“She would hate us for putting her above Delia and you know it,” I tell him. “My brother alone will be easier to handle than a whole compound of Dragons.”
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asks as he stops pacing to look at me while throwing his hands in the air with exasperation. “Malik, stop giving me half plans and surprising me with the rest.”
“Laith, as you know, has been following Slayer and me for a while. I thought he was acting on orders from his President, but after the conversation he had with Slayer a few days ago, I have my doubts. He wanted to know about the night she was taken, what Jaeger’s part in it all was. Does that sound like a brother who is loyal to his President?” I quirk a brow in question.
“What if that’s what he wants us to believe? It could be a trap. He may not even be alone.” His nostrils flare as his eyes turn glassy with alarm. Diego is worried for his sister and that’s the only reason I’m allowing him this moment of pure panic. It’s why I’m trying my best to help him work through it.
“You’re right, I don’t know for sure, but trust me, it’s our safest bet. If we storm the Dragons, we’ll have dead brothers on our hands, and that could very well drive Jaeger over the edge and kill Slayer once and for all.” I step forward and place my hand on his shoulder, willing him to hear and understand what I’m saying. “We don’t want him to feel cornered, but maybe we can get some information out of my brother. Trust that she’s strong enough. We trained her to be a fucking warrior.”
“Okay,” he finally agrees, his shoulders falling forward as he takes a deep breath. “You’re right. Let’s go get Delia.”
This rescue was planned with stealth in mind, not force. Instead of waiting for all the brothers to be suited for battle, I’ve taken just Diego and Ajani with me, telling the March to be prepared for our call should we need them. The three of us trained in different areas and each of us are deadly in our own right.
I signal for us to turn into an empty lot just down the road from where my brother’s location was detected. It’s better he doesn’t hear the approaching sounds of our engines. Once we’re all hidden well behind the building, we cut the motors and begin to double-check the guns strapped to our bodies. No one says a word, knowing there’s nothing that can be said right now. As much as we’re relieved to be getting Delia back, we have the added worry of imagining what Slayer is going through.
“We know the plan,” I say as I turn to look at them. “Diego, you take the front. Ajani, you stick close to the bikes in case someone shows up.”
“We’ll get them both, brother.” Ajani clasps my bicep and I turn to give him a grim nod. I’ve never been close to my brothers inside Hell’s March. I was always the outsider who loved mayhem a little too much and was considered the loose cannon. I liked it that way though because when you have people who depend on you, your life is suddenly overburdened.
However, all of that changed when Slayer came into my life. She showed me that I am worthy of a family, and now I can say with utmost certainty that I have two real brothers in Diego and Ajani.
We walk in silence toward the warehouse, our thoughts speaking louder than our boots crushing against gravel. I feel the anxious energy swirling around us and it only makes me grow hotter with anger. Guilt is an emotion I haven’t been well-acquainted with, but that’s exactly what I’m feeling now. Something made Slayer think she couldn’t trust me with her decision, and I can’t help but think she’s in the predicament she’s in because of me.
“Even if it means my death, I will make sure we get Genevieve back,” Diego vows. “I won’t fucking rest until Jaeger’s head is on a fucking spike.”
I hum my agreement and then signal for us to be quiet. The building looms just ahead, looking abandoned and long forgotten except for the many tire marks in the dirt lot. Stupid, amateur move. I motion for Diego to head around the front and then I motion for Ajani to stay in place while I move to the rear. We step lightly to silence the crunch of our boots and I move in close to the wall, shrouded by shadows.
My cut drags along the corrugated metal as I near a door, seeing a small car parked in the building’s shade. It’s the same one my brother has been using to follow Slayer and me, but then I see a set of handlebars on the other side of it. Filing the information aside, I continue creeping closer to the door where I notice multiple sets of footprints. Fuck, Laith’s not alone. It doesn’t matter, we would risk our lives to bring Delia back.
The inside is completely silent when I press my ear to the door, so I slowly turn the handle and breathe a sigh of relief when it gives and swings open. I leave it open a crack as I step inside, preparing for if I need a quick exit, and look around. There’s an old folding table, a couch, and what looks to be a bunch of cots stacked in one corner, slightly gray with a light dusting of sand. Clearly, they moved out not too long ago.
This must’ve been where the club stayed while their compound was being renovated after Genni torched it. I grin to myself at the memory of her flicking that cigarette like the badass she is. I take in every single detail, noting the single bathroom and another door that’s closed to the far left of where I’m standing. There’s a clear path through the light dust on the floor, leading to that door, and I decide to follow it. Voices suddenly become clearer the closer I get, a smirk lifting my lips. Diego appears through the front door just then, his gun aimed at me, and I nod my chin at the door before lifting my foot and kicking the fucker in.
My gun is trained on my brother who abruptly rises from his chair about two feet in front of me as a surfer-looking dude draws his from where he’s leaning against the wall to my right. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Diego growls out at the blond biker as he steps up. “That verse was all fucked-up,” he whispers to me.
“Coolio just said it better,” I respond with a shrug.
Delia is sitting in a chair with ropes discarded on the floor around it, sipping water and eating a bag of chips with a grin plastered to her face. “Took you guys long enough.”
A key sliding into the lock on the door alerts me to a visitor and I quiet my whistling, needing them to believe that I’m truly fearing for my life.
The door opens, letting in the bright, fluorescent light from the corridor, and I hiss at the sudden attack on my corneas. I hear his deep chuckle before I’m able to see his silhouette.
“That’s just the beginning of your pain, sister.”
“Goody,” I whisper before squinting at Jaeger as he steps into the room, leaving the door open to illuminate the space I’m being held in. I lift my bound hands to cover my face from the light when he grabs me by the wrists and hauls me to my feet. It takes everything in me not to slam my forehead into his fucking face just so he can believe I’m still the weak sister he mauled many times before.
“Remember the last time you were in the Slaughter Room, Genni?” he asks as he brings our bodies flush, keeping my hands up over my head. “You were so fucking scared. Tell me, are you scared now?” A sharp pain shoots through my wrists as he holds them tightly in his hands, crushing the bones while he growls in my face.
It was a time that’s long become foggy with the passing of years. Memories which used to be so vivid are now nothing more than faded images. Jaeger, Quinton, and I were hanging out at the clubhouse because Ma had a meeting and Dad needed to be here for official club business. We played hide and seek and I somehow got myself locked inside this room. It was still stained with the blood of their last victim, and the scent made me sick. By the time I was found by Dad, I had pissed myself and puked all over the floor. Now that I’ve witnessed death, at my own hands no less, I hold no fear for this place.
“I was twelve, you fucking idiot. Of course I was scared,” I retort as his eyes grow dark with anger. “Where the fuck is Delia?” My teeth ache as I clench them, the force of my words making my gums pulse.
“Who?” His head tips to the side as he looks at me with confusion. I can see it’s fucking genuine and I begin to chuckle as I realize Jaeger doesn’t know about Diego’s sister. Another fucking mistake on my end, the first and biggest one was thinking I could become President when my father offered the position. When I don’t answer his question and continue to glare at him, the confusion slowly melts away to anger.“Just looking at you is making me sick,” he spits out. “My mother’s death is staining your hands red.”
I look at him with my mouth gaping open at the actual audacity he possesses. “I had nothing to do with Claire’s death! Your hands are soaked in the blood of our father!” I exclaim as I pull on the hold he has on my wrists. “I watched you put a bullet in his head. Don’t think I forgot that, Jaeger.”
