Defiance Falls Boxed Set: The Complete Defiance Falls Trilogy

by Dean, Ali

  When he finally pulled away, he wiped his face and took a deep breath. “We gave them a week. Day five, they gave us their answer. I don’t care if Seamus denies this was a move. If he can’t control his kids, there can’t be a truce.”

  Mitch said, “We had to give it a shot. Yes we’ve tried truces before that failed. But we’ve never had this much to hold over them. Now, it’s time to show them how powerful we are. If they want to come begging for a truce after that, we can re-evaluate. What’s our next move?”

  Mitch, who had been the most reluctant to go to war, seemed prepared for it now.

  Moody was standing behind Dad and he stepped forward. “We can have Neil’s drug operation exposed by tomorrow morning. Keegan, Branden and Sean haven’t had major roles in any of the operations yet. But they’ve had enough involvement in that one to get them some time.”

  “Some time?” I asked.

  “A few years’ sentence, at least. If we want to see longer sentences, we’ll have to expose everything at once to establish RICO charges.”

  Emmett answered the question before I could ask. “RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It’s a way to get longer sentences for organized criminal enterprises rather than one-off crimes. But you have to be a lot more organized than most criminals are. Basically, you have to be a group of smart criminals who succeed at setting up more complicated crimes.”

  I stared at my cousin, thinking that once again I might have underestimated him. “Do that then. RICO. I don’t want to mess around with smaller charges.” I was beyond exhausted and my head was spinning. On top of that, my frustration was growing.

  “They won’t all get arrested in one fell swoop. That one takes time. We’ll hand over everything they need but there’s more red tape,” Dad cautioned.

  I wanted to scream. All this about timing, waiting, strategy. Why couldn’t we act on whims like the Malone boys seemed to do? Okay fine, I knew these guys had killed Flynn and done years of work to position us but I was ready to do some damage. “We took the time to wait things out after Branden and Sean took me,” I said through clenched teeth. “They decided I was an easy target and messed with me again for whatever reason. To get the guys to react on campus or to show us they were still in power, I don’t care. I’m done overanalyzing. We need to hit them where it will hurt.”

  Cruz moved closer to my side. “We’ll decide tomorrow on whether we go all in on the evidence, release part of it, or try for a truce on new terms, if that’s even a possibility anymore. Tonight, we go after Sean and Branden.”

  A tightness in my chest loosened at this declaration. He understood exactly what needed to be done. All of us craved this. We would only appear weak if we didn’t retaliate for what they’d done to me. They’d never take our threats seriously.

  Everyone was on the same page. Few words were spoken as we loaded into the Hummer and Dad’s Land Cruiser.

  “Do you have your gun?” Dad asked.

  I shook my head. I hadn’t wanted to carry it around with me on campus. Dad told me to get it and I ran inside and upstairs to retrieve it from under my bed. It should have made me frightened, the weight of a loaded weapon against my back when I tucked it in. But as I stepped back outside under the moonlight, I felt something settle inside me. It wasn’t calm, like Cruz sought earlier. But there was comfort, a rightness, to what was happening, what we were doing. Spike, Bodhi and Cruz were waiting for me in the Hummer. Emmett, Moody, Mitch and Dad were watching me from the Land Cruiser. We had made this decision together. Whatever happened, we were a team.

  As much as each of us had wanted to do something back at the frat party, I knew that this had only worked because no one acted alone, and never made a move of significance unless we were all in agreement.

  I slipped into the backseat beside Cruz. I was the one who’d made the decision to act more aggressively. Cruz had too, all of us had, but I wasn’t only along for the ride anymore, a victim in need of rescuing. I was part of this, and they trusted me.

  Still, I had no idea what the plan was tonight. “Bodhi, why are we driving by your house?”

  “We need to get something. It’ll just take a sec.” The Hummer pulled into the Boyds’ driveway and Bodhi hopped out. The Land Cruiser was behind us, idling on the side of the road. Bodhi went through the gate by the garage. A minute later, he came back carrying a basket. As he got closer I recognized what was inside.

  A baseball bat, and a ton of baseballs.

