Wicked Games by Jarica James
Keir
Thirty minutes earlier
The moment we burst through the front doors of the abandoned storefront, we knew we’d hit another dead end. It was still under construction, discarded boxes and drywall supplies stacked around the perimeter of the room. Judging from the layer of dust rising up from our footfalls, I’d say this was a bust.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed Joe for what felt like the hundredth time that night. “Dead end. They haven’t been here in ages, if ever. It looks abandoned.”
“Fuck,” he cursed. The tapping of keys filled the line and I took that as my cue to head for the car. The others followed me out. “Your comment had me thinking and I searched all of the city owned, non operational properties. The old abandoned airport is the only one that seems to have the power back on.”
“Address.”
“Sent to your phone.” The device buzzed in my hand so I ended the call.
“The private airport that shut down. West end, twenty miles out of town,” I told Ky, who was already pulling out onto the road and speeding away.
Halfway there I spotted a car pulled over. I wouldn’t have thought much of it if I hadn't noticed a figure sink down into the tall grass on the side of the road.
“Stop!” I shouted, pointing. But Ky already saw and was pulling a U-turn so quickly the tires squealed. He came to a stop right in front of the SUV and we all jumped out.
She was covered in blood and wounds, but her cry of relief is what hit me in the gut. But then when she told us to check the car, and I saw Seth, I couldn’t fucking believe it. If anyone had ever doubted our girl’s allegiance or capabilities, this moment would shut them the hell up. She was a force to be reckoned with.
We didn’t pry, instead we loaded Seth back into the SUV and Killian took the driver’s seat. The rest of us took Ky’s car, but I made sure to ride in back with Sana.
“Why the estate?” she finally asked, her voice slurring in her exhaustion. I ran a hand through her hair and shifted her across my lap to be more comfortable.
“It’s safer there, our place has been compromised,” I explained. “They must have followed you from there.”
“Shit, what about my shop? Dani?” I chuckled at her questions. Only Sana would be thinking of others at a time like this.
“We’ll get Dani moved in too. As for the shop, we’ll figure it out. But you put your customers at risk by being involved.
“I had a feeling I’d be hearing that one soon,” she grumbled, before finally giving in to sleep as she snuggled in close.
“How is she?” Ky cut through the tense silence.
“Her wrists are gashed open, she’s lucky she didn't lose too much blood. She looks dehydrated, so that likely was a factor too. But overall, she’s not bad. There’s no way all this blood is hers.”
“Good. We’ll get answers after they’re both fed and checked out by Flynn.”
“Yes,” I said, texting the doctor to stay at the estate since we needed him again. “He’ll be there.”
“I’ll call Joe,” he said before putting his phone on speaker.
“Tell me this one was it,” Joe growled. I nearly laughed, the man was usually so quiet and reserved.
“We got her. And she found and saved Seth,” I told him. “Call Angelina, we’re en route to the estate. And have someone pick up Dani before she burns this city down looking for Sana.”
“Thank god,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “On it, boss.”
When we arrived at the estate, it was already swarming with Family. Our men from the warehouses had shown up already, and Flynn was waiting out front. As soon as Ky came to a stop, Flynn was pulling open my door and helping me get out with Sana since I refused to put her down. Killian helped Seth get out, but he didn’t make it to Flynn before a woman was running toward him. She would have slammed into him if Kill hadn’t intervened.
“The baby?” Seth asked, voice breaking.
“She’s fine, honey. Oh god, I didn’t think I’d see you again,” she sobbed, hugging him despite Killian’s warnings. Giving up, he escorted them inside behind us.
“He needs to see the doc,” I warned her, and she sniffled and agreed. Hell, I couldn’t fault her, we’d reacted far worse at the sight of Sana and I wouldn’t be letting my queen out of my sight either.
They’d turned one of the guest rooms into a makeshift infirmary a while ago, so we shifted Sana and Seth onto the beds. Doc had IVs going and was shooing us away. He was the only man alive that could get away with that.
“I think they both could use a sedative. She’s out but it’s restless sleep and I need to treat some wounds. It would be best if you all said goodnight,” Flynn ordered. “I’ll meet you in the dining room when I’m done.”
“Come, brother, we have men to update,” Kyrell said. I glared at him as he gave her a kiss on her forehead, but I followed his lead. She wouldn’t heal properly if Flynn didn't treat her, and we did have a mess to address. Plus, Joe would have had cleanup at the airport by now. I wanted to know our body count for the night. Between the two locations, I bet it was a personal record.
“Do I want to know what that sinister smile is for?” Killian asked, half amused and half cautions. Smart man.
“I was just wondering what our final kill count was,” I explained. “I’m betting on it being a record.”
“Hands down. Seth said they killed no less than twenty-five,” Killian said with a laugh. Pride swelled in my chest at the news. “That’s our queen.”
“My boys,” Angelina gushed as we walked into the dining room. She was already pushing platters of sub sandwiches, brownies, and chips onto the table. After that she rushed around and hugged every man in the room, of course we were the first. “Tell me how she is.”
“Safe. But she has some healing to do. We’ll be taking the master suite and that wing for ourselves now,” I explained as she pulled away. She nodded thoughtfully.
“I cleaned that this week, so it’s ready for you anytime. What about that cousin of hers?”
“I’m right here,” Dani said, walking in and heading right for us. Her steps were sure and angry. “Where is she? Who do I kill?”
“She’s with the doc,” Killian said. “And she took care of most of them herself.”
Angelina giggled like a schoolgirl. “I knew I liked her!”
“Sit,” I ordered the room. “Eat and we can update.”
Dani and Xander sat across from us, the rest taking up the other seats after grabbing some of the food. Angelina had to refill twice but did so happily. She somehow always knew exactly how much she’d need. Once everyone had gotten a few bites in, I was over waiting. Break time was over.
“Xander, update.” He swallowed his bite at my command.
“We confiscated our stolen property, and we got the victims out of there. They’d literally stolen runaways and homeless, so we got them to our shelter downtown. As for the others, we offered them up to our contact on the force. Tied them to chairs and left enough drugs in front of them to convict them. They were getting paid a hefty price for that job.”
“Any information on the Lachs?” Kyrell asked. Xander shook his head.
“None. They only operated on a need to know basis.”
“Killian, what did Seth say?” My brother’s expression darkened.
“They held him and Jason together until he woke up one morning to Jason gone. They tortured him daily, but he held out. The man was gone for a long time, but he said his baby kept his sanity, so he fought to make it back to her.” My heart clenched for the poor guy.
“Make arrangements for a house on the property if they’d like, or a safe house. Our man deserves his freedom. After that I’m sure we can find a quieter job for him,” I said, refusing to put a broken man back on the streets.
“So, where do we go from here? Eros is still out there,” Ky asked, the question making me pause. The man was nowhere to be found and I was starting to doubt he was ever here in the first place.
“He isn’t here. In all my years as a Priamos, that man never left the compound unless it was nearby. His reach was far, but it was by orders and influence, not direct involvement,” Dani said, sitting back. “I’m sure they gave Sana some information, so we may have to wait and see. But that won’t be the last we see of him and his cronies.”
“No, it won’t,” I agreed. Because one day, I would take her to kill that man or I’d do it myself. Either way, the Priamos Family was as dead as the Lachs. He could underestimate us all he wanted to, but the Adrostos don’t go down without a fucking fight, and we had a lot of fight left in us.