He nodded.

  I dropped my head into my hands and sighed. How was I going to get out of this?

  “Are you hungry?” he asked.

  I shook my head, then stopped. Not about me. I still had to fight for my child. Lifting my head, I looked back at him. “Yes.”

  “I’ll have a meal brought up to you. Any requests?”

  He was taking my order as if I wasn’t the prisoner and bait.

  “Whatever you have.”

  “Very well,” he replied, turning and walking back out of the door before closing it with a soft click as he went.

  Tears stung my eyes as I sat there in silence, feeling helpless. There had been no response from the family. Blaise hadn’t offered the money yet. If he hadn’t already, he wasn’t going to. I’d be beaten, and the videos would be sent.

  Would he react to that? Would King be able to do anything even if he wanted to?

  Placing a hand on my stomach, I whispered, “I will fight until the very end. I swear it.”

  I had to do all I could for the baby inside me. Lying down and taking it like I had with Hill wasn’t an option this time. This wasn’t just me. I had someone to protect, and I was going to do everything I could to keep her safe.

  Her. I didn’t know if it was a girl or boy, but somehow, saying her just felt right.

  • Twenty-Six •

  He’ll kill everything that moves and not pause as he does it.

  King

  “You realize we are both going to end up fucking shot,” Wilder said, cutting his eyes at me in the passenger seat of the black Escalade he was driving.

  “I’ve already been shot,” I replied bitterly. “They can’t expect me to stay in a goddamn hotel room in Louisville while they go after what is mine.”

  Wilder sighed heavily. “I know. I get it. Trust me, I’ve been there. It’s why I broke you out when your dad said they were leaving you there until it was over.”

  Glaring at my phone, willing it to ring with an update, I muttered a string of curses. “Fucking Wells. I’m killing him first. Then, I’ll find that goddamn Oriel.”

  “Easy,” Wilder said. “Wells is being handled. He didn’t know he was being set up. But, yes, he brought the bastard into our lives. Oriel, you can kill. Torture. Whatever makes your dark heart happy.”

  Slamming my hands on the dash, I let out an angry growl, wanting to kill someone. Anyone at this point. The building explosion happening inside my chest was going to kill everything in its path.

  “They’ll have her soon. Thatch and Gage are leading the pack. No one will be left standing or breathing.”

  “I SHOULD BE THERE! ME! She needs ME!”

  Wilder said nothing. He knew I was right. If this were Oakley, he would be just as furious and out of control.

  “What if this was Oak AND she was pregnant?”

  He glanced at me with a solemn expression. “That’s why I’m doing this. Like I said, I get it. I’d be just as messed up.” He looked back at the road. “As for Gage, when Shiloh finds out he shot you because you were going after your woman, she’ll tear him a new one.”

  I didn’t know the women who belonged to the Ocala men, but if there was a woman who could handle Gage Presley, then she had to be fucking evil. Nothing like Rumor. My sweet, beautiful girl who didn’t have a fierce bone in her body. She was too good for me. She deserved better, but I’d be damned if I was letting her go. I didn’t think I’d ever planned on it from the moment she had climbed into my truck.

  My phone started ringing, and my heart slammed against my chest frantically as I answered it.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “Where the fuck are you?” Stellan barked into the phone.

  “Driving to your house from the airport.” I left out that Wilder was the one who had come and gotten me.

  “Fucking hell, King! Can you not do what you’re told?”

  “Not when my woman has been taken,” I snarled. “What is the update? Who is going, and where do I meet them?”

  “Stubborn ass,” he muttered. “They’re already gone. Thatcher, Gage, Huck, and Storm are going in with Blaise. Wells and Sebastian, along with three of the Ocala guys that came with Huck. Ten of the Mississippi boys and five from the Alabama branch are with them. It’s an army. Led by lethal weapons. She’s going to be brought back safely. You can’t go in there like you are. It will be a hinderance.”

  “She needs me!” I argued, knowing he was right. I didn’t need to be in the fucking way, but I’d be damned if she came out of there, thinking I didn’t give a shit. No one else was going to hold her.

  “Put it on speaker,” he said.

  I pressed the button. “It’s on speaker.”

  “Wilder,” Stellan said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’ll send you the location on the burner phone. Take him there the moment I send the go-ahead. I’ll make sure she is brought out to him directly. That’s the best I can do, King. Anything else, and someone will be killed.”

  My jaw was clenched too tightly to respond. I just nodded my head once. Rage rolled inside of me because I knew I couldn’t go in there and find her. That the first face she saw wasn’t going to be mine. I fucking hated it!

  “Got it. But, Stellan,” he said, glancing at me, “he’s on edge. Not gonna be able to hold him back long.”

  “I know. It won’t take long now. Not with Blaise there. He’ll kill everything that moves and not pause as he does it.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Wilder replied, then ended the call.

  “When the location comes in, go directly there. We aren’t waiting,” I told him.

  “I never thought we were,” he replied.

  I stared straight ahead, trying to work through the throbbing in my head and the monster demanding I go and get what belonged to me.

  • Twenty-Seven •

  Fuck, I guess he gets to live.

