The Vigilantes Collection

by Lake, Keri

  I threw my arm back, whacking the gun out of his hands so it clattered to the ground. In one fluid move, I sliced him across his stomach and, when he bent forward, clocked his face with the hilt of the blade. Another punch knocked him backward, sending his spine cracking against the concrete, and I scrambled over top of him and propped the blade beneath his throat. “Where’s the file?”

  A flicker of confusion danced behind his eyes for a moment, before his mouth slid into a smile. “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

  His words from before already had me crazed with fury, and reaching back, I stabbed his thigh through the fabric of his pants and slid the hook upward, reveling in the sounds of his howling. “Where. Is. The fucking file?”

  He held a bloodied palm up to shield his face. “Please … it’s the truth. I don’t know.”

  Rage burned in my blood, and I pressed the blade harder against his neck to finish him off. “Where the fuck is it!”

  “Hands in the air!” The voice came from behind, and I froze.

  Circling around me, the man who’d almost been killed by Tesarik’s men emerged from the shadows, his gun pointed at me, and the grimace on his face told me he wasn’t friendly.

  “Back the fuck up” he commanded, an air of disgust tinging his voice.

  I turned slowly, eyeing the badge clipped to the man’s belt.

  At cock of his gun, my pulse hammered through my veins, the rush of adrenaline urging me to fight or run.

  I could finish off Kelley. I’d probably be killed in the process, since I doubted a cop would sit idle while I sliced the bastard’s neck open, but even if I died, it’d be worth it. Pasák would be dead. The man who'd had Lucy tortured would be dead. The man who ordered the murder of my family would be dead.

  As seconds ticked off, my life flashed before my eyes like video footage, of me laughing on top of Broderick tower with Reed, reaching out to my grandmother as she fell to the floor, watching Reed’s head finally go limp with the final punch to his face, kissing Lucy for the first time, looking out from the top of the Metro as I claimed her as mine, holding her face and telling her I loved her.

  Mia luce.

  I closed my eyes.

  The gunshot echoed inside my head.

  When I opened them again, Burke fell to the ground.

  Spinning around, I swiped at the gun pointed at me, and the bullet meant for my skull bounced off the metal behind me. I dove forward and gripped hold of Kelley’s arm and curled the barrel toward his face. Our bodies shook in a battle of wills, until I had the barrel facing him.

  “Fuck you,” he rasped.

  I cocked the gun and, pressing his fingers against the trigger, blew his brains up through the top of his head.

  Within seconds, the resistance dissipated, and my muscles relaxed.

  “Told you I’d blow your fucking head off.” Kicking back from Kelley’s body, I twisted around and knelt beside Burke, eyeing the wound at his right shoulder. “You okay?” I asked.

  With a deep breath, he nodded. “I’m okay.”

  The sounds of sirens drew my attention back to the south end of the building.

  Brows drawn, Burke stared up at me. “Get the fuck out of here, kid.” He gave a nod, through deep, heaving breaths. “I don’t need this fuckin’ job, anyway.”

  “He said there were photos. Evidence.”

  “Yeah.” Burke let out a mirthless laugh and winced. “Sent them along to an FBI contact. Kelley was finished long before you polished him off. Now go.”

  “Why are you letting me go? I killed those men.”

  The grooves of his forehead deepened with his frown, and his gaze fell away. “I got a … daughter, you know? If that was her strung up there … I’d be glad you killed ‘em. You were defending a police officer. Saved my life, kid. Now get the fuck out of here.”

  Without another word, I gave a nod and left him there.

  62

  Dax

  Staying on their heels, Dax chased after Tesarik and the guard carrying the woman over his shoulder. He must’ve knocked her out because she didn’t move and her body hung limp, arms dangling down his back, while the two of them ran toward the black Range Rover parked alongside the building.

  Dax's finger twitched against the trigger of his weapon, but he couldn’t risk shooting and hitting the girl. He'd always been okay with a gun, but nowhere near as skilled as Jase. His fists, on the other hand, never failed him.

