by J Bree
“Odie safe?” I ask, and he nods.
“Left her over at the Crow’s place. I hate the cockhead but his place is secure enough, and she’s got her GPS tracker if shit goes wrong. I did have to threaten that little creepy fuck about touching her though.”
I frown. “Jackson? He’s a flirt but he’s not going to touch her. He’s in love with Viola.”
Illi pulls a face. “I don’t like him. I don’t trust any man that spends all his days playing on his computer and jerking off over porn. He needs to get out a bit more.”
I roll my eyes. The conversation is good for distracting me at least, I’m thinking a little less about Avery and what is happening to her right now. I just… I can’t think about it until I have her safe, then I can lose my fucking mind over it.
I’m also trying not to think about how many of these dead girls I know, how many of them lived near me in the slums, went to school with me, danced at the same parties as I did back when my life revolved around the sick games the Jackal likes to play.
Stepping back into the Jackal’s territory is a jarring, fucked-up experience now that I'm away from him. My life has never felt so different as it does right now staring at these corpses. Illi steps up to my side, grimacing as he glances around at the gore still left on the streets.
"You going to be okay, kid?"
Fuck. I don't know. I roll my shoulders back. "Of course. Let's get this over and done with."
I pull the bandana tied around my neck up and over my nose. Illi pulls his up as well and I roll my eyes when I see what it has on it. The guys’ face tattoo, the snarling jaws of the Wolf, stares back at me in white. The cocky bastards.
"Where the hell did you get that?" I say, glancing back to see they all have them.
Blaise shrugs. "Avery got them. Apparently, being a part of a gang means we have to coordinate this shit."
My chest hurts at the mention of her name. I let myself feel it for a second longer and then I empty myself of all of the pain, the feeling, the wishing. Once I’m nothing but a cold void, I nod to Illi.
Let’s fucking end this.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The Crow and the Boar send their men in through the front entrance of the vaults.
On paper, this is the only way into the dilapidated bank the Jackal has made his headquarters. It’s wide open and easier to defend against a hoard of bikers, so a smart defense move on the Jackal’s part.
I know better than to use this entrance.
“He’ll know we’re coming that way, kid,” Illi murmurs as I move away, and I shrug.
“It’s still the best option. We take out the guard and then we’re further into the building than the rest of the men. I know I’m going to face him, I know he’s going to be counting on that.”
Illi palms his cleaver in one hand and squeezes my arm gently in the other. “We’re in and out like old times. The plan is go in through the back, find the vault keys, go to the basement, then get out, killing anyone in our way, cool? We care about nothing else going on except getting our girl and killing that fuck D’Ardo.”
I nod sharply. “The Stag too. He went in after Avery so we’re here for him as well.”
Harley grunts under his breath and when I look at him he shrugs. “You forgot Diarmuid. He’s dead too, no matter what it takes I’m killing that fuck.”
The sounds of gunfire that starts up all around us gets us moving and I take the lead because I know where to go and I need Illi taking up the rear to watch our backs. The alleyway is disgusting, full of trash and reeking of piss like the whole damn street uses it as a toilet. I mean, they probably do. The Jackal would encourage it to keep unsuspecting Mounty kids the hell away from here.
“Once this is over with, we are never coming to the slums again,” Blaise says as he gags at the smell. There’s filth everywhere so I don’t exactly blame him, I’m just used to looking around it all, ignoring the signs of how bad this place actually is.
Harley scoffs at him. “You wouldn’t have fucking survived growing up here, Morrison. Maybe you should wait in the car, leave this to those of us who aren’t spoiled pussies.”
I sigh. “We’re trying to be stealthy here guys. Do you not see the guys on the roof with guns ready to be aimed at us the second we’re in range?”
Though none of the Jackal’s guys have Diarmuid’s level of skills and I know O’Cronin won’t be up there, he’s probably not even here anymore but I don’t tell Harley that. He’s not one to stick around after he’s been paid.
I know all of his little hiding places anyway; we can track him later.
