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“Please don’t hurt him,” I whisper the plea, not trusting my voice under the weight of emotion on my chest.
Spade’s eyes flash with something I can’t read before he stands abruptly and starts pacing back and forth, his head dropping down as he stares at the floor. “He wants to take you away from me. I don’t have a choice.”
I stare at him, shock rendering me completely speechless. What the hell is going on?
“I don’t want to cause you unnecessary pain, Isla, but you have to understand that I will eliminate any threat before it can reach you, even if that means hurting you.”
Tears fall against my cheeks as I watch him, the realization that nothing has ever felt this hopeless washes over me. He may have always been intent on stealing my life away, but I don’t think he realizes that if he kills Doc, I’ll cease to exist as well.
CHAPTER SIXTY
DOC
The sun peaks out over the horizon, the first light signifying a new day. I’ve never been one for sunrise, always choosing to sleep as late as I can, holding Isla for as long as possible before we both have to get up and face the day.
There’s something beautiful about the way the sky mottles with pink and yellow, the colors melding together into one that reminds me of my wife’s smile. Of her laugh. Of the heart she handed me and trusted me not to break.
I make a mental note to myself to watch the sunrise with Isla when we get home because life is too short and I refuse to waste another day of our lives together. From now on, I won’t take a second of our time together for granted, even if that means I have to get out of bed at five in the morning to do shit like watch the sunrise.
The woods around Spade’s cabin are far too quiet. At this time of the morning, there should be birds chirping, squirrels foraging, and people hiking on the nearby trails. But there’s nothing. The wooden building through the trees masquerading as a cabin is surrounded by men, which tells me we’re in the right place, but that does nothing to settle the rage burning through my veins.
There are four SUVs in front of the house, and so far, we’ve counted seven men patrolling the perimeter, but we suspect there are more in the woods, hunting us as we hunt them. Perhaps that thought would be poetic were it not for the fact they stand between me and my woman, something that’s unacceptable in my eyes.
“What are we waiting for?” I ask Storm.
“Nathan Hayes is on his way,” he tells me. “He was called away before we got to the estate but wants to oversee the extraction and be the one to kill Spade. It looks cleaner for the city if one crime boss kills another.”
I nod my understanding, even though I would like nothing more than to be the one to end Spade’s miserable existence for killing Clarissa and stealing Isla away from me. You don’t live in this lifestyle for as long as I have and not know how these things go.
“Are we even sure Isla is here?” Rayne asks.
Jaxon shakes his head. “Not entirely. Every sign points to her being here, right down to this excessive show of security, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this is another way to throw us off.”
I drag my hands over my face. Fatigue is starting to weigh me down, but even if I wanted to sleep, there’s no way I would be able to knowing that Isla is with a man who intends to harm her. I’ll never know a moment of peace if something happens to her.
“What are we going to do about Edward and Bree?” Bryant asks from where he’s perched on a fallen tree. We shouldn’t all be in one place like this, it makes it too easy for them to spot us, but they’d be dead long before they could call for help, and that’s the only reason I haven’t insisted on spreading out. Also, because if I were to be stuck with one of the Hayes brothers, I’d probably murder them for the part they’ve played in all this.
“I have Everett overriding the security system at Spade’s mansion. From what we can tell, they’ve left bare-bone securitythere in favor of the cabin, which should make it easy for a few of us to go in and get them out. Provided they’re not injured, it should be an in-and-out mission,” Storm tells us. I don’t like the idea of splitting the group because, although there will be at least eight of us, that’s still nothing compared to the number of men Spade has at both locations. But we’ll have to make it work.
“Is your father bringing any more men with him?” I ask, meeting Bryant’s eyes for the first time since I almost strangled him.
He nods. “He always travels with a security team, and I’ve asked him to bring another two teams to assist.”
I guess all that’s left is to wait for our time to strike and hope it’s not too late.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
ISLA
Spade moved back behind his desk and hasn’t said another word since he had his mild freak-out. It’s pretty fucking obvious he’s unstable, that much should have been clear when he went to such great lengths to kidnap me, but I need to tread carefully.
I sigh quietly and look around, trying to find something I can use as a weapon once I get my ability to move back, but apart from books, I’m coming up empty-handed.
Now more than ever, I wish I wasn’t blindfolded when they brought me in here. At least if I’d gotten a look at the layout, I would have a better chance of escaping when the time came, but I guess that was probably the point.
The telltale buzzing of a mosquito makes me pause my thoughts, tracking the little asshole as it circles me, knowing I’m a sitting duck and therefore its latest victim. Out of instinct, I swat at it when it comes near my face and then immediately pause.
As slowly as I can, I turn my head to make sure Spade is still too caught up in his phone to notice that I’m starting to get my ability to move back.
