Chapter 64
Dax
My phone buzzes for the hundredth time since last night.
It’s been a constant between Leander and Annette.
They’ve left messages begging me to contact them.
In one message, all Annette does is cry.
I don’t have any empathy for them. My focus is on my wife first, and this mess with the Brennans second.
“I’m sorry, Cor.” Eden King puts a hand on Cori’s shoulder.
My wife leans into her friend. Selene rests her hand on top of Eden’s, and the three of them stand there in silence, but I know they are speaking to each other.
Just not in words. Their bond is deeper than words, and as much as I don’t like Selene, I’m happy Cori has her and Eden.
My burner phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out.
Unknown number: there’s been a problem.
Me: Was it done?
Unknown number: No. Meet in one hour.
“Fuck me.” I rub the bridge of my nose and lower my head in defeat. “I don’t need this shit.”
The words are barely out of my mouth before my personal phone buzzes.
Leander: Devin is missing again.
I slide the phone back in my pocket. Not my problem. They can deal with the mess they created. As long as they don’t harass Cori, but I don’t have to worry about that. She’s blocked all three of them.
“You two better get to work.” Cori breaks away from her friends. “I love you for coming over to comfort me.” She extends her hand to me, and I take it. “But Dax has been great.”
Selene gives me the side-eye, but Eden smiles in gratitude.
“I’d stay here, but I have back-to-back appointments, and—”
“Eden, get your ass to work,” Cori says.
“But let’s all have dinner together tonight. We’ll go to Paulene’s,” Eden suggests. “I’ll make a reservation for six thirty.”
“I’ll see if Gill can come. I’m not trying to be the fifth wheel,” Selene says. I dig out my phone and send Preacher a text inviting him.
“Okay. I have to get to the shop. I have a shipment coming in today.”
“You told me you had this shit under control. They were supposed to have been handled by now.” My words come out through gritted teeth. I pinch the bridge of my nose and close my eyes.
“I could have done it,” King says.
“That’s not what we do, god damn it.” I gesture at Stone and Steel. “That’s their job. You think I want your wife coming after me if something happens to you, King?”
“Oh, fuck you. We’ll find them today. Calm the fuck down.” Steel never has to raise his voice. “Stone talk to you about that money—”
“No. I’m not going any further with you.”
“We’ll see.” I ignore Steel’s arrogant tone. “In other news, Wolzki’s done. Insulin overdose. Could be accidental or not.” He shrugs. “Whenever they find him. Somehow, his wife found out he fucked her sister.” Steel stares at his brother, who only grins.
“Well, she won’t have to waste her time mourning a cheater.
Whoever made sure she found out sounds like a hero to me.
” Stone pats himself on the back. “People without family values don’t deserve to be remembered.
” These maniacs act like offing people is nothing but a joke. I’m tired of them and this life.
King’s phone rings, and he moves to the corner. From the low timbre of his voice, I know he’s talking to his wife.
“So, now what?”
Steel rises, but my personal vibrates, so I grab it, expecting to see Cori’s name, but it’s my mother.
“Where is Cori, Son?” The question sends a tremor through me. I pull the phone away from my ear and track Cori’s location.
“The tracker shows she’s at the shop.”
“I’m at the shop. I’ve been here for half an hour, and she’s not here. Her phone is, though, and I’m scared. Her car’s in the parking lot, but she’s nowhere to be found. I thought you had someone watching her.”
“I did.”
My blood turns to ice. The men in the room must sense my tension. They all circle around me like a pack of hungry hyenas.
“What does the shop look like?”
“No signs of struggle. Nothing is out of place, but the power was out when I got here.”
There have been no storms that would have wiped out power.
“Get Preacher on the phone,” I order King. “Cori’s missing.”
“Get out of there, Mom,” I order. “Don’t go home. You know where to go.”
“I’m coming to you because if anyone hurts a hair on that girl’s head, they are going to deal with me.”
“I was able to get the footage from the flower shop across the street. The insurance agency had an outage, too.” Preacher pulls out his laptop.
The contents on the screen confirm what I’ve suspected.
There’s a short clip that shows two men pushing my wife into the trunk of a car.
She hits one of them, and he backhands her across the cheek and mouth.
“Fucking dead man,” I hiss.
“Make it hurt.” Stone stands next to me and looks at the screen in disgust.
My phone buzzes.
Unknown number: Bitch in a cage
A picture follows. It doesn’t show her face, but I can tell those long legs from anywhere. She’s still in the same clothes she had on when we were home.
I slide my phone into my pocket, go to my desk, and retrieve the semi-automatic I keep there. I take the Glock, too.
“Wait. We need a plan,” Steel says.
“The plan is to get my daughter back,” Mom says. “But I want my son back in one piece.” Mom’s not a crier, but I can tell she’s on the verge. “Go get your wife, son. Handle this, but be careful. Be logical. Cori needs you.”
