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I can tell he hates to admit that, and despite the fact that I hate being their weakness, it makes my heart melt that he put me first.
“Thank you… both of you. What the hell do we do now? His men must be coming if…”
“There’s no fucker coming. The compound is empty, bar the couple of dead guys we killed. I don’t know if there will be others heading back here, but I think now is a good time to leave.” Footsteps echo down the stairs, and I glance up to see Gray trudging toward us with blood splattered over his face and clothes.
“Gray,” I murmur, relieved to see him as a wicked smile spreads across his face.
“Hey, Sweet Cheeks, we’ve got a lot of chatting to do, but for now, we need to get the fuck out of here. I’m excellent at burning MCs down, but preferably while we’re not in it,” he remarks with a wink before pulling me into his chest.
“I love you,” I murmur softly, saying it to all of them, though my head is buried in Gray’s t-shirt.
“We love you too,” they mutter, and my heart soars. Where’s my fourth?
“Where’s Emmett? Wait, why the hell are you guys all here when I told you where to look for Emily?” I push out of Gray’s hold, glaring at the three of them.
“I was waiting for this,” Ryker states, throwing his arm around my shoulder as he guides me back toward the stairs. “You didn’t think we were all going to race back to the compound and leave you here alone when we literally fucking saw you go down into a basement, did you?”
“Well…”
“Sometimes, you’re crazier than I think,” Axel says, wagging a finger at me before leading the way.
“Shift and Emmett raced back to the compound. We haven’t heard from them since,” Gray explains, and worry rattles me. I hate the feeling more than anything else in the world. Worry, anxiousness, fear, they all roll through me, now more than ever since there are people to be concerned for.
Stepping into the club area, I notice four dead Brutes. I move around them, slower than usual, it seems the knock to the head took more out of me than I want to admit. Axel travels through to the main doors which are already open, and surveys the area one last time, while Gray holds up behind us as an extra precaution.
More dead Brutes scatter the ground out here, but Axel doesn’t pay them any mind as he moves to our SUV which is parked hazardously in the middle of the driveway. Axel climbs into the driver’s seat, and Ryker tucks me into the back before sliding in beside me. I panic for a second when I realize Gray isn’t with us and Axel’s starting the engine.
“What about…” I trail off as Gray runs like hell from the compound as Axel leans across the center console to swing the passenger door open. He leaps into the seat, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Let’s go,” he yells, manic excitement glinting across his face as Axel does just that. We’re barely at the gates when a boom rattles the ground, vibrating the vehicle, and I glance over my shoulder to see billowing smoke and flames cascading over the compound. Gray claps his hands excitedly, and Axel grins.
“And they say I’m the crazy one,” he grunts, speeding out of there without another backward glance.
“We’re all fucking Ruthless, it’s a requirement,” Gray replies, settling into his seat as Ryker drapes his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side.
Tension starts to seep from my bones, exhaustion threatening to take over, but I refuse to sleep. “We need to call Emmett,” I murmur, and Gray waves his cell phone at me.
“Already on it.” Emmett’s name flashes across the screen before he answers it and immediately puts it on speakerphone.
“Brother.”
“He doesn’t have her.” My heart seizes up at the anguish in Emmett’s voice.
“What?” Axel bites, hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly I think it’s going to snap off.
“Hartman does. He’s claiming he arrested her, but they’re not at lock up, or so he says,” Emmett explains, without really explaining anything.
“How and why the fuck does he have her?” Ryker hisses from beside me, and Axel seems to hit the accelerator even harder.
“All part of Declan’s plan apparently.”
“And where is that motherfucker now?” I bite, furious that I didn’t just let them kill him when they wanted to.
“Dead… Shift did it.”
I can’t tell if he sounds pleased or irritated by that fact. Like he expected it to be his right, but Shift took it anyway.
“Have Shift pull up the security feed we set up,” Axel orders, and Emmett sighs through the line.