Ash pulls his gun out. “Like Illi said, the Jackal knows we’re coming and how we’re getting in there so who the fuck cares if they hear us coming.”
And then he shoots at the roof of the building. He has a silencer on, thank God or my eardrums would’ve been blown out at this close range, and it takes a second for the body to fall off of the roof and land at our feet.
Well.
“That was a great fucking shot,” Illi says, kicking the corpse as we pass it.
Ash shrugs. “We’ve been training for this day for months. You don’t think Harley’s taught us some extra tricks?”
I know the guy on the ground, I don’t look at him because I don’t need to think about what a shitty person he was right now. I need to focus on getting us in there without catching a bullet between the eyes. “There’s two others, you think you guys can get them too? Illi and I will take the door.”
They still can’t see the door from where it’s obscured but their trust in me is rock solid. Harley and Ash both pause and aim at the roof, while Blaise stays close behind me, his own gun drawn and held in his hands with the sort of confidence that comes from extensive training. I knew they’d all been working with Illi while I’d focused on planning and homework with Avery but I didn’t realize just how much they’d grown into exactly what I need.
Confident, assured killers.
Fuck.
“Blaise, when this is over remind me to apologize to you for making you a killer,” I murmur, and he scoffs at me.
“Ash did that a long time ago, Star. No regrets. Now tell me what I’m shooting, because at the moment I kind of think I’m just going to be used as a human shield if someone aims something at you.”
I roll my eyes and make a mental note to ask him for that story. How do I keep forgetting to ask?
“Kick it in? The vests should be enough, the fuckers the Jackal has working for him aren’t exactly professionals,” Illi murmurs, and I hear two more bodies hit the cement behind us.
“Shoot it out first, let’s not start the night filling up on lead.” I say, and Illi raises his gun, shooting at the hole in the brick wall that’s covered by a large sheet of steel. It looks like nothing from here, there’s plenty of other places that have old signs propped up or slabs of wood, which is why it’s the perfect escape route.
The Jackal had used it once while I was working with him. There had been a party here and some flunky got drunk and set the place on fire. The Jackal had dragged me through here to get away from the smoke and once the fire was out he’d executed half the men here. He’d rambled and seethed about it for weeks, sure that it was an assassination attempt, not a stupid mistake by some guy who couldn’t hold his beer.
“On three—” Illi says, and Ash stalks up behind him.
“Three.” He snaps, and he shoves past us, ripping the sheet off of the wall like it’s nothing and letting it crash to the ground. He keeps his body away from the hole and thank God he does because a shot rings out from the blackness of the hole. There’s shouting, a few of the Jackal’s guys still standing, and Blaise shoves me behind him as Illi and Harley deal with them.
“I’m fine.” I snap, but Blaise holds me there with one arm easy enough. He doesn’t let me go until Illi calls out it’s safe.
“You know I’m also wearing Kevlar, right? I’m just as covered as you are,” I snap at him, and he steps back behind me
as we catch up with the others. I feel irritated that he’d cover me, that he thinks I not only need his protection like that but that I’d be able to live with myself if the fucker took a bullet for me. Nope, couldn’t do it.
“You’re also nearly two fucking feet shorter than us all and your head is an open target so yeah, you can stand the fuck behind one of us. Get over it,” Harley snarks back, and for the record I’m not that much shorter than these overprotective assholes.
We step over a dozen dead guys, the Jackal clearly wants a few of us taken out before we get to him. He’s underestimating my guys. I hold tightly onto the Wolf as I walk through the blood and gore, ignoring the crunching underneath my boots every so often as I stand in bone fragments. You shoot a guy in the head, you better believe you’ll be stepping in pieces of his skull.
The hallway leads into the center of the dilapidated building. There are old beams strewn across the cracked and scorched marble floor, giving you the feel that the ceiling might cave in on you at any freaking point. Well… more of the ceiling, there’s already sections that have come down.
“If he’s that rich, why does he live in a shit hole?” Blaise mutters, and I shrug.
