Wylder

 

 

My chest feels like it’s been cut open as I gently lift Danny from my chest and rise with her, cradling her small body with as much care as I can. She’s gone limp against me, and I thank God for that because if she struggled even a little more or cried out once more I don’t know what the hell I would have done.

Carrying her into the living room, I lay her on the couch and push a blanket over her, knowing from experience that she’ll start shivering from the drugs. The same drugs they used on her when they took her.

They do it purposely. Noni laughingly joked that messing with the women’s body temps kept them docile for longer while they got their plans together, and from the condition Lori was in when we took her and Danny, I know that it’s a priority to keep Danny warm. For now.

Wolf walks in as I turn away, no longer able to look at her because her tears haven’t stopped even though she’s knocked out.

“Let’s get this done.”

I keep my voice and face level and ignore Wolf’s glare as he comes over and leans down to check her pulse.

“I knocked her out. Don’t worry.”

“Worry?” he snorts, snarling and baring his teeth. “What the hell do I have to worry about, Bear? The fact that you’re using an innocent woman who loves you as bait?”

“Don’t! Don’t you do this right now, Wolf. Don’t. Just…it will be fine. Everything is in place,” I snarl, forcing myself to be still when really all I want to do is smash everything around me into little pieces.

My temper is on a hair trigger as it is, and right now, I can’t afford to lose control, even if the destruction would make me feel better.

“In place. Look, you stupid fuck, nothing is foolproof, and you told me so yourself just days ago! What happens when he has her, huh? You may be a cold, heartless prick, but even you can’t think it’s okay to sacrifice Danny in this vendetta.”

No, I don’t which is why I’m going crazy inside right now. But what the hell else am I supposed to do? Ariston, the guy who killed Sparrow, not with his own hands, oh no, he’s too good for that shit…

But he ordered that little shit to seduce her and lure her away from us, where they violated her and killed her so brutally I still have nightmares after I saw the crime scene photos.

He had a beef with Pop after my old man refused to use his construction company to launder his dirty money. At first, I was furious when Wolf called and told me that the little shits who killed her had walked.

Then I started asking why, and once I had the answers, it almost killed me. I never told Pop the whole story of how Sparrow died. Wolf and my brothers agreed that telling him that she was killed as a message would kill him outright.

But we know, and since the day I killed the last little fuck that hurt my sister, I have been planning Ariston’s death step by step. As head of his organization, the Armenian underworld, he’s so protected that no one can get to him.

I’ve tried over and over again and finally understood from my contacts in the FBI that he was untouchable. Unless I lure him out of his safe house and personally kill him.

But to do that, I would need to find something that would lure him. Trafficking is his main source of income, and once I convinced Noni to step up his game and diversify, I knew Ariston would be in.

He trusts no one, but if he were to trust anyone, it would be his long-time friend, Noni. So, I cultivated that connection and made it so that we got so big he was losing business to us.

A surefire way to have him sniffing around and wanting a slice of the pie. It was all planned, and while not simple, it was doable. Until Noni started making noises about scaling down.

I knew immediately something was wrong, and after Lyon called and told me that things were going south, I knew I would have to move.

So, now, I am moving. Using Danny as bait to get to Noni, who will lead me to Ariston.

It’s not ideal, and honestly, I know better than most just how wrong this whole thing can go, but what choice do I have? If I don’t do this, then I lose years of work, years that I have spent living in the underbelly of humanity while trying to get to a man who is untouchable.

“It will work.”

“Will it? Or will she die? You know the moment they see her they’ll kill her, Bear. She’s a liability, and besides, you showed too much for her when he was with you in Hawaii. They’ll kill her just to give you the finger.”

“Well, whose fucking fault is that, Wolf? All I asked you to do is keep your woman in line, and you let her fucking get away!”

“I didn’t. I had her locked down. I don’t know how she got out,” he yells back, pulling at his blond hair.

“You had one job, Wolf, one, and now, not only do I have the goddamn Slavs coming at us, I also lost Lyon’s backup because he had to find Lori and keep her pinned down.”

Yeah, go figure I’d be screwed because my older brother is in love with a she demon and couldn’t bring himself to tranq her like I told him to. I warned him she wasn’t as easy as shoving in a cell. I warned him.

“I said I was sorry. I should never have had her anyway, and you know it. This shit was fucked from the minute we walked into that office and saw those women.”

