The Vigilantes Collection

by Lake, Keri

  I smirked and pulled her in for a kiss. “And what would we do with ourselves?”

  A wily grin dimpled her cheeks. “Anything your heart desires. Your command is my wish.” She nipped my earlobe and giggled when I gripped her sides and tickled.

  “The hell it is. You’re too feisty to be told what to do, Pistol Lips.” I continued my assault, dodging kicks to my side, as she attempted to break free, and I rolled on top of her. Pinning her arms to the bed, I held her there, staring down into those beautiful, bright golden eyes that’d begun to sparkle. Slanting my lips over hers, I took in her struggle against my body, until she calmed and her moan purred in my mouth. “You make a man question his motives, that’s for sure.”

  “Could you even imagine a place where we watch sunrises, have sex, eat, shower, have sex, lay in the sun, watch sunsets, sex.”

  “I’m picking up on a theme …”

  “I haven’t watched the sun set in five years. Five years, I’ve been so focused on surviving. And now …” Her smile wilted to a wistful sigh. “Make it stop.”

  “Make what stop?”

  “Time. I want to stay here, in this place for eternity, with you.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but the chime of my cellphone alerted me to a text. Lifting the phone, I clicked on a message from Leon.

  I’ve got something for you. Pick it up at the drop.

  “What is it?” Aubree asked, as my stomach curled into itself.

  I hadn’t planned a pick up from Leon. Had no idea what might await me there.

  I set the phone back on the nightstand and looked down at Aubree. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

  * * *

  The drop was the place in an abandoned office building off Mount Elliott, where the Bojanskis often left packages for me—drugs, guns, whatever I needed. For months, they’d let me rent out the apartment atop their bar, a place where a person could stay completely anonymous, since no one fucked with Leon Bojanski. That was like messing with the Capo of the Gambino family.

  While I should’ve been mentally preparing myself for Cox’s gruesome act of retribution, I, instead, wracked my brain, trying to imagine what Leon had left for me. A drop wasn’t necessarily good. A drop meant he didn’t want anyone tracking him.

  Broken glass, decaying wood, and paper littered the floor beneath toppled furniture heavy with grime, and I trampled through them to the back room. Inside, a package lay propped against the wall behind the shelving unit with a typical note attached by a thin strip of tape: Nick.

  I tore off the small piece of paper and opened the envelope. From within the dark depths of the packet, I carefully slid a cartridge out of the envelope and held it up to see what appeared to be an SD card inside.

  A burning in my gut told me that whatever happened to be on the cartridge was bad, and part of me wanted to toss it, run from the building, and pretend I hadn’t seen it.

  The logical side of me tucked it away into my pocket and exited the building.

  * * *

  Sometimes, I had a sense about things.

  A half hour had passed since I’d collected the SD card, and although I still hadn’t checked out its contents, something told me that, at some point in the night, I’d find myself at a standoff between Aubree and whatever it’d call me to do.

  Perhaps it was my own doubts about the future of our fucked up relationship, which shouldn’t have come to be, or maybe it was disappointment in allowing myself to fall prey to her charms every night, to be pulled into bed with her, where the only thought, the simplest thought inside my head, was making the woman scream my name.

  Either way, I had a sense I couldn’t ignore, so instinct had me pouring a glass of wine from the bottle that I’d picked up on the way back to the mansion.

  Aubree lay sprawled on her bed, reading Faulkner. As I approached with the glass of red, her eyes lit up. “Ooh! I’ve not had wine in so long. What’s the occasion?”

  I shrugged, the very gesture itself a lie, and set the glass on her nightstand. “I thought it might get you drunk faster. Let me take advantage of you.”

  Smiling, she lifted the glass from beside her and took a sip. “Mmmm. Piquant. I love a dry red.”

  “I’ll leave the bottle here. I have to finish something, and I’ll come back to make sure you’re preheated.” The corner of my lip kicked up in a smile, in spite of the knots twisting inside my gut, and I exited her room, pushing through my bedroom door.