  Stray bullets whizzed past his head from the two he chased, and Dax slid to the ground, ducking behind a silver Cadillac.

  As the guard threw back the door and Tesarik rounded the vehicle to the passenger seat, Dax waited for him to set the girl inside, then aimed for the guard’s back and shot him, as he slammed the door shut. He crumpled to the ground, rolling onto his back, and with a rush of adrenaline, Dax dashed forward, gun aimed, as the bastard cried out in pain. With a trembling hand, the guard could barely lift his gun, but still shot another bullet that ricocheted off the Cadillac behind Dax.

  From only a few feet away, Dax shot him in the head and yelled for Tesarik to exit the vehicle as he lifted the gun, aiming toward the vehicle's window.

  The old man slid from the passenger seat, disappearing behind the SUV. A shot from beneath the car just missed Dax’s leg and prompted him to volley three bullets beneath the vehicle that pinged against the metal. A quick sweep between the tires ended when he sensed movement in his periphery and swung the gun around.

  Both men stood with guns aimed at each other.

  “You’ve already stolen from me once,” Tesarik said, referring to the night that Dax, Jase and Reed had stolen the guns. “No one steals from me twice.”

  “She doesn’t belong to you.”

  His eye twitched, and Dax’s mind scrambled to keep track of every moment. Every flinch. Ready to pull the trigger.

  “Freeze!” The shouts came to the right of them.

  Dax dared a quick glance toward where two police officers advanced, about two hundred yards away.

  Tesarik’s eyes shifted, as if a million scenarios flashed behind them and he tried to choose one. “Expect me,” he said.

  “I will,” Dax gritted out.

  As Tesarik spun away, Dax dove forward and wriggled the door of the SUV. Locked. With the butt of the gun, he slammed it into the back window of the vehicle, busting out the glass, and caught a glimpse of the girl. From where she lay on the floor in front of the SUV’s backseat, the most beautiful topaz-colored eyes he’d ever seen stared back at him, set beneath upturned brows. He’d only just popped the lock, when the SUV jerked forward, knocking his elbow into the frame, the gun from his hand, and Dax yanked it out as Tesarik hit the gas.

  Tires squealed as Tesarik hammered out of the parking lot with one of the officers firing at the wheels. The other took off for the patrol car.

  Dax jogged after the SUV, mentally noting the license plate number, but knew better. The car would be dumped by the end of the day.

  The girl? Not long after that.

  He couldn’t let that happen.

  63

  Jase

  Staring down at my reflection in the brass doorknob of the apartment, I had a bad feeling, made worse when I caught the scent of cigar smoke bleeding through the cracked door. Pushing it open, I entered the dark space and made my way back toward the bedroom, a twinge of panic tightening my chest.

  To the right, hidden by the coffee table on the floor of the living room, a man lay in a pool of blood. I crouched beside him, eyeing the badge on his police uniform that read Kyle Andrews.

  “Lucy!” Quickening my pace brought me slamming to a halt, when I reached the bedroom to find the bed empty.

  Over in the corner, shadows concealed most of Roman’s face where he sat smoking his cigar. Only a sliver of moonlight through the window illuminated the scar that I recognized across his throat.

  “Where is she?” I gritted out.

  “Far away from you, and that�
��s all that matters.”

  Hands balled into fists, I punched the wall to the right of me, cracking the drywall and knocking over the lamp on the nightstand. “Tell me where she is!”

  “You failed to protect her, Mr Hawkins. You endangered her life. What was that you called her? Oh, yes. Nothing but a distraction.”

  I pulled my Glock and aimed it square at the fucker’s skull. “I finished the job. There was never any file to retrieve.”

  The scar on his face stretched with the slightest smile. “No. I’m afraid there was never a file.”

  “Pasák is dead.”

  “Pasák lives.” He puffed his cigar, and leaned forward into the light, eyes squinted as he studied my face as if gauging my reaction. “Kelley is dead. But Tesarik is not.” While he rose to his feet, I pieced the last bits of the confusing fucking puzzle together in my head. “I truly thought she was safe with you, Jase. Far safer than being alone. But now, she’s safe with neither of us. Had you killed Tesarik, perhaps I wouldn’t be here. But with the incriminating photos, he’s gone underground. Not even I know where he is.”

