Chapter 27
Seth
I knew she was nervous. Hell, she was probably terrified, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at her.
Seeing the scars covering her body was jarring, and I wanted to scream into the air but refrained, acting like I didn’t see them.
Regan obviously went through more than most people could endure in a lifetime, but she never let it make her hard or cruel.
And Giovanni Marcora being the one who gave her the scars meant he was already dead—he just didn’t know it.
James turned into Hannah’s old neighborhood, moving closer to the house that she rented to Waylon, and I noticed Regan sit straighter. The house was within sight when a phone rang from the front seat. Devlin pulled out his phone and answered it on speaker.
“What’s the plan, Rhys?” Devlin asked.
“Park a few houses down and be ready for my signal. Hannah and I are going to knock on the door so he doesn’t get spooked.”
“I’ll give you five minutes, then we’re moving in.”
“Understood,” Rhys responded and hung up the phone.
James pulled up to the curb in front of a house for sale four doors down from Waylon and put the car into park. Devlin spun around and looked at us as he ordered, “Hang tight until they do recon.”
Regan nodded, and her eyes were locked on the house as Caldwell pulled the SUV into the driveway behind Waylon’s car and Rhys and Hannah stepped out. She leaned forward as they walked to the side door and knocked. A few moments later, they looked at each other then Rhys knocked again.
He looked over his shoulder at us parked down the street while Hannah leaned closer to the door. She said something to Rhys, and he snapped his head at her and responded. I wished I could read lips or that they had coms on.
Rhys said something to Lucian and Caldwell before he raised his hand into the air, motioning for us to pull up.
Regan gave me a worried look, and as we got closer to the driveway, Lucian and Caldwell took point, pulling their weapons and approaching the door.
Rhys moved Hannah out of the way as we pulled up behind them.
Devlin and James jumped out immediately, and I sat in the back as Rhys moved Hannah to our car and she got into the backseat on the other side of Regan.
“What’s going on?” I asked Rhys, and he looked at the door as Lucian and Caldwell breeched the entrance and entered the house along with Devlin and James.
“Hannah heard some mumbling inside, and I don’t want them in there until we know what’s what.”
“You can go if you need to,” Regan said, but I shook my head.
“Booker and I are fine here until they need us,” I remarked as Rhys closed the door and stepped to the side of the front vehicle, using the engine as a shield until we knew who was inside.
James stepped out, and Rhys quickly approached.
They spoke and both men looked at our vehicle before they turned their backs to us and continued to speak.
“I’ll be right back, baby. Stay here with Hannah and Booker,” I ordered. Regan looked at me and gave a fearful nod before I slipped out of the backseat.
Walking up, I heard raised voices coming from inside, and as I approached James and Rhys, I could make out what they were saying and I became pissed.
“I don’t think she needs to see him. He’s spewing off at the mouth about being double crossed, and I don’t want her being upset any more than she already is,” Rhys said.
“Who’s inside?” I asked, and they both tried to sidestep the question. Stepping closer, I asked again, “Who is inside?”
James gave me a worried look before he sighed and finally admitted, “Giovanni was tied up in the living room with a note attached to his chest.”
“What did it say?” I demanded in a harsh tone that left no room for argument.
James shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck before he responded. “It said, ‘Here’s one. Do with him what you want.’”
“Did . . . who tied him up?” I inquired.
“My guess is Waylon. We may have been right about him, but something tells me we were wrong too,” Rhys said.
“And you two think you’re keeping Regan away from Giovanni?” They looked guilty as I crossed my arms and widened my stance. “I’m taking her inside whether you like it or not.”
Rhys tried to reason, “She’s so fragile, and I don’t want him setting her recovery back.”
I turned and motioned to Booker, letting him know it was time to honor our promise to Regan.
He got out of the car and started helping her exit as I turned back to James and Rhys.
“Leaving her out of this is going to set back her recovery. Last night, she killed a man to save someone else’s life.
She faced them and showed her strength. Don’t make her see herself as a victim when she is nothing but a survivor.
Give her the chance to settle this her way. ”
I heard footsteps behind me and I turned to find Booker offering his arm as Regan held on, using his to assist her. She was weak, scared, and injured, yet she was still willing to fight, and that said more about her recovery than anything.
