To the End: Year Four (Hannaford Prep Book 4)

by J Bree

  The guys on our side made it through the Jackal’s flunkies while we were finding the key and we’re forced to duck behind one of the open vault doors for cover until the gunfire moves away from us, echoing down the dark, cavernous hall.

  Then we move. It’s dark down here, but I could walk through it with my eyes closed if I had to and the layout hasn't changed a bit since I was last here. I try to keep my eyes off of the damage being done, of all of the men currently being torn apart by bullets and bikers and men dressed in black. I keep my feet moving. I don’t owe loyalty to any of these men but the level of carnage around us makes this place look like a war zone. Even for me it’s unsettling.

  I just need to make it to the stairs because Avery will be in the basement. She's going to be as close to the Jackal’s vault as possible.

  "We heading straight to hell, kid?" says Illi.

  Ash gives him a look. "Do I even fucking want to know what that is?"

  I shrug. “It's where he does all of his evil, and it's in the fucking basement. Pretty self-explanatory.”

  Illi shrugs. “Every man, or woman if she’s like the Wolf, should have a room to work in. The Jackal’s is just extra fucking bad because he’s a dick.”

  Harley scoffs. “What’s yours called then? The shop?”

  Illi smirks. “I work in a fridge. Slanting floor with a drain to clear the blood. Lots of knives. You should come check it out when this is over.”

  I roll my eyes and hiss quietly at them, “What part of this being a stealthy operation is escaping you guys? Talk shop later.”

  I’m not used to all of this chatter while I work and it’s getting on my nerves pretty damn quick. Illi shrugs and lets it go, and my guys all fall silent.

  I motion the guys forward and we do our best to stay out of the bikers’ way. They are here to get rid of the Jackal’s henchmen. My job is to find the Jackal himself.

  I choose not to tell my guys that I’m planning on doing it myself, no matter what it takes. I let them think that we're here to get Avery back, just to retrieve her and let the others take down this empire, but I doubt the Crow is going to focus his energy personally on finding the Jackal. I can’t leave here tonight without knowing he’s out of our lives permanently.

  Illi gives me a side eye. “I know exactly what you’re thinking, kid. I can take care of it.”

  Harley cuts us both a look and I do my best not to glare back at him. "Like you're gonna be any better facing him. He loves nothing more than playing with your head, Illi. He’s been in yours as much as he’s been in mine. I’m sure he has big plans for us both.”

  Illi strokes a hand down his cleaver. “That’s a shame for him because my plans include pulling his intestines out and strangling him with them. Doubt he’s factored that in.”

  Blaise snorts. “Are we sure you’re not the deranged one? That’s not even physically possible, is it?”

  It is.

  Illi just gives him a slap on the back, smirking and shaking his head, and we creep forward. The sounds of fighting and gunfire gets louder and louder as we move forward but the echoing from being underground makes it impossible to figure out exactly how close we are or where it’s coming from. At every corner we have to stop and scout it out, usually Illi checking it out while I pray he doesn’t catch a bullet between the eyes.

  When we finally get close to the vaults we need I know for sure that the Jackal has been waiting for us. It all works out too perfectly to have been a coincidence.

  There’s a loud crash, the snapping and cracking of the slabs of stone that make up the walls breaking apart and smashing on the ground, and Illi shoves the guys to the side, slinging an arm around me and slamming me to the ground as he shields me from the falling stone and the shower of bullets that come through once the wall is down. I don’t have time to protect my face on the way down and pain bursts through my nose as I slam into the ground. Fuck. It’s probably broken.

  Illi’s body is at least three times bigger than mine. He’s fucking huge, a wall of muscle and untapped fury waiting for release, and he curves himself around me protectively. I flatten myself to the dirty stone floor so Illi isn’t a bigger target, he’s already huge so he doesn’t need to stick out any further.