Yeah, I know. To be fair, I knew it right from the get-go but didn’t want to believe that I was being tested. I’d have passed with flying colors if I’d used Danny and dumped her body in a ditch somewhere. But I couldn’t do it, and now look, we’re all screwed.

“Well, there’s no sense in arguing now because, like it or not, we have to get this done now, not only for Danny and Lori but for Mom and Pop. Don’t think that asshole Ariston doesn’t already know that we’re Pop’s kids. He’ll come for them soon. It’s just a matter of time. The covers I put in place will only hold for so long, and with his connections, it’s a done deal that he knows.”

Wolf grunts, and I see his shoulders fall before he straightens and slaps a hand to my shoulder.

“Lynx has a bird’s eye on the warehouse, and Hawk is already in. He’s just waiting for us to make our move.”

Our move, I think morosely as I gently lift Danny from the couch and pull her into my chest. This isn’t a move at all. It’s a Hail Mary and a long shot, one I hate to make with this woman’s life hanging in the balance but make it I must because I have no choice.

She’s a distraction, the only pawn I have left on the board, and I am praying like hell that I can save her and still get the job done or, I know, my life won’t be worth shit afterwards.

Oh, I will kill Ariston, of that I have no doubt. I have no choice. But with Danny’s life in the balance, I know that the endgame isn’t what I thought it would be.

Because I do love her. It’s been a struggle from day one to stay detached and not look at her with love. I failed miserably, so terribly that when we came back from Hawaii, I had to force myself to push her away and keep my distance.

It hurt her. I know it did. I saw it every time she woke up in her bed and came downstairs, her eyes red rimmed even through the makeup she shellacs on to hide it from me.

I hate myself for this, for doing this to her, and God help me, I wish I had never fallen for her, because if I hadn’t, this wouldn’t be so hard. I could have used her the way I always knew I would and not felt much more than regret.

Now, it feels like steel girders have been driven into my chest, making everything ache inside me.

“Come on.”

The drive to the airstrip is quick, with Danny’s face buried in my neck, her slow breaths and the tremor in her limbs making me swallow down the urge to run and hide with her so nothing can touch her.

“We’re cleared for takeoff.”

I nod at Wolf as we leave the car and board the plane, my legs heavy as I lay her down on the couch and step back to don the role I have played for eight years. A role that has become more a part of me than I ever wanted it to.

“Tell the pilot it’s a go.”

Wolf nods somberly, and fifteen minutes later, we’re in the air and headed for Washington, where this all started, my gut clenched as I feel real fear for the first time in years.

“Whatever happens, Wolf, you keep her safe. If things go bad, you grab her and run.”

“Bear, man—”

“Promise me,” I snarl, willing him to look at me and understand. “You do this for me, Wolf. If things go south, you have to take her and get out. I know, I know, you don’t want to leave me behind, but I need you now. I need you to save my life, man.”

I can see the struggle in his eyes. It’s been me and him together for so long that we’re almost two parts of one whole. I would never leave Wolf to die, and before today, I would have said that without once doubting it. But with Danny, all bets are off.

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

We’re silent for the rest of the flight, Wolf glaring at air while I watch Danny and think of everything that’s happened and all the un-fucking-realistic fantasies I had in my head for way too long.

I almost laugh when I remember her delight when she told me we were dating and laughed in my face. That moment was it for me. I think it was the exact moment I fell in love with her and knew that my pop and his crazy-ass family were right. She’s my one, my true love, and I can’t, won’t, live without her.

Which should be okay because chances are I am not walking away from this. I just pray she’ll forgive me one day and maybe that love she felt won’t turn to hatred.

I have no right to want that. Hell, I deserve whatever she feels after this, but I hope, like I haven’t allowed myself to hope in eight years, that Danny won’t hate me.

The plane touches down sooner than I would have liked, and I see Wolf stiffen before turning to look at me with not only determination but also a promise that I will never forget.

“Let’s do this, brother,” he says somberly, and I nod, letting the darkness fall on me again before standing and walking off the plane.

Wolf grabs Danny. I can’t touch her again, not and do this thing, but I feel her with every breath as we settle into the car waiting in the hangar and Wolf takes the wheel.

It won’t be long now, not long at all, I think as I force myself not to glance at her where she’s slumped against the opposite door. Not long now.

Please God.

