Together we fall to our sides, legs tangled together, whispering words of love and admiration to each other until a knock at the door startles us back to reality. This evening. To the fact that he is putting himself in harm’s way tonight to save an innocent child and to stop one of the monsters who has poisoned his whole world.
“Don’t worry, sunshine.” He kisses my cheeks, my forehead before settling his lips against mine for a soft gentle caress. “You will be safe here, and I will be back as quickly as possible.”
“I can’t help worrying Xavier. You come home to me, okay?” It’s an order and a plea. I sit up, looking for my clothes and moving to pull on panties and my leggings even as his cum slips out of me and trails down the inside of my thigh.
“Wait a second, love.” He groans, watching the streak of our combined cream marking me before stomping into the bathroom. He returns with a warm, wet cloth and carefully wipes me clean before helping me into the rest of my clothes and tucking my hair behind my ears.
I smile my thanks and step into his arms, hugging him as hard as I can. “Please come back safe X. I don’t think I could stand it if anything happened to you tonight. Let Weaver handle Dominic if that’s what it takes.”
His jaw hardens for a second, a muscle ticking in response to my words, then he slowly releases his breath.
“I will babe. Everyone is coming home tonight. Everyone except for Dominic and anyone stupid enough to stand beside him.” His words are cold. Hard. The words of the mobster he was raised to be, and I can’t stop the small shiver that rolls down my spine. It’s not exactly fear, but something close, and I turn away from his embrace and pick up his clothing before facing him again.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Xavier
Leaving Ana behind in our home, her friends around her wearing matching looks of worry on their pale faces, was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. All I wanted to do was hold her against me and soothe her fears, but there comes a time when a man does his duty no matter what the risk. This is one of those times. I have to stop Dominic. It is my job. My duty. He is my uncle. He carries the same poisonous soul that my father did, and I want to be the one to put an end to him.
If I don’t… I can’t bear to think about it. I can’t shake the terror that somehow I will become what he and my father always wanted me to be. A carbon copy of them. Ana deserves better than that. Better than me. She deserves a man that doesn’t crave the death of another the way I crave Dominic’s. I want him dead almost as much as I wanted my father dead. The only difference is that this time, I want to be the one that ends his life. I don’t want to wait for God, or fate, or a fucking heart attack this time.
I have tried to bury the bloodthirsty part of myself my whole life. To deny the monster inside of me that craves dominance and blood. Mostly I do a good job keeping that part locked away. Being with Ana helps, but tonight? Tonight I’m giving him free rein. I will be the kind of man she needs, the husband she deserves, when all of this is over, and my past is no longer able to taint our future. Only then will the beast inside me be able to lie down at the feet of his queen and submit.
It’s late enough when we leave that traffic doesn’t slow us down as we head north through town. Several SUVs of K&S men, as well as a few of my own, follow us through the night to our destination. There are lights on in a couple of the windows in the small house as we approach then drive by to park our vehicles at the end of the block. Every last one of us is dressed in black and outfitted with Kevlar vests as well as our communication equipment and sidearms. Knowing that there are hostages being held inside, we plan to minimize the amount of shooting as much as possible. Losing even one of the kidnapped to gunfire is not something we are willing to risk.
The surrounding neighborhood is mostly dark, lit only with a few flickering street lights. That’s exactly why we waited until late evening to come here. The darker it is, the better. More cover for us and the few people we could possibly come across will probably ignore our presence as long as we grant them the same courtesy.
Tonight I’m willing to turn a blind eye to just about anything, as long as stopping Dominic from ever hurting anyone again is my reward.
We split up into teams of two. I’m with Travis, which seems like it’s becoming the usual for us. Geno and Grayson work well together since they both worked for my father before heading west with me, and the additional K&S guys pair off and silently wait for their instructions. Blake is going to stay with the SUV, manning his computers and connecting all of us through our communications equipment. It works for him, and it works for me too. I don’t know if I would trust anyone else with our tech support. For someone who usually takes a long time to trust people, I have easily given mine to these two men. I wouldn’t be undertaking this endeavor tonig
ht without them at my back.
