by Caitlyn Dare
Panic begins to churn inside me.
He doesn’t ask about the pregnancy, and I don’t have the courage to bring it up. But it hangs in the space between us.
“I’ll never let another person hurt you, Dove,” he says quietly, his eyes burning with contempt. “He’ll pay for this. They all will.” Cole’s dark gaze lingers on me for a second longer and then, before I can formulate a reply, he turns away from me and stalks out of the room.
I want to go after him, to beg him not to do anything reckless, but fear paralyzes me.
Remi rushes into the room, her eyes wide with fear. “What happened? What did he say?”
“He’s going after them,” I say, a shiver racing down my spine.
“Ace won’t let him do anything stupid.”
But as she reaches my side, taking my hand in hers, I see the truth glitter in her eyes.
Remi knows as well as I do that Ace won’t be able to stop Cole. Someone hurt the people he cares about. Someone hurt me.
Cole won’t stop until Donny Lopez is no longer a threat.
He won’t stop until he’s dead.
Chapter Four
Cole
“Let’s go,” I bark at Ace as I slam the door, cutting me off from where I really want to be.
“W-what?” he stutters, his eyes going so wide I fear they’re about to pop out.
“Let’s fucking go.”
“Cole, I really don’t think—”
“Come with me, or I go alone. The choice is yours.” I stand toe-to-toe with him, waiting for him to make a decision. I could really use his backup with this, but I won’t bat an eyelid about doing what needs to be done alone.
“Fucking hell, Cole.”
“What? If we don’t do something, this is going to get worse. That motherfucker isn’t going to stop until he’s dead and buried, and you know it.”
“No, no, no,” Conner starts, but I tune him out. He doesn't get this, but I know Ace does. I can see his hunger, his thirst for Donny’s blood. It runs almost as deeply as it does for me.
“What if they come for Rem—”
“Let’s go,” he spits before I even get to finish the sentence.
“Ace, what the fuck?” Conner shouts, starting to get a little irrational.
“Conner, just—”
“I’m coming.”
“No you’re fucking not. Stay here. Look after the girls.”
His brows rise in frustration. “You trying to say I’m not good enough for this?” His face starts to turn red with anger.
“No, I’m saying we need someone we trust with them. We can’t leave them here alone.”
He calms a little, but he’s clearly not happy. Not that I give a shit. The fact that that cunt is still breathing means we’ve waited too long to do this.
“What’s going on?” Remi asks, slipping from the room Hadley is inside of.
“Cole and I are going out. We won’t be long.”
Concern washes over her face, but before she can say anything, Ace pulls her into his arms and slams his lips down on hers.
“You trust me, right?” I hear him murmur to her.
“Of course, but—”
“We’ll be back before you know it.”
“Ace, please. Don’t do this,” she begs.
“Conner,” he says, nodding to his girl. Without missing a beat, Conner wraps his arm around Remi’s shoulder as tears begin to pool in her eyes.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too. We won’t be long.”
He backs away from her, and for a second I think he’s going to crumble at the devastated look on her face—that is, until he checks that both his gun and knife are in place in his waistband and he spins away from his girl. But not before both Remi and Conner share a look. One that is full of doubt and fear. Still, it’s not enough to stop either of us.
“Come on then. It’s time to take out the trash.”
He doesn't give me a chance to go for the car. Instead he climbs onto his bike and waits for me to join him.
My fingers wrap around the handrails at the back with a painful grip. I want it to be that cunt’s throat, not just Ace’s bike.
“I hope you’ve got a fucking plan,” Ace mutters before revving the engine and speeding off down the driveway.
Every muscle in my body begs for me to look back at the house, but I can’t. If by some miracle she’s at a window and I see her, I’ll crumble. Walking into that room and seeing her so weak and vulnerable on the bed was bad enough, but I knew I needed to see her one last time before I went to face the devil.
He tried to fucking kill her. Ace too. He was going to leave them in the middle of that field while the trailer burned to the ground around them.
My need for any kind of drug I can get my hands on to wipe that image from my head races through my veins, but I can’t lose focus. Not yet.
The time is coming when I’m going to be able to dive headfirst into the darkness that’s threatened to consume me the past few hours.
Watching the flames lick at our childhood home, hearing the crack of the fire as it threatened to take away two of those I care about most in the world.
If I had been just a few minutes later. If I’d have lost them as I trailed their car. If they’d have spotted me.
So many variants of what could have happened run around my head, but there’s one question that cries loudest. Why did I get involved with Hadley, knowing this kinda thing could have happened? How could I be so fucking selfish to bring her into this fucked-up life I’m a part of?
Then there’s the other issue that I’m refusing to even acknowledge, let alone accept. I can’t think about the future right now. I just need to focus on what has to happen tonight before the people I love start getting taken away from me, because that is where this is going. I’d bet my own life on that.
Without telling Ace where to go, he drives straight back to the Heights, and in what only feels like a heartbeat, he pulls up into the parking lot of Donny’s place.
