by Penelope Sky
I didn’t have time to help Crow to his feet or retrieve the gun he’d dropped. I pulled the pistol out of my holster and tossed it at him without even making eye contact with him.
I heard him catch it.
I yanked the back door open and found Conway inside, barely conscious. I turned around to Crow. “Get in and take off.”
Crow aimed the pistol and shot the man who was coming out of the other building. Another came at us, but Max got him. He turned to me, only half paying attention to me while his mind was on the chaos around us. “You’re gonna bleed out and die—”
Two men swarmed us at that moment, and together we shot them down in their tracks. Another group of men came at us, all with semiautomatics and shotguns.
I kicked the car door shut, protecting Conway with the bulletproof casing.
The rage I’d been born with came into play. I’d just taken a bullet for a man that I hated, my brother was risking his life to save this family that viewed me as trash, and the pain in my shoulder was agonizing. The bullet must have hit an artery because I slowly started to grow weaker.
And I hated feeling weak.
I took out all of them by myself, kicked the gun away from one guy on his knees, and slashed his throat with my blade. I enjoyed every second of it, enjoyed watching him scream for his life as the blood muffled his words.
I kept going, taking down every single asshole who’d brought this hell upon us.
Crow stayed with me, shooting down the men on the other side of the street. Between him and Max, they were able to cover so I could mutilate everyone who was stupid enough to challenge me.
When there were only a few survivors left, I didn’t listen to their pleas for help. I didn’t grant them the mercy they asked for. Now that I’d lost everything, I didn’t understand what compassion was anymore.
I snapped the neck of each one, loving the crack of the bones in my ears.
I stared at the limp bodies at my feet, saw the graveyard I’d created. I took out more men than anyone else, simply because I enjoyed it the most. I had nothing else to live for. Whether I lived or died, it didn’t make a difference.
The weakness overwhelmed me, and I felt my knees give out. Instead of falling like a broken soldier, I moved to my knees. My vision began to blur. The ground seemed to rise up and hit me in the face.
“Cane!” Crow’s voice erupted in my ears. “Help me carry him.”
“No,” Cane said. “Let him die—”
“Help me,” Crow hissed. “Now.”
I felt myself fall forward, the blood soaking my clothes. Before my face hit the concrete, I felt someone catch me.
I felt Crow catch me.
Five
Crow
Cane helped me lift and put Bones into the back of the car along with Conway.
“Bones!” His friend was there in a flash, shaking him vigorously. “Don’t you fucking die on me. Wake up.” He smacked him across the face.
I’d just felt his pulse. “His pulse is still strong, but we’ve got to get him to the hospital.”
“Shit.” His friend heaved with sudden sorrow. “No…I’m not going to lose you. Fuck no, that ain’t gonna happen.”
I hadn’t even had a chance to check on Conway yet. “Cane, drive.”
Cane followed my orders and got behind the wheel. The engine was still on, and the car was still drivable.
Bones’s friend hopped into the passenger seat.
I got in the back with Conway and Griffin. “Conway—”
“I feel like shit, but I’m fine,” he said, hardly able to open his bruised eyes. “Sapphire…she’s okay, right?”
I didn’t have the strength to tell him the truth, that his wife had been captured and I had no idea where she was…along with his baby.
“Father?” Conway opened his eyes wider, focusing on my face when he didn’t get the answer he wanted. “Tell me she’s alright.”
Max turned around to look at us. “We got her. The boys took her to a safe house.”
I snapped my head in his direction. “You got her?”
“Yes.” He turned farther to look at Bones, seeing his body shift and vibrate with the movements of the car. “Fuck. If he dies, I’m coming after you.” He turned his eyes on me, full of threat. “This man is the greatest guy I know, and he was never good enough for you. Yet, he’s the one who saved your ass. You better kiss the ground he walks on when he’s back on his feet.” He faced forward again. “Bones had two of our men take her and the butler from the house and head north. She fought the entire time, so they put a syringe in her neck to put her to sleep. The drug was safe for the baby. She’s fine.”
Conway breathed such a deep sigh that his voice shook. “Thank fucking god.” He closed his eyes and swallowed the lump I knew had to be in his throat.
I turned to Bones next, seeing the man who saved my life…and my son. He was still breathing, but his skin was starting to pale. I ripped off my vest, yanked a strip of fabric from my shirt, and tied it over the wound. I applied pressure and kept him stable, placing my hand against the window so his head wouldn’t bump into it. He was an enormous man, at least fifty pounds heavier than me, but I made it work. I’d despised this man for so long, was so relieved when he was finally gone, but now…there were no words to describe what I felt.
I was indebted to him.
He didn’t have to tell me about the hit on Conway.
He didn’t have to risk his life to save my son.
He didn’t have to save Sapphire.
But he did it anyway.
Now I owed him…I owed him big-time.
Bones was taken into emergency surgery the second we got him to the hospital. I wasn’t given any information about what they were going to do. The priority was keeping him alive, and from the loss of blood he’d just suffered, I didn’t know what was going to happen. Normally, I wouldn’t care.
