"Fuck, Prez. Can't argue with him there." Quinn cuts in.
Just as I see Emerson about to open her mouth and protest, a big black SUV comes barreling through the front gate and skids to a stop right in front of us sending dirt and gravel flying everywhere. And before the truck comes to a complete halt, every one of my men is off their bikes and has their weapons drawn and pointed directly at the SUV. We are shocked by who we see come flying out of the driver side door. Lisa.
"Lisa!" Bennett hollers jumping off his bike knocking it down in the process and they run into one another's arms.
"Oh, god! I thought I had lost you." She sobs into Bennett's neck.
"I love you, baby. I love you so much." Bennett tells her in return while holding her face in his hands and peppers kisses on her lips.
After respectfully giving my friends a moment to collect themselves I come up behind Lisa and place my hand on her shoulder. "I hate to do this now, sweetheart, but time is of the essence. We need to get to Grace. I need you to tell us everything that happened and where Ronan is keeping her."
"Fine, but let's do it on the way there," Lisa tells me as she makes her way over to Nikolai's SUV.
"Where the hell you think you're going, woman?" Bennett snatches her arm halting her movements.
"To get Grace. And before you try and protest, you best remember I am the only one who knows where they are, and it would be a hell of a lot easier for me to show you than tell you. So, don't bother trying to pull the stubborn alpha card on me, Bennett. Now I suggest we all get our asses in gear and go get Grace."
Without another word, Bennett and I follow Lisa and hitch a ride with Demetri and Victor. We know better than to argue with our momma bear. Before climbing in, I see Logan talkin' to his brother. Nikolai volunteered to stay and watch over the family along with one of Demetri's men and O'Rourke. Once we pile into the truck, Lisa instructs Victor to turn left out of the compound and head east.
"Lisa, I want you to tell me everything that happened. From the time you were taken up until you got out." She goes on to recount the events from when she and Bennett were run off the road and witnessing him get shot. I can tell by the crack in her voice when saying that part; she truly believed she had lost him.
"You would be so proud of Grace, Jake. All she was concerned about was getting me out of there."
"How were you able to escape?" I ask.
"We kicked one of Ronan's goon's ass, is what we did. When he came into the room we were being held in, I busted a lamp over his head, and Grace kneed him in the face. I am pretty sure she broke his nose too. Once he passed out after I broke a drawer across his face, I found a set of keys in his pocket and Grace took his gun from the inside of his coat. We broke the window, and she helped me out. Grace didn't have time to follow before someone started trying to kick the door in. She begged me to go--to run. I knew at that point and so did she, that me making it back to the clubhouse was her only hope. So, I hauled ass to their SUV and got gone, but Jake, there's something else."
"What is it, sweetheart?" I ask even though I know I don't want to hear the answer.
"Just as I was driving off, I heard a gunshot. I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't want to leave her. I didn't know what else to do. All I could think about was getting to you all as fast as I could." She cries, and Bennett pulls her into his chest.
"You did good, Lisa and I'm damn proud of ya, you hear. Damn proud."
A few minutes later we're riding in silence, and the only thing I can hear is the beating of my own heart and my adrenaline kicks in the closer we get to our destination. Lisa informs us we are about five minutes out from the house Ronan is keeping Grace when Victor pulls off to the side of the road and my brothers follow suit. The whole scene feels a bit like Déjà Vu from when Bella and Alba were taken a couple of years ago. With his rifle slung over his shoulder, Reid takes off. He knows the drill. The rest of us men are silent as we ready ourselves. I take a moment to eye each one of my boys. Logan and Gabriel have been in my shoes. They understand what is at stake and that my woman's life is on the line.
"I want to make things clear before we go in. You all do what you got to do to get my girl out of that house, but that motherfucker Ronan is mine." I declare. "Now let's go in there and show those pussies what happens when you fuck with the Kings."