“What’s going on?” Regan asked as Hannah stepped up behind her and Booker.
I took her hand and looked her in the eyes as I explained, “Waylon isn’t here, but someone else is, and I want you to tell me how you want to proceed.
” She nodded, so I continued. “Giovanni Marcora is tied up inside, so it looks like you were right about Waylon.” Lifting my eyes, I met Hannah’s gaze and added, “I’m sorry. ”
She shook her head and replied, “If he’s guilty, then he can rot like Kelly and Sergey Junior.”
“Regan, if you don’t want to go inside . . .” James began, but she gave him a look that frightened me. He stopped speaking as they stared at each other, and finally, he said, “I’ve got your back.”
Regan reached into the back of her pants and pulled out her gun. It was a beautiful piece that I’d watched her shoot several times over the last year, and she was accurate and sexy as fuck as she shot the weapon. Gripping it tight, she looked at me and asked, “Are you ready?”
“Whenever you are,” I replied and cut my eyes to James and Rhys.
Hannah was standing next to Rhys, and he linked hands with her, showing he was staying behind.
James stepped up along with Booker, and the four of us walked to the back door.
As we stepped inside, I could hear conversation coming from the other room and I let Regan lead as we moved from the living room into the dining room.
Lucian and Devlin were standing in front of someone in a chair with their backs to us and when they heard us enter, they both turned to look.
They had the same blue flames burning in their eyes, and the resemblance to their father at that moment was scary.
They both saw Regan and her gun before they turned back to the person in front of them.
Devlin, being the madman he is, spoke to the person I knew was Giovanni Marcora, the soon-to-be dead man.
“I guess it’s time for the lightning round of today’s questions, and for every question you refuse to answer, I’m going to take another digit.
You have twenty between your hands and feet.
I wonder how many I’ll have to take before you finally speak. ”
The sound of someone spitting echoed through the room, and Devlin stood up and wiped his hand across his face. Instantly, he swung that hand and struck Giovanni in the face, forcing him and the chair he was strapped into fall to the floor.
It was in that position that the demented bastard noticed Regan, and he had the audacity to demand she release him.
“Let me go, you fucking whore. I swear, I’ll kill you for this,” he yelled, and Lucian kicked him in the stomach, causing him to vomit onto the floor.
I felt bad for what we were going to do to Hannah’s house, but something told me she would never step foot inside again. Glancing at Regan, I saw her head was tilted to the side as she watched Giovanni being manhandled back into his upright seat while he continued bitching about his treatment.
“You can’t do this to me. Do you have any idea who I am?”
Lucian leaned forward and asked, “Who are you?”
“I’m the head of the Syndicate and a very powerful man who can have you killed for this. Let me go and I’ll forget about all of this,” he boasted.
Devlin went to speak, but it was Regan who interjected. “You are the head of absolutely nothing, you pathetic piece of shit, and we both know it.”
“Who the fuck do you think you’re speaking to, whore? I should whip your ass for your disrespect.”
I saw red at his threat, but as I went to step forward, Booker placed a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
Devlin and Lucian were still standing between Regan and Giovanni, while James observed from the side with an expression that was terrifying.
I didn’t think Giovanni would be able to get to Regan, but I wasn’t going to take a chance.
I shrugged my shoulder, silently demanding Booker release me, and he leaned over and whispered, “She’s safe. Watch her.”
Lucian and Devlin stepped to the side with James, allowing her to be directly in front of Giovanni. When he saw her gun, he laughed and asked, “What are you gonna do with that?”
She glanced at the three men beside her and then back to me before her eyes hooded and she cracked a smile. Fear shot down my back, and I was glad I wasn’t the one she was pissed at. Looking at Devlin, she asked, “Do you have a knife?”
Giovanni tried to speak, only for Lucian to punch him in the mouth, forcing blood to run down his chin.
Devlin handed Regan a large knife that I recognized as a military Ka-Bar knife, which was ultra sharp and deadly.
She handed Devlin the gun, took the knife , and stepped closer to Giovanni.
I wanted to keep distance between them, but I wouldn’t get involved unless she needed me to.
This was Regan’s revenge, and it was going to be bloody.