I fast forward until Finnegan comes in. He says sick, ugly words to her and something that feels hot and a little like shame burns the back of my neck and ears. I didn’t say those things to her, but yeah, I haven’t been nice.
It’s not my job to be nice to her, though, not when I got her. Now, I might like her enough to let her live, even if she wasn’t in my blood, even if I didn’t crave every inch of her. My blood turns cold as Finnegan uses her as a punching bag and… My finger shakes as I turn it off.
I don’t turn. It’s all overlaid in my head with the little girl. Him hurting her. Him hurting my Rose. Death is too good and the only answer for a creature like Finnegan. I want to burn him from the feet up.
Taking in a slow, measured breath, I stare at the now blank screen. “Tell me why,” I say in the softest tones, “I shouldn’t gut you and kill you slowly?”
There are men who’d pay for this sick shit, men who’d rub one or ten out to Rose being beaten, Rose being made to expose herself to that fat man. Men who’d love to watch them rape her and abuse her. I think, I’d be watching that if she wasn’t Finnegan’s kid. I think, I bet there’s a recording of all the fucked-up shit done to Sylvie.
I know this is the ultimate fate in store for Rose, even though I’m getting her out. I sent her back. To that.
“Before you answer, Garcia. My maid. Did you join in the fun on that? Be very careful in your response, and be honest. Because if I discover you’ve lied, nothing can save you.”
“I don’t care if you kill me, and I didn’t touch your maid. It’s not my thing.”
I laugh. “And yet you work for Finnegan.”
“Money, and…” I don’t need to turn to see the look exchanged with my dumb fuck of a cousin. I can feel it. “He took my kid. She’s five. Collateral until I prove my worth. I didn’t do my homework when I came here from Boston. Worked an outfit that had ties to Finnegan. Rush here has her somewhere. That’s all I want. Protect my kid.”
“A bargaining chip?” I slip on my sweater and pull Kevlar over the top and secure it. Then I put on my holder and start selecting which weapons I want.
“No. I’m asking. You’re not him.”
“I’m not a fucking saint, or a babysitter club, Garcia.” “Niko,” says Rush.
“Nikolai.” I start loading the weapons. “What do you have for me, Garcia?”
“The place he’s taken her, it’s a fortress.”
“No shit. I know it.”
“It’s a trap to see if you come.” I really don’t care right now. He fucking hurt my Rose. “But he has a lot of stuff there you probably want. It’s his hold over in his move to his new compound. He wants a war, but I have codes, both to the alarms and the video feeds.” Garcia finishes talking and I turn.
“I’ll need those. I need everything and everything you have on the new compound.”
The man nods and Rush sends me an uneasy look. I give him a warning glance, one he doesn’t heed.
“We’ll sit tight and wait until he moves her there. Then we’ll go in,” Rush says. “She’ll be fine. She’s his daughter, so don’t worry-”
“I’m not worried,” I snap. “I don’t give a shit about Rose, and you know it. This isn’t about her. She’s a means to a fucking end. This is pure revenge for your parents, for mine, to take back territory Finnegan stole. It’s to take it all. I don’t care what happens to her after she leads us to the compound.”
Rush eyes me like he wants to call me out, but even he knows not to push my limits. I’m having a hard time keeping the rage to somewhere just below Armageddon.
“Do you know where it is?”
The stone face doesn’t change expressions, but his eyes do. They hold regret. “No. Things were all moved to this place and a trusted, very trusted, select group are taking care of the final steps.”
Fuck. I’m going to have to leave Rose in there, but I’m not leaving her without me nearby. I have to be there. I have to be ready. First sign of anything and I need to act. There are variables I don’t want to risk. What if she loses the bracelet or Finnegan takes it? It isn’t that I care. I just promised I’d keep her alive. And…I can’t stand this emptiness she’s left. I fucking despise the turmoil her in danger sets off in me.
Fuck Rose. Fuck everything.
“You, Garcia, you can live for now. Can I watch the feed from anything?”