“He lives in the vaults. It’s… different there. This is where the parties happen, and some of the killing,” I say, and Harley’s gaze meet mine as he takes the area in.
The gunfire and shouting echoes through the building and the fighting has already made its way inside. We hug the outer wall as we work our way through, staying unseen but seeing exactly what’s going down.
There’s a whole fucking lot of blood and death.
I start to wonder how it is the Crow is going to wipe this night from the legal history of the Bay. Does he have enough police and governors on his payroll to do it? I wonder if Avery does? How does the city explain a hundred men suddenly disappearing? Fuck, I need to keep my head in this and stop worrying.
“I’ll clear the way, you lot get the keys for the vault doors. It’ll be with the dope, always was,” Illi says, and I nod. It’ll be much easier getting down to the Jackal with them. He disappears through the dark hallway, silent and deadly.
He kills two cowering guys and stalks off as we get to the back rooms, full of drugs and cash and dead girls chained to the wall, and I grit my teeth as I take it all in. I hate this fucking place. We need to set it on fire as we leave.
Harley grimaces as he looks around. Blaise keeps his eyes on me and Ash is a blank fucking void still, cold and uncaring about anything except the job.
Harley huffs and starts to rummage around, looking for keys or something else that might come in handy, but when he opens the only other door in the room his whole body jolts and he snaps it shut again. I raise an eyebrow and he shakes his head at me.
“Whichever flunky or biker did that needs fucking therapy. He’s made the Butcher look mentally balanced.”
Illi rounds the corner and grins at Harley. “Aww, sweet of you to say! I’ve just hacked a man to pieces for saying he couldn’t wait to watch the Jackal fuck my wife once I was dead so my night is going fan-fucking-tastical. Next level amazing. I’m practically jizzing myself with joy.”
Ah hell. “Big pieces or did you really get down to business on him? I feel like no piece of him should be bigger than a quarter.”
Blaise pretends to gag, but the little psycho frown Illi has between his eyes eases off a little. “I guess I’ve been a bit slack. Wanna stomp on his skull with me?”
Fuck, the pretend gag turns into a real one as Blaise’s skin takes on a green-y tinge. He turns on his heel and starts pawing through the drugs as he helps Harley look. Nothing.
“Stop fucking wasting time. Get over here and look,” Ash snaps at Illi, and he grimaces at him.
I start tapping my way around the room, nothing the Jackal loves more than a loose floorboard to hide shit in, and Illi checks the doorframes and window sills. Harley gets frustrated and kicks the chair, flipping it. Yup, there it is.
I duck down to grab the key from where it’s taped on the chair.
Harley rolls his eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? This feels like amateur hour.”
I shrug. “The Crow is the one with all the high-tech shit. Sometimes simple works in your favor, but not today.”
I try to ignore the feeling that this is all a little too easy. It feels like the Jackal is playing with us, that he’s doing all of this for us, and us alone.
There’s nothing I can do but play his little game. Illi opens the door that leads to the staircase, flinging it wide and waiting for any gunshots or shouting. When there’s nothing he stalks through, gun first, then motions us forward when it’s all clear. The staircase down to the vaults feels like it never ends, like you’re heading to the center of the Earth itself as we step over the rotted-out holes every so often. Harley grabs my hand to steady me, like he knows my leg will get sore from all of the stairs, and I do my best to be gracious about it.
When we finally get to the bottom of the stairs, guns drawn, there’s already people fighting down here but it’s too fucking dark to see much. We have no choice but to push on slowly, steady and careful.
The guys on our side made it through the Jackal’s flunkies while we were finding the key and we’re forced to duck behind one of the open vault doors for cover until the gunfire moves away from us, echoing down the dark, cavernous hall.
Then we move. It’s dark down here, but I could walk through it with my eyes closed if I had to and the layout hasn't changed a bit since I was last here. I try to keep my eyes off of the damage being done, of all of the men currently being torn apart by bullets and bikers and men dressed in black. I keep my feet moving. I don’t owe loyalty to any of these men but the level of carnage around us makes this place look like a war zone. Even for me it’s unsettling.
