AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While Maddox drags Tommy by the back of his shirt across the floor to the main entrance, I take a moment to check the crates lining the opposite wall.
Surprisingly, they don’t contain anything useful, and I follow the others, shutting the door behind me.
ChapterNineteen
Maddox
The minute I stepped through the warehouse door, my dick stood to attention at the sight that greeted me. I thought having her point a gun at my own head was the ultimate turn on, but this right here… It’s a whole other level. She’s standing over Tommy, who is almost curled into a foetal position, with a baseball bat resting on a hand that covers his knee while the other hand looks busted and swollen too and pointing a gun directly at the three of us.
Things don’t ease, and in fact get even tighter in the trouser department when she refuses to hand over the bat to Kavanagh and instead proceeds to torture Tommy while he’s quizzed by Kavanagh.
By the time we bundle a battered and unconscious Tommy into the boot of her car and watch as Kavanagh drives away, I’m about fit to bursting with the need to fuck her. One look at Zak tells me he’s there too. I now understand what his smirk was about as we left the house.
I drive home like my arse is on fire, exactly how Roxanne’s is going to be when we get home. In an effort to keep my mind off what it really wants, I get her to relay everything Tommy told her before we arrived, including this shit with Bonner and Laskin, which is of particular interest to me. I don’t mention Rocky and Lila yet though. I think that’s a conversation best had with everyone.
Back at the house, Roxanne checks on Star, while Zak and I drop a still unconscious Tommy in the cellar. When we return to the kitchen, Kavanagh is in the kitchen with Roxanne, Star and Smithy all sitting round the table, and in front of him is a larger yellowing envelope.
As I take a seat one side of Roxanne, I notice the names on the front but it’s the familiar handwriting that makes me pause. I look to Kavanagh as I lower myself into the chair, but he simply nods.
Zak takes the empty seat the other side of Roxanne, and once we are all seated, Kavanagh pushes the envelope toward me but keeps his hand over it.
“There are some things I need to clear up before you open this.” Kavanagh looks to Roxanne, a look of remorse maybe before he carries on. “Some of this I have already shared with Roxanne, and of course, Star has known much of it since she was young, but there are some things I’ve had to keep to myself until the time is right. I believe that time is now.
“Theo had suspected for some time that his son had some questionable tastes when came to sex—”
“That’s a fucking understatement!” Roxanne snaps, and I can feel the tension in her body from here. Not going to lie, I’m wound pretty tight too. This conversation feels a lot like a do or die one. Whatever Kavanagh says and whatever is in that envelope are our only chance at ending Rogers.
Kavanagh nods in agreement, then continues, “Theo had been watching him for some time, but after he attacked Roxy in the lift that night, Theo watched him even more closely. And he called my father. Between them they discovered just how deep Rogers’ depravity went and began collecting evidence that they could use against him along with anyone involved with him.
“The night of your mum’s death, Roxy, Theo and Rogers had a blazing row. He was already angry that his father was in love with your mum, so you can imagine his reaction when he discovered that Star was Theo’s daughter. From what I remember, your mum was out if it and let it slip. He went mental, smashing things and threatening to do what Theo should have done in the first place and kill Tracey and Star.” Kavanagh pauses to take a drink. “I was in London on some other business that night, so when my father called, I was able to get there quickly. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quick enough, and Rogers had already killed Tracey and taken Star.”
“You were there?” Roxanne asks.
“Yes. I watched from a distance. I was made aware that Maddox and Zak were present too but not allowed to approach you, and I wasn’t to reveal myself to anyone. My father and Theo had managed to amass quite a significant amount of information about exactly what Rogers was doing, so we were able to follow Star and keep her safe until we could get her back.”
I look to Star, who is looking anywhere but the rest us, and I get the feeling that’s not entirely true. Roxanne is watching her sister too and worry lines her face.
“If that’s true, then why the fuck didn’t Theo end him then?”
“It’s a good question and one I can’t answer other than my own assumptions. I believe that at the time, and although he had a lot of information, there wouldn’t have been enough to convict Rogers or even arrest him. Theo wanted to make sure that when he finally took Rogers down, it would be for good and would stick.”
“Should have just fucking killed him,” Zak snaps, and it’s the first thing he’s said since we got back.
“Yes, well, perhaps in hindsight Theo would think the same, but we’ll never know. And I don’t imagine he would have enjoyed killing his own son no matter what he’d done. He might have been ruthless, but he wasn’t heartless. What I do know is Theo set a plan in motion that would not only destroy Rogers but also cut off the head of the whole organisation.”
“Rogers certainly didn’t think fucking twice about murdering his father. So why is he still walking, even breathing then?”
Kavanagh sighs and rubs a hand over his stubbled chin. “Things didn’t exactly go to plan, Maddox.” He pauses again, and I sense a sadness. “Theo had cancer. It wasn’t treatable and he knew he didn’t have long to finalise everything. But as we all know, Rogers cut that short when he killed Theo. This envelope was sent to my father after Theo’s death with instructions for it to be given to you, but only when the time was right. I’m not sure if Theo had a definitive timeframe in mind or even knew when that time would be, but I don’t think there’s a better time than now,” he says, tapping a finger on the yellowed envelope.
Kavanagh’s words are a punch to the gut. It was bad enough when we heard Rogers had killed Theo but to think that he was already dying and never told us, that we never got the chance to make amends with him seems even more important now. The last words between the three of us were of anger and bitterness that can never be taken back.
A hand on my thigh has me looking to Roxanne, and I see the empathy in her gaze. Her other hand rests on Zak’s thigh, and I have the sudden need to hold her and make sure she knows how fucking important she is. Not just to me but Zak too. She’s what we live for, and as soon as I get the chance, I’m going to fucking tattoo it on her body in every way possible.
“Don’t let what happened between the three of you make you doubt yourself, Maddox. He respected your loyalty to Roxy, and never blamed you for walking away.”
Now it’s Roxanne’s turn to look to me with questions in her eyes, but it’s Zak that answers.
“Around a year before Rogers took Theo out, we discovered that he was Star’s father. Maddox and I went ballistic at him. Blaming him for her death because by that point we were almost sure she was dead. Sorry, Star,” Zak says, looking to her.
