As much as he hated to admit it, this was one time when he was rooting for the Feds. Bane nodded at Harley and Allister. “Did Mac mention the call to you fellas?”
Allister didn’t respond. He glared at Draegan, now kissing Serena goodbye. As if it pained him to tear his gaze away from his brother, he turned to Bane and said, “He gets hurt and this is on you. If either of them are hurt or worse—killed—it’s on you.”
Bane didn’t say anything. How did anyone respond to a threat—or promise—such as that? He studied Serena from afar, watching as she clung to Draegan.
Feeling like the bad guy, he approached them then. “Serena, it’s time.”
Pulling on a brave front, she nodded and released Draegan. “I love you.” She grabbed Bane’s hand. “I love you both.” She took a deep breath and quickly added, “Just get out there and kick some ass so you can both come back to me tonight.”
“We’ll be here,” Draegan promised, turning away after one last kiss.
Bane cupped her cheek and walked away. Minutes later, he and Draegan stood side by side, waiting on Mac to join them at one of the community’s SUVs.
“Do you know where you’re going?”
“Message said it would be the likely place to find him.”
“The Vance property?” Bane asked.
“Obvious, huh?”
“Too obvious makes it too dangerous.” Bane quoted what one of his first law enforcement training officers had taught them. “You’re walking into a trap, Draegan.”
“We are.”
It wasn’t a question.
Draegan looked at Bane dead-on then and said, “You get me out of this alive, and I’ll throw you the best welcome party you’ve ever seen.” He studied Bane thoughtfully. “Hell, you can’t promise that.” He looked off in the distance and finally said, “Promise me one thing though. If I don’t make it out, you look out for her. You hear me?”
“You have my word on that, Draegan.”
“I know I do,” he said, nodding at Mac as he approached.
The two brothers never said another word. They just hopped in the vehicle as if they were just taking a ride to a neighboring town. Then, they pulled away from the curb and drove out of sight.
* * * *
“What’s our plan?” Draegan asked, knowing before he asked that they didn’t have one.
“I’m not sure,” Mac said, glancing over the seat.
About that time, Harley and Allister popped out from under the tarp.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Draegan studied his brothers in the rearview mirror.
“Covering your asses,” Harley replied, checking the rifles and handing Allister a few boxes of ammunition.
“You knew about this?” Draegan asked.
“Even though we should’ve kicked your asses for keeping us in the dark, one thing is clear. You were trying to protect us. Now, we’re returning the favor.” Allister pointed straight ahead. “When we get up here at the intersection, you’re going to go straight instead of left. You’ll take us to the first unmarked gravel road. There’s a new development going in at the back of the Vance property. They’ve already closed up any remaining wells leading through those woods and those warfare-like traps those heathens used are gone, too. We can get in there without being detected.”
“We can’t risk it. We don’t know how many men Vin has and—”
“Three.”
“What?” Draegan gripped the steering wheel. “You’re sure?”
“According to the intelligence we gathered, Vin doesn’t trust anyone. The two men he has as ‘bodyguards’ were hired for that purpose, to protect him. Vin has a habit of abandoning his mission if he can’t take out his intended target.”
“His mission?” Draegan asked.
“I was hung up on the intended target,” Harley said.
“The point is, he’s a paranoid son-of-a-bitch. Now, yeah, I’d like to kill the sorry motherfucker but our goal is to get Markie out and go home tonight. That’s why I’m here.” He locked and loaded a weapon, made a dramatic show out of gripping his weapon, and added, “I’m going to sleep in my bed tonight with my woman. That is, after I kick both your asses for keeping me and Harley in the dark. I mean, what the fuck?”
“We were sixteen and seventeen when we made the decision to keep you and Harley out of it.”
“And now what’s your excuse?”
Draegan glanced in the rearview mirror, proud of his brothers for being strong men, fiercely protective and loyal to those they loved. “Now, my only excuse is I love you. And I will always do whatever necessary to keep those I love safe.”
“You make that sort of promise to a woman, not to a man—a brother—who is your equal. Got it?”
“I hear ya.” Draegan pulled to a stop next to the huge sign announcing the new development. “Now, let’s go kick some ass.”
Chapter Seventeen
“In a few minutes, Draegan and Mac will walk in here so we need to make you presentable.” Vin reached over Markie’s head and cut him down.
As soon as Markie collapsed to the floor, he realized he wasn’t able to move as quickly as he’d anticipated. His arms were numb. His legs weren’t as mobile as he’d hoped.
Vin snarled. “Let me guess. You spent the last few days contemplating the many ways you’d kick our asses if you had a chance.” He squatted next to him. “Here’s your chance, Markie.”
Trying to push up from the ground, Markie realized what it meant to be helpless. Instead of thinking about the upcoming meeting between the McCalls and Vin, he considered something else. He thought about the women they’d saved over the years, how broken and battered so many of them had been when they’d first arrived in Trouble.
He knew for a fact Serena’s husband had held her as a domestic slave. When she’d first come there, Doc had told them he wasn’t sure how she’d survived. She’d been sleeping in a dog cage for nearly a month, forced to sleep beside her husband’s bed while he had numerous affairs with countless women, women who were very much aware of her presence there and yet none of them did anything to save her.