  I hear the rough shouting and growling of the bikers, and the slang the Jackal’s guys all use, and I lay there and pray they all get taken out and that my guys are all safe. I pray that they’re all out here and none of them are in torturing Avery, that she’s tied to a chair somewhere being pissed off at the fucking audacity of these people, daring to kidnap Avery fucking Beaumont. Don’t they know she’s an evil queen, a dictator that breathes fire and can eviscerate a grown man with a single look?

  That’s what I lay here and pray.

  There’s more grunting and the wall next to us starts to break apart as well. Illi shoves me again as he lurches the other way and the skin on my hands and legs get torn up by the rubble on the ground as I move, the wall crashing down where we were. If he hadn’t been so fast we’d have been crushed, except now I’m all alone with a pile of stones and concrete rubble separating me from the boys. The icy fingers of dread creep up my spine. Too fucking convenient.

  Then a hand wraps around my mouth.

  Chapter Thirty

  There’s no point struggling.

  He’s much bigger than me, like most guys are, and his arms are like iron bands around my waist. He wouldn’t hesitate to break my arm, smash my other leg and destroy my life, none of these things are even close to too far for this man.

  So I wait.

  He drags me into his vault, into the room Illi called hell, and I start to take note of everything. Avery isn’t here, thank fuck, but there’s blood everywhere. It’s not hers. I won’t believe it’s hers, not for a second, because grief only blinds you. I need to be wide awake to deal with this man.

  My old friend.

  If you could ever have called him that.

  He slams me back into the only chair in the room. There’s straps and chains hanging off it, a dozen different ways to keep a man sitting still for all of the torture the Jackal wants to put him through, and I force my face to stay blank as he straps me in.

  The things I’ve seen him do to men in this chair, well, let’s just say I’m not fucking happy sitting in it, even if it’s only going to last for a little while.

  The Jackal smiles down at me, stroking my cheek and spreading the blood from my nose around like the image of me covered in my own blood is the best fucking thing he’s ever seen. “Did you like my little treasure hunt for you, Starbright? I left you clues in all your favorite places. All the places only you would know, all the things only you could do.”

  I grimace at him, baring my bloodied teeth and wishing I could stick my knife through his throat. “Me and Johnny. The best friend you betrayed because you’re not loyal or trustworthy or worthy of love. Johnny knows every last thing about you, and he’ll be here for you soon.”

  He tsk’s at me. “They left you behind, Starbright. After I took you they just kept moving.”

  His tone is coaxing, like he thinks he can sway me. That my mind is so weak willed I’ll crumble at his feet at knowing they stayed the course. He doesn’t get it, he doesn’t get me and my family at all. It doesn’t matter to me that they went after Avery, that’s exactly what I wanted them to do. They could leave here with her now and I’d be fucking thrilled about it.

  I also know they won’t leave me.

  He turns his back on me as he sets out his tools, confident the thin straps around my thighs will be enough to keep me secure without my knife to help me get free. He’s right; without my beloved Matriarch, the knife that had been with me for years and hundred of kills, it would be impossible to get out.

  The razorblade in my sleeve will get me out.

  Avery’s Matriarch in my boot will be perfectly adequate to kill him.

  “I see it. I see you defying me, you think they love you. Ah, my Wolf, they don’t. They
weren’t here for you, Starbright. They don’t know all of your secrets, they don’t know about the monster inside you. Only I can be that person for you, I need to remind you of that, so we can be together. You need to remember that you’re mine.” He’s still using that voice, the one he uses to fool women into thinking he’s human. The one he used on me as a child, to get me to follow him around in the group home, the one he used to teach me how to kill a man.

  I don’t believe it anymore.

  His mouth sets into a dark slash across his face, the fury and loathing seeping into every fiber of his being. He doesn’t like it when I say no. I never was allowed to say no to him.

  He stares into my eyes as he slides his knife into my gut.

  Sweat breaks out over my forehead but I don’t scream or cry or plead with him to stop.

  “I’m picking all my favorite places, Starbright. All of the sections I can slide right into without hitting something vital. Should we do this all day? Should we spend the day like our good old times, finding all the ways I can make you scream?”

  I will not scream.

  I will not utter a fucking sound, even if it makes my death excruciating.

