. ”
“Thats really very touching. A criminal with a conscience, I see. I’m not sure what that has to do with the situation at hand.” The congressman’s expression is wary, his eyebrows drawing together in confusion.
“See, we just aren’t very convinced of this man’s guilt, sir.
And we couldn’t very well hand him over like a fucking lamb to be slaughtered, not knowing if he’s truly culpable of the crimes you’ve accused him of.
We can’t very well do business with a man we don’t trust, congressman.
” Axel says, kicking to duffle of money back towards Hoffman.
“I don’t honestly care to do business with you fucking sewer rats either, yet here I am.
I have no problem taking my money, taking this trash, and being on my way,” Hoffman replies, gesturing towards me.
His guards draw closer to him, each of them pushing their suit jackets back to show the guns holstered at their waists.
Axel scoffs beside me, unimpressed by their show of muscle.
“We may have a problem here, sir. Because you’re not leaving this building with that boy, congressman.” Owen grates out through clenched teeth. I don’t want to get in to a fucking shootout with these assholes if we don’t have to.
“I paid you for a service, I’m taking this little shit with me,” Hoffman says, stepping closer to me, grabbing my shirt and pulling me to my feet. Owen and Axel both draw their guns, aiming for the congressman. His security mirrors the action, a standoff quickly unfolding in front of us.
“Let’s all just take it easy. Don’t you know playing with guns got us in to this little predicament in the first place,” I say, smirking up at Hoffman.
I never did know when to keep my fucking mouth shut.
He pulls a revolver from the small of his back, his face flaming with rage as he levels it between my eyes.
He cocks the hammer back, letting his emotions control his actions.
Before he can pull the trigger, I slip the cuffs off my wrists, pushing forward to overpower the man in front of me.
The shock in his eyes is evident as his hand grips the revolver tighter.
I hear a gunshots ring out to my left, but I don’t take my eyes off Hoffman.
Gripping his wrist tightly, I jerk to the right and feel the bone snap easily.
He yowls in pain, desperately struggling to keep his hand wrapped around his gun.
I turn my body, shoving all of my weight into his chest and knocking the air out of him.
His gun clatters to the floor as my elbow comes up to connect with his nose.
He grips tightly onto my injured shoulder and my control slips momentarily as we both tumble to the floor.
We scramble for the gun, both of us warring for control over the other.
I hear a pained shout to the right and see Breaker grabbing his upper arm, blood seeping between his fingers as one of Hoffman’s goons circles him, knife in hand.
My momentary distraction gives the congressman time to gain control of his revolver.
I sit up just in time for him to turn over, raise his hands, and pull the trigger.
The icy sting of the bullet pierces my skin, but it doesn’t really register.
Before he can get a second shot off, his head snaps back, and he falls to the floor.
Twisting, I see Axel behind me, his pistol still smoking from the shot that ended the congressman’s life.
I survey the room, seeing each of the four guards that came with Hoffman subdued or dead.
The edges of my vision blur and darken as a twinge of pain in my abdomen grows into a blazing wildfire of agony.
The tips of my fingers tingle as my body slowly drops to the floor.
Laying flat on the concrete floor, the ceiling spins over me.
I hear my men calling my name around me, but it’s a dull, muffled roar.
“Ev! Everett! Stay with us, bro. You’re gonna be fine. Keep your eyes open.” Elijah’s face floats above mine, my eyes blinking in slow motion. “Break, get over here. Grab the medic kit from the chopper.”
“Kels...” My voice sounds fragile and breathy, even to my own ears. “Tell…”
“I’m not telling her shit, brother. You’re gonna tell her yourself,” Eli says, pressing something tightly to my abdomen. I cringe into myself, the pain throbbing through every cell of my being.
“Ax! Call Doc. Get him here now!” Owen says somewhere in the abyss. “We gotta get him up, boys. Get him into the clubhouse. We’ve got the facilities and resources to help him, but we gotta get him out of here.”
The pressure of the floor against my back disappears as I’m lifted. Breaker carries me from under my arms as Eli supports my bottom half.
“Helo, help Iris clean this shit up,” Breaker barks, and the men obey. Several men I don’t recognize trudge through the warehouse, members of the club, I assume. Luckily, they seem comfortable with carnage as they help move bodies and clear the building.
Energy slowly seeps out of my muscles following the trail of blood I leave in my wake.
Struggling to stay conscious, I grasp for a tangible image, a thought to keep me anchored here.
Kelsea’s sapphire blue eyes flash in my mind, the slope of her top lip as it meets mine when we kiss, her slender fingers reaching for mine in the middle of the night when the ghosts of her past creep in.
I hold on to the images of her like a refuge in the midst of pain.
Just hold on.
I hear Kelsea’s melodic voice break through the fog momentarily before the darkness consumes me completely.