Consumed (Blood Ties Book 9)

The car skidded hard, pulling up at the towering gates of an enormous compound. I yanked the handle, shoved the door open, and lunged out.

“Helene!” Riven roared from the driver’s seat as the guard stepped out from the guard hut, armed to the teeth. “Helene, for Christ’s sake!”

But I didn’t stop, not even when the gate rolled open far too slowly, leaving a gap barely big enough for me to slip through. My shoulder slammed against the edge, then I was running, pushing the pain away as I raced for the house. The front door opened in the distance and Thomas raced down the long stretch of stairs, and ran toward me.

I thought I’d lost you.

Tears streamed down my face.

He ran, then slowed. But I didn’t, slamming into him hard enough to knock him backwards. He grabbed me as he stumbled back a couple of steps before righting himself. But he didn’t pull away. He just buried his head in the hollow of my neck. His body was hard and warm, but his emotions were tender as he murmured. “I thought I was gone for good.”

I shook my head and pulled back so I could cup his face, and forced his gaze to me. A couple came out of the front door of the house as I held his face, examining the red swollen cheek and eye and the busted lips.

“Motherfucker,” I spat. “I’ll fucking kill him.”

Car doors opened and closed behind us. The rush of heavy footsteps followed as the sound of a car grew closer in the distance.

“Thom,” Riven called as he neared.

Riven gripped his brother’s shoulder with one hand and raised his gaze upwards, surveying the damage. Silence followed as Riven’s eyes darkened and a twitch came at the corner of his mouth.

More cars drove into the compound. I turned, to see London’s Audi and the Sons’ Explorer. But there were more. Two sleek, powerful sports cars were followed closely by two very imposing four-wheel drives.

“London,” The young male called from the entrance of the house. “Vivienne, so nice to see you again.”

My sister slowly made her way toward us, holding onto her belly with one hand and Colt’s arm with the other. The Son was more than her strength, he somehow soothed her. No wonder she’d been panicked the night Thomas and Colt had disappeared.

Lazarus and Kat climbed out of their car, opened the back doors, leaned inside, unfastened the child seats, and pulled out a gorgeous baby and their perfect dark-haired little girl. Flashes of Hale assaulted me. Standing over me. Leering. Those infernal eyes shining with sick satisfaction. My skin crawled as they closed the doors and headed toward us. Now more than ever, I needed to understand how a woman like Kat could have had a child with someone like Hale.

Three more cars drove in. I recognized Harper, the computer programmer London worked with, and Guild behind the wheel. Nick was behind the wheel of a silver Explorer, with Tobias in the front and my sister, her baby, and Caleb in the back seat. The other car was a Land Rover, one I knew instantly…Benjamin Rossi.

He stopped and climbed out, his bodyguard moving instantly toward him as the rest of my family followed, climbing out and bringing my nephew with them. Ryth gave me a haunted smile as she headed my way. Within minutes, the entire front yard was filled with the most dangerous men I knew. My own father tried to push into my head. I hadn’t seen him since that night at Harmon’s and all he’d left me was that medical report. That goddamn report that had ruined it all.

Why couldn’t he have let me hate him?

Why couldn’t he have just let me forget?

“Baby sister.” I crossed the front walk and grabbed her in a hug, leaning close to kiss my nephew’s cheek.

“Benjamin.” The young male called from the front door, drawing my focus.

I swallowed more than breathed as the air turned choking with distrust.

“Finley.” Ben answered stiffly, striding toward him.

Finley…as in, Finley Salvatore?

Now it made sense.

But he didn’t greet Lazarus as he and Kat neared with their children, just clenched his muscled jaw, staring at the man who had been his best friend.

“I guess you’d all better come inside.” He said finally before he turned and headed into the entryway.

I held Thomas’ hand and followed them inside. The place was massive, with towering ceilings and stunning woodgrained furnishings. You could tell this was real money, a lifetime of terror and every dark deed known to man spread out in front of me. The Salvatores were dangerous. If I hadn’t known that before, I sure did now.

They led us to the rear of the house, where thick steel-lined walls separated the vulnerable from the safe. I glanced at the heavy locks, then around the inside of the massive room.

“Don’t worry.” Finley glanced our way. “Once inside, no one else can hear us.”

He glanced at the two bodyguards inside. One was packing up a massive medial kit as we entered. He glanced at Thom, then me. Was he the one who’d cleaned up the cuts on Thom’s face and his split lips? A swell of appreciation followed as he cleared the space.

Everyone stepped inside the room, which was the same size as a small apartment before a guard pressed a button and closed the heavy reinforced door.

Clunk.

The lock snapped shut.

But it was Benjamin and Lazarus Rossi I watched. They were still, so very still, almost chilling. The hairs at the back of my neck rose.

“Um…do you have somewhere I can work?” Harper heaved his bag with him, looking from Lazarus to Finley.

Anna was the one who nodded. “Sure,” she said carefully. “Let me get you set up.”

They stepped to the side and began setting up Harper’s laptop. I could hear them talking as she asked questions and he answered as best he could. Still, there was tension in his tone and a look of defeat in his eyes as he pulled out a chair, sat down in front of his laptop, and started working.