As we sit there looking at the dark building we both know so well, I wonder if I’m meant to be nervous, scared even. But I don’t feel any of that.
My heart beats wildly in my chest as my fingers clench. Anticipation zips through me, and the adrenaline from knowing what my intentions are for the next few minutes has excitement filling my belly as I climb from the back of Ace’s bike.
I don’t bother waiting for him. I’m too impatient. Instead I march toward one of Donny’s goons, waiting by the back entrance to the building. There isn’t usually one there, so I can only assume he’s waiting for our little visit.
“I didn’t realize that tonight was going to be a family affair,” he says when I’m close enough to hear his muttered words.
Assuming he means Ace, who’s jogging to catch up with me, I nod my chin at the door and wait for him to allow us entry.
“They’re on their way, boss.” The goon says into his mic as we step inside the building.
I don’t look at Ace. I don’t need to. He’s walking right beside me, shoulder to shoulder, ready to fight this out together.
The three of us might be fucked-up in so many ways, but our loyalty to each other is something that can never be questioned.
If one of us is down, we fight together. To the end. Although that’s never been tested like I fear it might be tonight.
We’re buzzed through the next set of doors. I’m expecting to find two guys in the hallway before Donny’s office as usual, but they’re nowhere to be seen.
I assumed they’d strip us of our weapons and send us in with nothing but our fists to fight with.
I’d like to think it’s Donny being naïve, but that’s not how he works.
We might be walking in here without so much as a plan, but he’ll be the opposite. He’ll have preempted every single one of our moves.
He thinks he knows us, knows what we’re capable of. I really fucking hope that we’re about to prove hi
m wrong.
We both come to a stop outside Donny’s closed office door. We glance at each other briefly, the only communication we need to know that we’re in this together, before Ace raises his foot and slams his boot into the wood.
The door flies open, and we find exactly what we were expecting, Donny behind his desk, pretending to be the most powerful man in the world. Someone is sitting in the chair before him, but I pay him little mind as I walk into the room, Ace right beside me.
Donny shows no sign of being surprised to see us—Ace, who he left to burn. He barely even spares us a second glance. His eyes mostly remain on the man in the chair.
“Well, well, well, this really is a special occasion, isn’t it?” His eyes lift. “Good to see you’re safe and alive, son,” Donny says to Ace, his voice dripping with disappointment.
“I’m not your fucking son,” Ace spits.
“No, you’re right. You’re his.” Donny nods to his other visitor, and it’s only now that I pay him any attention.
Both Ace and I step forward, and my eyes widen when I discover that the man sitting in the black suit holding Donny’s attention is none other than James.
What the fuck?
“Boys, it’s good of you to join us,” James says, his voice hard, cold, totally unlike anything we’ve heard from him since moving to the Bay.
Movement behind us alerts me to the fact that Donny’s goons are hiding in the shadows, but I don’t turn. I don’t want them to be aware that I know they’re there, waiting to jump in to protect their boss.
“What are you—” Ace starts, but James doesn't let him finish.
“Protecting my own.” James looks from Ace directly to me. He nods once, and my lips curl.
He moves faster than I thought he was capable of, Ace and I do the exact same thing, and seconds after James’ gun sounds out, so do ours.
His two goons don’t stand a chance. Both of them hit the wall before slumping to the floor. One of them groans in pain, but the other is already dead. Donny, however, is staring at James with wide eyes as blood spews from his chest. His hand covers the gunshot wound, but it does nothing to keep him from bleeding to death.
“You think you hold all the power? Think you can run rings around my boys and hurt those they care about? You are fucking wrong,” James spits, standing from the chair he was still lounging in, tucking his gun back into his waistband. “You might think your name earns you respect, and I’m sure it does with some. But not as much as mine. This is over. You’re done, Lopez.”
Donny’s eyes still remain trained on James, the life is quickly draining out of them—although not quite quick enough, because his arm lifts, the flash of metal catching my eye a second before I fire off my second shot of the night, straight through Donny Lopez’s head.
That was for Hadley, you motherfucker.
“Boys,” James says, nodding at both of us. He moves toward the door, stepping over one of the bodies on his way out.
Ace and I fall into step behind him, but not before we exchange a confused look.
Why was he here? How did he know?
Nothing is said as the three of us make our way outside.
The goon who was at the entrance is long gone. It’s a shame. I can’t help feeling like I could add another body to the count we’ve already clocked up tonight.
James comes to a stop in the middle of the lot and turns to us. His eyes soften as he takes us both in, but they linger on Ace a little longer than me. It’s understandable—his face is black from the fire and he’s sporting a swollen eye and split lip.
“How’d you…”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters right now is that it’s over. Fresh start from here on out, yeah?”
I open my mouth to respond, but I have no words. I’m too fucking stunned that James had that in him in the first place.
“T-thanks, I guess,” Ace mutters, sounding as confused as I feel.
“Go back to your girls. They need you. Both of you. Go, I’ll take care of this.” He nods at us, spins on his heels and marches toward the Town Car hidden in the shadows.