  Once inside the closet, I popped the disk into the computer.

  The file had been labeled, Collateral, and the knots in my stomach coiled tighter as I clicked ‘open’.

  Screams spilled from a blackness onscreen that eventually opened up to an unfamiliar room. The camera panned down over the naked body of a woman, whose breasts bounced with the jostling of her body. It zoomed in on the cameraman’s dick slamming into her then back up her body in a shaky quality. His rapid breaths overpowered her agonized screams, and the view angled to the right, revealing her arms tied behind her back.

  I’d no idea who the woman was—until the camera lifted to her face.

  Narrow, bright brown eyes.

  Jet black hair, fallen around her face.

  Pale skin with a slight pink tinge.

  Jade.

  My heart caught, not so much for the woman on the camera, but for the one not on camera at that moment.

  “Who’s Alec Vaughn?” the man asked, driving hard into her, so much that her features folded and she cried out in pain. “Huh? C’mon. Fuckin’ slut. Little fuckin whore. Who’s Alec Vaughn?”

  “I don’t know! I don’t … know an Alec!”

  The cameraman laughed, like her sobbing amused him, and twisted her nipple before gouging his dirty nails into her ass.

  “Yeah … that’s it, whore. Scream. Scream loud. No one’s gonna hear you.”

  “I’m … a member of … a dangerous group. They will find you. And they will kill you!” Her cries echoed inside the room, and the male’s laughter chased it.

  “You’ll already be dead, sweetheart.”

  Her scream hit a bone chilling pitch, then splintered to silence.

  The camera went black before opening up to a new scene.

  In the center of what appeared to be a basement, with its high walls and stained cinderblocks, a figure sat facing away in a chair, their hands tied. A burlap sack had been tied over the head.

  Lit only by the light of the camera, the basement looked to be mostly empty, with few shadows cast in the background. Abandoned, perhaps, but as the person recording rounded the victim, a tray of tools came into view—all coated in what must’ve been blood.

  Deep raspy breaths, followed by a quiet chuckle, indicated some excitement on the part of the mysterious videographer, and I braced myself as a hand reached out from the camera and removed the sack.

  Pain stabbed my chest. I could scarcely draw in air. My hands balled into fists at my side, itching to punch right through the wall.

  Blood matted her hair to her face, and her cheekbone looked as if it’d been smashed then gouged with a pick. Her eye had puffed black and blue, glistening with pus.

  Lauren.

  Pulling the chair from beneath me, I slammed it into the wall, leaving a gaping hole of dust and crumbling drywall. Slam after slam, I smashed the wood to pieces, and throwing it to the floor, I paced, rubbing my skull.

  “Who is she?”

  The intruding voice tightened my muscles, and I slowly turned to find Aubree standing in the doorway.

  “Lauren.”

  Her eyes closed, and I caught the slouch of her shoulders, the same defeat pulsing through me. “Michael has her, doesn’t he?”

  “I’m assuming his men, yes.” I squeezed my eyes so tight a twinge of pain shot through my head, and I pressed my fists harder at my temples. “She saved my life.”

  “And now you intend to save hers.”

  Through deep breaths, I attempted to calm the storm raging through my v
eins, the fury ready to break free and kill something. “I have to.”

  “This … this video. It’s a trap. You realize that, right? She may already be dead. And when you—”

  “It doesn’t matter, Aubree.” Lowering my hands, I opened my eyes and leveled my gaze on her. “I made a promise to her.”

  “Don’t do it alone, is all I’m saying. I want to come with you. I can be the eyes to watch your back for you.”

  I shook my head. “No.” I pushed a row of clothes aside and tugged open a hidden door embedded into the wall, where I stored my guns, and pulled out the M-24, Glocks, magazines.

  “This is … suicide, Nick.” Desperation bled into her words, but not even Aubree and her dream world existence could stop me. “Listen to me. Right now, you’re anonymous. They have no idea who you are. You plow through that place?”

