Lennox pulls out his gun aiming it directly at me. I slide out of the way to dodge him, the same time the gun goes off. My body spins to the side with the force of the hit clinging to my bicep, the burn igniting through me so fucking intense, I fall to one knee. Blood oozes through my fingers as I let out a groan, trying to calm my breath. “Motherfucker.”
The sudden pressing of a dull object on my back has me on high alert. “I told you, you’d have to come through me,” Lennox repeats, pressing the hot tip of his gun between my shoulder blades.
“And unfortunately, brother, you have to come through me,” another voice grunts behind Lennox.
Then the loud blast of a single gunshot detonates. Lennox falls beside me on the ground, dead. I turn dramatically to see River, Jovie’s other Slaver brother, staring at me unphased. Shock runs through me as River places out his hand to help me up.
I furrow my brows at him, but he huffs. “C’mon, we gotta help Jovie.”
I jerk my head back in shock, but I honestly don’t have time to waste right now. “I don’t trust you just so we’re clear,” I tell him, placing my hand in his.
He hoists me up. “Understandable. But we need to get to Jovie now before our father takes her.”
Confusion rattles through me, but I don’t have time to fuck around or question this bastard’s motives. “Fine, let’s go,” I tell him, even if I have suspicions this could definitely be a trap.
With my arm burning like crazy and blood dripping down my bicep, I take off with River.
Defiance brothers from multiple chapters fight alongside each other taking out Slavers, Slavs, and mercenaries while River and I run out the front of the clubhouse, where Jovie is fighting with the burned man while he tries to force her into the back of a pickup. She kicks and claws at him as we approach. There’s my strong woman. Never one to give up.
My feet don’t fail me, taking off at full speed, not waiting for River. I aim the gun straight at his head, the same time River grabs Jovie, pulling her to him protectively.
“River?” the burned man yells. “What the hell are you doing, son?”
It hits me like a ton of bricks. The burned man… that asshole is Jovie’s father!
I stand shocked, trying to take all this information in.
Jovie’s father put my kids in the freezer?
It wasn’t the Baron coming after them. It was her father trying to get to her through me.
The gunfire slowly dies down, making the mayhem of the deafening chaos dull around the compound.
“The Slavers are corrupt, Father. My whole life has been about manipulation, trying to gain position in the system, trying to be the biggest man in the room. There’s a reason we’re called the Slavers, Dad, because we’re slaves to the system we’ve created for ourselves. All you want is power, money, and the greed and corruption that comes along with it. You thought you were teaching Lennox and me to be like you, but you’re manipulative and fucking evil. Lennox might have been the same as you, but I don’t want to be anything like you. You wonder why everyone else is always a step ahead of the Slavers? That’s because of me, Dad, I’m the inside guy. I’m the guy who fucked you over this time and every other time before this. And, I’m the guy putting an end to it all.”
“River? What the fuck are you talking about? You’re third in charge? You are supposed to be running things with Lennox when I hand over the reins.”
“I don’t want the reins. I never did. Why do you think Jovie was always just out of reach, Dad?” River frowns. “When we found her at The Lone Wolf, and I shot at her when she was running away… why do you think the bullets missed when I’m usually such a good aim?” He waves his hands around. “When we tracked her car to New Orleans via traffic cameras, and I was in the car with two other men, I let them get out to chase after Jovie. I knew Kevlar would kill them and do my job for me. But I would have stepped in if things got out of hand or if it looked as if they were getting the upper hand. Once I knew they were taken out, I scurried away while Kevlar was dealing with Jovie’s dislocated shoulder.” He smiles. “I’ve been there, Father, every step of the way, foiling every single one of your plans.”
“But you’ve been here for every discussion. When the Baron was introduced to me. When he was trying to find shit on Defiance. The Baron asked all the syndicates about anything they had on Defiance to help bring them down.”
“And you were so caught up in forging alliances with the wrong people that you couldn’t see dissension in your own ranks.”
“Where the fuck is Lennox? I’ll get him to deal with a fucking traitor like you.”
River laughs. “Lennox is dead. And now, so are you.”
“What?”
“No,” I call out.
River brings up his gun, aiming it directly at his father, and he doesn’t hesitate pulling the trigger.
Jovie screams as her father’s head explodes beside her. I run to her side, grabbing her in my arms before she collapses. Amazingly, she’s standing on her own two feet, staring wide-eyed at River. She’s trembling, but she’s keeping her strength.
Adrenaline rushes through my body, my pulse elevates as my throat goes dry from my rushed breathing. I didn’t get to carry out my own fucking revenge on that sonofabitch, and that fact infuriates me.
“I’m so confused, River,” Jovie mumbles.
I hold her tight as River weakly smiles. “I’m sorry, Jovie… for everything our father has put you through.”
She sniffles, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I… I don’t understand. Why? Why did you turn on him?”
River takes a step closer, and I pull Jovie to me to keep her safe from her Slaver brother.
“Because of Mom. Jovie, she wasn’t sick from a virus…” He sighs. “Dad poisoned her… slowly, so it couldn’t be traced. That bastard thought if she were gone, it would make you join the Slavers faster, but it only pushed you further away.”
Jovie breaks free from my grip, stepping right into River’s space. “Dad killed Mom?”
“Yeah… I only found out a year ago. That’s when I started turning against the Slavers, working against them.”
Jovie sniffles, then leans in to hug her brother. I’m still tense and unsure around him, but I guess she knows him better than I do.
“We should go check on everyone else,” I suggest.
I don’t even know how to break it to Jovie that her father was behind my kids’ incident.
“Definitely. If they need help, we should give it,” River replies.
Widening my eyes, I pull Jovie back to my side as we rush back around into the broken gates of the clubhouse.
Zero’s gun is aimed at the Baron.
Wraith now has a hold firmly on Damir.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
Any leftover mercenaries, clan members, or Slavers are being held hostage by the Defiance brothers. Who, now the dust has settled, I can clearly see are the Chicago and New Orleans chapters. Thank fuck they got here early.
Cherry and Prinie move to their men’s sides like the strong old ladies they are as everyone surrounds the stand-off.
Ethan hesitates near the back—he shouldn’t be here for this.