  Rumor

  I had taken the fork that had been brought with my meal and slid it underneath the blanket before putting my napkin haphazardly over my plate after I finished. When the maid came to take my plate, she didn’t even notice the missing utensil. Sitting on the bed, I kept my hand wrapped around it, reminding myself I had something, that I wouldn’t be helpless.

  I considered hiding it and going in search of something more, maybe a knife, but I hadn’t worked up the nerve just yet. The thought that I might do something that would make Falcon start beating me sooner kept me here.

  There was a strange sound in the hallway, and I tensed. Had they realized I’d kept the fork? A loud thud startled me, and I shot up from the bed where I was sitting with the fork gripped tightly in my right hand. I started to run to the bathroom when the bedroom door swung open, and a man came stalking in with a bloody knife in his hand. I froze, staring at him in horror. There were two red sprays over his shirt that could only be blood.

  “Rumor?” he asked with a cocked brow.

  I glanced at the bathroom door again, knowing I couldn’t get there in time. So, I held up my fork, which was ridiculous, considering he had a terrifying knife that he’d used recently on someone’s vital arteries, if I had to guess.

  The man’s face was misleading. If he’d walked in here without being covered in blood and a knife, I’d have thought he’d come from a photo shoot. He didn’t look like a man who sliced people open, but then what did I know?

  His smirk as he looked at the fork in my hand didn’t surprise me. It was rather pathetic.

  “A fighter. That’s good,” he drawled. “If it makes you feel better, keep your fork, but I’ll handle anyone who comes at us, yeah?” He nodded his head toward the door. “You ready to blow this joint?”

  I lowered my hand. “Who are you?” I asked, afraid to be hopeful.

  “The calvary. Let’s go,” he said, then turned and headed for the door.

  I glanced back at the room and decided I was going with the crazy knife man. When I got to the door, there was a man lying on the ground with a slit in his neck and lifeless eyes staring at nothing as blood pooled on the floor around him.

  I lifted my horrified gaze to the man who was responsible for it, and he grinned, then winked at me. Was this man insane? Perhaps I was making a mistake. He started down the hallway, and I jumped over the blood and hurried after him. Insane or not, he was clearly getting me out of here. I’d worry about who he was and why he was here to get me once I got out.

  When we reached the stairs, there were two more dead men, and one was missing eyeballs. I covered my mouth to silence the scream I couldn’t stop.

  Oh God. Oh God. Where were his eyes? I was going to be sick.

  “Don’t look at it,” the insane man I was following called back to me as he kicked the first dead man out of the way and continued down like this wasn’t a living horror show.

  I almost cried out in relief at the sight of Storm as he walked into the foyer.

  He took in the dead men on the stairs and gave the man with me a disgusted look. “His eyes? Really?”

  The man who I was following shrugged. “He pissed me off,” he replied, then pulled something from his pocket and tossed two eyeballs into the air before catching them with a chuckle.

  “Jesus, Gage,” Storm muttered, then turned to me. “You okay?”

  He knew the psychopath that I was with. Thank God!

  I nodded, fighting back the emotion clogging my throat.

  He walked over to me and held out a hand as I hurried down the stairs, passing the man he had called Gage. They had come for me. This was … this was the family’s doing. For me.

  “Where’s King?” I asked.

  “He’d be here. That’s on me. But I found you,” Gage said behind me.

  He wasn’t here? My heart sank, and the burn in my eyes only got worse as a tear broke free and rolled down my face. Was he still with Scotlin?

  My hand went to my stomach, and I tried to take a deep breath to calm down. I was okay. We were safe.

  “Where are the others?” Gage asked.

  “Blaise put a bullet in Falcon’s head and chest. Huck broke Tabor’s neck. The others that you didn’t slice up have been taken down,” Storm informed him. “I’m taking her with me.”

  Tabor was dead? They’d broken his neck? My stomach rolled, and I turned before bending over and throwing up the food I’d been fed earlier.

  “Fuck,” Storm said behind me as he took my hair and held it back. “Sorry about that. Too much information. My bad.”

  Several heaves later, I stood up and stared at him, still in shock. Was this really how they handled things?

  Storm took the hem of his shirt and ripped it, then handed it to me. “Here. Wipe your mouth.”

  I did as told as he took my elbow.

  “Time to go.”

  I went with him numbly through the house, not looking around as we went for fear of what I might see. I didn’t think I could handle any more death. When he opened the door leading outside, I let out a small sob. I was leaving. I had survived this.

  “RUMOR!”

  I would know the deep voice that called my name, even in death.

  My head snapped around as King moved toward me on crutches. I shoved past Storm and ran to him.

  Why was he hurt? What had happened? I reached him, and he dropped both crutches as his arms wrapped around me.

  He buried his face in my hair and inhaled deeply. “Fuuuck, sweets. I think I died ten goddamn deaths since I was told they took you.”

  The tears that I’d been fighting off broke free as I clung to him, sobbing. His arms tightened, pulling me to him.

  “I got you,” he murmured. “This will never happen again. I swear to God.”

  His scent eased me, and I nodded my head, not ready to speak just yet. He’d come for me. I meant something to him. He cared.

