Flawed (Triple Canopy Book 2)

by Riley Edwards

  Cold. Dead. Flat.

  Christ, not again.

  Never again did I want to hear her beautiful voice sound like that.

  “Baby, we’re gonna go get him.”

  Nothing.

  “Adalynn, look at me.”

  “I am.”

  “No. You’re off in your head. Look at me. We’re gonna get him.”

  “Okay.”

  I pulled Addy’s body into my arms and wrapped her close. She did not return the embrace. Her arms hung limp at her sides, her head rested on my chest, but only because I wasn’t giving her another option.

  Cold. Dead. Flat.

  Christ.

  I glanced around the gym, finding every man in the building had heard her scream and was now waiting for orders.

  I’d reflect on that later. How once again, my brothers proved themselves to be good men.

  “Dylan, get us the address of Belview’s cabin.”

  “No property in his name,” he returned.

  “It was his grandfather’s on his mother’s side,” Addy muttered.

  “Got it,” Dylan said and dashed out of the gym.

  “Where’s Emily?”

  “My parents’ house with Quinn, going over wedding shit,” Nick answered.

  “Your dad there?”

  “Far as I know.”

  “Find out. Brief your dad, then get Hadley and Delaney over there.”

  Nick had his phone out and stepped away from the huddle.

  “Trey?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “You’re…he’s…don’t…”

  “Listen to me. We’re gonna bring your dad home.”

  “Okay.”

  I gazed around the room and found the man I was looking for. He was not going to like what I had to say, and I knew because if someone asked me to stand down, I sure as fuck wouldn’t.

  “Brady, I need you to take Addy to the Clarks’.” Just as I suspected, he squared his shoulders in preparation for battle. “Brother, please. We can’t leave them unprotected.”

  “Clark will be there.”

  “He will be,” I agreed. “I need you to see to Addy. Her and Hadley both. We could be walking into a trap. Belview sent the picture, could be to draw us away from Emily, Delaney, Quinn, Hadley, Addy, and Jason. If he’s meaning to fuck with Jasper, then he’ll go for one or all of them. We’re making it easy for him by putting them all in one house. So I need you and Clark both watching.”

  Brady’s jaw clenched and he jerked his chin in an unhappy acceptance.

  “Briefed my dad. He’s staying with the women but wants backup. Levi’s on his way to us, Blake’s going to Mom and Dad’s to see to Aunt Emily. He said my mom will make the calls to get everyone to her place.”

  “Brady’s heading there now,” I told Nick and looked down at Addy. “You trust me?”

  “Yes.”

  Strong and sure.

  Thank fuck.

  “Brady’s gonna take you to your mom.”

  “Okay.”

  “Strong, Addy. Stay strong. Your dad is a tough son-of-a-bitch. Trust me he’s gonna be fine.”

  “He was…I saw…”

  Yeah, she saw all right. She saw her dad tied to a chair, bloody. Belview was gonna pay for that as well.

  “Nothing’s gonna break your dad. Believe that. By the time we get there, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s waiting for us outside bitching about needing a ride.”

  “Okay.”

  Brady was standing close waiting to go, so I had to make this quick for a variety of reasons, one being I lied my ass off—Jasper wouldn’t be waiting, and the gunshot to the thigh worried the fuck out of me.

  “I love you, Addy.”

  “Love you,” she mumbled.

  Reluctantly, I passed a still-limp Addy to Brady and they wordlessly walked away. No one spoke until the door closed behind them. Then they waited another two beats before Jason let out a sound near as hideous as his sister’s.

  No one said a word and a son battled his emotion. Once he beat it back, his gaze sliced through each man in the room, and on an angry growl, he announced:

  “That motherfucker is mine.”

  No one argued. But we were all thinking the same thing. Belview was fair game. The objective was to get Jasper out breathing, and not a man in the room would hesitate to take out Belview.

  “Gear up!” Carter shouted and prowled out of the gym. And the rest of us followed.