  I glanced at Cruz, who smirked. “You went inside to get your gun, but I thought you might prefer a different weapon.”

  I loved him.

  Bodhi opened my door and handed me the bat before putting the basket in the trunk. Then we were back on the road.

  “Where to now?” I wondered, realizing we were headed in the opposite direction from Malone-mansion territory.

  “Mayflower Academy has their own party spot,” Bodhi told me.

  Cruz explained, “The Malone boys don’t want anyone at their houses but they do want to host the parties. They keep it pretty exclusive so everyone thinks it’s a big deal if they’re invited.”

  “Were you invited, when you went there?”

  Cruz looked at me with one eyebrow raised. “Hell no. Not even the Malone boys could go there until they were high school sophomores.”

  “Oh. So, you think they’re there right now?”

  “Probably,” Spike answered. “But there will be others.”

  “That’ll be easy to deal with,” Cruz muttered.

  Okay, so for this part of the evening I would most definitely be a follower, not a leader. I was cool with that. It was my first rodeo into this vigilante justice thing.

  “I kind of wish we’d changed into all black. Maybe put on masks or something,” I said, only half-kidding. I liked being in uniform at game time. It set the tone.

  “We could get capes too,” Bodhi said, totally on board with this.

  Spike snorted. “Yeah, inscribe them with C.B. Hems. That wouldn’t be incognito at all.”

  “C.B. Hems?” Would I always be lost with these guys? Seemed like as soon as I got up to speed on one thing I was clueless about another.

  Cruz leaned over to bump his shoulder against mine. “That’s our security firm. C.B. Hems.”

  I shot him a WTF look. “Who or what is C.B. Hems?”

  Cruz tilted his mouth into one of his half-smiles. “It’s the first letter of all our names. Best we could do with only one vowel.” He watched me for a reaction as I worked this out.

  “H? Why am I in the name? I didn’t even know you guys had a security firm until last week.” No one answered. They didn’t need to. My momentary annoyance at having to ask more questions was replaced with that rightness I had earlier. I was part of something bigger than myself. I hadn’t had this with any of my soccer teams. With the guys, we’d chosen each other. It was more than family. We weren’t under any obligation, but we all wanted to take these risks, make these sacrifices, for each other.

  Cruz’s smile widened into a full one as he watched me take it in. We turned onto a dirt road then and he moved his eyes around, taking in the dark forest around us. He was alert now, and I saw him reach down to his ankle and pull out his gun. He didn’t raise it, but it was right there in his hand.

  My hands fisted around the baseball bat. I glanced behind us and saw Dad’s headlights. This was happening. My heart pounded in my chest, but it wasn’t fear coursing through my veins. It was excitement. It was my turn to play. The tables had turned.

  Chapter 23

  Cruz

  Bodhi held up his phone. “Moody’s got the police radar covered.”

  Spike bounced a little in his seat. Beside me, Hazel held the bat between her knees, tapping it back and forth between her hands.

  The cabin came into view and I counted the cars. Only six. I glanced behind me. Jeremy had parked already, off to the side, slightly out of view, though not exactly hidden.

>   Spike pulled up beside the Navigator and I slid across the seat to hop out. I lifted my gun, aimed, and shot the first tire. Without moving my feet, I shifted my aim to the second tire and pulled the trigger. It gave another satisfying pop, followed by a hiss, and one side of the car sank. The Navigator was tilted now as I walked around to complete the job. I heard the commotion behind me, but kept my eyes steady on the task at hand. I knew the others had me covered. One by one, I hit each tire Then I looked up.

  There were a dozen or so upperclassmen from Mayflower Academy scattering around me. A couple of them weren’t moving, just gawking. But their friends shoved them into cars. These were kids I’d gone to elementary and middle school with. They might call the cops, but judging by the way they scrambled in fear, I didn’t think so. This was Malone business, and if they called anyone, it would be Neil or Keegan. If they tried the cops, Moody had that covered.

