Darkness Embraced (Hades Hangmen 7)

We’ll be positioned at the north side of the town. Snipers and shooters hidden in the back in case everything goes to shit. Cartel will have thirty men. We’ll be making up the rest.

Wade had already told me their plan. The Hangmen had been planning for three days. The Louisiana and San Antonio chapters were already on the south side of the ghost town. In position since last night. AK was with them. If Diego dared touch any of the brothers, AK was there to put a slug in his head. The guy was the best fucking sniper I knew. Zane, AK’s nephew, was a captive. Zane, who AK treated like a son . . . AK wouldn’t be missing a fucking shot.

On top of that, AK had the biggest task of all—to take out Diego. When the exchange was made, I had to restrain myself just long enough to let Adelita walk back to the cartel camp . . . then AK would send a bullet straight through Diego’s head.

There was no way to avoid the carnage that would follow. We were ready. It was time to fight.

Wade had given me numbers—of men, weapons and coordinates. I printed the information off and ran my hands over my face. Today, I would face Beau and Diego as a Hangman. All the time trying to keep the prospects and my bitch safe.

Too much could go wrong. I never wanted to ever go head to head with my baby brother. But there was no other way.

“One day, Tann,” Beau said. “One day we’ll stand together when the race war begins. Shoulder to shoulder, brother and brother. And we’ll fucking tear down anyone in our path.”

I remembered the elation I felt at that thought. Now, here I was, on the opposing side. I now was the path he intended to tear down. My fucking chest cracked at the thought.

Adelita put her hand on my shoulder like she’d sensed something was wrong. I lifted my head and let her spin me around in my chair. Never breaking eye contact, Adelita straddled my lap. Leaning in, she kissed my lips. My hands slid down her body, tracing over every curve. In the past three days I’d been inside her every chance I got. Our plan for today was good. We had men for when the battle broke out. Thanks to Wade, we had the knowledge of where their best snipers were positioned. But any little thing could send the exchange into a fucking nightmare. Any fuck-up could send any one of us to the boatman. Not all of us would come back to the compound tonight. That much we all knew.

I fucking counted on me and my bitch making it back alive.

“We have to go,” I said as Adelita laid her head on my chest. Her arms wrapped around me and held on tight. Adelita had been too quiet over the past few days. I didn’t like it. Didn’t like not knowing what she was thinking.

Lifting off the chair, Adelita slid down my body, and I kissed her lips. “You ready?”

Adelita nodded, but I could see she was scared by the worry in her eyes. It fucking killed me. I longed for the day when she was never scared again.

Taking her hand, I led her outside the club. The Hangmen were already waiting on their bikes. The truck I would drive was waiting at the back.

“You ready?” Ky asked. Styx and Ky were at the front of the pack. I nodded. Flame was here too, even though the guy was still injured. But nothing was keeping him from getting his brother back today. Viking was beside him. He was tasked with keeping Flame back from the cartel and Klan until it was time to fucking unleash hell.

We made our way to the truck. Adelita stopped when Beauty appeared from the clubhouse. Some men were staying behind in case there was an attack. The other bitches were in the clubhouse too, still on lockdown. Beauty threw her arms around Adelita’s neck and squeezed her tight. “You take care, all right?” Beauty said and kept hold of Adelita. “We wanna see you back here tonight.”

“Si,”Adelita replied and hugged Beauty. I looked to Tank, who was on his bike beside Bull. He nodded, as if assuring me that he had my back. That he would help make sure my woman did return home with us.

“Lita, we need to go,” I said. Adelita stepped away from Beauty. I could tell by her face that she hadn’t expected it. Hadn’t expected Beauty to be so concerned. My heart fucking broke for my bitch all over again. She hadn’t expected it because she’d never had many friends. Never been allowed to get too close to hardly anyone.

When we were in the truck, Adelita took a deep breath, and I saw a new kind of determination in her face. “You good?” I asked, as I pulled out onto the road. The truck was flanked by the Hangmen. Styx, Ky, and our chapter were up front; the other chapters took up the rear.