  Dylan wasted no time finding the address and we wasted no time driving the thirty miles to Cherokee Lakes. The south and west side of the lake was packed with waterfront houses. The north side was sparse and the east side, no houses. Belview’s family owned a cabin and forty acres—no waterfront but tucked back into the forest.

  It had taken us longer to trek back to the cabin than it did to drive the thirty miles.

  Matt and Luke had radioed they were in position. Luke lucked out and found a tree stand a hunter had left behind that made for an excellent sniper perch. Matt didn’t, and had to find a tree he could climb that gave him the vantage point he needed and a branch he could sit on. He’d done that and now they were both ready.

  Logan, Carter, and Nick were coming in from northwest of the property. Drake, Jason, and I took the east. We’d fan out when we hit the cabin. Our pace was slow-moving—Belview might be a dickhead but he wasn’t a stupid one and he was well-trained. Not only that, we had to watch for booby traps—which if it were me I would’ve set many, and they would’ve been the kind that goes boom. Carter had found one and he’d spotted a deer camera. Which was another issue—Belview could have eyes throughout the woods or they could be left behind by hunters. Either way, none of us wanted to be digitally captured trespassing and stalking through the thick trees and underbrush.

  “I don’t miss this part,” Drake complained.

  “Which part is that, princess?”

  “The bugs. Mosquitoes are biting the fuck outta me and it’s not even dusk.”

  “I second that,” Carter said through my earpiece. “And sandfleas. Don’t miss those little fuckers.”

  I didn’t miss those fuckers either.

  “They liked you, Church. You must taste sweet,” Luke added.

  “Yeah, that’s what my wife says,” Carter quipped and Jason growled.

  “Jesus, can we focus?” Jason snapped.

  I wasn’t sure if his angry response was from hearing Carter make a joke about Delaney, or if Jason was wound too tight. Probably both.

  “Easy, Jay. Everyone’s focused.”

  His eyes came to mine, and much like his sister’s, they were cold. But his were not dead, they were ablaze with fury.

  “My dad—”

  “No. Not your dad. Your objective. Clear that out of your head now. Jasper means something to all of us but we’ll do him no favors if we let emotion take over. He’s the mission. That’s all.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Then sit your ass down here and wait for us to come back for you.”

  “What the—”

  I stopped, which meant Jason and Drake did, too.

  “Ice, Jason. You have to shove everything else out. Jasper Walker is being held hostage. He has a round drilled through his thigh, he’s losing blood, and he needs medical attention.”

  “Trey,” Drake’s low voice rumbled from beside me. “Have a care.”

  “I am. You know I’m right. We have one objective, secure the package. That doesn’t happen if we need to lock down a member of the team. Everyone needs to be on point. I will not fail. I will not fail my woman and I will not fail Jasper. Dig deep, brother, and find it. I know it’s in there. Not only were you in law enforcement, so I know you got the training, but you’re a fucking Walker. Clear your mind, lock it down, and get cold. Your dad is waiting for you, brother. Flip the switch and turn to fucking ice.”

  “You’re right,” Jason grunted. “But I’m warning Carter, one more word about how my sister thinks he’s sw
eet, I’m kicking him in the balls.”

  “Perfect.”

  I’d taken a few steps when Carter came back over the radio.

  “Me? You should be more worried about Hadley walking in and seeing Trey naked.”

  My step faltered and I remembered Jason was behind me armed to the teeth. Then I wondered if he’d shoot me in the back. But before I could make a plan to maneuver myself out of Jason’s line of sight, Carter continued to throw me under the bus. “Or maybe how Addy tried to shield Trey and Brady saw…”

  Carter finally stopped speaking when Jason fumed, “Shut the fuck up.”

  I smiled and quickened my pace. Jason’s words were heated but they held no real animosity, and Carter had done what he wanted and got Jason thinking about something other than his father tied to a chair, beaten to fuck and bleeding.

  Twenty minutes later, the cabin was in sight.

  Logan broke away from his team and I broke away from mine. The two of us would check the perimeter while the others covered us.

  I finished my sweep and met Logan on the south side of the house.