  I let my head roll back on my shoulders and I stare up at the inky black ceiling. Countdown in French. The best way to deal with this is to breathe through it. Empty my mind, nothing, counting, don’t think, don’t think about-

  He grabs a fistful of my hair and rips my head back down until I’m staring at him. “Don’t hide from me, you’ll take this and you’ll do what you’re told. I’ll keep going until my Wolf is back.”

  There’s no holding it back. I laugh in his face, savage and wild and fuck him. Fuck him for being evil, for not being the guy I wanted him to be. Fuck him for being evil, manipulative, and not really giving a fuck about who I really am. I let every last one of these things show on my face because I’m not afraid of him anymore.

  He grabs my face, squeezing until my cheeks and my bleeding nose scream at me, my head going a little fuzzy. “You know better, Wolf. I taught you better than this.”

  He lets my face go, his fingernails dragging down my cheeks, to turn away from me again and I see him grab the blowtorch, one of those little ones that chefs use, and fuck no, I’m not getting burned today. That’s not fucking happening.

  I flex my wrist until my sleeve rides up, something Illi taught me to do, and the razor blade is easy enough to slice through the leather. The fucker should have used the chains but, as he keeps on pointing out, I know him so fucking well.

  He likes the indents the leather leaves in skin when his victims struggle.

  I move quickly while his back is still turned. He’s an arrogant fuck, and he’s so fixated as he lifts the brand up to the blowtorch flame. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving here with his insignia burned into my skin.

  No fucking way.

  The straps are sliced and off my thighs, Avery’s knife clutched in my hands as he turns and I stab him in the side, right where one of his kidneys is. Fuck, I hope I’ve hit it.

  He grunts and shoves me away, grabbing Avery’s knife out and getting a hand around my throat. I kick a leg out and hit the torch, still burning away on the ground where he’s dropped it and his grip loosens off a little as the flame hits his ankle, a vicious stream of cursing streaming from him.

  He slams my head back against the wall and I feel as though my brain rattles around in my skull, stars bursting across my eyes. While my vision is still patchy, he slams Avery’s knife into my stomach again, pressing in close to whisper in my ear. “That was very stupid, Starbright. Now you don’t have any chances to get away from me.”

  My voice comes out all gurgling and slurred. “I don’t need to get away from you. I need to keep you focused on me.”

  He chuckles, his breath fanning down my neck until I want to peel the skin off just to get any trace of him off of my body. “You need to stop thinking about them, my little Wolf. They won’t get here in time. I timed everything perfectly, so I could have you here and keep them out until I made you mine. You think I had all of my men out there dealing with that cock Crow? No, I have them here. Keeping us safe and away from those arrogant, entitled soon-to-be-dead boys you gave yourself away to.”

  I snarl at him and he strokes my face again, petting me like I’m someone important to him. “Shh, it’s okay. You’ll be on the end of my cock by the time they get through all of my men, as much as I'm enjoying this foreplay. One look at you and they’ll leave you behind.”

  My blood coats the inside of my mouth and dribbles out of the corner as I reply, “They’ll be here. Even if your pathetic little army holds them off and you manage to rape me, it makes no difference. They’ll kill you and I’ll still go home with them.”

  He laughs at me, brushing my hair away from my face as he twists the blade slowly. The sadistic fuck, my vision whites out a little but, fuck me, I hold onto reality by a thread.

  “You’re a toy to them, something fun and cheap to play with for now. The second they see I’ve had you they won’t want you anymore and then all I’ll have to do is show them the door and you’ll be mine. Oh, I’ll kill them. I would never let them live for touching what’s mine, but they won’t try to fight for you, Starbright. You’ll be used-up slum pussy; broken and worthless.”

  I open my mouth to answer him but the words get caught in my throat. I shut my eyes so the Jackal doesn’t see it reflected it them, the relief and fucking love, and turn around.

  Whether it was watching Illi and I or something his fucking father taught him, Ash Beaumont makes zero sound as he walks into the Jackal’s vault.