  Dirt flew up as one car after the next squealed away. Once the dust settled, I spotted Jeremy, Mitch and Bodhi in the trees, surrounding the cabin. Jeremy shook his head. No movement. Yet. I turned to face the cabin. Spike was crouched behind the driver’s side door, Bodhi behind the passenger door. Hazel remained in the backseat.

  Ten seconds passed with nothing but the sound of cars in the distance. Twenty seconds. Thirty. A full minute. We waited for them to take a shot. They weren’t patient enough to wait it out, they’d let their position be known soon enough. I sat on the bumper behind the Navigator, listening for any sign from inside. There was a scraping sound, like a window opening. And then a gunshot from Jeremy’s position behind a tree.

  A scream from inside. Bodhi and Spike fired several more shots before I shouted to them. “Let’s go!” I came out from behind the Navigator and Bodhi and Spike covered me as we went for the door. There were no shots from inside though and when we opened the door, we saw why.

  Jeremy’s single shot had hit its target. Branden was lying back and Sean was holding a blanket to his shoulder. Bodhi went over and yanked Sean back while I lifted the blanket. Branden was moaning like he was at death’s door but it was only a graze. “Dude, a Band-Aid will do the trick. Shut up already.”

  Spike chuckled from where he pointed a gun at Sean. I was a little disappointed in the lack of fight from these two. They’d caved so easily; it was a shame they weren’t worthier opponents.

  Jeremy walked in then, gun raised. He took in the scene and shook his head, as if he was disappointed too. Sean already looked like he was going to piss himself, and that was before Jeremy announced, “Come on, my daughter’s waiting for you two outside.”

  Neither of them moved as Jeremy held the door open. “You heard him. Hazel’s waiting for you. Get up.” We gave the guys a few kicks and shoves and they were on their feet moving.

  Jeremy and I shared a look as we followed them outside. It didn’t seem right these two losers had been able to mess with Hazel so hard. A deep ache formed in my gut. If she’d known, if we’d told her everything, she might not have… My train of thought stopped when I saw my girl sitting on the hood of the Hummer.

  Her legs dangled over the bumper. The bat rested across her thighs and she held her small gun in one hand. Regret whooshed out of me and a new sensation swooped in. One that had me sweeping my eyes up and down, licking my lips, and then looking away. Now was not the time to go there. I glanced to the woods and noted Emmett and Mitch were still holding position.

  Hazel hopped down and swung the bat over her shoulder. As she did, Sean flinched. Hazel didn’t look at the two Malones though. She glanced at Bodhi.

  “Grab the duct tape,” she told him. “It’s on the passenger seat.”

  She walked with purpose over to a large tree and tapped it with her gun. “One of them can go here.” Then she turned and pointed with the bat to another large tree several feet away. “The other over there.”

  I bit my lip but it didn’t stop me from grinning. Her eyes flicked to mine and she flashed me a sexy smirk before scoping out the area. She called to her dad as she walked backward, a little ways from the two trees she’d designated. “Dad, grab the basket of baseballs from the Hummer’s trunk. You’re pitching.”

  Branden and Sean put some effort into fighting us when we secured them to the trees, and that gave me a chance to throw a few meaningful punches. But I was saving the real hurt for Hazel to inflict. It was eight on two. We had to be fair about this, and it was Hazel’s chance to have her revenge.

  Sean kept telling us he’d called his brother, that Neil or Keegan would come to his rescue, but we knew better. They were a good half hour away on Harvard’s campus. No one was saving these assholes. Not before Hazel got to them.

  It only took her a couple warm-up hits before she got her target. Branden in the stomach was first up. He couldn’t keel over with his body taped erect to the tree. That left her with an open shot to go a few inches lower. Bam. I sucked in a breath, knowing how bad that must have hurt. Tears leaked from his eyes. But he didn’t make a sound. At least not one we could hear. His mouth was duct-taped shut too. I looked over at Hazel, wondering how she was handling dishing out violence like this. My girl was stoic. Silent. Lethal.

  She turned her eyes on Sean. He was shaking. And his crotch was wet.

