Russell’s hands shoot up. “Listen, brother.”
“Choose your next words carefully,” I hiss, “because the only thing keeping you breathing right now is the hope that Eli is still alive.”
“We…we followed protocol,” he says shakily. “We’ve always been told that if something goes down, we prioritize the most precious members. We saw Knuckles and the new guy surrounded by three men, and we didn’t want to draw attention to the girls inside. We did what we were supposed to. We knew Knuckles could take care of him and the man long enough for us to get them back.”
Protocol.
Tank’s voice rumbles from the doorway. “Trev… remind everyone…who was the new guy that was with Knuckles?”
Trevor exhales like a man already digging his own grave.
“That was Eli,” he says quietly. “Skip’s man.”
“Exactly! Someone fuckingprecious,” Tank steps forward, each word low, shaking, deadly, “So, what I’m hearing is that four of my most deadly snipers sat in their positions, with clear fucking shots, andwatchedas Cortéz took not only an officer…” His voice fractures with fury. “…but also, another officer’s precious boy?”
“Well, Jared was killed,” Russell says quietly.
Tank takes another step. The men shrink.
“My fucking bad,” Tank says, his voice deadly. “Three of my most deadly snipers sat in their positions and did nothing. Is that what you’re telling me?” he roars.
They all nod.
And something inside me snaps…clean in half.
I shove forward, vision going red.
“Where the fuck were your instincts?” I scream. “That’s my man! He’s not a fighter. He doesn’t stand a fucking chance out there! And Knuckles…Knuckles is fucking dying! He can’t protect himself, let alone both of them!”
Spike steps into my path.
“Skip.”
“No!” I shove at him, shaking, barely holding myself upright. “They fucking knew! They watched Eli get taken! He…he can’t handle stress, he…he fuckingpasses out.Spike, what if they hurt him when he passes out? What if they take that opportunity to fucking rape…Fuck, I can’t breathe.”
My voice cracks.
“We’re getting them back,” Spike says quietly. “Foster’s working his ass off at this very moment to find us a lead.”
I don’t look away from the men who failed us. My voice drops to something cold enough to frost glass.
“If Eli dies because of your cowardice…” I lift my gun just enough for the metal to catch the light. All three men go still. “There won’t be a place on this earth you can hide from me.”
“And we won’t be making your death quick,” Bones growls as he steps into the shop. He pulls Sunny into his arms with one brutal motion, shielding her. “Whatever they do to that man, I’ll do to you tenfold. They punch him in the face? I’ll take a fucking hammer to yours. They cut him?” His voice drops to something unholy. “I’ll set fire to your skin. You got me?”
The men nod…slow, terrified, not daring to breathe wrong.
They fucking should be terrified.
“I have something,” Foster pants out as he rushes inside. “But it was… way too easy.”
“A trap?” Bones asks, glancing at Abby before sighing and pulling her against his body beside Sunny. She immediately hides her face against his chest and cries. Sunny cuddles up against her and wraps her arm around Abby’s back. Both feeling secure and safe in Bones' arms.
These fucking assholes keep scaring our club princess with their presence. She can’t escape Los Fantasmas, and that thought amps my anger up even more.
My fury snaps back into razor focus. I let it take me. Steady me. Fuel me.
“I think so,” Foster says. “But we can flip it on them. They don’t know we’re allied with the Italians. If we send in a team to ‘fall’ for the trap… they’ll relax. Drop their guard. And that’s when we send Maverick’s men.”
