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“Piccolo—” Zerro started.
“No, don’t Piccolo me… Just fucking talk.” Somehow, through all of this, I had found the backbone I desperately needed.
“I will put you over my knee if you…” I smiled and kind of rolled my eyes at the very thought.
“Tell us now,” Jared demanded.
Sighing, he looked between all of us as if he knew there was no getting out of the mess he had caused. “Devon is the one who let Bree go. He owed me something and it was his return. He works hand in hand with Mack. Devon has a plan. He has to bring Bree to Mack—”
“Not going to happen…” James butted in. I agreed. I wanted nothing to do with the sick fuck. Not unless it meant I could put a bullet in his head.
“Let me finish. He’s going to protect her at all costs… I was against it too, but I’m going to meet up with him tonight. He’s going to meet Bree, and then from there, we will finish out any loose ends…”
“You’re putting her in the line of death, Zerro. You know how fucked up that is?” Jared seethed. I had never seen him so angry.
“She can handle it,” Zerro said shooting me a smile. I just stared at all of them. Did they realize I was sitting right here?
“Wow…” Jared yelled, throwing his hands in the air clearly frustrated. “I bet she can handle it. Look at how she handled everything else.”
“Hey, now, asshole,” I growled at him. James started laughing, a joyful smile crossing his face.
“Well, it’s true…” he asserted.
“I was dealing with death and hurt the best way I know how. You’re lucky any of you are still alive.” I wouldn’t have killed them, but I was pretty close to wanting to hurt someone in my rage.
Zerro laughed gruffly. “Quiet. You’re merely a kitten with claws. The worst you would do is leave paper cut scratches.”
Glaring, I stood. “I can make my own choices. I will do whatever is needed to kill the fucker for all the problems and heartache he has caused.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, sweetie. We just got you back—” James added.
“Dad.” The word sounded foreign against my tongue reminding me just how knew all this was. “I admire the fact you want to step up, but this has to be done. Mack wants me, he’s gonna get me. You guys will be there if anything goes wrong. Don’t worry.”
“Worry…” Jared snorted. “Worrying isn’t even the word I would use, Bree.” I was seriously ready to pull out a knife and shank him. He had been using the big brother card a lot lately.
“She’ll be fine. I trust Devon,” Zerro professed.
“You trust Devon even though he’s been working with Mack. That’s a load of shit if I ever heard one. It’s a trap, Zerro. A big fat trap and you’re going to walk right into it.”
I trusted Zerro. He had fucked up and done some really strange shit, but he did what was best for all of us. He pulled the trigger when he knew none of us could. I respected him for it.
“What is your plan then, Jared?” I asked, keeping my voice firm. No one had thought of anything else to do, and I was tired of hiding. I was tired of dealing with all of this shit. I wanted to be free, without wondering if I would be taken down by a gunman.
His jaw clenched as he looked at our father and me.
“We don’t want to lose you, Bree. I get it’s not that big of a deal, but there have to be other ways to do this.” Was there another way? Would we be able to get the answers we would need? I didn’t think there was another way.
“Devon worked undercover for me. He picked up the job for extra cash from Mack. He knew about Bree and me. Word with my family gets around fast, and when he found out Mack had taken Bree… well, he knew what was up. He returned her to me, knowing if he didn’t, I would kill him,” Zerro said unremorsefully.
That explained the connection and why he let me go without a single confrontation. He made it seem like it was his job, and when he smiled, I almost thought Zerro had put him up to it. I honestly wouldn’t put it past him, but now I understood.
“So, because, you know this guy and trusted him and he released her once, you think he’s going to do so again, PLUS protect her with his life?” Jared sounded unbelieving and James looked like he was about ready to punch something. This wasn’t going very well.
“I can take care of myself, guys…” No one looked at me, or even acknowledged what I had said. Fucking men. This was typical of them.
“It doesn’t matter if you can take care of yourself, you shouldn’t have to,” Zerro said sternly as if he were talking to a misbehaving child.
“Well, I can, and I will.” There was no fighting about this. I would do what needed to be done to put all this shit behind us.
“Devon will do all he can to protect Bree. She was unharmed the first time around.”
“Yeah, because John was still alive.” Jared reminded him. At the mention of John’s name, a massive hole formed in my chest. I wasn’t sure I would ever get over what he had done to Mom, but I knew I would never forget what he did to me.
“I agree with Jared on this. John being alive helped immensely.” Thinking back on my time spent in the cave, I’m sure my treatment would’ve been far worse if John had already been dead. No matter how much I hate to admit it, in a way, he kept me alive. Even Devon had treated me cruel, but through it all, he never hurt me. He might have messed with my emotions, but he never laid a hand on me.
“Well, Mack knows John is dead,” Zerro said, frustrated with all of us, I was certain.
