Chapter 25
Seth
R egan was sleeping hard against my chest when we pulled up to the small airport. James and Rhys turned around to look at Regan as I said softly, “I’ll carry her inside so she sleeps as long as possible.”
Rhys quietly asked, “Should we have Stella come pick her up so she can get the rest she needs?”
It was Booker who leaned forward and lifted his middle finger into the air and shook his head before pointing down to Regan. He mouthed, “She’s coming.”
Rhys rolled his eyes, and James smiled before they opened their doors and exited the vehicle.
I didn’t want to wake her, but if I got out to pick her up, she would fall onto the seat against the arm with the stitches.
Booker tapped me, and I watched as he carefully placed his hands near her head.
With a fluid motion, I opened the door and slid out as he placed his hands against her head and shoulders, supporting her until I could reach in and lift her out.
She stirred but didn’t wake as I supported her against my chest, careful not to put pressure on her wound.
The stitches were gnarly when she ripped her bandage off, and I was glad Doc tended to her while we were having a meeting with Gunner and Skid.
Stepping onto the runway of the small country airport, I looked down at her beautiful face and wished I could have saved her from all the pain she’d endured throughout her life.
Devlin and Lucian were speaking with the pilots as Rhys, James, and Caldwell climbed the stairs and disappeared inside the metal tube.
Booker matched my pace as I carried Regan to the plane, and purposely keeping his voice low, he said, “When it’s time to do what needs to be done, I’ll have her back, the same as yours.
” He paused and asked, “She’s your one , isn’t she? ”
I looked at him, then down to her, and nodded.
“She’s it for me. I never thought I’d find someone who drew me in like she did, but her strength and the goodness in her soul after facing everything she’s faced .
. .” I shook my head and didn’t say anything else, because there was nothing else to say.
He smiled as we approached the plane and said, “I’m happy for you, Seth.”
Devlin and Lucian turned from their conversation as we got closer, and I could see worry in Devlin’s eyes.
The madman had a cold-blooded streak running through his soul that made normal men piss themselves in fear.
And for those who’d wronged him, he had no mercy.
If anything, he found that evil part of himself that his father thrived on and let a little of his crazy out.
“Is she going to be up for this?” Devlin asked as I hoisted her higher in my arms. “I don’t . . . can she handle this?”
I looked at Regan and then back to Devlin before rationalizing, “Whatever she needs, she gets. If killing Giovanni Marcora gives her peace, then that’s what she gets.
When the time comes, if she can’t do it, I’ll make sure he’s dead.
But no one will tell her what she can and can’t do, and no one will deny her this.
She’s suffered enough, so the rest of her life will be beauty and happiness. ”
Our eyes locked in the faint light of the rising sun, and when he gave a single nod, I knew he agreed.
There were a lot of women in our lives, and most, if not all, of them have suffered some kind of pain, abuse, or betrayal.
Regan was born into pain, raised on suffering, and had experienced betrayal deeper than anyone I’d ever met.
And the shitty part was most of her pain came from her mother.
Taking the stairs, I felt Booker behind me as I climbed up with Regan in my arms. The aisle of the plane was wider than most private planes but still narrow, so I turned sideways and shuffled down until I got to the couch at midplane.
Regan stirred in my arms but didn’t wake as I carefully laid her on the couch.
James appeared with a pillow and blanket as Rhys rose from his seat and came back to check on her. “How’s she doing?” he asked as James placed the blanket over her and I slid the pillow under her head.
“She’s tired, but she’ll be okay,” I remarked and stood from getting her secured in the seatbelts.
“I haven’t said anything about the two of you and the age difference,” Rhys began, and I stepped closer.
Lowering my voice, I warned, “And you’re not going to. Regan is a grown woman and there’s only eight years between us. But in life experience, she’s older than me, so leave her alone and allow her the chance to live.”
“He’s right, Rhys,” James remarked. “We sheltered her for years, thinking we were keeping the ugly parts of the world away from her, but we didn’t know what she’d already suffered.
She became a master at keeping secrets, and for some reason, Seth was able to get past the armor she’d wrapped herself in.
She trusts him, and until he proves otherwise, which I know he won’t, he has my support. So, give her space and let her be.”
Rhys’s mouth opened and closed but he didn’t say a word.
He was Regan’s half-brother by blood, but like Devlin, James chose her as his sister and not his cousin.
He’d been front and center since he discovered her existence, and if Rhys tried to intervene in her life going forward, James would be pissed.
And a pissed-off James Callahan wasn’t something I wanted to see.
James stepped up to Rhys and clapped him on the back as he joked, “Let me buy you a drink while we strategize.”
Rhys seemed unsure, but what the hell did he think I was going to do with Regan? She was asleep, had more stitches than I wanted to think about in her arm, and she was having to eviscerate herself with the pain she’d carried for too long. I wasn’t a dog or someone who had expectations.
If she and I ever got to the point where she wanted to be physical, then we could cross that bridge at that time.
I knew she had a painful past, so if it never happened, I would be okay with that too.
Sex was the easiest part of a relationship, and that’s what I wanted from Regan—a relationship, not some mile-high booty call.
I sat in the forward-facing seats across from the couch so I could keep an eye on her throughout the flight. If she needed me, I could simply reach across and touch her, but from this spot, I was also able to monitor her and plan what our next move would be.
We were still no closer to finding Giovanni or Dick Pickens, but we knew Giovanni was in Atlanta and we needed to find him before he slipped through our fingers.
I feared Regan wouldn’t be able to stop looking over her shoulder if she knew he was still out there and possibly hunting more innocent women.