  He remembered.

  He remembered the story I’d told him, all of the details and the combination, and how to find this place. He remembered the plans Illi and I had drummed into them all, of where things are kept, of where the Jackal like to work. Every last second of training that Illi had done with him has been leading to this.

  Most importantly, if he’s able to creep in here like this without the rage taking over… Avery must be alive.

  “Given up, Wolf? I’ll have to tell your little friends that you caved to me so fucking fast, you’ve been gagging for me.” The Jackal says, his tone cruel and smug.

  “The only person gagging is me over your fucking egotistical dribble. Honestly, who the fuck would be desperate for you? Isn’t that why you built this empire, so you could tempt pussy into your bed willingly? Pathetic.” Ash drawls, and I open my eyes again to see the Jackal’s eyes widen a fraction as the barrel of a gun is pressed to the base of his spine.

  He really did think an entire fortress of men could stop my guys from finding me.

  “If you pull the trigger, the bullet will go straight through.” He snaps, and Ash chuckles at him.

  “Good thing I’m angling the bullet so it’ll go straight into that petty brain of yours then, isn’t it? The real question is, do you want to die now by bullet, or do you want to step away from the Wolf and have a chance at fighting me and getting out of here alive? I’ve been dreaming about tearing you apart for a long time. I’d rather do it properly, with my hands.”

  I frown, but I keep my eyes on the Jackal. Ash should just shoot him and get this over with.

  The Jackal drops his hands away from the handle of the knife right as the door to the vault opens, this time loud enough for us all to hear. I stiffen, ready to have to fight off the Jackal’s men if I have to, but Harley and Illi walk through, bloody and covered in gore. Blaise steps through after them, his eyes blank until they spot me and then he’s full of heartbreak. Fuck, I must look bad.

  “Fuck. Is that a knife in her gut? You miserable fucking cunt.” Harley snarls, and I stagger away from the wall towards him. I don’t know whether I’m trying to calm him down or get help from him but I’m happy enough to leave Ash with the Jackal’s death at the moment which kind of tells me the blood loss is getting bad. Fuck, I stumble and the pain is unreal. I’m so woozy from the wounds, this is no
t good.

  “I heard you were so fucking pathetic at finding us and taking us out that you went to my father for help, is that true?” He says, moving the Jackal until he’s sitting in the chair he’d strapped me to.

  “Interesting man. He’s got a whole fucking collection of pigs in his pocket, how are you going to deal with him when you walk out of this building? You know I’ve called him, right? I never start a fight without a Plan B.” The Jackal says, his voice mocking and I give a hacking chuckle at him.

  Harley and Blaise start to quietly snark at each other on how best to deal with my knife situation and I ignore them both as I stare down at the man I once thought of as my friend. A long ass time ago.

  “You’re blind, Matteo. You think Senior is the danger and, yeah, he’s fucking psycho, but he’s not the only person with connections.”

  He laughs and spits at Ash’s feet, spraying his shoes. I make a conscious decision not to look down to see which ridiculously expensive shoes have just been ruined because it’s an irrelevant thing I should not care about and yet here I am, giving a shit. Ash doesn’t flinch, he just stares down at the Jackal like he’s nothing.

  Fuck.

  Ash could give his father a run for his money, the dark void of his eyes pulling you in until you’re empty too. I don’t find it terrifying, I feel safe and fucking adored when I see him like that because he only gets like that for family.

  Illi hands me my knife from where he’s snagged it on the Jackal’s workbench, pulling his shirt off to stabilize the knife and staunch the wound at once. This ain’t his first rodeo with knives in guts so I guess it’ll be staying in there until we find a doctor. Ash’s eyes glance down at the knife still clearly inside me and then back to my knife in my hand.

  I give it to him.

  If he’s doing it for me, and the woozy feeling in my head tells me it isn’t going to be me doing it, then it needs to be my knife.

  “Oh, D’Ardo, I’ve been counting down the days for this.” Illi crows, unstrapping one of his cleavers and rolling his shoulders back.