Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39473 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39473 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Call it instinct, desperation, or simply the certainty that a monster like Ronnie wouldn’t go through this much trouble just to leave her somewhere else. Either way, she was close. And probably scared out of her fucking mind.
Every muscle in my body burned with tension as I gave the signal. We moved in swiftly, guns drawn, our footsteps silent against the dirt, violence waiting to erupt from every angle.
A firefight erupted almost immediately after we breached the perimeter. Gunfire shattered the night, muzzle flashes ripping through the darkness as security scrambled to respond. Men shouted. Glass exploded. Somebody screamed.
The operation moved with ruthless speed because hesitation got people killed. My brothers flowed through the property like a tidal wave of violence, crushing resistance before it could organize.
Ronnie’s security was thick, likely remnants of his old crew desperate enough or stupid enough to align with him again. They fought fiercely, but the Kings fought harder, our brutality tempered by the relentless need to reclaim one of our own. Every second felt excruciating, a relentless reminder that Aubrey was somewhere in this hell.
Chaos surged around us—men shouting, bullets slicing the air, and debris showering down. A man stepped into my path near one of the side buildings. I shot him twice and kept moving. Another tried to swing a rifle toward me, and Edge had slit his throat before I could put him down.
We pushed toward the main structure when a burst of automatic fire tore through the hallway ahead of us. Everybody dove for cover. Kane was closest to the opening, and a guard appeared in the hallway, leveling his weapon directly at him. Before I could even react, Tripp lunged, taking the bullet high in his shoulder. His body slammed into Kane and sent both of them crashing into the wall.
“Fuck!” Nitro roared.
The shooter didn’t get a second chance. Half the hallway opened fire, and the bastard was unrecognizable as a human when the air cleared.
I looked at Tripp as he staggered to the side, blood staining his shirt dark, and a furious curse spilling from his lips. I snorted, unable to suppress a barbed comment, “Least you fucking deserve for lying to us, asshole.”
Tripp scowled, pain tight around his mouth. “Good to see your bedside manner still sucks.”
Normally, I’d have enjoyed the argument, but right then, I didn’t give a shit. Aubrey was all I could focus on because she was still somewhere inside this place. I left the others behind and kept moving, every instinct driving me deeper into the building. Tripp staggered behind me, stubbornly keeping pace as we tore through rooms, kicking open doors, searching each one frantically until I heard a muffled whimper through the final locked door at the end of the hallway.
My pulse exploded, and I kicked the door open. It flew inward, wood splintering and hinges groaning. And there she was.
Aubrey was lying on a dirty mattress, her wrists raw from ropes tying her hands behind her back. When her head turned toward the noise, tears streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were wide and glassy from whatever drugs Ronnie had forced into her system. Terror bled from her like an open wound.
But she was fucking alive. The relief hit so hard it nearly brought me to my knees.
“Aubrey,” I rasped.
Her eyes slowly drifted to my face, and there was confusion, then recognition, followed by tears. “Canyon.”
My entire world narrowed to that one broken whisper, but Ronnie Hanks was still breathing. And that was un-fucking-acceptable.
He stood near her, his twisted face frozen in shock for a heartbeat before his hand dropped toward the weapon tucked into his waistband.
A single gunshot cracked, echoing in the small room. Ronnie’s head snapped back, blood spraying the wall behind him, his lifeless body dropping heavily to the floor. Tripp lowered his weapon slowly, his jaw tight with grim satisfaction.
Rage exploded inside me. I spun around and drove my fist directly into Tripp’s jaw.
His head snapped sideways, and he stumbled. “What the fuck?”
“That was my fucking kill,” I snarled, my eyes blazing with barely controlled fury.
Tripp rubbed his jaw but didn’t retaliate, something like regret flickering briefly in his eyes before he masked it with stubborn defiance.
“She’s my sister,” he shot back through gritted teeth, as if that justified everything.
I moved toward Aubrey. “She’s my woman.”
“He’s the reason she’s here.”
“Exactly. Which means he belonged to me,” I growled.
“He was reaching for a gun,” Tripp explained.
“I don’t care.”
“You absolutely should care,” he shot back.
“I wanted him alive long enough to suffer.”
The argument kept going while I sliced through the restraints binding Aubrey. Her eyes met mine, filled with relief as I pulled her swiftly into my arms, her trembling body pressing into my chest as she clung to me.
“You’re safe now, sunshine.” I pressed my lips gently against her temple.