“What the fuck was that?” I whisper, more to myself than Ace, but he responds nonetheless.
“I have no fucking idea. But we should do as he says. They’re going to be going out of their minds right now.”
Chapter Five
Hadley
Voices startle me. I strain to listen, but they’re muted, and I can only make out the odd word.
Donny...
James...
Dead.
Part of me wants to rip out the IV and go and see what’s happening, but I’m too exhausted and weak to move.
It’s late, long past midnight. Remi said Ellen’s doctor friend wanted to take me to the ER and get me checked out, but Remi and Conner had managed to talk him out of it. I must have been out of it because I can’t remember anything.
The door creaks open, and I half expect to see Remi, but Cole stands there, his expression hard.
“You’re okay,” I breathe.
He steps into the room, giving me a small nod. “How are you feeling?” It comes out clipped.
“Tired, a little sore... nothing that won’t heal in a few days. What happened with Donny?”
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Cole perches on the edge of the bed, but he doesn’t look at me.
Part of me wonders if he can’t, now he knows I might be pregnant.
“What does that mean?” I ask, forcing down the building tears.
“It means he’s no longer a threat.”
“Did you—”
His eyes snap to mine, pinning me to the bed. He looks so haunted... so lost. I want nothing more than to reach out and hold him, but I sense his hostility from here.
“You’re safe now, that’s all that matters.” He gets up, running a hand down his face. Cole looks like something out of a horror movie. Blood stains his hands and smoke and dust cling to his hoodie.
He moves to the door, but I blurt out, “Wait.”
Releasing a strained breath, Cole slowly turns around to face me. “You should get some sleep.”
“Stay with me.”
“Hadley, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Hadley.
Not Dove.
God, a name shouldn’t hurt so much, but it does. Because I don’t need Cole to say the words to know that he’s pulling away. There’s already a sheet of ice between us, and I hate it.
I hate that we’re over before we ever really got started.
Tears run freely down my cheeks, because I can’t hold in the pain any longer.
I almost died tonight.
I almost never got to say the words.
And now Cole is taking away that choice again.
And yet, I can’t let him go. Even though I know he’s about to break my heart, I still can’t set him free.
“Please, Cole. I need this.” My voice cracks.
His eyes shutter, his Adam’s apple pressing against his throat.
“Just hold me, please.” He winces at the desperation in my voice, but I don’t care. I’ll beg until he can’t refuse me because I can’t accept that this is it.
Letting out a small groan, Cole yanks off his hoodie and t-shirt, a cloud of dust and soot rising from the fabric as he does so, then unbuttons his pants, letting them slide to the floor. Without a word, he climbs into bed beside me and hits the lamp switch, plunging the room into darkness.
We lie there, silent and still, until I can’t take it anymore.
“Thank you.” I sniffle as the tears begin to subside. His body vibrates with anger, but I don’t let it deter me as I reach for him. “You saved me, Cole.”
“No, I didn’t,” he grits out. “If it wasn’t for me, you would never have been on Donny’s radar. This is… All. My. Fault.”
“No,” I argue, but his expression is unmoving as I peek over at him.
“Go to sleep, Hadley.”
&nb
sp; “But—“
“Sleep,” he orders, “or I’ll leave.”
Pain coils around my heart. Cole has already pulled away. He might be here physically, but emotionally he’s gone.
I know I shouldn’t say the next words, but if I don’t, I might never get to. And he should know.
Cole should know that he’s worthy of something good.
“I love you, Cole Jagger. I don’t know how or when it happened, but I do.” I peek over at him again, but he isn’t looking at me, and it hurts. It hurts so much that I feel my chest crack wide open.
“Don’t do this, Cole, please. It’s over, you said it yourself. Donny isn’t a threat anymore.” I lean my head as close as I can to him, but the IV makes it difficult to move. “I love you, Cole. Are you listening to me? It’s you. I love you.”
Finally, Cole turns to meet my pleading gaze. Hope blossoms in my chest as his lip curves slightly. “I don’t love you, Hadley, I can’t.”
“W-what?” My lip quivers as my brain tries to process what he just said.
I knew he would do this.
I’d known it the second he’d stepped into the room, yet I can’t stop the feeling of complete despair that rips through me.
Cole doesn’t love me back.
Even though he knows I might be growing his child... he doesn’t want me.
“You heard me,” his teeth grind, “I don’t love you.”
“B-but... you need me.”
“I don’t need you, Hadley. I need what you can give me. Hurting you gives me an outlet, a release. But what we have? It’s not love. It can’t ever be love. It’s wrong. Dirty. It’s a fucking disaster waiting to happen, and I should have never have let it get this far.”
“You’re lying.”
God, why can’t I just let this go? He’s said his piece. He’s punched his fist through my chest and pulled out my broken, bloody heart.
“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want me.” My body trembles violently as I spit the words at him. “Look me in the fucking eye and tell me I mean nothing to you.”