Rebellion of a Kingdom by G.N. Wright
Chapter 11
MARCUS
We’re outside yet another of Elliot Donovan’s properties while Elijah does a perimeter sweep. On Max’s orders we are waiting in the car like sitting ducks. Asher is riding shotgun next to me, and Lincoln and Jace are in the back. This is the fourth house we have attempted today, but I know in my bones we will be leaving just as disappointed as the last three times. Cassie isn’t here and we are wasting valuable time. Every minute we spend searching leaves her helpless to those monsters.
I smash my fist against the wheel in frustration, the guys don’t even flinch at my outburst and I barely feel the sting. I’m just fucking sick of this feeling in the pit of my stomach that has been present since I walked into Elle’s house and found her covered in blood. I use the same hand to rub at my chest in rough circular motions, just trying to ease the ache of loss I’m experiencing. I just need to be doing more than sitting outside that rich pricks endless fucking houses.
“This place is too quiet,” Lincoln's voice cuts into the silence.
“It’s not like they’re gonna be advertising that they rape girls and kidnap children,” Jace scoffs in sarcasm beside him. The sight of the guys makes me feel even worse. Asher is acting emotionless, but I know him well enough to know how much he is dying inside. I am too. We won’t rest until we get our girls back to us. I never thought I would welcome him with open arms into my family, but he completes it in a way I could have never imagined. My brothers are just as cut up, and their pain is my pain. We are like a unit of joint emotion. All drowning in a hole of self-destruction and pain, just desperate for some progress.
“Blackwell is right,” Asher starts.
“I usually am,” Linc snaps in retort, and Ash rolls his eyes.
“She isn’t here, there would be more security if she were. My father wouldn’t risk losing something with such a high value,” the words are dripping in disgust as he talks, yet his words mirror my thoughts. We are extremely in tune with each other, both more than aware of all the sordid things his father is capable of. How Elliot Donovan birthed a son with such honor when he was raised in the same house as fucking Greg, will always astound me. He should know he is nothing like those snakes.
“He lost you,” I say, without taking my eyes off the property in front of us and Asher scoffs a laugh.
“If you think I’ve ever held any importance to my father, then you’re dumber than you look.” I look towards him as he speaks, “Only heirs’ matter in this society, second born are irrelevant.”
I don’t get a chance to respond as Elijah climbs back into the car. “The only person there is a housekeeper and from what I can tell, she looked like she wasn’t expecting any company.”
“Elliot only ever uses this place to entertain females he needs something from but are too well known to bribe.” Asher responds to him in a bored flat tone as he looks back to the property. “This is a waste of time, the only place he will be keeping Cassie is close to him, which means she is being kept at my estate behind a 25 ft wall and countless guards.”
“I agree with Asher, this is bullshit,” Jace replies.
I don’t bother responding, just start the car and leave, heading back to Elle’s house. By the time we get home, it’s officially Monday morning and all I want to do is eat and try to grab a couple hours sleep. I am beyond tired. Being out all day and night has worn me out physically. The constant ache of missing Elle and Cassie however, is what's causing true exhaustion.
We pull up and are barely out of the car when Max emerges at the front door, “You need to see this,” he gestures inside and then disappears. I didn’t miss the extra cameras on the gate on the way in, or the team of guards trickling around the property line. Something’s happened.
We all make our way inside and follow Max into the living room where him and the rest of his team are all staring at the huge flat screen on the wall. I look around the room, but no one says anything. Their sole focus is on the news report playing on the TV. I turn my attention to it and see a crime scene being shown.
The reporter is standing in front of a huge office building and it’s swarming with police. Max starts laying out documents on the coffee table as we watch, and I flick my gaze between the two. What the hell?
“The body of Joseph Kavanagh was found about an hour ago hanging from the window of his office,” Max starts, as he picks up the remote and mutes the news report.
“He killed himself?” Lincoln questions and Max looks at him and then back to the rest of the room, before settling on me.
“Not exactly.” He takes a deep breath as he gestures to Mason who starts to bring up pictures on the TV screen in front of us.
“He was stabbed multiple times before he had his throat slit. Then he was tied up, had a sign stapled to his chest and then thrown from his window.” His words are emotionless, but I can see the undercurrent of panic and anger rolling off of him.
“What did the sign say?” Asher asks with just as little emotion as Max.
Mason swipes through a few pictures until he stops on one of the bloody sign that they must have pulled from his body.