  Realization had my breaths arriving fast and hard and struck me like a mallet to the skull. “That’s what you wanted all along, isn’t it? You wanted me to kill Tesarik. You never gave a shit about a file.” I rubbed my skull raw and paced back and forth. “You knew who Pasák was all along. You knew about this meeting and that both of them would be there. Why didn’t you just tell me?”

  “Because an architect doesn’t build from the top down. He begins at the bottom. Had I told you, you’d have gone straight for Tesarik. Many intricate patterns were weaved throughout the course of your charge. There were multiple players in this game, I’m afraid.”

  I shook my head, flashes of the last month slipping past my eyes and making absolutely no sense. “How?”

  “Your friend Sean delivered a very important package to Daxton Wolfe, whose sister was victim to the Seventh Circle. Daxton killed Sean. You delivered a package to Matt Burke, which contained incriminating evidence against Councilman David Kelley, as well as Officer Anderson. The P.O. Box belonged to Jolana, who happened to be fucking officer Kyle Anderson on the side. She was also a recruiter, of sorts, befriending young girls to join The Ladder. Her lack of loyalty, however, prompted Kelley to kill her. And, of course, Viktor and Conall needed to be eliminated, as well. In the end, all of these people, except for Officer Burke, played a hand in the distribution and exploitation of the victims.” Hands behind his back, Roman took two steps toward me. “My client asked that all of them be executed.”

  I’d been played. Everything I’d done had been constructed without my knowing. I thought I’d killed the man behind the kidnappings and murders, but I hadn’t. I stopped pacing and stared back at him, gun lowered to my side. “Viktor said Kelley was Pasák.”

  “I’m afraid not. Tesarik keeps himself well insulated. Kelley was nothing but a layer of protection. Expendable.” Eyes narrowed, his brow creased, and he tightened his lips. “There’s a reason I left my family when I did. Tesarik has always had his perversions about him, but none so remarkably deplorable as the violation of young girls. With so many enemies, he rarely leaves his guarded home, but for Nicoleta, he made an exception. She is the daughter of his greatest enemy. And he knows precisely where to hit a man and make him bleed. I feared for Lucy then, as I fear for her now.”

  I lifted my gaze, looking him square in the eye. “Why me? Why did you hire me to do this?”

  “As I said before, you were handpicked.”

  “Why? Who hired you?”

  Huffing a breath, Roman stared back at me. “The video I spoke of, that your brother downloaded, was of the Theodore Massacre a few years back. Are you familiar with it?”

  I’d heard of it when the story had gone viral only a couple years ago. Members of the Seven Mile Crew had apparently tortured and raped a woman for hours before killing her husband and young son. “Yeah.”

  “My client, Mister X, happens to be very close to the family tortured in the video. As was my daughter.”

  “Lucy knew them?”

  “Lena, or Milenka, as Lucy called her, was the daughter of a good friend of mine. She and Lucy grew up together.” He tipped his head. “I did say this was personal.”

  “Who is your client? Who is Mister X?”

  His jaw shifted. “His name is Alec Vaughn, although you might know him as Achilleus X.”

  I had heard of him. He’d been responsible for some of the most notorious hacks in the city, accused of playing some role in the kidnapping of the mayor’s wife, and Reed had idolized him. He probably had stolen the eight-point-five million from DigiLab.

  “Your brother tried reaching out to Achilleus X with the video he’d downloaded from Seventh Circle. A video that belongs to Achilleus. In return, Achilleus contracted me to have you released, and to facilitate retribution for your family’s murder.”

  “Why lie about the file?”

  The hard lines of his jaw tensed with the tightening of his lips. “In case vengeance wasn’t enough. There’s a saying I heard once. Carry the burden of every man who’s wronged you, and soon the load will be too heavy to bear. I couldn’t take a chance that you’d back out and opt not to finish the job. Too much was at stake.”

