“So what happens next?” Rebel stepped right up to Garrett, completely unafraid. “You take Dom because you think that will keep you safe while you flee our city? Then what?”
Nostrils flaring, Garrett blinked a few times, like he struggled to maintain eye contact with Rebel. “Then we dump him out on the side of the road somewhere. We go back to our city, and you stay in yours. We forget this entire thing. Of course, if he tries anything stupid, we’ll kill him.”
Rebel nodded, pursing his lips. “Mmhmm. You made a few stupid decisions and now you’re running scared. Do you really think someone in my position should let you get away with that?”
Ray jabbed his gun hard into Noah’s ribs, making him let out a yelp of pain. I subtly nudged Rebel, willing him to stand down. We could take our vengeance on Garrett and his thugs later. Now was not the time to challenge them.
“Let him go,” I said, taking a step forward, both hands raised to show that I didn’t have a weapon. I made sure to come unarmed. “You can take me instead. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Garrett continued to stare hard at Rebel before finally redirecting his gaze in my direction. “Sure is. Fine, let’s make the trade. Don’t try anything stupid.”
Ray gave Noah a hard shove, making him almost slip on the ice. I reached out to grab him, steadying him before he fell.
“Don’t do this, Dom. You don’t have to.” Noah held tight to me, his expression filled with worry.
“He really does though,” Garrett interrupted. “We have several guns on you right now. We’ll drop you right here and be gone before the cops come. Your boyfriend and his buddies will take the fall. Now stop holding things up. We need to get moving.”
It was abundantly clear to me that Garrett was making decisions out of desperation. He was failing as a leader in front of his people and scrambling to make it look like he had control of the situation. Desperate men did crazy things. The last thing I wanted was to push him into making a crazy mistake that Noah would pay for.
“Don’t worry about me.” I lightly touched Noah’s chin, staring deep into his eyes. “No matter what happens, I’m still glad I didn’t kill you.”
I offered him a cheeky grin, trying to lighten the mood. Knowing that we didn’t have much time, I kissed him. An affectionate press of lips. A silent promise. We had so much ahead of us. It would take a lot more than Garrett to ruin that.
Ray stepped forward to jab his gun into my back while Garrett barked at me to get in the van. Without hesitation, I climbed into the back of the van, settling on a bench seat. As the door slid shut, I saw Noah clench his hands into fists. His jaw hard set and determined. I had a feeling Garrett made a mistake letting him go. He would find that out the hard way.
Garrett and Ray got into the back with me along with a few others. Two more climbed into the front. We pulled out of the parking lot, leaving my friends and my lover behind.
“I bet you’re wishing you’d killed him now,” Garrett smirked. “Because now you’ll be the one to die. We didn’t take you just so your friends would let us go without trouble. I’ve been thinking ahead. Planning for a situation like this.”
“Uh huh.” I regarded him with utter disdain. “You think you’re smart, don’t you? I’m embarrassed for you.”
The sudden punch in the face was expected. The force knocked me back against the van wall, my ears ringing. My instinct was to fight back. Ray’s gun in my face stopped me.
“There’s a group in Camden,” Garrett continued, happy to hear himself talk. “The Vultures MC. The Kings have a dealwith their rivals, The Devil’s Horsemen, and that’s given the Horsemen an edge over The Vultures. The Vultures want to hurt the Kings, and that’s why I’m delivering you to them. When the rest of your friends come to avenge you, they’ll be met with a pissed off motorcycle club. The Kings die. Me and my boys move into your turf and take over.”
The Vultures had approached us a year ago, asking us to secure a steady shipment of drugs for them. They wanted heavy shit, fentanyl and other drugs we didn’t deal in. We weren’t willing to change our personal rule for them, and that pissed them off. Instead, we formed a partnership with the Horsemen and everything had been good since then.
Until now.
Even with a gun in my face, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Your little plan might sound good to you but you’re forgetting one thing.”
“And what might that be?” Garrett sat stiffly, ready to pound me again.
“The Horsemen. They’re not only our business partners. They’ll have our backs if needed. They outnumber The Vultures. They have chapters all over this country. I guess you didn’t think that far ahead.” Cocking my head to one side, I grinned. What Garrett was about to do would start an all-out war. Plenty of people would die, including him.
His confident expression faltered. “We’ll take over the King’s business. The Horsemen will work with us.”
Slowly, I shook my head. “If you really believe that, you’re dumber than you look.”
I was ready for the next punch Garrett threw. And the one after that. Even when I tasted blood, I wouldn’t stop laughing. He’d really screwed himself. Biting off more than he could chew.
It wouldn’t be long before Noah and my friends came after us. They would never let Garrett and his crew get very far. All Ihad to do was sit back, wait, and hope that Garrett didn’t snap and blow my head off in the meantime.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
NOAH
Watching that van drive away with Dominik inside gutted me. I had the undeniable urge to go after them. To do whatever it took to get him back. Since that wasn’t an option, I did the next best thing.
