by Lia Ellison
“Don’t fucking tell me where I can or can’t be!” I stepped forward, getting in his face. “And no, you’re not fucking handling it! Do you see his face? He’s fucking laughing at you! Can’t you see it? Let me have a moment with him.”
Marcos eyed me for a few seconds, but then he stepped aside.
Smart man.
I burst into the room like a fury, and then I picked up one of the knives that were on the table in the corner of the room.
The traitor grinned at me as I stopped in front of him, pointing the gun at his face.
“Maybe these guys aren’t willing to really hurt you because you’ve been their friend, but you’re absolutely nothing to me.” I glared at him. “So you better tell me where Ryker is or you’ll see exactly what a crazy bitch is capable of.”
“Fuck you!” he spat out. “I won’t tell you anything. Your precious Ryker will die.”
I lowered the knife, jabbing the tip into his groin. His smile faded as he tried to shift away from the knife, but all he did was press himself against it harder.
“Tell me everything, or I’m going to carve your cock out with my knife. And then I’m going to watch you bleed out.”
His face was serious but he kept his lips tightly pressed together.
“What? Do you think I’m bluffing?” I tilted my head at him. “Are you sure you want to try me? Maybe I don’t want to see your ugly cock at all, but I’m sure it will look prettier when its bleeding.” I let a smile curve my lips as I gave him the craziest look that I could muster.
“Fuck you,” he said, but his voice was lacking its usual strength.
“Okay.” I caught his belt and unbuckled it.
The traitor’s eyes widened, and I was pretty sure that everyone in the room was staring at me in shock. If I wasn’t wrong, one of the men cupped himself.
So much for big, bad men.
“No, wait!” the traitor yelped as I started tugging his pants down.
“There’s only one thing that can stop me now,” I said. “Where is Ryker?”
“I don’t know!”
“Wrong answer.” I yanked his pants down.
“No! I don’t know where they’re holding him, but I know how you can find him.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Go on. Tell us.”
“The guy I was talking to. His name is Jace,” the traitor said. “He’ll be at Taden’s tonight. If you follow him, you’ll find Ryker.”
I glanced at Marcos.
“I know where that is,” Marcos said, waving at the rest of the men. “Let’s go!”
“I’m going with you,” I said.
“Okay,” Marcos said. “Taden’s is a bar.”
I headed for the door, but then I glanced over my shoulder at the traitor. “If you just lied to me, I’m going to come back for you.” I pointed the knife at him, and he only glared at me, but there was also fear in his eyes.
“Would you really have done it if he hadn’t talked?” Marcos asked once we were in the hallway.
I looked straight into his eyes and smiled. “Yeah.”
Chapter 32
“WAIT HERE,” MARCOS said right before he and the rest of the Cobras got out of their cars.
At least they’d let me be here with them, but I didn’t think anyone wanted to piss me off right now.
Hell, I helped them find Ryker. Now all they had to do was finish the job.
I held my gun in my hand, hoping that I wouldn’t have to use it.
The Cobras had been following Jace, just as the traitor had said, and Jace had led us to the house that was in front of us right now.
Marcos had planned the attack, and the only thing I could hope for was that it was good because if anything went wrong, Ryker was going to die.
As the first shots rang out, I flinched, closing my eyes for a moment. My pulse was racing, and I hated that I didn’t know what was going on inside.
Where was Ryker?
Just bring him to me safe and sound.
Please.
I didn’t even know who I was praying to, but I was hoping that my only wish would come true.
Ryker had to be alive.
He had to be.
Or I didn’t know what I was going to do.
I waited and waited, and then I spotted Marcos as he raced across the yard after someone. Tires screeched somewhere, but I could see anything from all the trees and bushes that were obstructing my view.
What the hell was going on?
I got out of the car, unable to wait any longer. As I slowly made my way across the yard, I found Marcos, who was shouting and swearing. A car was speeding away.
“What’s going on? Did you find him? Is he alive?” I blurted out.
“Zavarelli got away,” Marcos said, and I wanted to shake him because that was not what matter here right now.
“Ryker?” I managed to choke out.
“We’re still looking for him. He’s probably in the basement,” Marcos said, but there was doubt in his eyes. Oh no. What if Ryker wasn’t here anymore? What if they’d killed him earlier? What if Ryker had tried to mess up their plans, so they’d decided to execute him immediately?
“Marcos!” someone yelled. “He’s not here.”
My heart skipped a beat, pain spreading through my chest.
No.
He had to be here somewhere. He had to be.
I could feel it.
I made my way around the house, looking everywhere. “Ryker!” I shouted. “Ryker!”
The Cobras were staring at me as if I were crazy, but I supposed they didn’t dare to approach me.
“Ryker!” I yelled again, my throat hurting, but I didn’t care. “Ryker!” I screamed.
Something thudded somewhere.
“Lexi?” I thought I was hallucinating. I had to be.
“Ryker?” Was it him? Was it really him?
“Over here!”