Stupid fuckers, all of them.
The pilot climbed onboard and glanced at us before going into the cockpit and closing the door.
He was a trusted member of Devlin’s team, but I suspected everyone who worked for him was going to be thoroughly questioned and investigated.
The madman would find those who betrayed him and make them pay. That was certain.
A few minutes later, we were taxiing down the short runway, and as we lifted off the ground, I reached over and placed a hand on Regan, making sure she stayed still and asleep as we took off.
Once we reached altitude, I checked on her then walked to the front of the plane and sat on an armrest on the aisle so I could still see her over the seats.
“Where do we start looking? The system hasn’t detected Dick, and we have tens of thousands of cameras in the city looking for him. How the fuck does he keep evading us?” Devlin began, and I could see this was worrying everyone.
“John’s phone is being analyzed by Skid while we’re traveling, so if he finds anything, he’ll let us know immediately,” James answered, “but I feel like there’s something right in front of us that we’re missing.”
“What is your gut saying?” Rhys inquired.
James looked at his cousin and said, “I feel like we already got all the pieces to the puzzle, especially with the information we’ve gotten from Regan so far, we just don’t know what the picture is supposed to look like. Something is slipping past us, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
Exhaling, I glanced back at Regan before suggesting, “Let’s go over what we do know and what we’re overlooking may show itself.
” I made sure not to speak too loudly as I began.
“Regan was taken from her dorm room, and for the next year, she was basically strapped to Sergey’s side.
John sent Stella an email letting her know where he was, and when she killed him, Regan was taken to Kelly, where she spent months.
Then, somehow, she was given or traded to Giovanni Marcora, the illegitimate brother of the man Devlin killed. ”
“Who’s been bankrolling this bullshit? That girl, Wren, and Regan both said Giovanni was in a heated conversation with someone who’s financing the operation. Who in Atlanta has the kind of capital needed to restart the Syndicate without wanting a piece of the pie?” Caldwell inquired.
“That’s the million-dollar question. Regan believes Sergey was feeding her account numbers for the missing money from the Syndicate, but if memory serves me correctly, there wasn’t much money left after the Feds seized everything,” Lucian reasoned.
“But Regan said Sergey was siphoning money before he turned on the families. So, what if they’re looking for the missing money and believe Regan has the account information they need?
What if they convinced someone the money was real, and that person is financing everything, waiting for their payday? ” James asked.
Devlin looked at Lucian. “Do you still have any contacts in the Bureau who may have a lead on who’s been moving money? Or is there someone who you think may be secretly funding this?”
Lucian pinched his lips and shook his head. “The money was never something I was involved in, and as far as I knew, the Bureau was using the seized funds to pay to build the case, but I was basically pushed out before I could confirm.”
“What if Dick Pickens is calling the shots? What if he discovered the money and is using it to make his way to the top of the Syndicate?” Rhys asked.
“Then why let Giovanni leave with Regan and then demand he come back the same evening?” James interjected, and I could see his point.
“Basically, we’re no further along than we were earlier,” Devlin stated before a small voice from behind us drew all out attention.
“I think I know who’s funding it all, and if I’m right, we may be able to catch them all together. Or at least Giovanni.” Regan was sitting up on the couch and she looked exhausted.
I stood from my perch and walked back to her.
Squatting in front of her, I took her hands and placed a kiss on each, being careful not to jostle her wounded arm.
“Who’s that, darlin’?” She cast her eyes down, and it seemed she was hesitant to answer.
When she lifted her eyes, I could tell she was conflicted as she glanced at the attentive audience we had before turning back to me. “Who do you think it is?”
“I don’t know his name, but I know how he fits into the puzzle James was talking about.
” She looked down, and I followed her line of sight as he smiled at her.
“I remembered something from the last day I was with them. I don’t know his name, but .
. . it was Kelly’s other son. The younger one that she abused. ”
“Waylon?” I asked quietly, and she shrugged
“I never saw his face or heard his name, but the last day before . . . before Giovanni dragged me away, he told Kelly he thought he found it, and then one of the other girls said she had him looking for some kind of buried treasure. I thought it was bullshit and just whores gossiping, but something about it all seems too . . . convenient.”
I lifted my eyes to her and asked, “Why do you seem sad?”
“Isn’t . . . he’s Hannah’s half-brother. She’ll hate me more than she already should.”
Kissing her hands again, I explained, “Darlin’, no one hates you, and there is no way Hannah will ever feel anything but love for you.”
“But he’s her family.”
Rhys approached, and when he took a seat next to her, I gave them some space as he tried to speak with her.
“Hannah loves you, and I can tell you this because she and I have had this conversation. Waylon is someone she tried to give grace to, noting the harsh, abusive environment he grew up in. But he’s a stranger to her and she has no loyalty to him.
I swear to you, she could never be mad at you, especially if you’re right and he’s the puppet master pulling the strings and the one responsible for all this pain. ”
The look in Regan’s eyes didn’t show confidence in her brother’s statement, and he gave me a concerned look before he hugged her carefully and returned to his seat.
James looked like he wanted to say something, but he met my gaze and I could see he was giving the role of her confidante and protector to me.
And if the preppy assassin was giving me the responsibility of loving and protecting this beautiful woman next to me, then I wouldn’t let him down.
And if that little weaselly bastard was the one who sent Giovanni and John to kidnap not only Regan but Wren as well, then he deserved whatever hell we rained down on him
And if Hannah had a problem with it, then too fucking bad.
Family or not, if Waylon was the mastermind, his days were numbered.