 

 

Danny

 

The jolt and screech of metal wakes me, and I open my eyes groggily just as a window explodes and glass rains down on me, getting into my hair and scratching over my face where it’s pressed into a leather seat.

I feel myself jolt and rise, flipping in a tumble of unmoving limbs as the air around me reverberates with my screams of fright and the crunch of tearing metal.

It all happens so slowly, and yet in the blink of an eye, I feel myself hit the roof and crash back down when the car, yes, the car, I think as I look around, comes to a grinding halt.

I’m so dazed and confused, light-headed from whatever Wylder gave me, but I’m losing the fuzzies fast as I force my arms up and wiggle around to look at the car.

I’m in the backseat of a big black SUV that’s hit the wall of a…oh God. Oh God, no, I think when I recognize the building staring at me through the shattered windshield.

The warehouse. I am back at the warehouse Wylder and Wolf took me and Lori out of. I would recognize this place a hundred years from now, and my suspicions are confirmed when a door bursts open and two machine-gun—I think, I mean, like I know what that gun is called!—well, two big idiots toting huge guns run out and immediately aim at the SUV.

I scramble up before I can blink and shove my hands up and out, the weakness in my arms making me grit my teeth and pray for the strength to keep them up.

“Don’t shoot me! Please don’t shoot me! I don’t know how I got here, but I was unconscious when this happened.”

I yell it as loud as I can, through the tears and the tremor of my voice. Surrendering to these guys is not a good idea but way preferable to being in this thing when they start unloading those guns into it.

I slump when the door opens, and a gun hits my cheek, my body giving out as the shot of adrenalin leaves me.

The two guys take one look at me, and the one on the right gapes before grinning and rattling something to his friend in a tongue I don’t understand.

But I get the words “bitch” and “Wylder,” so I guess they already know who I am. And they look delighted. Great.

I cry out when he shoves a hand into my hair and yanks me through the broken window, shards of glass cutting and scratching into my belly before I hit the ground, my legs giving out.

The guy doesn’t seem to care though and just uses my hair to start dragging me, his grip so tight I have to grab hold of his wrists and force my legs to work before I lose chunks of hair.

I’m dragged through the door, through a long expanse of warehouse, and down a hall before he shoves a door open and throws me into the room where I land on a carpet that sends chills down my spine. Oh. No.

“Hello, Miss Bright.”

I look up and find myself staring at the grinning face of Noni…whatever his name is. I don’t think Wylder ever used another name for him. The man is grinning down at me from a desk I hadn’t noticed the first time I was here, and that smile…it’s evil as he looks me over and licks his lips.

“Our friend Wylder has sent you back as peace offering?”

Friend? I sneer at the word and only get a delighted laugh when I push up and bare my teeth at him. I feel…I can’t really examine all the feelings I have right now, but the anger and betrayal are so deep it’s hard to breathe as I look at this monster and accept that, yes, today I die.

I must, because I would rather go fighting than accept whatever this pig has in store for me and then let them kill me.

My daddy didn’t raise a coward, and he definitely didn’t raise quitter. No, I know I’m done, but I will go on my terms and take at least one person with me. Before I haunt Wylder for the rest of his miserable life.

“Oh, the love is all gone?” he asks in a teasing tone, making me grit my teeth to stop myself from spitting obscenities at him. “But this is good, so good. A show of good faith from my old friend that will reform the friendship we have shared.”

“Show of good faith?” I ask.

I don’t really give a damn why he needs to show good faith to these rats, but I am curious, and you know, if I’m dying, I will have answers. I deserve that much at least.

Noni rubs his chin, the stubble on his mean little face interspersed with grey, showing his age. I’d love to rip his ugly face off, but hey…sometimes dreaming is for fools. So, I stay crouched on the carpet while he grins at me.

“Your little friend, the mean one, his brother let her go, and she tried to run right to the cops. Thankfully, they caught her and provided proof of her death. But this broke the trust, no? And we cannot have broken trust between friends such as us.”

“Lori?” I gasp, my eyes filling with tears. “She’s dead?”

“Pffft, gone. I hear her lover did it himself when he found her.”

I can’t sob past the ache in my heart, but I feel so much pain, so much anguish, knowing that she’s gone. It’s ironic though, and you know, I would laugh because it seems she and I were never destined to live.

Sure, we made it out of that room and we were given a reprieve, but with men like these, it was a long shot at best.