I raced in the direction of his voice with the rest of the men. There was something behind the bushes.
Some kind of a hole.
And Ryker was in it.
His lips spread into a small smile.
“Hey,” he said softly.
“Oh, my god.” I fell down to my knees next to him and pulled him into a hug.
He winced, and I reluctantly backed away from him.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Now that you’re here, I am,” he said.
His hair was dirty and caked with blood. His face was bruised, and his clothes were torn and bloody too. And his wrist was at an odd angle.
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“I escaped,” he said, licking his chapped lips. “But as you can see, I didn’t get far.” He coughed.
“Somebody get me some water!” I yelled, just as the Cobras reached us, their faces full of wonder and bewilderment.
When someone handed me a bottle of water, I brought it to Ryker’s lips. He took a few sips, letting out a groan, and then he gulped down almost half of the bottle.
“What did that monster do to you?” I asked as I cradled him.
“Doctor. We need a doctor!” Marcos yelled.
“I’ll be fine,” Ryker said, but it looked like he was having trouble keeping his eyes open.
“It’s okay.” I pressed my lips to his forehead. “You’re safe now. It’ll be okay.”
“We need to take him to a doctor,” Marcos said.
I nodded, and I let them take him from me.
He grunted, and I had a feeling his ribs were broken.
Anger welled up inside me.
Zavarelli had to pay for what he’d done. He was a monster. He would’ve killed Ryker if he’d had the time, but I supposed he’d enjoyed torturing Ryker.
“Lexi,” Ryker whispered as they carried him toward one of the cars.
“I’m right here,” I said. “I’m right here, and I’m never going to leave you again.”
Now that I’d found him, I didn’t want to let h
im go ever again.
“We’re going to find Zavarelli,” Marcos said, but I didn’t Ryker even heard him or cared right now.
The only thing that matter was that Ryker got better and recovered. His wrist was probably broken too, or maybe he’d dislocated it while escaping.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they’d done to him. And yet, he’d found the strength to try to escape anyway.
My Ryker.
So damn strong.
“Lexi,” Ryker called out again as they tried to get him into the back seat of the car.
“You should be with him,” Marcos said.
I only gave him a nod, and then I settled in the back seat with Ryker. He rested his head on my lap, and when his eyes met mine, he smiled at me.
“Are you real?” he asked, reaching out for me with his good hand.
“Yeah, I am.” My fingers closed around his, and then I placed a gentle kiss on his knuckles.
“Stay with me. Please,” he said.
“I’m right here.” I caressed his hair, careful not to hurt him. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good,” he whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” A tear slid down my cheek as I held him close to me.
Chapter 33
RYKER PUSHED HIMSELF up from the pillows and reached for the glass on the nightstand.
“No, wait,” I said. “I’ll get it for you.”
“You don’t have to baby me anymore. I’m fine.” He snatched the glass before I could even get to the nightstand.
“See?” he said before taking a gulp.
Weeks had gone by in a flash, but Ryker was still healing.
His injuries had turned out to be even worse than I’d thought. Aside from many broken bones, he’d also had plenty of scratches and bruises, a concussion, and internal bleeding.
Luckily, he was on his way to recovery, but I needed to keep him in bed, at least for a while longer.
“I know. I’m just worried about you,” I said as I settled on the bed next to him.
“I’m fine when you’re here.” He rolled over so he could snuggle close to him, and he rested his head on my breasts.
Zavarelli had been torturing him for days and hadn’t even given him any food or water. If we hadn’t found Ryker when we had, he would’ve died from his injuries. That was what Zavarelli had been hoping for.
He hadn’t wanted to give Ryker a quick death.
He’d wanted him to suffer and die in agony.
“I talked to Marcos while you were in the shower,” he said.
I had forbidden Marcos from talking business with Ryker, at least until Ryker was feeling better. It wasn’t like there was anything urgent anyway, and there was no need for Ryker to worry about anything other than his recovery.
Zavarelli was in hiding, and it was impossible to figure out where he was, but I was sure Ryker was going to find that son of a bitch eventually.
Hell, even I wanted Zavarelli’s blood for what he’d done. And whatever Ryker did to him wouldn’t be enough.
“Is it true?” Ryker asked, and my brow furrowed.
“Is what true?”
“Did you really threaten to carve that guy’s cock out with a knife?” The corners of his lips quirked up.
“Oh, my god. He told you that?” Marcos and his loose tongue. Geez. I grimaced.
“Remind me not to piss you off,” he said.
“Too late for that, but I forgave you for that.” I ran my fingers through his hair.
“You did?” His gaze lifted to mine.
“Yeah. We need to leave our past behind. I love you, and I want to be with you. Nothing else matters. Except, I want to hunt down Zavarelli with you.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “I ruined you, didn’t I? Now you sound more bloodthirsty than I am.”
“Oh please. I’m just protecting what is mine, and that sick piece of shits needs to pay for what he’s done to you.”
He pushed himself up and pressed his lips against mine. “I thought I was hallucinating when you told me that you loved me.”