Draegan had made a difference in Serena’s life. His friendly flirtations had given her confidence. The other women in Trouble had embraced her, too, supporting her as women should support one another.
Thinking of Serena and the strength she’d demonstrated, Markie pushed away from the concrete floor, but it was no use. The strength he wanted and the strength he possessed were two entirely different elements.
“Save it, Markie,” Vin said, nodding at one of his brutes. “Show ‘em in. Tell ‘em they’re a little early but since they are, they might as well join the party.”
“You’re not planning to release me,” Markie said, already coming to terms with what was about to happen.”
“No.”
“What do you plan to do to them?”
“I’m going to kill them of course,” Vin replied, sneering.
“Why kill them?” Markie could barely speak. His throat was dry and his tonsils seemed to crack with each spoken word. “Why not try to negotiate your brothers’ releases? Maybe Draegan and Mac could help you.”
“Help me?” Vin laughed. “Are you forgetting what happened here?” He looked around the basement and shuddered. “My crazy brothers have killed here. They’ve made their drugs here. They destroyed lives here.
“This place is the like the cops put in the files. It is the land of horrors, a wicked forest. It’s like hell. You enter but you can never really leave.”
“If you let me live and let them live, they’ll—”
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Puppuppuppow!
As soon as the first guns were fired outside, Vin’s erratic behavior became more unpredictable. He grabbed Markie by the arm and dragged him across the room. “Get up, damn you!”
“Look at the big man, now.” Markie grunted and laughed at the same time. “You look like a lost little boy who is waiting on mommy to show
up so he can hide behind her apron.”
Vin snarled. “You’re one to talk! Your name has been sitting at Cobalt’s top spot for over a decade and the reason you’re drawing air now is because my brothers failed the initiative! They couldn’t kill you because they were afraid of the retaliation. You’re alive today because—”
“Because he’s our brother.” Draegan stepped out of the shadows as if he’d been there all along. He was swinging that automatic rifle of his like he carried it down the street every doggone day.
“Your brother?” Vin threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t you mean lover? Isn’t that what you and Markie were? Isn’t that why you took him in?”
“Lover?” Markie looked confused then. “No. We’re more like family. We were never—”
“Shut the fuck up, twink.”
“I’m about tired of the name callin’,” Markie said, trying to muster up strength so he could at least aid in his release.
Vin pulled his weapon then and grinned at Draegan as he aimed the pistol at Markie’s head. “You showed me yours. Now it’s my turn to show you mine.”
“You can take him out,” Draegan said, inching closer. “There’s not a doubt in my mind. But Markie, when he does, I want you to know this. I’ll take him out and then I’ll go after every last one of his useless brothers.”
Vin’s wicked laughter rang out. “You will, will you? And how do you propose doing that exactly? See I have an escape route, a means of leaving. You?” He laughed again. “When you entered…” His voice trailed and he acknowledged Mac approaching from the left. “Excellent.” He made a throaty groan and added, “Well boys, this is the way things end for you. I can leave here without so much as a scratch. You, however, cannot leave without triggering an explosive that will blow this godforsaken house to bits.”
“I see,” Mac drawled, glancing over Vin’s shoulder. “Allister, did you get that? If you don’t mind, leave the door open over there.”
“You expect me to believe you brought the two brothers who were kept in the dark this whole time?”
“I don’t care what you believe,” Allister said, making his presence known.
Vin was too smart to take his eye off the mark, but he was getting frantic, too, and Markie was afraid it wouldn’t end well. He looked at Draegan and tried to hold back his tears. He then swung his gaze to Mac and glanced over his shoulder at Harley and Allister. “I love you guys!” He then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to meet his maker.
Total chaos erupted. Shots were fired.
A sudden whish-whish-whish resounded. Markie cowed down to the floor, mainly because he couldn’t stand on his own and without Vin there to hold him up, he had no other choice but to stay close to the ground.
“Keep that door open!” Mac screamed.
“Where’d he go?”
“Damn it! He got away!” Draegan was nearby but when Markie looked up, he couldn’t see a blasted thing.
“Do not leave that exit, Allister!”
“I wasn’t born yesterday, asshole!” Allister and Draegan were undoubtedly into a brotherly tiff.
There would be time to sort out the details later. For now, Draegan and Mac had Markie by the arms, lifting him, carrying him, and doing what they always seemed to do best—saving him from the kind of trouble that could’ve claimed his life.
* * * *
Thanks to the tear gas, they’d had a rough time escaping the Vance house of horrors. Allister was the only one unaffected and fortunately, he’d remained outside during Vin’s escape, which must’ve been right after he’d freed the gases.
Allister drove them home and Draegan had to admit, he was pretty glad his brothers hadn’t listened to him. If they hadn’t been there, Draegan shuddered to think about what might have happened.
Bane met them at the gate. As soon as he opened the passenger doors, they tumbled out of the vehicle like little children, whining something awful about the pain in their eyes and the burning sensations in their noses.