  “I have no choice. Lauren is going to die.” The push to my chest kicked me back only a step, but a growl of frustration still rumbled in my chest.

  “You might die! Dammit! Stop! Think!”

  “I have to try to save her.”

  Tears filled her eyes, and I had to look away. Couldn’t stand to see the hurt, the betrayal staring back at me. “And if … something happens to you? What then?”

  “All my promises seem to come down to killing this man. So I’ll make this promise to you, too, Aubree.” Twisting away from her, I packed the rest of my guns. “Tonight, I promise to set you free.”

  A click snapped my attention back.

  Aubree had moved to the end of my bed and stood, pointing a barrel at me. “I swear to fucking God, Ryder, I will shoot you where you …” She double blinked. Frowning, she rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead as she tripped a step back. “What the hell?”

  I checked my watch. Fifteen minutes had passed since I’d fed her the drugs.

  Her hands trembled against the grip when I stepped toward her. “What did you do?” She stumbled sideways, making my muscles tense, before she caught herself on the bed. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, baby.” Shaking my head, I watched the drugs take effect. “I won’t let you get hurt.”

  “Nick!” The gun fell to the floor, and she tumbled onto the end of the bed. “Please listen … please … don’t … I lo—”

  I lurched forward and captured her weak body in my arms before she hit the floor.

  Her eyeballs rolled as she fought to stay conscious, and I kissed her while gently setting her down in my bed. “Ni …ck. Plesayu … don … I neeyu. Loffustay. I nohashoogn.” Her eyes fluttered shut and the rigidity in her body softened in my arms.

  “Aubree,” I whispered, stroking her cheek. “I have something to tell you.” My thumb brushed over her shuttered eyes that didn’t so much as flinch with my touch. “Crazy, beautiful girl.” I kissed her slowly, tasting her lips one more time. “I would’ve run with you. If things had been different. You’d have been the one woman to make me give it all up.”

  I exhaled a weighted breath at the truth in my words. The small, seemingly meek woman had blasted through every bit of steel I’d forged inside to keep everyone out. She’d shown me a glimpse of a heart that could be healed. If only I didn’t have so many promises to keep, including the one I’d made to her. Culling had to die. I couldn’t let the motherfucker who’d branded her walk free. “Just not in the cards for me. Be free. Be happy. The one who hurt you will die tonight, and you can rise up from the ashes. You can have whatever life you’ve dreamed of.” Lowering her head to the pillow, I kissed her soft lips. “I love you.”

  After making a final check of my artillery, I exited my bedroom. Barely a step out the door, a wrecking ball slammed into my chest, sending jolts of electricity across my back. I hit the wall and slid to the floor, and my world tipped on its axis, teetering to one side, then righting itself.

  I looked up to see Alec’s obscure form standing over me, his hand curled into a fist.

  “You’re not going anywhere, Nick.” His voice held no humor, no room for argument.

  “They have Lauren. I have to save her.”

  “Lauren was never part of the plan. In case you’ve forgotten, I told you to say your goodbye’s a long time ago.”

  Alarms went off inside my head, warning me that a fight was on the horizon, because I knew that deadpan stare of his was no bullshit. “I did. And I have no fucking idea how they found her, but I’m not going to stand by and watch her die. She saved my fucking life, Alec.”

  “Did she?”

  My eyes narrowed on him. “You know damn well she did. Now get the hell out of my way, or I’ll—”

  “You’ll what, exactly?” His lips stretched into a wicked grin. “Kill me? We both know you can’t.”

  “I don’t have time for this.”

  The wall smashed into my back again, and air exited my lungs.

  He held me there, teeth gnashing in the kind of anger I’d only seen on a few occasions. “It’s over Nick. The fucking game changed. The plan to blow it all to hell is no longer an option. Too many innocents will die. Culling is offering up young girls for the night. He’s keeping them there. You pull the detonator, and all of them will burn.”

  The game entailed blowing up the meeting place—the spot where the gangs would converge, to go over the evening’s plan to wipe out another neighborhood. It would’ve been the perfect opportunity to obliterate them all to shit. To hit the city’s most notorious kingpins, crime lords, plus the ringleader himself, Michael Culling.

