Arguing isn’t going to do me any good here, and it’s none of her business so I just hang my head and nod.
“Just so we make sure you don’t do anything stupid in the future…” She trails off, which makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I bring my eyes up to hers and watch as she picks up her phone and dials a number. As soon as I move to launch at her, I’m held back by the men who brought me in here. With my arms bound I can’t do much but watch her.
The person on the other end picks up, and she murmurs two words that bring my world to a standstill.
“Do it.”
No sooner than she cuts the call do I hear the three rapid shots ring out. I watch them fall to the ground, then the video and audio cut out. It takes me a few seconds to realize the agonizing screams hurting my ears are my own. I sag in the men’s grip until they’re forced to hold up all my weight or drop me.
“Take care of him.”
The men sneer at me as they lead me out of the office.
“Oh, and Declan?” She calls at my back.
I turn my head to look at her.
“The next time you disobey me, not only will I kill your entire lineage, but I’ll let these men tear into you like they’ve been begging to do for years.”
With that, I’m dragged out of the building and into the back alley. They throw me to the ground while I fight my restraints the best that I can, but with two men the same size as I am taking turns kicking the shit out of me, there isn’t much I can do. Finally, with one hard hit to my head, darkness swallows me up and my body crumbles.
* * *
I wake up swinging, literally. My fists strike out in all directions until my brain catches up that I’m alone. Sitting up, I lean against the back wall of the building and place my head in my hands and check over my chest and body. No bodily fluids that aren’t my own, so at least there’s that. My phone and keys are still in my pocket, and my head is pounding. My phone is vibrating constantly, and when I fish it out I see Jakob’s name flashing across the screen. Well, more like I see two phones, both with his name flashing. It all hits me at once. The fight, Natasha, the gun, then Mikhail and Yuri who kicked me in the temple. By the time I stop seeing two of everything, Kieran’s the one calling me.
“Hello?” I can hear the groggy sound ringing through my tone.
“Declan! Fuck, man. Where are you? You have us all panicking, brother.”
I shake my head as the blurriness comes back, “I’m uh–I’m–.” Where the hell am I again? “I don’t know.”
My eyes shut as white hot pain continues to lance through my skull.
“Declan? Where are you?” Kieran’s yelling, or maybe he’s whispering. I can’t tell. I just need to lay back against this wall for a minute.
“Shh, stop yelling. You’ll wake him up.”
“Who, Dec?”
“Chaos.”
I don’t hear anything else he says, because once again the darkness swallows me up.
18
Chapter Eighteen
Jakob
Two Hours Earlier
Itexted Declan about ten minutes ago, but he hasn’t answered. Yeah, I’m checking every fifteen seconds, so sue me. The bar isn’t overly crowded tonight, which is pretty on par for a Wednesday night. I’m pouring a couple of beers for the men who just settled up on the far side of the bar when the door opens, drawing my attention. It’s a weeknight, so it’s quiet enough that I can hear when people enter and exit Knipe.
Carrying the beers over to my customers, I watch as the youngest Byrne walks in right behind my sister’s biological sister. Yeah, it’s a thing. Elle’s technically Lelonie’s sister, they share biological parents, but she’s a Fischer, full stop. I don’tcare what her DNA says and neither does anyone else in my family. They never come in here, so I’m curious as they walk over to the front of the bar and find two empty seats.
I can hear Sully as I’m still walking over to the bar, “Hey, man. You seen Declan?”
“No, why would I have seen him?” I try to feign ignorance, but his expression tells me I’m not fooling him.
