Page 7 of Her Angel: Elias

Adrenaline still flooding my system, I looked down at my chest. The tattoo was unrecognizable, the flesh discolored, the imprint of the Obsidian Souls insignia outlined over most of the petals. The odor of burning flesh was sickening, yet it wasn’t even close to the worst thing that had ever filled my nose.

But it was the unexpected high pitch of a ringing phone that stopped everyone. All the Obsidians looked around, confused by the sound. First, one phone went off, and then another, until every device in the room was screaming for attention. From what I’d observed, their phones had been on silent since no noise had come from them over the last two days. As for my own phone, and those of my MC brothers, they’d been confiscated from us during the ambush when we first arrived.

Despite the discomfort, the stench, and the rage I was experiencing, a grin began to lift my mouth. Vaughn’s ability to control anything with an internet connection never ceased to amaze me, even after all this time.

“You might want to get that,” I advised, tilting my chin in the direction of the cell phone Bronco had picked up.

Confusion still pulling at his brows, he connected the unknown number. “Yeah?”

As he listened, all the color drained from his face, and a choked laugh escaped me, causing my ribs to protest when the charred skin on my chest tightened. “Sammy baby, Daddy has missed his little psychopath. Come play with the bad, bad men.”

Samara

All around me, men were moving quickly. Gearing up, familiarizing themselves with the layout of where the rogue Obsidian Souls had taken the Angel’s Halo members. I stood still as a statue, my eyes focused solely on the screens that had been hastily set up.

Vaughn had found all the CCTV footage he could featuring Elias and his MC brothers from the moment they’d arrived at the Obsidian clubhouse. The ambush had been brutal. I had to give Bronco props; he’d handled it with military efficiency. Not just anyone could surprise Max, Jack, Elias, and the others as fully as they had.

But then again, they’d arrived thinking they were helping the other MC, assisting a brotherhood.

Only, the men who were most like family to Angel’s Halo were already dead, leaving a dozen of the newest members of the club, who didn’t know shit about what it meant to be loyal to an organization that would risk their lives for one of their own. Inside the Obsidian’s clubhouse, there had been a bloodbath, the prez dead, along with at least twenty other brothers.

Once Vaughn lost track of Bronco and his men through CCTV, he’d hacked their phones. By then, I’d already been in the air with my own crew, which included a handful of the Angel’s Halo brothers. One phone call, and Ryan had put a small army of his own men on a plane headed west. I didn’t think for a single moment it was for my benefit. Nova had three cousins missing, and Ryan wouldn’t allow his wife to feel a single second of fear for her family.

Whatever my brother’s reason for helping, I didn’t give a damn. I needed all hands on deck to get my husband back. Alive.

Please, please be alive.

Kane stopped beside me, AR in hand, dressed head to toe in black. I’d called him because I needed his wife in the field with us. Once upon a time, she’d been one hell of a trauma nurse. Now, she worked as a midwife at the birthing center back in Creswell Springs. I’d trusted her with Abi when she’d given birth to Calina. Vega was the only one I would trust to help Elias if he needed medical attention once we found him.

Of course, Kane was smart enough not to allow his precious wife to go off alone with me. I already owed him one favor, and I was more than willing to owe him another. His sole role was to protect Vega while we got the Angel’s Halo men out, but he had fast reflexes, was good with a gun, and was one of the few men in the world I counted as a true friend.

Other than Elias and my mother, Kane was the one person who knew exactly how dark I could go. Everyone else only thought they knew how potentially dangerous I was. Not even Abi truly knew that side of me. Vaughn might suspect, but my eldest brother had never seen it in action.

If I lost Elias, the entire world would see exactly what I was beneath all that pretty.

No one would be safe.

In the corner of one of the screens, Elias’s vitals were displayed in real time. I could tell when he was resting…and when he wasn’t. Each time his heart rate would spike, the noise in my head got louder. Sweat soaked through my clothes, causing my shirt to stick to my back. Normally, I was completely cool under pressure. It was something I could say I even relished at times. All my life, my mother had been training me for moments exactly like this.

There was nothing cool or calm about me now.

My entire reason to fight the crazy that was my constant companion was at risk.

The last time Elias had been hurt replayed in my mind. Seeing the blood that had pooled from his shoulder where he’d taken a bullet meant for my mother had been a dark moment. It had taken months for him to fully heal from that wound. I was thankful that he’d saved my mom. Of course I was. Mostly. But not at the risk of himself. Never him.

“Sammy.” Vega appeared beside me. “Drink this. From what I’ve been hearing from Maverick, we will be leaving soon. And you’re looking more gray with each passing moment.”

I dragged my gaze from the screen that was my only proof Elias was still alive and glanced at the cup she offered. Coffee. After she’d packed and repacked her medical bag, she’d tried to keep herself busy in the kitchen. It was the one place in the entire Obsidian clubhouse that wasn’t littered with dead bodies and puddles of blood. We’d taken over the place as soon as we touched down, and I gave zero fucks about the dead men lying around.

When we were done here, a cleaner would come in and burn the place to the ground. That Vega was handling the death surrounding us so well had me respecting her all the more. Taking the coffee, I swallowed it in two gulps. It was extra sweet, and I realized that Vega must have thought I was in shock.

At least she was still innocent enough to think that a monster like me could succumb to basic human reactions. I’d wondered about that, considering she was Ernesto Vega’s only child and married to Kane Brannon. Her other life partner, Ryder, was home with their three children. I wasn’t sure Ryder understood exactly what his wife and best friend were walking into with me on this trip. Hopefully they both made it safely back home to their little family.

My priority was getting Elias out alive, nothing more.

Which was definitely the most likely reason Ryan had sent so many men, to ensure that Nova’s cousins made it out as well.

With so many high-ranking patch members being held prisoner, Maverick was leading the Angel’s Halo crew. Ryan’s men were supposed to take their cues from him. Really, they were all deferring to me because they weren’t complete idiots, nor did they have a death wish.