9. Chapter 9
TATE
All I can think about is how many ways I am going to make Jenson Donaldson bleed.
I have been running through the options for hours. Knives are personal, and this needs to be fucking personal. I want to feel his skin split under my hands. I want to watch his face when he realizes that every horrible thing he has ever done to my girl is about to be repaid tenfold.
But that comes later. First, we have to get through the next few hours without me losing my fucking mind.
We are spread out across three vehicles. Fox and Thorne are in the lead SUV with two of our most trusted Talons. I am in the second with Reese and Ivy. My father is waiting at the intercept point in the third vehicle, ready to transport Jenson to the warehouse once we have him secured.
Reese is shifting in her seat. Her fingers keep drifting toward her mouth, and she catches herself every time. I reach over and take her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. I have to admit that feeling her skin against mine gives me a better sense of calm, too.
This woman. This fucking woman has rewired my entire brain in less than a week.
“It’s almost time, baby girl.”
“I know.” But her voice is tight, and I can see the way she’s forcing herself to keep breathing. “I just want this over with.”
“It will be.” I bring her hand to my mouth and press my lips against her knuckles. “We almost have him right where we want him.”
She turns to look at me, and I see the fear underneath the determination. She is terrified. Of course she is. We are about to walk into the house where she was tortured for a decade, and she will do it anyway, because she is the bravest person I have ever fucking met.
I want to pull the car over and bury myself inside her so she can forget all of this shit.
I want to wrap my body around hers and remind her that she’s only owned by one man.
I want to tell her that I am falling so hard for her that it scares the shit out of me, and there’s never been a thing in this world that fucking scares me.
Until Reese Donaldson became part of my life. There isn’t a world where I can survive without her.
I squeeze her hand and try to focus on the job.
Ivy shifts in her seat on the other side of Reese. “Has Fox texted yet?”
I check my phone for the tracker update.
Nothing from Fox, but Jenson’s car left the country club twelve minutes ago.
He is taking the scenic route home, just like Reese said he would.
A creature of fucking habit. That is going to be his downfall.
“Not yet. We will intercept him at the bend before the private road. It’s a narrow stretch with no witnesses and dense tree cover. ”
“What if something goes wrong?” Reese asks.
“Then we improvise.” I look at her, and I let her see the truth in my eyes. “There is not a scenario where we don’t win tonight. I will burn down the entire fucking city before I let anything happen to you.”
She holds my gaze for a long moment, and I want to find the words to tell her how fucking important she is to me.
My phone buzzes. Fox.
Fox: Target is five minutes out. Everyone in position.
I relay the message to our driver and feel the SUV accelerate. Reese’s grip on my hand tightens until her nails dig into my skin. I don’t pull away. I want her marks on me. My next tattoo will be of the bite mark she left on my shoulder so she can always see it there.
“Almost there, baby girl.”
The intercept point comes into view. Fox’s SUV is already positioned across the narrow road, blocking the path. Dad’s vehicle idles in the shadows behind us, ready to box in the target from behind.
We wait.
The minutes stretch like hours. Reese’s breathing gets more shallow beside me, and I run my thumb across her knuckles in slow circles.
I am trying to keep her calm, but my own heart is pounding.
Not from fear, but anticipation. I have been waiting for this moment since she told me what her father did to her, and now it is finally fucking here.
Headlights appear around the bend.
“That is him.” I squeeze Reese’s hand once and then release it. “Stay in the car until I come for you.”
“Tate—”
“I mean it.” I cup her face and force her to look at me. “I need to know you are safe while I handle this. Can you do that for me?”
She nods, and I kiss her hard and fast before throwing open my door.
Jenson’s Mercedes rounds the bend, and the driver slams the brakes when he sees the roadblock. Dad’s vehicle screeches into position behind him, cutting off any escape. I am out of our SUV with my Glock drawn before Jenson’s car has fully stopped.
Fox reaches the driver’s side first. We weren’t expecting a driver, but it’s only a minor inconvenience for my brother. He smashes the window with the butt of his gun and drags the driver out by his collar. The man tries to fight back, but Fox knocks him out and zip ties him quickly.
I go for Jenson.
He is scrambling for the passenger door when I yank it open and grab him by the throat. The sound he makes is satisfying—a wet, terrified gurgle that tells me he knows exactly how fucked he is.
