“What’s going on?”
I checked Serenity’s room, just in case she was there.
“Marquette. He’s definitely tied to the Sawyer’s. He lied about not promising them a seat. Well, it wasn’t him directly, but he was supposed to bring them into the council.”
“So he was in contact with them? According to Serenity, the Sawyer’s set up the hit on one of Vince Veylor’s shipments andpinned it on the Korven’s. That’s what led to him killing my mother and started the war. Was Marquette behind that move? Because if he was, I won’t spare him,” I said as I walked into the living room, still with no sign of my wife.
A voice deep inside me started to worry.
“Here’s where it gets really fucked up and what pisses me off the most. Marquette wasn’t even talking to the Sawyer’s himself. He got blackmailed. The real player was someone else working with the Sawyer’s. That’s who set up the hit on Vince Veylor’s shipment and… lured your mother into that trap so Vince could kill her. And you’ll never guess who it was.”
I frowned, trying to process what Krash was saying but distracted because I still couldn’t find my wife.
“Who is it, Krash?” I asked, getting ready to head outside the yacht.
Wham!
A kick from the top of the stairs sent me crashing across the room. My phone flew into a corner as I tried to figure out what the hell was happening.
I didn’t have long to think before some masked guy was aiming to fire at me. I rolled and dove behind the kitchen island to avoid the bullets. Opening one of my hidden weapon drawers I grabbed a gun and fired back immediately.
My heart hammered in my chest. Who the hell was this guy, and what did he want? All I could think about was Serenity. Not knowing where she was scared the shit out of me. If this bastard had laid a finger on her, I’d lose it.
Gunfire exploded between us, my pulse screaming in my ears.
“Who are you? What do you want?” I shouted, firing in his direction.
Was it Sawyer Senior? No, not bold enough to face me himself. He must’ve hired a pro, someone trained to take me down.
“Where’s my wife?” I fired again.
A scream told me I’d hit him somewhere. So I rolled and charged, landing a punch that knocked him to the floor. I couldn’t kill him yet. I needed him to take me to Serenity.
“Where’s Serenity? What did you do to my wife?”
I landed another punch to his jaw, but the guy was tough as hell. He headbutted me, knocking me off balance for a second, and went for his gun. I didn’t let up as I rushed him, grabbed his waist, slammed him to the floor, and pinned him down. Pure rage powered every punch I threw at him.
I yanked off his mask, but I didn’t recognize his face. He wasn’t from Emberwick. That made me wonder how the hell he even got into the city with Crowhurst’s security so tight. If he managed to slip in at night without being detected, he had help on the inside. Someone who knew exactly how to shut down security without raising any alarms. Someone with access to the Big Six council.
“Who sent you?” Another punch. “How did you get into this city?” Punch. “Where is my wife?”
He tried to shield himself, but I kept him down. Then I felt the cold press of a gun at my head.
“Hands up. Slow. Don’t make a move or I’ll blow your brains out.”
I raised my hands and moved off the bloody man on the floor.
“Waxen, get up,” said the man holding the gun on me.
He was masked too, so I couldn’t see his face. I glanced at this Waxen guy, who struggled to stand after I’d wrecked him. Running the numbers in my head, I figured my best shot was to grab this new guy’s gun before Waxen could get his back. That would give me a real chance.
I watched his movements, waiting for an opening. When I saw one, I struck his arm to knock the gun loose. But he was quick, grabbing it back and firing. I rolled for cover behind a piece of furniture as bullets exploded past me. I thought I was done foruntil gunfire sounded from outside and I heard Krash’s voice; he must have brought backup. With so many shots going off, it was clear these motherfuckers didn’t come alone. They’d brought a whole team with them and through it all, I still didn’t know where my wife was.
The chaos gave me just enough time to dive for my gun. I fired back, and once I gained the upper hand, I charged and let loose on them. They scrambled outside and I followed. Now it was all-out war on the yacht, with Krash, Kalash, Kusch, D, and me shooting it out against a crew of at least ten men.
“They took Serenity. I don’t know where she is!” I shouted through the gunfire, my heart pounding out of my chest.
We kept firing, dropping a few more of their men, until I aimed my gun at the guy I was sure was their leader.