  “Then, I’ll take them out. One by one.”

  “You won’t walk out of there alive, which means neither will Lauren.”

  Eyes squinted, I pressed my hands against the throbbing ache either side of my skull as it threatened to pull me into another blackout. “What are you proposing, Alec? That I let her die?”

  “I’ll go in your place.”

  “Why would I do that? That solution is no better than mine. And there’s no guarantee you’ll save Lauren.”

  He released his grip of my throat and tugged a cigar from inside his pocket. “You need to stay alive. For her.” His gaze lifted toward the bedroom where Aubree slept.

  “She’ll be fine.”

  “For a year, we’ve both watched her. You’ve always seen her through the eyes of a killer, whereas I saw her through the eyes of a savior. Someone I wanted to capture, possess, and protect.” He lit the cigar, blew on the end of it to stoke the embers, and puffed twice, before pacing in front of me. “I fell in love with her, while you continued your crusade to destroy her. It’s not your fault, Nick. You weren’t privy to information that I had. Information that I kept from you, because I thought you’d feel betrayed.” Exhaling a sharp breath, he paused his pacing and splayed his hands to the side. “And you don’t exactly have the best track record for trying to keep yourself alive.”

  “Why have me watch over her, then? If you thought I might kill her?”

  “Because you’re not an evil bastard, in spite of what you think. I had faith that you’d see what I saw in her, and that your drive to kill her would disappear.” Cigar caught between his lips, Alec shook his head, adjusting his cuff links. “I can’t let you do this alone, Nick. It’s a set up, and you won’t come out of this alive. It’s suicide. Aubree’s fragile— she’ll break if she loses you.”

  “She’s stronger than you think, Alec.”

  He nodded. “She is. And she’s in love with you. Could you put her through that pain you know so well? Could you take from her what had once been taken from you?”

  “Motherfucker.” I shook my head, anger pulsing through me in waves. “You brought her here, so I’d fall in love with her and give up on the notion of finishing this. To the end.” I clamped my eyes shut and rubbed my hand down my face. “She was the only part of the plan that didn’t fit. Never made sense to me and now …” I nodded, wanting to kick myself for being so blind. Not that I wasn’t in love with the woman, but had I known that was the plan all along, I’d have certain
ly tried to avoid the inevitable pain. “Now I understand. You hoped she’d make me change my mind.”

  “I did what I thought was right. What was good for all three of us. I can’t let you kill yourself, Nick. I’d never planned to follow through on the deal.” I could feel him studying me, looking for any indication that I could be swayed. “Think about Lena. What would she want for you? What would she tell you right now?”

  An ache throbbed in my heart. My wife, the selfless woman she’d always been, would tell me to stop the madness. To call on others to help find Lauren, and lay the past to rest. Be happy again.

  “But you’re the one who loves her!” Rubbing my forehead somehow kept the blackness at bay. “You never tried to make yourself known to her because … you were giving her to me.”

  “Yes.”

  A moment of clarity sliced through the thick fog of confusion clouding my brain, as I recalled his words from the day I’d watched the Cullings pass out care packages in the streets, when I’d asked him about moving on.

  What makes you think I haven’t?

  “I guess there’s only one thing left to do, then.” Rising up from the floor, I reached out to shake his hand, pulling him in for a hug. “You deserved her more,” I whispered.

  Kicking back a step, I hammered my fist into Alec’s face.

  Blood sprayed to the side and his body slumped to the floor. A sharp sting shot up my wrist, and I lifted my hand to bleeding knuckles and a throbbing ache in my bones. I shook out my hand, flexing my fingers to work out the ache, and crouched down beside Alec’s passed out body.

  “I’m sorry, old friend. I’m doing what I think is right, too. You’re wrong, if you think I’m doing this for myself, though. I’m doing it for her. I’m saving her. You’re not the only one who fell in love.”

  46