“Hello, you sick fuck.” I drag him out of the car and throw him onto the gravel. “I think we need to have a conversation.”
He hits the ground hard, and I am on top of him before he can get his bearings. My knee presses into his chest. My hand closes around his throat. Up close, I can see the broken blood vessels in his nose from years of drinking.
This is the man who sold my girl. This is the man who watched while other men used her body and broke her spirit. This is the man who brainwashed her into thinking that she was worth nothing more than what someone would pay for her.
I want to crush his windpipe right here in the dirt.
“Tate.” My father’s voice cuts through the red haze. “We need him alive. For now.”
I force myself to ease my grip. Jenson sucks in a ragged breath, and I lean down until my face is inches from his.
“Are you going to tell me the combination to your secret safe? Or do you want to do it the hard way?”
“I don’t—” He coughs, wheezes. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Wrong answer.”
I grab his left hand and snap his pinky finger like a twig.
His scream echoes through the trees. Somewhere behind me, I hear Thorne laughing. Jenson is crying now, snot and tears mixing with the dirt on his face.
“Are you ready to give me what I want?”
“Fuck you.” He spits the words through gritted teeth. “You have no idea who you are dealing with. I have insurance. I have leverage on half the Council. If anything happens to me—”
“No one gives a fuck what happens to you.” I grab his ring finger. “Last chance.”
“Seven-four-two-nine-one-eight.” The numbers come out in a rush. “That is it. That is the combination. Please, just—”
I memorize the numbers.
“Please what?” I lean closer. “Please stop? Please show mercy?” I twist his broken finger, and his scream goes high and thin. “Did you show mercy to your daughter? Did you show mercy to any of those girls?”
He doesn’t answer. He just sobs.
I release him and stand up, wiping my hands on my jeans like touching him has contaminated me. Then I kick him in the stomach. My father’s Talons move in to secure him, zip-tying his wrists and ankles before hauling him toward the sedan.
“Put him in my car.” My father’s voice is cold and steady, then he looks at me. “Get what we need and get to the warehouse.”
I watch them shove Jenson into the back seat. He is still crying, still begging, still convinced that his connections will save him. He has no idea that his connections are exactly the reason he’s going to die. The Council will authorize the execution of all of them.
My father pauses beside me before getting into the driver’s seat.
“Don’t take too long.” His eyes meet mine, and I see the pride in his expression. He knows he’s taught us well. “I want this finished tonight.”
“It will be.”
The sedan pulls away, and I watch until the taillights disappear around the bend. When I turn back, Reese is standing beside our SUV. Her face is pale in the fading light, but her jaw is set.
“You broke his finger.” Her voice is flat, unreadable.
“Baby girl, you were supposed to stay inside.”
“I’m glad you did.” She walks toward me, her steps steady despite the fear I know she is feeling. “He deserves worse.”
“He is going to get worse.” I meet her halfway and pull her against my chest. She fits perfectly, like she was made to be held by me. “Are you okay, baby?”
“I will be.” She presses her face into my shirt and breathes deep. “Once this is over, I will be.”
I hold her for a moment longer than I should. We have a job to do, and every second we waste is a second something could go wrong. But I can’t seem to let her go. The feel of her body against mine is the only thing keeping me from chasing down the car carrying Jenson and killing him now.
“Let’s go get what we need.”
We load back into the vehicles and head toward the Donaldson estate. Reese sits pressed against my side, her hand gripping my thigh hard enough to bruise. I cover her hand with mine and let her hold on as tight as she needs to. If she bruises me, I’ll tattoo that on my body, too.
We park in a wooded area behind her father’s property where the vehicles won’t be visible from the road.
Everyone checks their weapons. Thorne shoulders his equipment bag.
Fox runs through the plan one more time, but I am barely listening.
All I can focus on is Reese’s face, the way she is holding herself together through sheer force of will.
I love this woman.
The realization hits me like a fist to the chest, and I almost stumble. I fucking love her. Not just want her, not just need her, not just feel responsible for her. I love her in a way I did not think I was capable of loving anyone.
And in a few minutes, I am going to walk her back into the house where she was abused for a decade, and there is not a goddamn thing I can do to protect her from the memories waiting inside.
“Tate?” Reese is looking at me with concern. “Are you okay?”