  I couldn’t deny it. I’d had my moments in the last few weeks when I’d contemplated walking away, running off with Lucy somewhere. “Why would you risk it? Why would you take a chance, when I could’ve fucked it all up?”

  “There’s only one reason I’d do something so foolish, Mister Hawkins. In the event that you failed, my client vowed to protect my daughter, if something happened to me.” Cigar parked between his teeth, Roman slid a Sig pistol from inside his coat. “Now then, I believe I’ve answered all your questions, but there is one other matter to clear up.” His steady hand raised the gun until it pointed square at my skull. “None of the men I’ve hired to kill on my behalf have ever seen my face and lived.”

  I didn’t move. Didn’t bother to lift my gun. In that moment, I realized I didn’t care if he killed me. He’d already taken the most important piece of me. Only a hollow void remained. “Before you do it. Just tell me where you took her. I just need to know she’s safe.”

  A muscle below his eye twitched. “She’s staying in the Grande suite of the Book Cadillac Hotel. She’ll be cared for. Pampered and protected twenty-four hours a day, until Tesarik is found and killed.”

  “And if I kill Tesarik?”

  He tipped his head, eyeing me suspiciously. “Are you offering to up the ante?”

  “I’m offering to do whatever it takes to get her back.”

  He lowered his gun and puffed his cigar once more. “You’ll never find him. However, for the sake of my own amusement, perhaps I’ll let you try.” He slid the pistol back inside his jacket and removed his gloves. “I’m warning you, though. If you come for her, or come anywhere near her, I will move her to a place where you will never see her again. I’ll also have you shot on sight.” He sent me a nod. “Take care, Mr. Hawkins.”

  Without another word, he strode from the apartment, and at the click of the door, I collapsed to my knees, my hands balled into tight fists at my temples.

  A roar of pain ripped from my chest, bouncing off the walls of the empty space. Inky tendrils of madness clung to the fringes of my mind, threatening to swallow me into the blackness.

  I’d been there once before.

  Not a chance I’d survive it twice.

  64

  Lucy

  Nine Weeks Later …

  As I stared off at the glass of water on the nightstand, in the Grand Suite Room of Book Cadillac Hotel, I expelled a heavy sigh. Funny, how something so vital for survival held the capacity to drown a person.

  I hadn’t seen Jase since the night of the attack, a little over two months ago, and my soul was in mourning.

  Since my father had shepherded me away, I’d been visited by doctors, nurses, physical th
erapists, chefs, and had gotten to know one of the maids. In essence, I’d been kept prisoner, however cosseted along the way, but forbidden to leave the expansive suite for anything other than the occasional chaperoned trip to the dining room, the gym or swimming pool. Anything I needed was fetched from an assistant of my father’s, who came in once a day to check on me. Everyone treated me like a princess, and I had no idea why. I had no idea what my father had become to earn so much respect from so many people, and part of me didn’t care.

  I’d come a long way from the darkness that'd sucked me under after what Conall had done, but a glaring hole in my chest had left me hollow inside. At night, I still suffered the nightmares of Conall’s attack, but during the day, a new nightmare haunted me, one much greater than the fading pain of those hours trapped inside the vault. My wounds and bruises had long since faded, but my heart still bled for the man with whom I’d fallen so deeply in love. I hated that my body and mind had begun to mend, like a betrayal to my heart that remained crushed and fragmented, yearning for the other half that I’d given away to Jase.

  Was he alive? Had he moved on?

  The thoughts drove me crazy, while I paced my cage every day, dreaming up my escape. Escape was futile, though. My father had guards, and guards for those guards, a never-ending loop of eyes following me everywhere. Even if they weren’t standing outside my suite, they were present, watching.

  A knock at the door broke my thoughts, and I buried my face in the pillow and closed my eyes, silently willing them away. I’d had enough care and had grown tired of the fuss over me.

  Forcing myself up, I reluctantly padded across the suite to the door and threw it open, not even bothering to peek first. My father had made it a point to limit anyone coming or going, so when Dax stood in the doorway, I inhaled a sharp breath and took a step back.