22
Grace
When I come to, I feel a little disoriented, and my right eye is partially swollen from the blow I took to the face. I'm unable to move my arms. Turning my head, I look to see why. I'm also on my knees, with my arms outstretched, and both wrists are bound with rope to pipes sticking out of the walls on either side of me. With little movement and barely able to see through one eye, I can't get a good look at my surroundings. The lighting is very dim, and it smells a bit musky like mildew. The floor at my knees feels like concrete, which leads me to believe I might be in the basement of the house. Tugging on the ropes causes a burning pain to shoot along my shoulders from the extreme tension on my muscles.
Another thing I notice is how cold I am. Looking down at myself, I realize my clothes are gone. The only article of clothing on my body is my cotton panties. Oh My God. How long was I out? What else has he done to me? I close my eyes. Pure panic sets in as I ignore the stabbing pain I'm inflicting on myself by trying to break free. I knew what I was walking into and all the possibilities that came along with my choice to come here, but fear has a way of lurking in the shadows, and right now it has its claws sunk into my chest.
My thoughts quickly shift to Lisa. I pray she was able to get away. The look on her face when I told her to leave—to run showed the inner struggle she was having with the decision to run and leave me behind or stay and the fight was hard on her. In the end, her choosing to save herself was what I wanted. If she did make it, I might have a chance at getting out of all this alive, because she'll be able to lead Jake and the rest of men back here. What if she didn’t get away? What if she never made it to the vehicle? What if she's dead? I need to prepare myself for the realization that no one will find me.
The sharp ticks of metal against metal break through my thoughts and the eerie silence that had filled the air, making me aware of the fact that I am not alone down here. I do my best to look over my shoulders to see behind me, but the shadows of the room are too dark for me to make anything or anyone.
"I'm impressed. You and that biker bitch took down one of my men. I have to admit I underestimated you, Anna." Ronan speaks from behind me. With the sound of his voice, I freeze. I know this tone. I know it well. The sounds of his shoes clack against the floor with each step he takes causing a slight echo to bounce off the brick walls as he paces the floor.
"And you shot Connor here." Appearing from the dark corner of the room, Connor slowly strides towards me holding a gun at his side. Even though I want to show no fear my body betrays me and my breathing picks up. So this is it? This is how my life ends? With a single bullet? "You look a little confused, my dear." Ronan notices I can't take my eyes off the gun. "I'm sure you've heard the saying an eye for an eye, right?"
Connor stops a few feet in front of me, letting his eyes trail my exposed body. Without any hesitation and no time for me to react, he raises the gun and pulls the trigger. In an instant, I scream out in the sheer agony of the pain ripping through my left shoulder just to the side of my collarbone. Blood starts to seep from the gunshot wound and trickles down my side.
"You disappoint me, Anna. You could have had anything you ever wanted. We could have been an unstoppable force. A family bond should never be broken." Stopping beside me, Ronan runs a cold finger along the outer edge of my breast. Bile rises in my throat from his touch.
"Like the way you broke mine? You took my family from me."
Rolling his eyes like I'm some petulant child throwing a tantrum Ronan huffs an annoyed breath. "This again." He walks away and turns his back towards me for a moment slipping his hands into the pockets of his designer suit pants. "Connor go find out wh
en the helicopter will be here; I need a private moment with my wife." He demands.
"Yes, Sir," Connor responds to the order walking out the door.
Beginning to stroll around me again casually, I wait for his next move. The fire burning in my shoulder is unbelievably intense. Silent tears stream down my face as I do my best to remain motionless against the tautness of the ropes and the rough, cracked surface of the basement floor beneath me digs into the soft flesh of my knees almost making that task impossible.
"I know you killed my mother. I don’t have proof, but I know you had something to do with the bakery fire. She shouldn’t have been there. She never stayed late like that. Not by herself."
Taking his hands from his pockets, he rubs them together. "Unfortunately, your mother did something she shouldn’t have. She meddled in affairs that were not her concern. You see, I found out your mother was having me investigated for the murder of your father."