“Yeah.” He nods and holds out a piece of paper. “I know these by heart. It’s a feed that runs through a dark web site, one that stays incognito so Finnegan can log on from wherever. He has places in this one wired, including the front door, but he can turn them off remotely.”
Which means I can. “All that there?” The guy nods. “The alarm codes?”
“Yeah.”
I snatch the paper and finish weaponizing myself. With that, I stride out, not caring if anyone follows me.
When I arrive at the house, the gates are open. I stay parked in the shadows, a gun at the ready, memorizing the alarm codes and watching the feed.
I know this place, know the best ways in, and that isn’t through the front gate or the back of the property. There’s a long-forgotten little side gate that’s low enough, overgrown, a relic from the garden area that Steph liked.
Derek never went there. Soft family shit wasn’t his style.
Nothing happens for a long ass time, and I’m seething, unable to sit still, like I need to do something. In my head, I go over where he’d have people. One at the side entrance. The gates are open, so he’ll have a couple in that guard house and on the doors to the house. That’ll mean a guard or two near the kitchens that lead out to the yard and gardens. Obviously at the front door, but if the gate is like that, just one. More inside.
Shit.
I’m not planning on going in yet. I’m not planning anything, am I?
What I’m-
Then she’s there, on the feed on my phone.
I can’t breathe. Her face is a mess. Blood. Swollen, bruises. She’s limping. Then her fuck of an abuser steps in.
Everything in me goes utterly cold. She lifts her face to him and even in that mess, she’s heartbreakingly beautiful. He can never take that from my girl. Her eyes glitter with the thorns and claws and hate as she says something.
If I can make it, I’ll get golden. Derek or Rose will lead me to the stronghold, and I’ll have everything. It’s there. I can taste it. And-
He punches her. Then again. She doubles and goes down, and he brings his foot up, and something in my snaps.
His face. I’ve seen that before. He’s going to kill her or at least try and do a good job of it. He’s going to hurt her, break her. It’s like I’ve touched a live wire with a hundred volts running through it. For a moment, everything goes horribly numb and shocked. Then the rage just takes over, reddens my vision. Switching the phone to silent, I pocket it. I take the gun. I’m out of the car fast, running.
I can’t let this happen. I can’t. Not my sweet Rose. Not to her. I tried once and this time, I’m going to do it. While the fury rages, I understand with perfect clarity what I’m doing. I’m going to fuck up everything, lose everything I’m close to having. It’s not just revenge. I can’t lose her. If I do, I lose a vital part of myself.
I don’t understand it. It makes no sense, but it’s true. I might die, but I’m going to take out everyone I can along the way, and I know all the hiding places.
With the white-hot rage, I twist it into something else, and I move, silent, sure, to that hidden gate. It takes me a minute to scale and leap over, and I land light on my feet.
There, ahead, is a man. I make my way to him and grab him about the neck, choking him with my arm. As he struggles, I shoot point blank in his chest. Before he can drop, I land one in his head. Crouching over him, I wait, but no one comes, so I continue, darting from shadow to shadow, moving from place to place.
At the kitchens, I take down two men. Chest shot. Head. There’s another ahead, and I take him too. Making my way to the front door, the code there in my head, I take out every fucker placed strategically. They go down dead without a sound. I reload, moving to the next. There are more here than I thought, but not as many as expected.
Derek is nothing if not a coward, but I know him. He has Rose. That and my rage give me the advantage to do what it takes to get in and get her out. When a weapon and rounds are done, I pull out the next gun, make sure the silencer is in place, and continue.
I need to get her. I need to. There’s no option and anyone in my way dies. That simple.
At the door, I’m punching in the code when someone grabs me, and we both pull off a round. He drops and I stagger from the hit of pain to the chest, like someone stomped on it with an anvil. I don’t let it stop me. I can’t. I shoot him twice more because his body is there. I turn, breathing difficult, as I punch in the code. It works and the light goes green. Slipping inside, I reload.
I don’t see anyone or hear them. My heart thuds painfully against my bruised ribs as I check each room. It’s too quiet. Oh, God. If I left it too late, if Rose is gone, I-Hear her voice.
“Please,” she says. “No…”