I just need to make it to the stairs because Avery will be in the basement. She's going to be as close to the Jackal’s vault as possible.
"We heading straight to hell, kid?" says Illi.
Ash gives him a look. "Do I even fucking want to know what that is?"
I shrug. “It's where he does all of his evil, and it's in the fucking basement. Pretty self-explanatory.”
Illi shrugs. “Every man, or woman if she’s like the Wolf, should have a room to work in. The Jackal’s is just extra fucking bad because he’s a dick.”
Harley scoffs. “What’s yours called then? The shop?”
Illi smirks. “I work in a fridge. Slanting floor with a drain to clear the blood. Lots of knives. You should come check it out when this is over.”
I roll my eyes and hiss quietly at them, “What part of this being a stealthy operation is escaping you guys? Talk shop later.”
I’m not used to all of this chatter while I work and it’s getting on my nerves pretty damn quick. Illi shrugs and lets it go, and my guys all fall silent.
I motion the guys forward and we do our best to stay out of the bikers’ way. They are here to get rid of the Jackal’s henchmen. My job is to find the Jackal himself.
I choose not to tell my guys that I’m planning on doing it myself, no matter what it takes. I let them think that we're here to get Avery back, just to retrieve her and let the others take down this empire, but I doubt the Crow is going to focus his energy personally on finding the Jackal. I can’t leave here tonight without knowing he’s out of our lives permanently.
Illi gives me a side eye. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, kid. I can take care of it.”
Harley cuts us both a look and I do my best not to glare back at him. "Like you're gonna be any better facing him. He loves nothing more than playing with your head, Illi. He’s been in yours as much as he’s been in mine. I’m sure he has big plans for us both.”
Illi strokes a hand down his cleaver. “That’s a shame for him because my plans include pulling his intestines out and strangling him with them. Doubt he’s factored that in.”
Blaise snorts. “Are we sure you’re not the
deranged one? That’s not even physically possible, is it?”
It is.
Illi just gives him a slap on the back, smirking and shaking his head, and we creep forward. The sounds of fighting and gunfire gets louder and louder as we move but the echoing from being underground makes it impossible to figure out exactly how close we are or where it’s coming from. At every corner we have to stop and scout it out, usually Illi checking it out while I pray he doesn’t catch a bullet between the eyes.
When we finally get close to the vaults we need, I know for sure that the Jackal has been waiting for us. It all works out too perfectly to have been a coincidence.
There’s a loud crash, the snapping and cracking of the slabs of stone that make up the walls breaking apart and smashing on the ground, and Illi shoves the guys to the side, slinging an arm around me and slamming me to the ground as he shields me from the falling stone and the shower of bullets that come through once the wall is down. I don’t have time to protect my face on the way down and pain bursts through my nose as I slam into the ground. Fuck. It’s probably broken.
Illi’s body is at least three times bigger than mine. He’s fucking huge, a wall of muscle and untapped fury waiting for release, and he curves himself around me protectively. I flatten myself to the dirty stone floor so Illi isn’t a bigger target, he’s already huge so he doesn’t need to stick out any further.
I hear the rough shouting and growling of the bikers, and the slang the Jackal’s guys all use, and I lay there and pray they all get taken out and that my guys are all safe. I pray that they’re all out here and none of them are in torturing Avery, that she’s tied to a chair somewhere being pissed off at the fucking audacity of these people, daring to kidnap Avery fucking Beaumont. Don’t they know she’s an evil queen, a dictator that breathes fire and can eviscerate a grown man with a single look?
That’s what I lay here and pray.
There’s more grunting and the wall next to us starts to break apart as well. Illi shoves me again as he lurches the other way and the skin on my hands and legs get torn up by the rubble on the ground as I move, the wall crashing down where we were. If he hadn’t been so fast we’d have been crushed, except now I’m all alone with a pile of stones and concrete rubble separating me from the boys. The icy fingers of dread creep up my spine. Too fucking convenient.