Anna left him, turning to the rest of us as Finley started. “So, now that the Priest is out, you want to explain what the fuck is going on?”

He might’ve not said any names, but we all knew who he was talking to. Anna moved to Finley’s side as Lazarus glanced at Kat. Still, he waited.

“Don’t let business come into this.” Finley growled. “This is personal. Whatever trouble you’re in, Anna and I want to help.”

“Fine,” Lazarus snapped and took a step forward. “The only problem, brother, is that, to me, business is personal. I asked you before to get involved by sending your men out to help, and what were your words to me? That’s right, this isn’t something we want to be associated with.”

Finley scowled and shook his head. So that is what they were fighting over? “You asked me to send a heap of my men down to some bikers’ bar on the edge of town. We were in the middle of one of the biggest cross-country arms hauls we’d ever made. I couldn’t spare the men.”

Lazarus unleashed a snarl and turned away, his gaze finding Kat. Just looking at her seemed to calm him a little. “Your men were supposed to find those working for Hale, the man trying to take away my child.”

“What?” Anna cried, her eyes widening as she turned to Kat.

Kat just held their son tighter.

“Talk to me.” Anna headed for her. “Kat, please.”

“He came after her and Sophie,” Lazarus answered for her.

“What?” Anna shook her head, her hand moved to her mouth. “No.”

Lazarus’ gaze narrowed in on her, those blue eyes glinting. “Now he’s using the law to go after sole custody, right before he takes her for forever. The men I asked for you to squeeze were men Hale was using to gather all the Daughters who’d escaped. He’s rebuilding, and he’s trying to use my daughter to do it.”

“Jesus,” she croaked, her voice trembling. “Jesus Christ.”

She spun around, her wide eyes finding her husband. The utter devastation in his eyes said it all.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“We have a back door into his lawyers’ servers, trying to find the location where he’s at now, but we can’t seem to crack it.”

Anna spun back. “That’s the firewall you’re trying to break?”

Harper met her gaze and nodded.

“Without that information, Hale is going to escape. We need to cut off any method of escape, find the bastard, and kill him.”

Anna turned back to Kat, then crossed the rest of the room to grab her in her arms. “And you couldn’t come to me?”

Kat’s eyes shone with tears right before they spilled down her cheeks.

“Oh, babe.” Anna hugged her close. “You’re my goddamn blood. Do you hear me? I don’t give a fuck what these men have going on, you can always come to me.”

Kat unleashed a sob as she wrapped one arm around Anna, the other still clutching her son.

“Man, you should’ve said.” Finley headed for Laz and gripped him by his shoulders. “I had no idea this was going on.”

Laz just scowled. Stubborn asshole.

“We need to know where Hale is,” London spoke as he stepped forward. “Because Kat and her children aren’t the only ones in danger here. All of us are. The attacks on our families and now the FBI. Because all of this…is only the beginning. A man like Hale leaves only devastation behind. The moment he gets on that plane, he’s gone, and he’ll never come back. If you think it’s hard now, trying to find him in the city, think about how hard it’ll be trying to find him in the entire country…or the world, for that matter. Hale will run and run and run.”

“He’s right,” Riven agreed. “We are going to find that motherfucker and we are going to kill him. So, you’re either with us, or you’re…against us. There is no middle ground here. There’s no sidelines anymore.”

The words hung heavy in the air as all the men took in each other. This was the line in the sand. Enemies or allies. It came down to this moment.

I held my breath, waiting.

Anna released Kat and turned around, meeting everyone’s gaze. “You’re right. You’re so very right. No more dick measuring, boys, no more of these games. You come for my best friend, my blood, you’re already dead. Whatever it takes, Fin.”

He just stared at his wife, but it was Laz he spoke to. “Whatever it takes.”

“Right.” She left Kat’s side and headed for Harper. “Move over, let’s burn this fucking thing to the ground.”

Harper met her stare. “It’s a lock-tight firewall with tripwires and the kind of kill features that will bring the entire law establishment down on us.”

“I seem to have a lot of experience with that,” she answered as he slid out of his seat.

She took it instead. “Step aside, let’s see how fast we can break this, shall we?”

Beep.

We all turned to Ben as he grabbed his cell. He answered it instantly. “Yeah, any update? You found him?” He lifted his gaze to Caleb, who gave a nod. “Don’t make a move until we’re there. Sit on him. Don’t let the bastard out of your sights. He’s going to run, I just know he is. He’s going to run.”

He lowered his cell. But it was Laz who turned to Kat, swiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “I won’t let Hale near you or our Daughter.” His voice croaked. “On my goddamn life, do you hear me? On. My. Goddamn. Life.”

Ben stepped closer, grasping his son’s shoulder. There was pain in his eyes, pain hearing Laz’s words. “It won’t come to that, son. Take my word on it. It won’t come to that.”

“Then go.” Anna tore her focus from the screen, her fingers still flying across the keyboard faster than I’d ever seen anyone type before. “Find that asshole. I’ll get this cracked.”

Ben met her focus and gave a nod before she turned back to the scrolling prompts flying across the screen.

“Caleb,” Ben called. “Colt. Thomas. You ready to finish this?”

My heart hurt when Thomas took a step, then glanced at me over his shoulder and answered. “Yes. We end this tonight.”