Adelita was staring out of the window. “I am.” She took hold of my hand. I knew she wanted to say something. I could tell by how she shifted on the seat. I waited her out. Eventually, after a few minutes, she said, “If something happens today . . .” She paused and seemed to think over her words. “If something happens today, I want you to know that I don’t regret a thing.” I gripped her hand tighter, keeping my eye on the road. I wasn’t sure I could look at her right now. I wasn’t sure I could keep my shit together. “Nothing, mi amor.” Adelita kissed my hand. “Meeting you, as hateful as it was in the beginning, has been the single biggest blessing I’ve had in my life.” Adelita stroked her fingers along the back of my hand. “Seeing you fight your demons, challenge the prejudices you were raised with and completely change, was the most amazing transformation to witness.”

“It was you,” I rasped. “It was all because of you.”

Adelita moved until she was right beside me on the seat. She laid her head on my shoulder. “Even though we’ve only had a short time together, Tanner, these past several days . . . they have meant more to me than anything else has in my entire life.” Adelita looked up at me, and this time I met her eyes. “I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone as much as I love you. My father never loved anyone after my mother, so I never had an example of how a couple in love could be.” I kept my eye on the road but found it hard to tear my attention away from Lita. “If anything happens today . . . if for whatever reason something goes wrong . . . at least I have known what it was like to love you. Entirely and with my whole heart.”

“Nothing will go wrong,” I said. Adelita smiled, but it was laced with sadness. I understood then that there was no part of her that thought today would go well. “I love you, princess. You fucking saved me. Not sure if you know it. But you saved me.”

“Tanner—”

“And now I get to save you.”

Adelita stayed close to my side, holding my arm and resting her head against my shoulder. My heart started to beat faster and louder when we turned onto the road that led to the ghost town. My eyes scanned around as much as I could. I could see my brothers up ahead on their bikes doing the same thing. I expected an ambush. I expected them to try to take us out. But because of Wade’s intel, we knew to come into the town from the south. Some of our brothers who had been here overnight stepped out from their hiding place to wave us on through. To assure us that we were safe.

As the town came into view, Adelita sat up. Her brown eyes were huge. But she remained the perfect cartel princess—calm and steady.

Styx, Ky, and the brothers up front turned the corner and entered the clearing in the ghost town first. I was on my guard as I pulled in. The minute the clearing came into view, every part of me tensed. Diego stood in the center, flanked by his men . . . his men and my old brotherhood. I scanned over the Klan soldiers I had trained. They were ready and braced for action. A strange familiarity rushed through me at seeing the hate on their faces. The hatred that fueled their need to kill.

And then I saw him. Beau. Standing to the side, just behind the front-line soldiers. My uncle Landry was positioned close to a van. I knew that was where the prospects were locked up.

But my attention strayed back to Beau. His hair was longer than the last time I’d seen him. He looked bigger in build. But apart from that, he was the same.

My little fucking brother.

I shifted in my seat when he looked directly at the truck. When he looked directly at me. His eyes pierced through the windshield.

“Tanner? You ok

ay?” I tried to open my eyes. The light stabbed at my skull when I did. “Shit!” Beau spat and shut the door of the shed. He turned on the storm light and rushed straight over to me on the camping cot. Beau made a move to touch me, but quickly thought better of it. “Tanner, that cunt has beaten you to a pulp.”

If I could have, I would have laughed. I knew the bastard had beaten me. There wasn’t a part of me that could move. “Yeah,” I rasped. “I didn’t kill the kid from the north east gang. The drug dealers.” I wheezed as I sucked in a slow, controlled breath. “I let him go.”

Beau sighed. “You should have just killed him, Tann.” I frowned at Beau. He looked like he was serious. But I knew him. He wouldn’t have killed that kid any more than I would have. I was seventeen. The kid had been only a few years younger. But he didn’t deserve to die. No matter what my old man said.

Beau sat down on the cold floor beside the bed. I was told to stay here until my old man came back for me. In this icebox of a shed. “He’ll beat you if he finds you here.”

Beau looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. “I’ve never been one to follow the rules, Tann. You know that.” It was true. I rarely fought back against my old man. Beau did. Then again, he wasn’t groomed to be the heir. For the most part, our old man didn’t even give a fuck about Beau. He could afford to break the rules. He wouldn’t be almost beaten to death for daring to defy him . . .