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The gunfire ceased, and I gazed around the darkened trees, only just able to see our own men hunkering down.
Before I could offer a plan, Hank’s radio crackled again.
“There’re vehicles, they’re pulling away, what should we do?” the voice asked quietly.
Someone from our side was closer.
“Shoot the tires,” I ordered, and Hank relayed the message.
Gunfire sounded off, and I moved, taking cover behind the trees, expecting more shots to rain down on me, but nothing came.
They were making their getaway with Vee.
Was she their goal all along? How did they even know about her, let alone where this lodge was? It was off the books, hidden for a reason.
I ran through the trees, wishing I’d snatched up a bullet proof vest so I’d feel less vulnerable. Then again, they had Vee, they had our heart with them.
We were all as vulnerable as we could possibly be.
8
ZANE
Killing Callum had been the right thing, even if it had hurt our little stray momentarily. She’d asked for us to do it, submitting herself to our world, and I was grateful.
So why did it make me feel so off? I’d never rethought killing anyone in our business, always knowing it was the right decision. But right now, I wondered. He’d had to pay for what he’d done, but knowing how it had affected Vee had me almost second-guessing it. Was it because we’d done it? She’d realized how deep our darkness was? Had she been seeing us through rose-colored glasses, not truly connecting the whole made man thing with who we were until she saw it in the flesh?
Should we have walked away and had our men kill him instead?
No. This was who we were, and if she was to be with us, she needed to understand that and accept it.
And if she didn’t?
I ground my teeth together, the engine accelerating as I clenched the steering wheel tight.
I didn’t want to think of that.
My chaotic thoughts were interrupted by a frantic call from Enzo, my blood going cold as soon as he’d said someone had Vee.
Red tinged my vision, something I’d not had in a long time, and the calm enveloped me as the monster simmering beneath the surface took hold.
“I’m on my way back.”
And blood would be shed. There was no stopping that. Someone had dared to come onto our property and take the one thing we cherished most. They’d wish they’d never even thought of trying to take what was ours.
Vee. Our little stray.
My stray.
I called Kieran as soon as I spun the car around, flattening the gas pedal.
“What’s up?” he answered nonchalantly. He’d be enjoying disposing of Callum, too bad I was about to burst his bubble. I needed him now.
“Someone’s taken Vee. I imagine it’s the Moretti’s.”
“Those fuckers! What do we know?” he barked through the phone, the panic and fury tinging his tone. I’d just unleashed a rabid dog, and I would’ve enjoyed it if a deep part of me wasn’t freaking out.
Too bad I’d quelled it, pushing it right down as I focused.
