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I bend down and hold my forehead against hers, breathing in her air and giving her mine. “Seein’ you tied up…” I trail off. “Never thought I’d regret this… my vendetta, my revenge. But in that moment, I would have given my last breath to rewind time.”
She sucks in a deep breath but doesn’t get a chance to reply because one of the guys clears his throat. “What the hell is goin’ on here, D?” Patch asks. I turn, not surprised when he shoves me against the wall. “And what the fuck were you thinkin’? You come here alone, no back up, and no fucking idea you were walking into an ambush. You that fuckin’ thirsty for blood, for death?”
I open my mouth to tell him I was. My thirst for blood hasn’t been quenched. Hours ago, I would have welcomed death like an old friend. Now, I’m not so sure.
My words are cut off when footsteps hurry up the staircase.
“We need to get out of here, we’re sitting ducks,” Priest says as he flicks the lock on the door.
“This way,” Isadora says. “There’s a secret tunnel that leads to his shrine.”
I take in each of the men who stand before me—ready to back me—prepared to lay down their lives. Even after everything I’ve done, they still have my back.
After the years of blood that stain my hands, I’m not sure if God still listens when I talk. But I send a silent thanks for these men I don’t deserve.
Bullet nods first. “Let’s do this.” Angel repeats the gesture, followed by Priest, then Patch.
“Santos is mine,” I warn. “No one else touches him.”
With Isadora behind me, she gives us directions as we maneuver down the narrow, dimly lit hallway. It ends at a heavy wooden door and bile rises in my throat when we take our first step inside.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Bullet shouts so loud I rush over and shove him back into the wall, pressing my hand hard over his mouth.
“Shut the fuck up,” I hiss.
Glancing back, each of the guys stares at what Isadora failed to mention. This isn’t just a shrine of Manuel’s trophies, it’s also a detailed photo-fucking-scrapbook-collage of his next targets. And right there in the middle of the board is my photograph with the words “EL DEMONIO” and a target drawn over my face.
Pinned to the middle of my forehead is Lorenzo Garcia’s necklace.
Fuckfuckfuck. He knew I’d come. He knew.
Letting Bullet go, I say, “We need to get out of here.”
He nods, then shifts his attention to Isadora. “She can stay here, we can’t watch your back…and hers.” The suspicion in his tone pisses me the fuck off and my chest heaves as my anger rises.
“You got somethin’ to say?” I take a step toward him, but halt my progress when a soft, warm hand clasps my forearm.
“Zain,” Isa whispers. “It’s okay, they don’t know me like you do. Not yet.” She watches Priest carefully before her eyesslowly take in each of the men—my brothers. “I know you don’t trust me…” she says, hesitating.
I tug her closer and wrap a possessive arm around her waist. “You don’t owe them—”
She shakes her head. “I do,” she says.
There’s a quiet whisper from my left and when I raise my head, Angel, the bastard, is smirking. “She’s cute,” he says, tipping his chin toward my woman.
My woman.
Growling, I narrow my eyes. Angel raises his hands. “Easy, easy. I was just saying you did good, D.”
A quick glance at my brothers shows them all smiling… except Bullet, who still eyes Isa with apprehension, but I know he’ll get over it.
Bullet clears his throat. “This is sweet and all, but we’ve got sinners to hunt.”
With nods all round, the guys come closer so Isadora can tell us about the tunnels below the mansion. She walks over to the corner of the room and lifts an expensive looking rug, revealing a trapdoor in the floor. “There are two exits. One leads to a small hunting shack on the edge of the property. It’s about half a mile walk. The other one leads to the garage. It’s close. I also know they keep guns stashed there. If I had to guess, that’s where he went.”
“And if he’s gone?” Patch asks.
Isadora shakes her head. “This is his empire. He’ll die here before he ever thinks of running. Plus, everything he needs is here. All his weapons, his men, everything. He’ll want to fight you on his own territory, where he knows the layout. Where he has the upper hand.”
