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Vince tipped his head back to stare up at him. “You’re doing this for me?”
Zander rolled his eyes, though his lips quirked. “Get over yourself, Fed.”
“But this is my fight,” Vince reminded him. “He’s here for me.”
“Yes, which is why I need to do this. I have the element of surprise. He’s not expecting me.” Zander blew out a breath. “No matter what happens, I need you and Scotty to be safe. There’s a tunnel that leads to a parking garage a block over.” He pulled something from his pocket—a key that he shoved into the front pocket of Vince’s jeans. “The key is for a black Dodge Charger. There’s a bag with money and untraceable phones in the trunk; do what you have to do.”
He’d meant what he’d said then; he always had an escape plan. Vince shook his head. “I should be here with you. I can help.”
“You can’t,” Zander told him bluntly. “You can’t and neither can Scotty. I can do this. I was made for this.” His expression turned almost sad then. “I’m glad I held you captive.”
Vince swallowed, heart constricting. “Don’t do that.” He wasn’t ready for anything that remotely sounded like goodbye. It was all unfair and he wanted to smash something because Zander was right. Vince couldn’t do anything to help him, not with a bullet wound. And Scotty needed protecting; this wasn’t his world.
As if he heard Vince’s thoughts, Zander nodded. “Go to him.”
“Will you come to us?” Vince asked. “After you’ve dealt with your uncle, will you come to us?” Because that was what he wanted. And he refused to envision any other outcome than one where Zander got his answers and made Murray DuBois pay for all his evil deeds.
“Yes.”
Vince stared at him, falling into his serious brown eyes. A car door slammed somewhere outside and his heart dropped, fear rising. “I’m holding you to that yes,” he whispered. And that was it, nothing more to say as Zander helped him down the cellar stairs. Then Scotty was there to take Vince’s hand, to guide him the rest of the way into the darkness. He didn’t even notice when Zander released him, but the sliver of light from above disappeared with a thump of the floor settling into place above their heads and Vince froze halfway down the stairs.
Zander was one man against an army. How was he supposed to survive what was to come? Why hadn’t Vince pushed harder for Zander to join them?
“Vince?” Scotty’s voice trembled in the darkness that was so thick, Vince couldn’t see an inch in front of him.
“Shh.” Scotty’s hand was clammy and shaking, and Vince squeezed him, offering a comfort he couldn’t feel himself as he strained to make out what, if anything, was happening above them.
There was only silence. A silence in which he could hear his heart racing and Scotty’s gulping breaths. He inched closer to that sound and wrapped his arms around Scotty. The younger man shuddered, burying his face in Vince’s neck, shaking like a leaf. Vince clung to him, listening still. There were no voices. No footsteps.
Nothing.
What was happening?
As much as he wanted to stay, to ensure Zander was all right, they had to leave. It felt like a betrayal, like giving up, like leaving Zander to his death, but they couldn’t stay. Zander didn’t want that. He was sacrificing for them, fighting for them, and the fucking least Vince could do was grant his wish. Besides, he didn’t want Scotty to experience what was likely to come. He wanted them as far away from their current location as possible.
“Let’s go,” he murmured against Scotty’s temple. “There should be a tunnel.” But he couldn’t see shit. Still holding on to Scotty, he shuffled them forward. Scotty stumbled the rest of the way down the stairs and Vince tightened his grip on him as a dim light flickered on.
He blinked.
The floor was evenly paved, with disc lights—they appeared to be motion sensitive—strategically placed around the space that was just wide and high enough for three grown men. Vince spotted a door to his left, so he released Scotty and went to it, pulling it open. It was a crawlspace, but beyond it, a lit tunnel waited.
He inhaled deeply, releasing it before turning to Scotty. “We go this way.”
Scotty shook his head. “No, we can’t leave him.”
He wasn’t saying anything Vince didn’t feel, but they would only serve as a liability and a distraction if they stayed and were discovered. “This is what he wants,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”
Scotty looked as if he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. Instead, he crawled through the space and Vince followed closely behind him. The tunnel was narrow but lit with the same lights as the cellar. He pulled the key Zander had given him from his pocket and motioned for Scotty to lead.
He didn’t know what they would do once they emerged on the other side, but he did know they wouldn’t be whole, or safe, until Zander made good on his promise. Until he joined them.
15
The minute the trapdoor closed above Vince’s head, Zander took a second to ensure it was secure. He hadn’t known the tunnel was there when he’d bought the place; it was only by chance that he’d discovered it. He raced over to where he had his cache of weapons hidden in a compartment in the couch’s wooden frame. Vince would be pissed that he’d been sitting atop Zander’s weapons the entire time. The thought brought a ghost of a smile to his lips, which then disintegrated quickly.
Everything inside him rebelled at the idea of Vince and Scotty out there alone, but he did what needed to be done. It was up to him to deal with his uncle. Zander was the only one who could. It would be his privilege. He screwed on the noise suppressor to his gun, shoving another Glock into his waistband and a knife into each of his ankle holsters. Next, he left the room with quick but quiet strides. Outside the office, he found the breaker box and pressed a switch, plunging the building into darkness.
Then he pulled a pair of night-vision goggles over his eyes.