  “Too easy,” he noted.

  “He was expecting Addy,” I reminded him.

  “You told Brady it could be a trap. You think maybe that’s what this is?”

  “I told that to Brady because I needed him to go with Adalynn. Belview is expecting Addy to come. He knows she loves her dad and thinks she’s stupid enough to come on her own. He doesn’t know her. This show is for her. He hates Jasper. And he knows making Addy watch him kill her father would destroy Jasper. His last moments would be torture knowing Addy had to watch that and she’d be next.”

  I should’ve guarded my words or turned off my mic. Regrettably, I did neither and Jason heard.

  “Mother—”

  I pulled out my earpiece, effectively cutting off Jason’s tirade. I understood his anger but I needed in the cabin. Logan flinched and his eyes got wide.

  “One thing’s for certain, the man’s got a flair for inventing curse words,” Logan mumbled. “How you wanna play this?”

  “One-room cabin. Only place to hide is the bathroom and we know it’s too small for two grown men. I’m going in the front door.”

  “Not smart going in alone.”

  “I won’t be. You’ll have my back. We got about two seconds to surprise him, we’re not doing that by crawling in a window. He’ll take out Jasper. Belview’s got his show set up and it will be front and center. He wants Addy to open the door, walk in, and see her dad. He’ll be to the side with a gun to Jasper’s head, which means it won’t be pointed at me.”

  “And if he sees you and pulls the trigger?”

  “I’ll be faster.”

  “And if you’re not?”

  “Then Jasper’s dead.”

  The words left my mouth and saliva pooled. The bitter, sour truth coated my tongue.

  If I fucked this up, Jasper was dead. But there was no other option. The only way in was the front door. The bathroom window was not big enough for any of us to get through, and all other windows were in the main room, therefore not a consideration.

  “Hold positions,” Logan radioed. There was a brief pause, then he said, “Negative. Hold.” His eyes turned hard as he slipped back into the battle-hardened SEAL I’d always known him to be. “Let’s move.”

  We moved.

  The curtains on the front windows were closed. A tactical mistake on Belview’s part, but then he’d thought my woman would be hightailing her ass to the cabin and barreling in the front door.

  Dumb fuck.

  He had no clue how smart Adalynn was. She’d never consider coming alone.

  Logan’s left hand was on my right shoulder as we were nearing the front door. I steadied my breathing. I had ten feet to go, Logan would break off here, step to the side of the door, and wait for me to enter. This was my last chance to tell him.

  “It goes bad, tell Addy I love her.”

  The only confirmation Logan gave that he’d heard my whispered words were two pounding slaps to my shoulder before he moved.

  Five...three…enter.

  The door was unlocked and the stage was set just as I’d hoped. The only difference was I was staring down the business end of Belview’s gun.

  Shots rang out.

  My breath left my body in a painful whoosh, white-hot pain seared through me, and my vision blurred.

  Jesus Christ.

  Shouts filled the room and I felt hands on my shoulders moving me back.

  “We need a medic, Razor’s hit.”

  Jesus Christ. I’d heard that before and the flashback hit hard and fast. Dust and debris raining down, hitting me on the face until I rolled and the worst of it landed on my back and it felt like I was on fire. I rolled again, looking for Luke, but my vision had been blurry then, too. I couldn’t see through the smoke and the concussion of the blast had scrambled my brain. I’d closed my eyes to clear the fog and when I opened them, Liberty and Drake were there.

  “I’m fine,” I wheezed, blocking out the memory. “Get this thing off me.”

  I felt tugging, then heard the quick-detach latches go before Drake lifted the vest over my head.

  “Good God, that hurts.” I rubbed my chest and tried to breathe deep.

  “Crazy fucker.” Drake’s pissed-off grunt made me smile. “You took two, asshole, maybe three.”

  I took three, I felt the two hit my plates. And without looking, I’d say the third went clean through my shoulder.

  “Jasper?”

  “Breathing.”

  “Awake?”

  “Yep.”