‘I PROTECTED RAPISTS!’
Holy shit. They really woke the demon in Elle when they came after her family. I’m not surprised, but everything she has done so far has been in the shadows. Now she isn’t only stepping out into the light, but into the public eye. She might not have revealed herself, but no one is safe.
Mason clears his throat, “His office was also covered in evidence of his own crimes that he had buried over the years.”
“She knows better than this,” Max snaps, losing some of his cool and I snort, causing him to cut his eyes to mine, “Something to add, Riviera?”
“Yeah, you’re a fucking idiot if you thought this would go any other way.” I can’t keep the smile off my face as I talk. We may be in a fucking shit show of a situation, but Elle always loved the dramatics.
“Elle knows how to cover her tracks,” the quiet dude called Liam starts, but I cut him off.
“Sure, if it were Elle playing the game with her head on straight. But we aren’t dealing with a rational Elle right now, are we?” I grit through my teeth, “We are dealing with loose cannon Elle. The one who walked in here and found her brother fucking dying and her daughter gone. If you thought she was just gonna go about things silently, then you don’t know her at all.” I am beyond fuming; how could they think this would be any different? She will do whatever she needs to do, if it means that she makes it to Cassie
She is done covering up the crimes of this town, including her own. She isn’t whispering into the ears of Donovan's minions anymore, she is shouting from the rooftops and slaying whoever is in her path. She needs us now more than ever.
I look at Asher and then to my brothers, “Come on, let’s get out of here.” I don’t even wait for them to respond before I am stalking out the room.
“Where are you going?” Max calls after me
“Where I should have gone from the start,” I yell back
I head to the garage towards Lincoln's SUV and pull out a smoke as I wait for the guys to follow me. I only manage a couple of drags before they appear.
As soon as Lincoln’s within ear shot, I speak to him, “Call Jack and get him and all our guys to The Ring asap. Tell him it's a family emergency.” I inhale another deep drag as he stares at me, before he nods and pulls out his phone to make the call.
“Where are we going?” Asher asks as I flick the cigarette to the floor and stamp on it.
“To the South Side.” I climb inside the car and slam the door behind me.
The drive over is quiet as we all take the time to center our thoughts after what we just saw on the news. By the time we pull up at The Ring I can see most of my guys are already here, which is good, it means no more wasting time. The South Side is officially joining the war against the Donovan’s and to do that they need the truth. All of it.
“Hey man,” Jack greets me with a fist bump and then nods to Jace and Lincoln. I don’t miss his eyes popping out of his head as Asher rounds the car. He looks at him and then back at me with a confused frown, but I just ignore him and head straight into The Ring. I climb through the ropes and look down at the small crowd gathered here. My brothers and Asher join me, and I look to Ash before I speak. His face is set in a tight grimace and I know he knows what is about to go down here. He gives me the slight tip of his head, which is as good as I will get from him, so I take it.
I look back to the crowd and speak loudly, “This town is run by criminals, sick twisted murderers and rapists who have been running free for far too long. That stops now. These people took from me, took from my girl and they will pay with their life. From here on out, we are at full scale war with Elliot Donovan, and anyone associated with him.
There are a few murmurs within the crowd as I see them look between themselves and then between Asher and me.
"What the hell is the son of the enemy doing here then?” one of my guy’s spits, and I see a few others nod in wonder along with him.
Jack steps forward, “I hate to be a prick Marcus, but he’s right. Your first rule to all of us was never trust a Donovan.
He isn’t wrong, I was clouded by pain and grief when I started this crew, hurting the Donovan’s was my only endgame. I have since broadened our mindset to helping others who need it, but my main target has always been Elliot. My boys know this and to explain the trust I have in Asher, would mean revealing the truth to them all. I contemplate what to say next when Asher beats me to it
“My father is scum. The Devil. He’s hurt people. People important to me and people important to Riviera. It’s time he paid for his sins. I may have done things for him that I will never be proud of, but I’m not on his side, I’m not even on yours. The only thing that matters to me is that I get to put Elliot Donovan in a fucking grave. I will do that with or without your help.” His wicked tone silences them all.
I feel the tension rolling from Asher as he looks at me, he knows there is no love lost between us, there never has been, but he saved my girl's life. He was there for her when I couldn’t be when I chose not to be. For that I will be forever in his debt and he will forever be family.
I look back at my guys, “He’s one of us, always has been, always will be.”