Perfect Rage (Unyielding 3)

I knew Deck would get her out. He never failed. He didn’t know how to fail.

And now, I was back in Toronto where I grew up, walking into a bar where I probably knew half the people, ones I had no intention of ever seeing again.

The lock clicked.

I stood and pocketed my tools in the front pocket of my rain-soaked cargo pants.

I opened the door, not all the way so as not to let the moonlight filter in, just enough to slip inside. It clicked closed behind me.

It opened into a hallway where there were two doors on opposite sides, one a ladies’ washroom, the other the men’s. I walked down the hall then into the bar, staying in the shadows as I weaved through the empty tables.

No one even glanced at me. Un-fuckin-believable. I was in a bar with military… no, elite military guys, and not one of them gave a shit that some guy just crashed their party. Maybe they were cocky enough to believe they could easily take me out if they needed to.

I huffed. Fuck, yeah, they were cocky enough to believe that. We were the elite. The best at what we did and I’d been one of the cockiest on my team. I still was, but it was no longer because I knew I was good at what I did, but because I didn’t give a fuck if I lived or died.

I scanned the darkened bar, eyes landing on Deck who stood on stage, his voice echoing over the microphone as he made some speech about Georgie.

His words hit me—hard. It was like he swung a sledgehammer into my abdomen.

He fuckin’ loved her. My sister. My sweet innocent sister who was no longer sweet and innocent. He brought her into our dark world, a place I never wanted for her.

I snorted.

A few heads turned my way, none I recognized; although, I could have known them, just one of those missing puzzle pieces I had yet to find.

No one made a move toward me though as their attention turned back to the stage.

I easily fit in with the crowd in appearance, but I was nothing like them. Not anymore.

I was a ticking time bomb with no timer. I had no idea when I’d explode, but if I did explode, these guys, friends or not, would try to take me down, and it wouldn’t be friendly.

The tables were empty at the back of the bar as everyone hovered around the stage. I found a spot I could easily scan the entire place and still remain partially hidden.

I casually leaned against the brick wall. The granules pressed into the back of my shoulders as I watched under the hood of my eyes. But there was nothing casual about me, not anymore.

Arms crossed, head tilted away from the dim light, I waited like a cougar in the shadows for his unsuspecting prey.

The crowd erupted into deafening cheers and I tensed, lifting my head to catch my little sister leap up on stage and into Deck’s arms.

The tats on my arms expanded over my bulging muscles as anger played at the corners of my mind.

I lowered my gaze from them, shaking my head back and forth. It felt like it was yesterday when I’d told Deck to stay away from Georgie. Told him not to date her, kiss her and sure as hell not fuck her.

He’d obviously done all of the above.

A lock of my unruly dirty-blond strands hung in front of my eyes as I kept my chin tilted down, eyes on my black leather motorcycle boots while I concentrated on breathing in and out, attempting to keep the anger contained.

The swinging door behind the bar pushed open and my body tightened. I knew it was her. My prey. The reason I’d come back to Toronto and stood in a bar filled with family and old friends, risking everything because I was unable to stop myself from seeing her.

The door hesitated on its hinges before it swung shut again, and for a second the light from the hallway behind her illuminated like a halo and I saw her face clearly.

Alina.

The veil I suffocated under lifted and I breathed in a lungful of air. Memories of her laughter filtered into me and the rage eased as I watched her movements. The graceful way her hips swayed with each shift of her body. The steadiness of her hands while she poured amber liquid into two frosted glasses.

But it was her eyes I craved.

Needed.

The bartender lifted the bar flap for her and she turned her head and half smiled at him. Her lips moved and even though I couldn’t hear, I knew she thanked him. She’d always been polite.

My eyes narrowed as the guy grinned and winked at her. I inhaled a long drawn-in breath to calm the overwhelming need to stride across the bar and pull her away from him. It was illogical. I knew that and yet it felt as if another predator was about to steal away what was mine.