“No, you didn’t. I love you. See? I can say it over and over again.” My feelings were finally clear to me.
I wanted to be with Ryker, and even if his gang was going on my nerves, some of them were kind of starting to grow on me. Maybe they weren’t all that bad.
Or maybe it was just me who’d changed.
“I love you too,” he said, his eyes intent on mine.
My phone vibrated on the nightstand, so I grabbed it. When I check the text I’d gotten, a small smile appeared on my face.
“What?” Ryker asked.
“A lot of those sex traffickers are in jail. About twenty slaves were freed, and there’s more to come.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, it is.” I couldn’t be happier about that, but it bugged me that Zavarelli was still out there. The world didn’t need a monster like him.
Who knew how many slaves he’d sold or owned? How many people had he killed? I didn’t even want to think about it.
“As much as I like being your hostage here in this bed,” Ryker said with a smile on his face, “it’s time for me to go back to work.”
“No!” I groaned. “But why? We could just be like this forever. Hell, we could binge-watch another season of that show.”
Ryker shook his head. “No. You’re not doing that to me again.”
“Doing what? You liked it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.” I tapped his nose.
“I didn’t.” He grinned. “Okay, maybe a little.”
I let out a laugh, but then my face became serious. “Can’t you just prolong your break a bit longer? It’s not like your men wouldn’t understand. They admire you for what you’ve been through and they want you to fully recover.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m fine?”
“Maybe a few thousand more?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
He rolled his eyes at me. “Come here.” He pulled me to him for a kiss.
As his lips moved against mine, I was sure that the last thing I wanted to do was let him get out of this bed.
But I had to.
I couldn’t keep him to myself forever, no matter how hard I wanted to. Sure, what he was doing was super-risky, but I’d done so many risky things too.
And I knew I’d do plenty more, just like he would.
“Marcos wants to make you a Cobra,” he suddenly said, and I gaped at him.
“What?”
“You’re my girlfriend, but you’re not a member of the gang. Marcos thinks you should be.”
My eyebrows shot up. “He does?”
“Yeah, and I agree with him. If you’re risking your life for me, then you should be a Cobra too. A true member, not just my girlfriend.”
I pulled away from him, furrowing my brow. “Wait, what does that even mean? Would I have to do something crazy to become a member?”
“Actually, Marcos suggested that you already passed your initiation in that dungeon with our traitor.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want to be a Cobra?” Ryker asked with all the seriousness in the world.
“Well, hell. How could a girl ever refuse such a generous offer?” I batted my eyelashes at him. “Okay. I accept. I want to be a Cobra too. Now I can cross out becoming a gang member from my list.”
“That was never on your list,” he teased.
“Oh, how would you know?” I stuck my tongue out at him.
Wait, had I just agreed to become a gang member?
Ah, what the hell.
I was already too deep in all this anyway.
Chapter 34
“THE NERVE OF THAT PIECE of shit!” Ryker yelled.
I hurried to his office so I could see what was going on.
“Oh, hey, Marcos,” I said when I saw him. “I didn’t know you were here.”
He inclined his head to me.
“He brought news of Zavarelli,” Ryker said. Judging by the look on his face, it wasn’t anything good.
“I guess you didn’t catch him,” I said.
Months had passed since Zavarelli had tortured Ryker, and we still had nothing on him.
“No, but it’s not just that,” Ryker said. “He dared to send his men to attack one of our stash houses.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Does that mean he’s here somewhere too?”
“Probably not.” Ryker shook his head. “He’s a coward. He sent his men to attack, and he’s hiding somewhere in the shadows. He’s never going to come out. Not if he thinks I could get to him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Retaliate, of course,” he said. “But I’d rather take Zavarelli down. Fighting his men is pointless.”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way to track him down.”
“That’s what everyone keeps saying, but I don’t know if I believe it anymore,” Ryker said.
“We’ll get him, boss,” Marcos said.
I really hoped that would happen soon, because I was really tired of Zavarelli.
“I HAVE SOME GOOD NEWS,” Ryker said with a wide smile on his face.
The Cobras had intensified their search for Zavarelli, and they’d partnered up with another gang who also wanted Zavarelli gone. Maybe after weeks and months of searching, we finally had something.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. Tell me.” I placed my hand on my hip.
“We know where Zavarelli is going to be, but we have a small problem.”
“Of course we do.” I groaned. “What now? Is it another one of those places where it will be hard to do something to him?”
“Maybe. It’s a party. Everyone will wear masks.”
“So what’s the problem?” I eyed him carefully. “Wait, let me guess. We need an invitation for it.”
“Yeah. No one can get inside otherwise, and their vetting process is really good.”
“Okay. But how does the whole thing work? Can you steal the invitations from someone who’s supposed to attend? Can you get them with a fake identity? What kind of a party are we even talking about? Who’s going to attend?”
“From what I heard, some very famous and rich people. All criminals, though. The party is actually a front. They think they can meet their in safety and strike deals.”