  Jeremy tossed the ball, Hazel swung. The first one whizzed by his arm and smashed the window on the Navigator. Hazel smiled. “That was fun.” She nodded to her dad, who tossed another. The ball went through the window in the cabin. Hazel’s eyes glinted in satisfaction as Sean continued shaking. The entire tree was vibrating. His cousin’s groans could be heard through the duct tape now. Hazel planted her feet, tapped the bat on the ground, and took a few more swings before she hit her mark. Right in the wet spot on his pants. Sean writhed but Hazel called out to her dad, “Another one.”

  He was running out of balls but our girl wasn’t ready to quit, and none of us were going to stop her. She got him in the knee with the next one. Then, for good measure, she hit him in the balls again. I saw Spike wince and Bodhi cringe. Hazel didn’t look fazed when she swung the bat back over her shoulder.

  “One more minute,” she said, holding up a finger and charging inside the cabin. She came out a moment later and opened the door to the Navigator. I went over there to see what she was up to. She was pulling a pill bottle out of the center console. Hazel looked at the label, frowned, and opened it. She tossed a couple in her hand.

  “Says ibuprofen on the label. But these don’t look like painkillers to me.”

  I peered at the little blue pills in her palm. “No, that’s the ecstasy they’re making in the lab with Braven ingredients.”

  Hazel nodded. “That’s what they gave me, I think. I’ll see if Dad recognizes them. Last thing I want is to give them painkillers.”

  I blinked at her. “We’re going to leave them here, at the trees. I don’t know if they actually called their brothers but someone’s going to find them before too long.”

  “I know,” Hazel said. “But I remember what they gave me made me more sensitive, able to feel everything more than I wanted to. Maybe it will do that for them too, but in a bad way, since they’re hurting. Maybe not. But I want them to know what it feels like to get pills forced down their throats. To not be in their right mind when they’re unable to move. When they’re prisoners, and afraid.”

  My throat went dry as she spoke. Hell, I wanted to take a few swings with that bat myself. But this was Hazel’s retribution. We were declaring war, and I’d get my chance.

  “Do it,” I managed to get out, my voice rusty.

  I was breathing heavily, torn between pain at what my girl had gone through and pride watching her take charge. She marched over to Jeremy to show him the pills. I couldn’t hear his response but she looked up and made eye contact with me. She was asking for my help without words. I went over to her.

  “You want me to do it?”

  Hazel nodded. “Yeah. I don’t want my fingers anywhere near their mouths.” She forced out a l
ittle laugh, but I knew she wasn’t making a joke. She hadn’t gone near the Malones. All her actions had been carefully at a distance. I put out my palm and she placed four in my hands.

  Jeremy came with me and I was thankful he was there too when we ripped the tape off their mouths to shove the pills down their throats. I mean, it wasn’t easy to do. But mostly, the knowledge they’d done the same to Hazel made me nauseated.

  No one spoke as we collected the balls, piled back into our cars, and left the two guys strapped to the trees. Maybe Neil or Keegan would send someone to get them and they wouldn’t be there long. Or maybe they’d be there all night. They’d survive. Probably with a little nerve damage to their junk. Hopefully something permanent.

  I felt Hazel’s eyes on me and turned. She had looked wiped earlier in the night, but now her eyes danced.

  “How do you feel?” I asked her.

  She took my hand and slid it between her thighs, tightening around it. Then she mouthed, “I want you.”

  My eyes almost rolled to the back of my head. I’d been turned on since seeing her sitting on the hood of the Hummer, but I’d tried to push it down, deny it. Her strength and attitude were sexy as hell, but I didn’t know if she’d have the same energy coursing through her as I did. It seemed Hazel was high from getting revenge, and she wanted to ride that out with me.

  I glanced to the guys in the front seat. Spike was focused on the road and Bodhi was texting someone, probably Moody or Emmett in the other car. My hand moved up until it was pressing at her center.

  Hazel’s eyes drifted shut for a second before she snapped them open. She let me see everything inside her, and it wasn’t the pain and frustration from earlier in the night. It was passion and triumph.

  I fought the urge to kiss her and instead mouthed the words, “I love you. Hard.”

  She smiled, and lifted her hips to press into my hand.