Lachlan
Tabs was right.Saff had activated her secondary tracker. And thanks to some New York contacts, I’d tracked her to a small house on the edge of the warehouse district.
I approached from the south where there were fewer houses.
This doesn't feel right.
Maybe I needed to stop relying on my feelings and instincts.
Except my feelings were driving me. The terror and fear and frantic worry. And the rage. I was going to tear this fucker limb from limb. He’d taken her from me, and I owed him pain.
Stay on mission.I had a job to do. I needed to make sure she was safe first, and then there would be blood. With a grim determination, I approached the south side of the house but could see no movement.
Using my infrared, I searched inside and identified one person in a chair in what looked like maybe a living room. That was probably her. I headed along the back side of the house, moving swiftly and noticing there weren’t even any cameras back there. Fuck. Who had this level of confidence in their safe house that there was no security?
As I approached the side of the house, I quickly pulled out my lockpick kit, and just when I heard it click, I heard something else click too.
“Fucking hell. You're certainly better than I expected."
I put my hands up. “Webster?"
He chuckled. “Yes, boyfriend. See this is why you don't fuck your partner. Because you make mistakes."
“Fuck you, Webster.”
“Well, come on then. Since you're breaking protocol and coming after her in the first place, let’s get this over with.”
I whirled around, knocking his wrist with mine, and his grip on the gun loosened. I rotated my wrist to grab his, bracing my other arm on his shoulder while delivering a knee. He grunted as I made a connection.
But then he whipped around with his other arm, delivering a back hammer fist that was just shy of my face. I was barely able to dodge it.
He laughed. "As much fun as this would be, we don't have time for this. Bad shit's going to happen if you don't let me go."
"Yeah, bad shit's going to happen to you,” I muttered.
“I have fucking work to do, and you're standing in the way of it. But I do have to say I’m impressed. Honest to God, if anyone had told me that you would be a Rogues Division recruit, I would've laughed. Of all the legacies, you have been the most disappointing.”
"What the fuck do you know about me?"
“Your grandfather, Isaac King, is connected to Oversight. You think nobody outside of Rogues knows anything about you? Yes, you're a secret government organization, but really, you should watch who you tell your secrets to.”
He lunged for me, and I remembered the shift of the foot motion that Saff always did just as she angled out of position. I did the same and caught Webster in the temple. He grunted as it dislodged him from his path. I launched myself at him and delivered a couple of sharp punches. The first one made contact, but the second one he blocked.
He dragged me forward by the lapels, banging his head against mine. With my brain rocked, he jumped on top of me. “I don't have time for this, and you're in my way. Stay the fuck down. She will be cross if I maim you so, I’m inclined to keep you alive. But I will make it hurt.”
"Who the fuck are you talking about?"
Webster laughed. "Saffron, of course. Who knew she was going to grow into such a beautiful woman?”
The growl bubbled up from somewhere deep in the center of my body, and I grappled with it. All the while he just laughed.
"Oh, mate. Does Gabe realize you're shagging his sister? When he does and realizes that you can't give her up, that is going to be a fight I wish I could watch, but that’s for another day. While I admire what you're trying to do here, it's time for you to stop.” He pointed the muzzle of his gun at my shoulder, but I struck out, dislodging it.
The gun went clattering, and Webster’s eyes went wide for just a millisecond before he delivered another elbow that rocked me.
My world spun and I fell back, desperate to get back to my feet, but I couldn't. The oddest thing happened though. When Drake had his gun back in hand, he turned to me and shook his head. “You should have just listened and stayed fucking down. Now it's going to take you longer to get to her.”
He raised his gun, and I knew I was done, and I’d never told her the truth. That I loved her. That this was real. She would never know.
But instead of shooting me as I expected, Webster shook his head, tucked his gun back in his holster, and ran.
All I could do as the gray closed in on the edges of my vision was watch as the woman I loved was consumed in a ball of fire.