But now, I needed him to live.
Conway was checked in and immediately sent for scans and blood work, but the doctors never considered him critical.
Thank fucking god.
Once everything was under control, I finally had a moment to talk to my brother.
“I can’t believe we’re both alive.” He had a cut down his arm, which had been bandaged up. His left eye was black and blue, like someone had slammed the butt of a gun into his face. “So, what the hell happened? Why is Bones involved in this?”
I looked past his shoulder and saw Bones’s friend in the waiting room. He was a thick man Bones’s age, and he was on the phone with an agitated expression on his face. He rubbed his temple, clearly distraught over what had just happened. “I stepped into the open to blow out the driver of the car. If Conway got away, I knew I would never find him again. It was stupid and suicidal, but I didn’t know what else to do. I just had to stop them. That’s when a guy kicked the gun from my hand and pushed me to the ground.” I looked away from my brother, remembering that moment clearly because time had slowed down. I pictured my wife as a widow, spending the rest of her life alone and mourning me. I pictured my daughter’s children, my grandkids I would never meet. I thought of the life I wouldn’t experience because my time had been cut short. “I thought that was the end, Cane. Bones got in the way…and took the bullet.”
Cane crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed in shock.
“He killed the guy, handed me a gun…and slaughtered everyone.”
Cane didn’t act impressed even though he’d be stupid not to feel that way. Barsettis were stubborn, but we couldn’t be that stubborn.
“He saved my life. He saved my son’s life.”
“Jesus…”
I took a deep breath, the guilt heavy in my gut. “So he’s gotta live.”
“I don’t even know what to say. I never expected him to do that…”
“And his men got Sapphire out of the house before the assholes could take her. I hate to say it, Cane, but we’d all be dead right now if it weren
’t for him.”
He gave a slight nod, still caught up in the gravity of the situation. “Yeah, I think you’re right. When I first saw him, I wasn’t sure what to think. He and Vanessa broke up months ago, and I’ve never liked him. Pretty incredible that he put his life on the line like that…especially when we never asked him to.”
I’d put a gun to Bones’s head and ordered him out of my office because of what he did to my daughter. His noble actions didn’t change the past, but they certainly changed my perception of him. I’d seen him in action, and he was a monster that couldn’t be taken down. There was no one better to protect my daughter.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure.”
“They’ve been broken up for a while, and she’s seeing someone else now…”
In my heart, I knew that didn’t matter. I never questioned my daughter’s love for that man. Now I knew I never should have questioned his love either. “Yeah…but I don’t think that matters to either one of them.” I stepped away and pulled out my phone. “I’ve gotta call Pearl and tell her Conway is alright.”
“Me too. I barely said ten words to Adelina before I left.” He took out his phone and moved into the hallway.
I called Button, and she answered on the first ring. The sound of the moving car was in the background, and I guessed she was driving to Milan right now. She’d probably left the second I was gone. “Conway is okay. I’m okay. Everyone is okay.”
Button didn’t say anything, no doubt taking a moment to breathe slowly and let the tears fall from her eyes.
Vanessa’s voice broke over the line. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Father. Mama is a bit overwhelmed right now, but she’s okay.”
My heart broke imagining my crying wife. She did the same thing when I’d been taken. Then, I attributed her emotions to her pregnancy, but I knew these emotions were all her own.
“Uncle Cane is okay?” Vanessa asked, her voice sweet as ever.
“Everyone is alright,” I said. “We’re at the hospital right now. Conway is beat up, but he’ll be okay. Nothing to worry about.” I should tell her about Bones, but I couldn’t, not when she was still hours away in the middle of the countryside. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do about him in the first place, so I had to make up my mind before she got here.
Button finally found her voice. “Our son is okay?”
“He’s fine, Button,” I said gently. “Got a few bruises on his face, but everything else is intact.”
“Thank god,” she whispered, her voice still weak. “He’s my baby…”
“I know.” My son was over six feet and muscular, and I’d seen him as a man for the last decade, but Button didn’t see him that way. He would always be the boy who once fit within her arms.
“You’re alright?” she asked, a plea in her voice.
I didn’t tell her that I’d almost been shot in the face. I would tell her later, when I revealed that Bones had been part of everything. I would tell Cane not to say anything. And I would send Max to retrieve Sapphire so Conway would see her. “Not a scratch. Everyone is fine. We killed everyone. It’s over.”
“What would we do without you, Father?” Vanessa said, emotion in her voice. “You always protect us…”
The guilt exploded inside my chest at the thought of taking credit I didn’t deserve. “I’ll see you when you get here.”
“We still have about two hours,” Vanessa said.
“Alright,” I said. “See you then.”
“I love you,” Button blurted, saying the words quickly like she needed to hear herself say them more than hear me say them back, like it was an opportunity she didn’t want to waste.
“I love you too, Button.”
Hours later, Button and Vanessa were in Conway’s hospital room, sitting with him while he slept. He’d passed out from the pain medication, finally relaxing once he knew Sapphire was safe and on her way to see him.