“He can’t just charge in there. Do you know where they are?”
“That’s Jack’s tacky house. I’ve been there many times.”
“Let’s go,” King says while he checks his gun’s chamber.
The Titans and Preacher follow us out. Mom gets in her car and drives off without a word. She’s scared, but she’s also angry, and Mom is not the type to let an incident like this go.
“They’re luring you there,” Stone warns. He’s right, but I don’t care. Cori didn’t ask to be in this life. She has nothing to do with this, and to use her to get to me is unforgivable.
“They want me, they got me.”
“I’ll drive.” King unlocks his car, and I get in. The Titans climb in the back seat, and Preacher follows us in his van. We make the forty-minute drive in under thirty.
The house is located at the end of a cul-de-sac. There are only three other houses on the street, which the Brennans own, but King doesn’t park there.
“Preacher says the cameras are down.” King waves his phone, and we all hop out of his car. He parked one street over, adjacent to a private park. We are silent while we walk through the woods.
“Gentleman.” Stone’s voice is a warning.
“Gloves.” He pulls several out of his jacket pocket and hands them to us.
“We go, we get your wife, and you get justice for her, in that order. We must be quick and efficient. Five minutes maximum. Stick to the plan. I know it’s hard, Hunt, but leave your emotions out of it for now. Efficiency is the goal.”
He doesn’t say anything anymore, and I don’t acknowledge his words. I take the lead, and they follow me. As we get closer to the house, everyone disperses. I end up at the back door. It’s left slightly ajar, so I walk in.
The only light is what’s seeping in from outside. I slowly walk down the hall holding my Glock.
“Put the gun down,” Reed Brennan says. His brother Chandler points a small handgun at my face, but I don’t lower mine.
“Where’s my wife?”
Reed smiles, and I remain stoic.
“We locked that bitch up like you did to my brother. We’re going for King’s wife again. That bitch is lucky she survived the last time.”
A large shadow comes into view as King deftly walks in from a side door.
Both of those idiots have their backs to him.
Big mistake. King knocks the gun out of Chandler’s hand, and he kicks it on the opposite side of the room.
Chandler tries to run away, but I trip him, and he falls on his knees.
I kick him in the face, and he rolls onto his back.
I snatch Reed by his collar, but I don’t point the gun at him. I point it at his brother, who has passed out. “Tell me where my wife is, or I’m going to put a bullet in his head.”
“Fuck you,” he tosses out. “My life is over, and so is—”
I shoot, but I shoot Chandler in the leg. That wakes him up, and he screams.
“Where’s my fucking wife?” I yell.
“Dax!” I hear Cori’s voice. King kicks open a side door. I exhale in relief, but only for a moment. My wife is hunched over in a cage like an animal.
I hear footsteps above, followed by the opening of a door. I point my gun toward the steps, and King does the same, but we put them down when the Titans come into view.
Stone shoots the lock off the cage and pulls Cori out. I punch Reed so hard in the face that blood gushes out of his nose. He looks shocked by the action, and he starts to weep.
I leave him and pull Cori into my arms.
“Are you okay?” She nods, and I exhale in relief. “They didn’t hurt you?”
“One of them slapped me, and the other threatened to rape me. I was so scared.” Tears fill her eyes.
My nostrils flare. My wife is a fierce warrior.
I’ve never known her to be scared. Not of me or anyone else.
Even when I took her off the street, she was angrier than scared.
Now, this piece of shit grabbed her, hit her, and threatened to violate her in the worst way.
“King, can you take Cori out?” He doesn’t say a word, but he takes Cori’s elbow and pulls her out of the house. Once I know she can’t see anything, I punch Reed again. He falls over, and I get on top of him and punch him until he begs for mercy, only he passes out before he can ask me to stop.
That doesn’t stop me. I leave him and turn my rage on his brother.
“Hunt, that’s enough.” I don’t know if it’s Stone or Steel, but my anger won’t allow me to stop. I can’t even see anymore. My vision is blurred, and blood spatters on me, but I keep punching.
“Son!” In this crazy state, I hear my mother’s voice. “Stop. I saw Cori. She’s fine.” I punch Reed in the ribs. “I said enough.”
I drop him, and he falls to the floor.
Stone puts a hand on my shoulder. “I didn’t know you had it in you, boy. I’m kinda proud.”
I ignore him and put my hands on my knees while I try to catch my breath.
It happens in a flash. I barely have time to register that Mom is holding a handgun. She promptly shoots Chandler in the back of the head and Reed in the temple.
“Now, it’s done,” she says. “The Titans will clean this up and make sure we’re not connected.
Make it look like a murder suicide. That’s the gun Chandler was holding.
” Mom wipes her gloved hands on her pants.
“You’ll get what you want,” she says to Steel.
“We’ll wash the additional money, but I suggest you get out of this life before you end up like them.
I’m going to take Cori home. Don’t be long, Son. She needs you.”