  “Did they hurt you?” he asked, gently pressing a kiss to my head.

  I shook mine. “No,” I croaked out.

  Although it didn’t matter. They were both dead now. Along with several others.

  “You good? I need to go help. Two of Linc’s guys were shot. Gotta get them to Doc,” Storm said behind me.

  “Wilder will get us back. Thank you, Storm,” he said fiercely.

  “Don’t thank me. Gage got her,” he replied.

  King’s arms tightened. “Fuck, I guess he gets to live.”

  Storm laughed then. “He gets to live? Dude, you didn’t see what his crazy ass did to the men in there. Forgive and forget, bro.”

  King pulled back enough so he could look at me. “You swear you’re okay?”

  I nodded.

  His eyes dropped to my mouth, and he ran his thumb over it. Then, he looked back into my eyes. The possessive gleam made me shiver. Every small cell in my body hummed. I wanted that.

  “And the baby?” he asked softly.

  I gasped, speechless, staring up at him.

  He knew. How did he know? Had Maeme changed her mind?

  “I think she’s fine. I need to see Dr. Drew. The chloroform …” I stopped explaining, hating to think it had hurt her.

  His jaw clenched as he glared at the house behind me. “We will go straight to Maeme’s and get you checked.”

  “You know?”

  Was that why he had come? Because I was pregnant? Had Maeme told him so he would come get me? Had it taken that to make him care? All my fears and insecurities came rushing back.

  “Yeah, sweets, I know,” he replied, his expression softening.

  He started to lower his mouth to mine, and I placed a hand on his chest and shook my head to stop him.

  “I just threw up,” I told him, covering my mouth, realizing my breath had to be horrid.

  His brows drew together. “Pregnancy?” he asked.

  “I saw some things.”

  A stricken expression came over his face. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

  He turned then, and I saw him wince. His leg. I’d forgotten. I wrapped my arms around him as if I could hold him up.

  A small smile tugged at his lips. “My crutches.”

  I let him go, then bent down to get them both, handing them to him, hating seeing him like this. “How did you break your leg?” I asked as he walked with me back toward a black SUV with a man standing outside of it, leaning on the hood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching us.

  “Shot. Not broken,” he replied.

  I stopped. “Shot?” I asked, horrified.

  He paused and looked at me. “I’m fine, sweets. It’ll heal faster than a damn break.”

  “Who shot you?”

  He scowled then and glanced at the man who was no longer in front of the SUV, but opening the back door.

  When King looked back at me, he sighed. “Gage.”

  I frowned. Why would Gage have shot him? Weren’t they on the same team or whatever?

  “Let’s get in the Escalade,” he said. “Cleanup is about to be here.”

  They had a cleanup crew for this kind of thing?

  I followed him to the vehicle and let him get inside first wanting to help him if needed. Then I climbed inside closing the door behind us. The other man was now in the driver’s seat.

  He turned his head to look at me. “Nice to meet you, Rumor. I’m Wilder Jones.”

  I managed a smile even though I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Gage had shot him. “It’s nice to meet you too,” I replied.

  “Come here,” King said to me as he stretched his arm out on the back of the seat.

  “Will I hurt you?” I asked, looking down at his leg.

  “No, sweets,” he assured me.

  I scooted back, and his arm came around me to pull me so close that my head was resting on his chest. He kissed the top of it.

  Wilder began to drive away as I lay there, letting the relief completely sink in. I was with King. We were both alive. I closed my eyes, inhaling his smell. This was where I always wanted to be.

  “Why did Gage shoot you?” I asked as I traced patterns on his abs.

  “Because he’s a dickhead,” King replied.

  I decided not to push it. Maybe I didn’t need to know.

  • Twenty-Eight •

  Doesn’t mean I have to like it.

  Rumor

  Maeme was out of the door the moment we made it to the porch, throwing her arms around me.

  The tight hold she had on me as she let out a, “Thank you, Jesus,” left me with the urge to tear up and laugh at the same time.

  I was positive Jesus had had nothing to do with my being here. There was nothing Christlike about the slit throats and trophy eyeballs that Gage had pulled from his pocket.

  “Doc is downstairs, working on stitching up one of the boys from Mississippi and giving another one a blood transfusion, but he’s already got the ultrasound machine set up and is waiting on us,” she said, patting my arm as she pulled back and looked at me with watery eyes. “But you’re here, and you are okay.”

  I turned back to King, who stood there with his crutches, and noticed the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes now that we stood under the light of the porch. He looked pale and weak.

  Panicked, I let go of Maeme to turn to him. “You need to lie down. Get off your leg. Sleep,” I told him, wrapping my arm around his waist.

  He chuckled. “Sweets, I’m not lying down without you. And I sure as hell am not letting you go down there and have an ultrasound without me.”

  “But you look pale and like you might pass out,” I argued.

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying and get your sexy ass in that house.”

  “Come on now. We will see to both of you,” Maeme said, opening the door and ushering us inside.

  King was good with crutches, I realized. Really good. I had a feeling this wasn’t the first time he’d ever used them. I walked beside him as we followed Maeme to the stairs leading to the basement.