  I shoved past Drake, ignoring the throb in my shoulder. Okay, so it was more than a throb, it actually felt like someone had taken a branding iron to my flesh, then poured battery acid into the wound.

  Carter stepped to the side and I caught Jasper’s gaze. A slow, bloody smile formed, upon which time I saw he was missing a tooth, his lip was torn to shit, and smiling just made the blood flow faster.

  Crazy son-of-a-bitch.

  “My wife’s gonna be pissed,” he announced.

  “Likely,” I agreed.

  Jason finished untying his dad and I saw Jasper wince as he brought his arms in front of him.

  “Forgot about this part,” he groaned and rolled his shoulders. “And I’m definitely too old for this shit.”

  Jason, not finding his father amusing, grunted at his dad like a bear with a thorn in his ass.

  “Let me help you up.”

  Jasper narrowed his eyes, assessed his son, then wisely allowed Jason to help him stand.

  “Ambulance should be here in less than five,” Nick said from the door.

  “Want me to carry you out front?” I asked Jasper, and he turned his eyes back to mine.

  The green so green, they still looked like emeralds even through the swelling and blood.

  “You want me to shoot you?”

  “No. I think one hole is enough for today.”

  “Yeah, my daughter’s gonna be pissed about that.”

  “Likely. Though I’m hoping all her energy will be spent nursing you back to health so she’ll forget all about it.”

  “Right. You keep thinking that, you’ll be disappointed.”

  “You think maybe we can cut this short?” Jason asked. “I’m not feeling all that happy standing in a room with a dead guy.”

  “Yeah, son. Help your old man to the front door.”

  There it was, further proof Jasper Walker was a damn good father. It was unlikely he wanted help, even if he had to drag his leg behind him, he’d still get himself to the door. But his son needed something to do, something that made him feel close to his dad after almost losing him. So being the father he was, he swallowed his pride and gave his son what he needed.

  “You good?” Carter asked.

  “All good, brother.”

  With a jerk of his chin, Carter started to the door and I pulled out my phone to call my woman and give her the go
od news.

  31

  “And he’s dead?”

  “Jeez, Mom.”

  My mom’s gaze snapped to mine and I recoiled at what I saw.

  It had been a bad day.

  A very bad day, and it shone in my mother’s blue eyes. The worry, devastating fear, the relief when Trey called to tell us they’d gotten Dad out and he was alive.

  But that relief flew out the window when we’d made it to the hospital right before my dad was wheeled back for surgery. Jake had worked my dad over some more after he’d sent me that text.

  Now we were in the surgical waiting room and Trey—with fresh stitches in his shoulder, front and back—finished the story.

  This had been delayed because after the medics had seen to his injuries, the police had shown up and needed a statement. While two detectives grilled Trey in a private hospital room, another one was interviewing each of the guys. Ethan had shown up, and being as he was a cop, I asked him if he thought Trey needed a lawyer. My cousin just pulled me into a hug and told me not to worry.

  He’d been right, I didn’t need to worry. One of Jake’s teammates had come forward and the story he told chilled me to the bone. Jake’s hatred for my dad was known far and wide. Jake had known for years that my dad had blocked some sort of career advancement. However, when Jake told them one day he was going to kill the great Jasper Walker, no one in his platoon had taken him seriously. They’d laughed it off, not wanting to believe Jake had it in him to commit murder. They’d been wrong. Jake had it in him.

  It was two in the morning, my dad was out of surgery and being moved into a room, and my mom was impatiently waiting. Apparently, part of her impatience included needing confirmation that Jake was dead.

  “Yes, Emily. He’s dead,” Trey repeated.

  “Thank you.”

  I didn’t know if my mom was thanking Trey for killing a man or rescuing my dad, being as they were one and the same I didn’t think about it too hard. But I did search my feelings. There had been a time when I thought I loved Jake. Now I knew better. I didn’t love him but I couldn’t deny I had cared and I did give him my virginity. But I wasn’t sad he was dead—or I was but only because he had parents and a sister, so I was sad they’d lost him. I also didn’t have any feelings other than gratitude that Trey killed him.