Jax had been wrong before. He could fire a gun with the intent to kill. He could kill and murder a man in cold blood if the man in question intended the same for Brianna. He could wash the blood off his hands later that night, curl up beside his woman, and know the reasons why he hadn’t hesitated.
He loved one woman and the woman he loved had an enemy, a man who had abused her, a man who had not only abused her, but also intended to kill her or at least hurt her again.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
“Says the pretty boy with cowboy boots that are as polished as my leather shoes.” He laughed. “I bet you couldn’t rope a steer, much less shoot that gun.”
“Says the man I roped and left in a field?” Jax snarled. “I wouldn’t bet on that, if I were you.” He took a step forward.
Handsome took one back. “Where is she?”
“At the moment, your guess is as good as mine.”
“You’re telling me she isn’t here?”
“If I had to guess, her father came in and saved her,” Jax said, trying to keep a straight face. The only place Alberto was about right then was somewhere hiding and letting everyone else handle his problems. He aimed his gun a little higher. He didn’t need Alberto or anyone else taking care of Brianna. He had this. He took another step.
Handsome backed up a little more. “It’s a shame she dragged you and your brothers into this mess. Just a real shame. You seem like nice young men. Good guys. But her daddy whored her out to us and we’ve come to collect.”
“What do you mean, he whored her out to you?”
Handsome snarled. “He’s broke, asshole. And when he couldn’t get the money he needed to pay an installment payment, he told my boss to give him eight more days or he would give him one of his daughters. As you can probably guess, those eight days came and went. No money. No daughter. We came to collect what is ours. Brianna just made it easy for us.”
Jax swallowed as this man’s truth smacked him in the face. If this guy was telling the straight of it, the men would keep coming. They might shake off one group, but the mob would send another.
About that time, three shots were fired. Blood splattered on the side of Handsome’s head and brains splashed against the wall. Joshua walked out of the bedroom, gripping Vicky’s hand. “Let’s go find Brianna.” Joshua kept Vicky close to him, refusing to let her look behind her, as they rushed down the hall, opening and closing bedroom doors.
“We’re clear down here!” Aspen yelled.
“All clear here,” Tyler said, approaching from the end of the hall.
“We can’t find Brianna,” Jax said, frantic.
He had promised to keep her safe. He’d taken her away from her home stating they were better equipped to protect her there. No one could breach their security system. No one could get in or out without their knowledge.
“What the fuck went wrong!” Kane Cartwell entered with the Feds on his heels. He stepped over bodies and bounded up the stairs. He glared at Joshua. “Where is she?”
“Kane, I don’t know. We got the man who hurt her and he didn’t know where she was and I believe that. He kept demanding to know where to find her. Maybe she’s hiding somewhere.”
“That’s it.” Flint pushed by them and raced to her bedroom and ran into her closet. Once there, he swung open the cabinets and reached behind her new dresses, the formal gowns they’d purchased so she had something for every occasion. He felt for the lever and yanked it up.
Brianna practically leapt into his arms, breathing hard and crying like crazy. “I was afraid you wouldn’t come for me. I was scared you wouldn’t remember.” She climbed him like a ladder.
Flint held on to her, clinging to her waist and burying his face in her hair. “I remember everything about you—every conversation, every look, everything, Brianna.”
“He also built those cabinets,” Tyler reminded her as he took her away from Flint and kissed her. “Don’t ever scare us like that again.”
Jax stroked the back of her head. “Don’t pay any attention to him. You did the right thing. In this case, I’m thankful for the terrifying moment. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”
Chapter Twenty
The Feds didn’t leave until the next day. Stating they had reason to believe their father had pulled off a major heist, hitting several different mob families for a total of one billion dollars plus in damages, one of the agents explained what dangers they’d soon face. The agents suggested safe houses and they all declined, stating they wouldn’t leave their home and everything familiar. The agents gave Brianna and her sisters their business cards, shook hands with all men present, and left.
“Our futures sound bleak if you believe those guys,” Gemma said, turning to Kane. “Don’t you think they’re just trying to scare us?”
Peyton and Vicky, who had been on the sofa reminiscing about their club days, stopped talking and Peyton said, “No, young lady, I don’t. Kane doesn’t.”
“Kane can speak for himself.” Kane walked over to the foyer and said a few words to Brandon who had appeared there for whatever reason. He nodded and left. “Brandon had a few things to do and since I’m not real concerned about the Blaziers and how well they can protect Coco, I wanted to talk to the rest of you in private. Coco gave us permission to keep Nory over in Fletcher.”