My eyes go wide. Deep in my soul, I knew something wasn’t right about the mugging that the cops said took a wrong turn. Daddy walked the same path home for years. He knew everyone in the neighborhood.
"Your father didn’t want me to have you." Ronan stops and cuts his murderous eyes at me, "I always get what I want, Anna," He lifts his lips in a devilish grin. He doesn't have to come right out and say it. The look Ronan gives me is his admission. He killed my father too.
"They both got what they deserved. My family hasn’t spent years building an empire for nothing."
"Did you ever love me?" I finally ask. It's not important anymore. I stopped loving him years ago, but I want to know if he ever cared for me.
"Love is a strong word to use." He peers up at the ceiling. "I wanted you. I was obsessed with you. My father disapproved of you, and that made me want you more. Then you became a means to an end. I married a sweet, innocent young woman. Someone I could mold," he pauses.
I take a shuddered breath and fight through my pain. "You had plans to force your own daughter into an arranged marriage once she turned eighteen. How could you do something like that? You are a sick bastard. All you ever did was use me, then you planned on using her too. I hate you." I growl.
Ronan gets right in my face. So close I smell the stench of scotch on his breath. His hand shoots out and takes hold of my chin. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable, Anna, You have to be punished now."
Clenching my teeth, I stare into his cold, menacing eyes. Eyes I once thought held the world. Eyes that reveal the monster he is. The old me would beg and plead, but I'm not going to give him the satisfaction. My blank stare and muteness hang between us.
"You were always a screamer. You remember? I don’t get as much time with you as I had planned," he pushes the hair from my face and tucks it behind my ear, "so we'll have to make this one count. You'll break, Anna. Before I'm done with you, I'll have you begging me to kill you instead." He smirks.
Stepping back, he keeps his eyes trained on mine. I watch him roll the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt up to his elbows then he begins to undo the buckle on his belt. "Still don't want to ask for my forgiveness?" He laughs.
Defiantly I raised my chin and hold his stare. I start to lose sight of him as he steps over the rope tied to my right wrist and stands behind me. I stare straight ahead knowing what comes next.
"Tell me what you did wrong, Anna." He demands of me. My silence is my only answer. The only thing I ever did wrong was love a man like him.
The sharp crack of a leather belt snapping causes my entire body to tense and a lump to catch in my throat. Closing my eyes, I picture the beauty in my life. My daughter. Jake. My friends who are my family. I drowned myself in knowing Remi is safe. The first strike of the leather across my skin steals my breath and my back bows. Holding the scream in becomes an act all its own. I won't give him my pain. I won't let him see or have my fear.
"I bet you've been wondering if your friend got away." Whack whack whack. The belt hits my flesh several more times. "Beg me to stop," he swings again and again, "and I'll tell you if she got away or if I put a bullet in her head." Whack.
It's when the hard end of the buckle splays my back I lose control and wail in pain. He swings the leather, hitting the buckle across my back again and again. "I told you I would break you. I'll have mercy on you and end it all now if you ask me for forgiveness," Ronan rages. Whack.
My screams have turned into sobs as he continues his brutal assault. I let my only thoughts be of the ones I love. The images I see when I close my eyes are of all the people who love me.
The basement door flies open, and Connor rushes to say, "The chopper just radioed. They are landing now and said they had eyes on several bikers and some SUVs turning onto the road heading this way, boss. We need to leave. Now."
"Are the explosives set?" Ronan inquiries tossing the belt to the floor.
"Yes, sir," Connor answers back. "We can remote detonate once in the air."
Looking over his shoulder Ronan gives me one last look. "I won't stop until I have my daughter. Goodbye, Anna."
He's gone. No longer able to hold my weight I let my shoulders slump. All the pain mingles together, and I sag my head. Muffled voices yell from somewhere outside, and gunfire breaks out. The Bomb. If they come in the house; we all die.
