I raised my pistol and pointed it at his head.
“Wait!” he shrieked. “I have information. I can?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” I snarled. Keeping my eyes trained on Dunbar, I spoke into my comms. “Wizard? We need him?”
“Nah,” he replied. “I’ve dug up most of the shit on the parent company and the buyers. Our friend gave up a few more details.”
Before the next day was gone, Wizard would have everything he needed to pass the info along to the feds. He’d make sure it was airtight, and they had no roadblocks in taking those assholes down.
“King?” I asked.
“Your call.”
A part of me wanted to make Dunbar suffer. To cause him pain over and over until I felt he’d paid for his sins. Except nothing would ever be enough. And I was tired of this shit. I wanted it done, to go back to my woman without this cloud hanging over us. To finally tell her I loved her and make her mine in every way.
One clean shot between the eyes, and it was done.
We dragged the bodies to the center of the main room and then stood back and let Blaze get to work. When he was done, nothing would be left. No evidence. Just ash.
Twenty minutes later, he lit the place up. The fire was bright and hot, a towering column of smoke that lit the night sky like a sign that vengeance had been served.
We stood together, watching the flames throw long shadows over the dirt. I watched the fire until the roof caved in, the heat stinging my face.
By the time we climbed back on our bikes, I hadn’t said a word. There was only one thought in my head.
Maren.
I needed to see her. Touch her. Remind myself that she was alive, safe, and mine.
18
MAREN
I’d opened the window for some fresh air, and it turned out to be a good decision because I heard the motorcycles that much sooner. Their engines growled outside the compound gates, and I didn’t think; I just ran. Out of Lucas’s room, down the hallway, past a couple of startled prospects. My legs carried me before my mind caught up.
I hit the bottom step just as the front door swung open.
Lucas stepped inside, blood streaked his jaw, dirt smeared on one shoulder, and his knuckles were raw and red. He looked like he’d walked straight out of a war.
But he was upright. Breathing. And whole.
My knees nearly gave out from the force of relief flooding through me.
His gaze immediately locked on me, and I felt it like a physical pull. My entire body tightened under the weight of his focus.
He didn’t slow as he stalked toward me. When he finally stopped in front of me, his hand came up to cup my jaw, his thumb brushing just under my ear. The warmth of his palmand the steadiness of his touch loosened the tightness inside my chest.
“It’s over. You’re safe.”
I exhaled a shaky breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, leaving me lightheaded. I wanted things to feel normal again. To breathe without waiting for the next shoe to drop.
My lips wobbled into a smile. “Does that mean I can leave now?”
I only meant the lockdown, but the way his eyes darkened told me he thought they were for an entirely different reason.
His jaw flexed, a sharp tic that sent a rush of heat straight through me. “You’re not sleeping anywhere but with me.”
I blinked up at him. I’d only meant the lockdown was over, that I’d be allowed to leave the compound without an escort. It had nothing to do with wanting space from him. “Lucas, that’s not?—”