I hate them all. I hate Wylder so much right now I wish I could look into his face and spit on him like I should have instead of falling in love.

“Ah, you are so quiet, little Miss Bright. I wonder, did you really fall in love with our Wylder?”

Fucking sonofabitch. Haunt, I will haunt him for the rest of his life and drive him so crazy he’ll take himself out before I go to heaven.

“I hate him,” I grate, raising my head when he stands and comes my way.

His hand on my face makes my skin crawl, and I want to puke when he leans in and licks all the way up my cheek to my hairline. My shudder doesn’t go unnoticed, and he laughs as he pulls away, his dead eyes glittering with unholy glee.

“Oh, but of course you do. Love is a fickle thing, no? Better to see things as they are. You are a vessel for pleasure, Miss Bright, nothing more, and when you have outlived your use to me, as you did to Wylder, I suspect you will be glad to die.”

I suspect I will, I think as I fight tears and tell myself not to think of Wylder at all. It hurts though. God, it hurts that he did this to me. It would have been far kinder to kill me, the way they killed Lori, rather than to have sent me back here.

My only consolation is the fact that I understand that I won’t be leaving here for some brothel where they’ll violate me for days. I can’t deal with much more pain, and I know I’d kill myself if that were the case.

No, better to make my stand here and go with some fight left in me.

“I’ll kill you before I let you touch me, you pig,” I hiss, coming to my feet on shaking legs with little to no steam left in me.

Now that the adrenalin is gone, I am freezing, so cold, despite the stuffiness in the office, I feel my jaw tremble. My skin is icy, numb, and I know that whatever Wylder shoved into my leg is the same stuff they used on me when they took me the first time.

“My dear Miss Bright, if you so much as move without my permission, I will hurt you in ways that will have you begging for my touch rather than the pain. Is this what you want?” he asks, slapping me so hard, so fast, I can’t avoid the blow and hit the floor in a daze.

For a little man, he’s got strength. I’ll give him that. But I can fight. Daddy taught me to fight, and I may not make it out of here, but I can bring some pain before they pin me down.

“Be a good girl.”

Good girl my ass.

Launching up to my knee, I swipe a leg out, striking fast, and sweep his feet out from under him. I’m on him before he can move, and a swift punch to the throat has him gagging and clutching at himself, struggling for air.

Rolling away, I intend to get up and make it to the door, but I underestimate him greatly and cry out when he lunges for me, taking me to my back, his hands squeezing at my throat and cutting off my airway.

God, I should have punched him harder, I think as I struggle and gasp, clawing at his hand in a frantic bid to break free and draw a breath.

“But, of course, you can die if that is your wish,” he wheezes, squeezing so hard my vision goes black for a heartbeat.

Oh God, oh God, I’m going to die, I think as my struggles become sluggish, my arms going weak with lack of oxygen. I buck, trying to dislodge him, but he’s so strong it’s like trying to fight off an enraged bull.

For someone who so easily accepted death, I’m finding it hard to just lie here, even if my body doesn’t want to work, and I gasp when a thought strikes me.

My lungs burn as I let go of his hands, and the instinct to keep clawing at them, at his face, is strong even as I force myself to lie still and grope for my foot.

It feels like forever before my fingers close around the plastic, but they finally do, and then I’m stabbing up at his throat with a gasping war cry that turns into a gag when the melted toothbrush makes contact and pierces him.

Blood. Blood goes everywhere, on me, the carpet, but I don’t give it another thought as I shove Noni off me and roll away, scrambling to the wall as I watch him thrash and gurgle before falling still.

It’s horrifying when he finally stops twitching and I feel his blood on my hands, so bad I bend at the waist and puke right on his carpet. When I’m done, I feel drained and numb with horror, but I can’t let it sink me yet, because I have to get the hell out of here right now.

Honestly, I just killed some huge crime lord or whatever, and that is so not gonna go down well with whoever is out there. I’m trembling as I open the door a crack and almost faint with relief when I see an empty corridor, the same one I walked down when Wolf let us out of the cell.

Doors, I see doors, heavy doors that we had no hope of getting through, and as I lean into the first one and hear a muffled sob, I know why I am here, why God sent me back here into hell.

Opening the door, I see a naked girl who can’t be older than twenty, and breathe, praying for the strength to get out of here in one piece.

“I’m here to help you.”