23
Jake
Dust and gravel fly around the truck as we come barreling down the driveway leading to the house Ronan is held up in. It doesn't take long before our presence is known, and bullets begin pinging off the vehicle we are in. My men knowing Demetri's SUV is bulletproof, they fall in line behind us to dodge being hit. The first thing I notice is how secluded the old abandoned house is. Nothing but trees for miles aside from the large clearing behind the house. And currently landing on that clearing is a fuckin' helicopter. The fuck?
Once we have skidded to a stop, Bennett turns to Lisa who is sitting beside him. "Baby, take this." He says handing her a Glock. "I want you to stay here and lock the doors behind us. Anybody you don't know comes up to you; you put a bullet in their ass."
Not arguing with his orders, she pulls him to her and lands a hard kiss on his mouth. "Don't get dead."
Demetri, Victor, Bennett, and myself, jump out of the truck and begin rapidly returning fire in the direction of the helicopter where two armed men are perched at the open door with their guns trained on us. There are also three men on the roof of the house. Before any of us has a chance to respond, one by one all three men slump over and free fall to the ground below. That is when I notice Reid just beyond the tree line to my right. Knowing my brothers have my back, I make my way up to the house. Once I'm stationed at the front door, I give Quinn and Gabriel the signal to circle back on the left side of the house while Demetri and Victor have disappeared around the right corner. With Logan and Bennett covering me, I use my foot and boot in the front door with my gun raised and ready. In quick succession, I put a bullet through the chest of a man in a dark suit who was standing in the living room and quickly pop another two rounds when a couple more fuckers rush around the corner of the kitchen. Suddenly, the house is eerily quiet aside from me hearing the beating of my own heart. Even the sounds of gunfire coming from outside has stopped. All that is left is the hum of the helicopter's propeller blades. With my weapon still raised, I swing my body in every direction scanning the entirety of my surroundings.
"Logan, you and Bennett take the upstairs. I'm going to take a look down here." Without a word they both nod and head off in the direction of the stairs. Walking down the hallway that leads out of the living room, I come upon an open door that looks like it leads down to a basement and I hear the faint sound of whimpering, and I know it's my Little Bird. My body kicks into motion bounding down the steps two at a time. The closer I get, the louder the cries become, and I clench my jaw and try to prepare myself for what I may find. Clearing the last step with my gun raised in the air I try to take in the room. It's so dark the only thing I see is a shadowy figure crouched on the floor
. Just then Bennett appears behind me flashing his cell phone light. When the room is illuminated, I am not at all prepared for the sight in front of me. My woman is on her knees slumped over, and she has her arms pulled out to her sides by fuckin' ropes. With a roar escaping my mouth, I drop to my knees next to Grace.
"Bennett, I need that light over here. I can't see shit and I need to cut these fuckin' ropes." When he trains the light on Grace, my blood turns cold at what I see. "Son of a bitch," I growl, and Bennett wastes no time checking the bullet hole in her shoulder.
"It's a clean shot."
Not only has my woman been shot, but her back is black and blue and has welts that I know has been caused by the motherfucker's belt. "Baby," I speak gently. "I'm going to cut these ropes, okay?" I tell her, and when my hand touches her arm, she flinches from the pain of being touched. It's also then I feel how cold her skin is. Grace is in nothing but a pair of panties. My mind starts to wonder what else Ronan has done to her, and suddenly my own body is vibrating in anger.
"You need to get out of the house." Grace rasps out. "You have to hurry, Jake. Please."
"Everything is going to be okay, baby. I'm going to get you out of here." I assure her while using my knife to cut the ropes.
"Bomb," she says before she passes out. Fuck!
"Did she just say bomb?" Bennett asks.
"Shit! We have to hurry brother." Just as I finish cutting the last rope, Logan comes charging down the stairs.
"The fuckin' pussy got away, Prez." His words are cut off when he sees the state Grace is in.
UNBREAKABLE_The Kings of Retribution MC Page 17
