Oh, God.
No.
I didn’t mean for Horseman or Rajah to get hurt, and I’ll never forgive myself if I’m the reason that anything else happens to them.
“Or what?” he asks, taking another step toward me as he keeps his gun trained on Horseman. The front door opens, and I whisper a sigh of relief when the bell doesn’t go off. It’s lying on the floor a few feet from the door, and the only thing I can conclude is that it was hit during all the shooting. Falcon, Kinetic, and Hawk sneak into the shop, but I don’t see anyone else.
Geno takes another step toward me, pulling my attention back to him. “How about I kill these two fuckers and just take you again? Who is going to fucking save you this time?”
“I will.” Falcon’s voice is steel, leaving not a shred of doubt to the truth in them, as he steps up behind Geno, who startles at the sound of Falcon’s voice. He spins, but Falcon is faster, hitting him in the back of the head with his own gun before Geno can do anything to defend himself. As he falls at Falcon’s feet, I glance over at Coe and Sandman, grinning when I see them both crumpled on the floor, Kinetic and Hawk standing behind their bodies. The back door flies open, and the rest of the guys file in, guns drawn, but when they see that everything is under control, they stand down.
Falcon erases the distance between us and shoves our table barrier out of the way before pulling me into his arms. But I don’t even get to enjoy his embrace before he pulls back to place his hands on my cheeks and inspect me.
“Are you okay, baby?”
I smile up at him and lay one of my hands over his. “I’m okay.”
“Fuck me,” he whispers, pulling me back into his body and pressing his lips to my forehead as he releases a sigh and tension seeps out of his body. “I thought . . .”
“I know.”
He takes a deep breath, almost like he’s breathing me in to make sure I’m really here, that I’m really okay, before he turns to face Kinetic and Hawk. He tucks me into his side and nods to them.
“Get all their hands tied,” he orders, and the two of them pull some zip ties out of their back pockets before getting to work. As Kinetic secures Geno’s hands behind his back, he starts to come around again.
“What the fuck?” he grumbles, trying to free his hand from the restraints, and I can’t help but smile at the parallels to when I woke up in the motel room. Clearly still out of it, he looks around, and when he meets my eyes, he stops. I can’t look away as all the pieces start to fall back into place for him, and just when I expect him to realize how utterly fucked he is, he smiles.
“Don’t fucking smile at her,” Falcon snaps, pulling me closer, but Geno’s grin only grows. And then he starts to laugh. “Get him the fuck out of here.”
Kinetic reaches down and grabs Geno’s arms, yanking him to his feet as he continues to cackle, never once taking his eyes off me, and I can’t help but tremble in Falcon’s arms. I have no idea what it means, but it can’t be anything good.
“Oh, Hermoine?” he calls as Kinetic begins leading him away, turning back over his shoulder to meet my gaze. “Just wanted to let you know that I’m really sorry about your mom and dad.”
My brows furrow, and the air gets trapped in my chest. “What?”
But instead of giving me any kind of satisfactory answer, he just cackles some more, and my heart sinks like a stone.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Falcon
“Hawk, watch Hermoine. Kinetic, make sure these fucks are dealt with . . . but I want them alive. Moneybags and Vader, I want you two with me. The rest of you split up between Hawk and Kinetic. I want enough people with my woman and enough of you with these fuckers who are going to pay greatly for what they’ve done.” With every word, venom comes straight through my voice. My heart pounds in my chest as anxiousness rises within me, and while I’m hoping Geno’s bluffing . . . I know deep down he isn’t. Men like him don’t bluff about shit like this, and it makes them that much worse to deal with.
Hermoine stares at me with a mixture of shock and fear crossing her face. Her hands shake violently as his words must be replaying in her mind, and I can’t blame her for showing her emotion right now. She covers her hand over her mouth, and with every inhale she takes, her body shakes.
I wrap my arms around Hermoine and hold her as tightly as I can. While I’m holding her in my arms, I press my lips to her ear, “I’m going to check things out. I’ll meet you back at the clubhouse when I’m done.” I hold onto her for a few seconds longer, and as I finally pull away, she grabs onto my hand.
“I . . . I want to go with you,” she stutters out, but she sounds determined to come along with me. Little does she know it’s not something I’m going to allow. There’s a high likelihood that her parents are dead, and I don’t want her last memory of them to be their lifeless bodies.
“No, you’re going to the clubhouse, and I’ll come find you as soon as I know what’s really happened.”
“What’s happened? I told you! They’re dead!” Geno maniacally laughs, and the next thing I know, Kinetic’s jamming his foot into the old man’s stomach. Good. It’s a nice start for what he’ll have to deal with in the pit.
Hermoine glances over at Geno for a mere second, but I force her face to look at me. “I’m going there right now, but I need you at the clubhouse where I know you’re safe. Unless you’re there, I’m not going to be able to focus, and I need to focus.”
Hermoine gives me a curt nod, and then Hawk comes over to stand next to the most precious thing in the world to me. “She’s in safe hands, Prez. Go check things out. I’ll make sure she gets to the club.”
I nod at Hawk, knowing she’s perfectly safe, and press a kiss to the center of Hermoine’s forehead. She’s a wreck right now, and it’s obvious as fuck. I can’t even blame her because if the shoe were on the other foot, I’d be upset too.
I rush over to my bike, mount her and start her up in record time. Moneybags and Vader are hot on my heels, and the three of us ride through town at lightning speed until we’re at Hermoine’s childhood home. I know the place well since I’ve seen her parents on many different occasions. They’re great people, and it’s all I can think about as I get off my bike and head up the steps to their house.
As soon as I’m in front of the door, I wipe my feet on the carpet that reads ‘home is where the heart is’ and then knock, but alas, there’s no answer. I wrap my hand around the doorknob and turn it. Unsurprisingly, it gives way with no pushback.
I head inside the impeccably decorated home with the guys right behind me. We’re prepared for anything, but there isn’t a peep coming from the house. Not a sound from a television or even a radio. Then my eyes spot it. Crimson red.
Hermoine’s father is tied to a dining room chair with ropes, a bullet hole going through his forehead. Meanwhile, his wife’s body is only a few feet away from him. She’s lying down on the floor, half on their hardwood floors, half on the living room carpet. If I had to guess, Geno made her father watch as they stabbed his wife repeatedly. The knife’s even on the carpet. These idiots are so fucking messy, but I guess I shouldn’t be shocked in the least bit. Geno probably thought he’d get Hermoine and be out of here before any of us even realized what happened in the first place.