“Doc mixed up some remedies for you.” Bane guided them to the right where Doc was working from the back of a golf cart. “Did they flush out their eyes with fresh water?”
Allister opened the back of the SUV, revealing nearly a case of empty plastic water bottles. “We stopped at a market on the way home. Nothing has worked.”
“Time and fresh air is the best remedy,” Bane said, seemingly the expert.
Doc was nearby. “I’ve seen this before. I’ll have them all fixed up in a few minutes. Bane’s right. Fresh air and time will do the trick. The solution will just ease the burn and clear out any chemicals remaining.”
Allister turned to Bane. “Markie needs rest. You can question him tomorrow.”
“It can’t wait, Allister.”
“Start with me.” Draegan grimaced. “I’m the only one who was close enough to really see what happened.”
“Then what happened?” Bane asked.
Allister cleared his throat and Draegan kept his mouth shut.
“Draegan, I need something to go on.”
Markie patted his arm. “I knew you’d come for me, sugar. I just knew it.”
“We’ll always come for you,” Harley said, groaning when Doc dropped solution in his eyes.
“That’s what families do,” Allister said, swinging his gaze at Bane. “We stick together.”
“You can stick together all you want, but I need some answers,” Bane said, lowering his voice as some of Trouble’s residents approached.
In a matter of seconds, Markie was greeted by the women who lived there. They all pampered and babied him, promised to check in on him every day and sit with him in shifts.
Draegan cocked his head and tried to see Bane’s reaction. “Sucks huh?”
“What’s that?”
Allister and Draegan shared a laugh.
“Damn man gets more women than I ever had in my life as a single man.”
Slender arms wrapped around his neck and Serena whispered at his ear. “But you aren’t a single man anymore, Draegan McCall.”
“You’re right.” He patted her hand and then pulled her around his body, forcing her to his lap. And even though he couldn’t see her then, he could tell she was smiling up at him. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Epilogue
Four Weeks Later
“All the reports are back.” Bane entered Serena’s kitchen and slapped a stack of paperwork on her kitchen table. “Seems you boys were telling the truth. Vin got away.”
“We wouldn’t lie to you, Bane.” Draegan poured another cup of coffee and peered inside Serena’s bedroom, watching her as she slept like a pampered princess.
She’d been good and pampered all right—for the last twenty-eight days, Bane and Draegan hadn’t let her out of their sights. It was becoming a habit of sorts and Draegan had been meaning to mention moving the party to his house, but his place was on two levels and he would miss moments like this.
“You get up early just so you can sit here and stare at her while she sleeps.”
“Is there a problem with that?” Draegan asked, sipping his coffee.
“Not that I can see.” Bane’s lips twitched. He then gripped Draegan’s shoulder. “I owe you an apology. When you guys returned from the Vance property, I really believed you were covering something up. I thought you’d killed Vin.”
“Yeah, Allister told me you didn’t believe us.” He sniffed. “For future reference, the McCall brothers hate pain. If we’re going to set up a crime scene, rest assured we won’t spray anything in our faces to make it look legit. And also for future reference, we’ve made a pact not to keep secrets from family.”
Bane nodded. “Good to know. I’m sure that will make your brothers sleep better at night.” He took a seat across from Draegan. “Done with the sports section?”
Draegan passed it to him. They read in silence for a while and then Draegan peered up at him and said, “If we’re sharing a woman,
I might as well put this out there.”
“Okay.” Bane didn’t look up.
“I didn’t dislike you.” Draegan folded his newspaper in half. “I actually had and still have a lot of respect for you.”
“But?” Bane glanced up, smirking.
“But I’m obsessed with her.”
“Obsessed?”
“Not in a bad way,” Draegan said, trying to explain. “I just don’t want you to hurt her.”
“Understood.” Bane sipped his coffee.
“All right then.” Draegan lifted his newspaper again and continued reading.
“And McCall?”
“Yeah?” He peered around the side of the long periodical.
“I don’t want you to hurt her either.”
Draegan grinned. “Then we agree on something.”
“We agree on a lot more than we want to admit,” Bane said.
“Well that’s pretty obvious. We love the same woman.”
“If that’s true, then maybe the two of you can agree on one more thing.”
“Uh-huh. What’s that?” Draegan leaned out of his chair and looked at the sexy siren staring back at them.
“Agree to keep me in bed for the rest of the morning and maybe even the afternoon?”
“You got it, sweetheart,” Bane said, leaving the kitchen without a break in stride.
“All you had to do was ask.” Draegan stripped off his shirt and tossed it in the laundry basket in passing.
She crooked her finger back and forth. “I’m asking.”
“And this is why I’ll go to my grave knowing you were the woman worth waiting for.”
“See there?” Bane said. “Draegan and I agree on something else.”
Where Serena was concerned, he and Bane could agree on plenty, especially matters close to the heart.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Natalie Acres is a bestselling award-winning author writing exclusively for Siren Publishing. She enjoys writing western contemporaries as well as action-packed romantic thrillers.
Trouble Travels in Threes [Trouble, Tennessee 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 10