West’s hand on the bottom of my vest shifts, and he taps my back four times.
The hell?
Then I see it. A figure in the shadows. Unsteady, but silent steps.
Zephyr.
Three taps this time.
The woman I love swings a piece of wood up onto her shoulder—herbareshoulder. Fuck. She’s only wearing a bra and panties, and she’s covered in blood.
Two taps.
My Glock lies six inches away, and from this position, the brothers can’t see West’s other hand.
One tap.
I nod, hoping Zephyr understands what we need her to do.
“Hey, assholes,” she says, her voice weak, but steady.
Both brothers turn, startled, and her face, her triumphant smile, is the last thing they see.
West rolls to one side as I grab my Glock, and we fire together.
The leaders of the Strauss Cartel—the men who took my reason to live and tortured her until she could barely walk—fall to the ground, two shots to the head putting an end to both of them.
The piece of wood clatters on the concrete, and Zephyr sways as she tries to take another step. “Ronan? Help.”
I race for her, catching her in my arms as she topples over, and she whimpers in pain.
“I’m here, luv. I’ve got you now.”
* * *
Five bodies.That’s the mess Trevor, Tank, and Raelynn have to clean up. West orders them to pile them all with Oliver, then use some special powder concoction he came up with to start a fire so hot, only their bones will remain.
“It won’t spread,” he says, handing Tank the keys to the van. “Make sure you’re all at least twenty feet awayanddownwind, or you’ll never get the stench out of your gear. Once it’s burned out, put the bones in the metal storage boxes, then find the gas line to this place. But for fuck’s sake, warn us before you set the charge.”
“Don’t know why you’d want to be clear first. It’s cold enough to freeze the tits off a frog in here.” With a grin, Raelynn spins on her heel and follows Tank and Trevor to the van while West opens his med kit.
Zephyr passed out seconds after I caught her, and West checks her pulse. “They gave her something. Her heart’s racing. I gotta know what it was before I can do anything.”
Breaking a packet of smelling salts, he holds it under her nose, and she jerks awake with a shriek. “No! Please!”
I tighten my arms around her, but she claws at me, flailing and catching West in the chin with her bare foot.
“Ronan! Let her go!” he orders, and I do, because no one fucks with West when he uses that tone.
Zephyr crawls away a few feet before she curls into a ball on the floor, whimpering. “No more. No more. No more.”
The fear in her voice rips my heart into shreds. “Zephyr? It’s Ronan. You’re safe now, luv. I’m here.”
But she’s still whispering “No more” over and over again.
“Zephyr!” West says sharply. “Open your eyes. No one is going to hurt you. I’m a United States Navy SEAL, and you have my word.”
Whether West’s commanding voice, the combination of words she didn’t expect to hear, or something else entirely, Zephyr falls silent, then raises her head. Her eyes are both swollen, and she struggles to focus on him.
