Jax nodded. “Started with everything Tripp gave us on Ronnie. A lot of it was dead ends—people locked up, moved on, places burned out, sold off—but patterns don’t vanish completely. Bastards like him always revert to habit.”
My jaw tightened at the mention of Ronnie’s name, teeth grinding until pain shot through my temples. Jax clickedsomething on the laptop, and an image appeared. Grainy security footage from the convenience store parking lot, Aubrey’s car clearly visible under the washed-out glare of lights. My hands fisted helplessly at my sides.
“Sent a couple of prospects out to canvass, and a couple of people in that area reported seeing a white van near the convenience store.” Jax clicked again to show another shot—shadowy, with no plates visible. “Cameras caught it leaving the parking lot about twenty minutes after she parked. Followed its route using traffic and business cameras, picking it back up every few miles. It headed out toward the outskirts of Parkland.”
That was two towns over from Crossbend, and it was rural and sparsely populated.
“No traffic, very few businesses, no real reason to go there unless you’re trying to disappear.” Jax tapped a spot on the map, an isolated property surrounded by miles of nothingness.” I’m pretty damn sure this is where he took her.”
It was perfect for a man like Ronnie Hanks. A secluded hole to crawl into, far from prying eyes or potential interference.
Kane rose from behind his desk. “Let’s ride.”
The brothers immediately shifted into motion, purpose driving each step. Weapons and gear were checked swiftly and methodically, a sense of grim resolve settling like armor around each man’s shoulders. I reached for my gun, feeling the cool metal beneath my fingertips like a lifeline. Every muscle tightened with anticipation, adrenaline mixing dangerously with the dark, brutal thoughts already spinning inside my head.
As we moved toward the door, Tripp fell into step beside me, a silent presence charged with unresolved tension. I kept my gaze forward, not wanting to acknowledge the unspoken bond forming out of shared desperation. For the moment, we were allies again. It was time to bring Aubrey home.
The property satat the end of a narrow dirt road surrounded by scrub brush and overgrown trees. It was a shadowy maze of rusting buildings, reeking of decay. As soon as we got eyes on it, every ugly piece of the puzzle slid into place. Men patrolled the perimeter with rifles, vehicles were scattered around the buildings, and lookouts occupied elevated positions. Ronnie Hanks hadn’t been hiding. He’d been fucking waiting.
My grip tightened around my weapon as we watched from cover. Aubrey was in there. I could feel it.
Call it instinct, desperation, or simply the certainty that a monster like Ronnie wouldn’t go through this much trouble just to leave her somewhere else. Either way, she was close. And probably scared out of her fucking mind.
Every muscle in my body burned with tension as I gave the signal. We moved in swiftly, guns drawn, our footsteps silent against the dirt, violence waiting to erupt from every angle.
A firefight erupted almost immediately after we breached the perimeter. Gunfire shattered the night, muzzle flashes ripping through the darkness as security scrambled to respond. Men shouted. Glass exploded. Somebody screamed.
The operation moved with ruthless speed because hesitation got people killed. My brothers flowed through the property like a tidal wave of violence, crushing resistance before it could organize.
Ronnie’s security was thick, likely remnants of his old crew desperate enough or stupid enough to align with him again. They fought fiercely, but the Kings fought harder, our brutality tempered by the relentless need to reclaim one of our own. Everysecond felt excruciating, a relentless reminder that Aubrey was somewhere in this hell.
Chaos surged around us—men shouting, bullets slicing the air, and debris showering down. A man stepped into my path near one of the side buildings. I shot him twice and kept moving. Another tried to swing a rifle toward me, and Edge had slit his throat before I could put him down.
We pushed toward the main structure when a burst of automatic fire tore through the hallway ahead of us. Everybody dove for cover. Kane was closest to the opening, and a guard appeared in the hallway, leveling his weapon directly at him. Before I could even react, Tripp lunged, taking the bullet high in his shoulder. His body slammed into Kane and sent both of them crashing into the wall.
“Fuck!” Nitro roared.
The shooter didn’t get a second chance. Half the hallway opened fire, and the bastard was unrecognizable as a human when the air cleared.
I looked at Tripp as he staggered to the side, blood staining his shirt dark, and a furious curse spilling from his lips. I snorted, unable to suppress a barbed comment, “Least you fucking deserve for lying to us, asshole.”
Tripp scowled, pain tight around his mouth. “Good to see your bedside manner still sucks.”
Normally, I’d have enjoyed the argument, but right then, I didn’t give a shit. Aubrey was all I could focus on because she was still somewhere inside this place. I left the others behind and kept moving, every instinct driving me deeper into the building. Tripp staggered behind me, stubbornly keeping pace as we tore through rooms, kicking open doors, searching each one frantically until I heard a muffled whimper through the final locked door at the end of the hallway.
My pulse exploded, and I kicked the door open. It flew inward, wood splintering and hinges groaning. And there she was.
Aubrey was lying on a dirty mattress, her wrists raw from ropes tying her hands behind her back. When her head turned toward the noise, tears streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were wide and glassy from whatever drugs Ronnie had forced into her system. Terror bled from her like an open wound.
But she was fucking alive. The relief hit so hard it nearly brought me to my knees.
“Aubrey,” I rasped.
Her eyes slowly drifted to my face, and there was confusion, then recognition, followed by tears. “Canyon.”
My entire world narrowed to that one broken whisper, but Ronnie Hanks was still breathing. And that was un-fucking-acceptable.
He stood near her, his twisted face frozen in shock for a heartbeat before his hand dropped toward the weapon tucked into his waistband.