Adelina, Carmen, and Carter were there spending time with Cane. Even though Cane was perfectly fine, Adelina cried like he’d died instead of lived. Carter seemed to take Conway’s condition the worst because he was as pale as snow. He hardly said a word, staring at the ground most of the time.
I still hadn’t uncovered the reason all of this had happened. My son and nephew had visited the Underground to bid on women, but they stopped that months ago. Conway promised me he wouldn’t do it again, and I knew my son wouldn’t break a promise to me. But they must have been doing business behind my back and something went south.
It was the only thing I could think of.
Max wasn’t there, so the doctor came to me with an update on Bones.
“We stopped the bleeding, gave him a blood transfusion… He’s going to be alright. He just needs to stay here for a few days to recover. We’ll keep an eye on him to make sure there are no complications.”
“Is he awake?”
“No. He’ll be asleep for a while. But you can visit him anytime you want.” He walked away and left me alone in the lobby. Thankfully, no one had witnessed the conversation I had with the doctor, so I didn’t have to answer any questions.
When I walked into Bones’s hospital room, the relationship would be different. He used to be inferior to me, but that had changed. He’d proven himself to me, not just that he loved my daughter, but he was the powerhouse he’d always said he was. He’d proved he could protect my daughter. He’d proved he was worthy of her.
So now I had no choice but to give him the prize he’d earned.
Six
Bones
Like last time I was in the hospital, I woke up to the gentle beep of the monitor.
My eyes opened slightly, and I was immediately aware of the lack of pain. My shoulder had been killing me, but now I couldn’t feel anything. My eyes opened farther, and the white walls came into view, along with the TV that hung from the wall. The screen was black because it was off.
The blinds were partially open, and I could see the faint light making shadows across the floor. It seemed to be sunset, the light slowly disappearing from the world. The last thing I remembered was nightfall. I remembered executing fearless men and taking the life from their veins. I snapped a man’s neck, but that was the last thing I could remember.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
I turned my head a little toward the doorway, expecting to see Max sitting in one of the chairs at my bedside. But he wasn’t there.
Crow Barsetti was.
I blinked my eyes a few times as I stared at him, taking in his muscular arms and chiseled jaw. His black wedding ring sat on his left hand. His elbows rested on his knees, and his hands came together as he stared straight ahead. He was deep in thought, his mind not in that hospital room with me.
“Conway alright?” My voice came out hoarse from not speaking for so long. It was husky and harsh, clawing against my throat as it emerged. Crow wouldn’t be sitting at my bedside if his son were clinging to life.
Crow slowly lifted his head and looked at me, the consternation in his eyes slowly fading away. He straightened in the chair, sitting back and pulling his elbows off his knees. His hands moved to his thighs, and his wide shoulders turned rigid with discomfort. “He’s fine. Some broken ribs and a broken nose, but nothing serious.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” The words were genuine because I didn’t want to have taken a bullet for no reason.
Crow looked forward again, unable to look at me.
It was the first time Crow had backed down. I hadn’t even thought that was possible. I’d seen strong men break down in fear once I challenged them. Crow Barsetti never showed any sign of intimidation when it came to the two of us, even though I was half his age and twice his strength. I’d seen him look straight down a barrel and wait for his enemy to pull the trigger. But now the power dynamic between the two of us had shifted.
Because I’d saved his entire family.
If it weren’t for me, h
e would be dead—along with his brother and son.
I knew it.
He knew it.
He rubbed his palms together and breathed a quiet sigh, full of frustration along with something else. When he gathered his bearings, he turned back to me. “We both know what I should say to you, but I’m having a hard time saying it.”
“I’ve got all day.”
The corner of his mouth rose slightly in a smile, appreciating my sarcasm.
I kept my head on the pillow with my arm beside me. The IV was in my hand, providing fluids to my body. The bed was small in comparison to my body. I was surprised it could even withstand my weight.
“For starters…thank you for saving my life.”
I watched him, watched him look me in the eye as he said it. I hung on to every word, knowing I deserved the gratitude. Most people would shrug it off and not make a big deal about it. But that wasn’t the case here. I wanted the recognition for my sacrifice. I wanted the respect I deserved. I wanted to clear my family’s legacy and begin a new one. “You’re welcome.”
“And thank you for saving my brother…” He cleared his throat, like the upcoming words were the most difficult for him to say. He rubbed his hands together again and closed his eyes for a brief moment, struggling to get the words out. “And for saving my son’s life.” As much as he wanted to look down, he didn’t. He held my gaze, giving me the respect he’d never granted me before.
“You’re welcome.”
“And for my daughter-in-law…and my future grandbaby…thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said for the third time, appreciating the fact that I was honored for every single life I’d saved. If the guys hadn’t gotten there first, Sapphire would have been raped and killed. Even if Conway survived, he wouldn’t have been able to survive that revelation.
Crow crossed his arms over his chest and stared out the window, thinking for a long time. The silence continued, but the conversation obviously wasn’t over because he was still there. “Do you know why the Skull Kings put a hit on my son?”