The night air is thick and warm around me, the sounds of cars muffled even though they aren’t that far away as we cut through the deeply shadowed cemetery in the direction of the dingy house on the corner. As we approach, I can see that most of the windows are dark now, except for the big one at the front of the house. A dim glow coming from the rear of the house indicates that someone is back there as well. I can’t help but hope that Dominic’s guard is down and that his lackeys are slacking off on their duty. Since the auction is in the morning, it’s possible that they will be less vigilant with a big payday coming so soon.
I would prefer if all of this could go down with as little fighting as possible to minimize the risk to everyone here tonight. There is only one fight that matters. The one between me and Dom. He'd better be here.
Everything happens quicker than I expect, but at the same time not nearly fast enough. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion. Gray and Geno slip around to the front of the house, blending into the shadows. Travis and I approach the back door, and without slowing down, he drives a booted foot against the flimsy lock, kicking the door open. Without hesitation, I enter the filthy kitchen, pistol firmly in my hand.
One of Dominic’s guys is standing at the refrigerator, putting away deli meat, his eyes round with shocked horror as he takes in the business end of my Glock. He puts his hands up quickly, the package still clutched in his fist, eyes locked on mine as I point toward one of the battered wooden chairs surrounding a scarred table covered with cigarette butts and empty beer bottles. Looks like they have been partying. A feral smile curves my lips. That’s only going to be in our favor.
When he sits without a sound, Travis quickly secures him to the chair with his ever-present zip ties. They worked so well when we rescued Ana and Faye that I may or may not have some in my pockets as well.
“You know why I’m here?” I growl inches from his face. I can see the fear in his eyes as he takes in the rigid set of my jaw and the angry pulse throbbing in my neck. The look in my eyes is telling him I won’t think twice about killing him if the need arises. I have never felt the monster inside of me screaming for blood as strongly as I can tonight. All of my senses are on high alert. I can smell his fear, I can almost taste it. Every beat of my heart urging me to make sure that this man, all the men here, never hurt anyone again,
“Yeah,” he mumbles, nodding as he looks away from me. I went to school with this guy my whole life, and here he is, hooked up with Dominic and this shit. That’s how fucked up my family is. They take normal kids and turn them into the kind of people who are willing to assist in the kidnapping and sale of innocent people. It’s all about the money and the power.
“How many of you are here?” I demand, letting my gun hand shift just enough to bring his full attention back to me. I know that we can’t trust anything he tells me, but if we double whatever number he tells us, we will probably be close.
“Five more.” He spits, but his eyes drop to the floor, and I’d bet my casino that he’s lying to me.
“Plan for twice that,” I say and hear Travis relaying that info to the rest of the team moments before the front door crashes in. I raise my gun, hitting the secured man on the side of his head hard enough to knock him out. He slumps forward against the restraints without a sound as a thin trickle of blood slides over his jaw and down his neck. He will have one hell of a headache when he comes to, but he will live. He probably won’t be about it when he gets where he’s going though...
“X.” Travis bites out in an urgent voice, and together we leave the kitchen and cut down a narrow hallway. All the lights are off. The muted sounds of scuffling in the flickering light of the living room illuminate Grayson and Geno as they quickly subdue the guards who were there watching porn on the big screen TV. The volume is turned down low, but the sounds of moaning and slapping skin follow us as we proceed down the unlit hallway. This is where things might get sketchy. I can feel that certainty to my bones. We have no idea what is waiting for us in the dark. No idea who is in what rooms and whether or not they will be expecting us.
The voices of the teams still outside crackles in my ear. The outside of the house is all clear. That’s good. Just what we need. Blake gives the order for a pair of them to stay outside, maintaining the perimeter, ensuring that no one sneaks in or out. I’m leaving the extraction of the girls to Travis and the others. I going to find Dominic.
The house is old and bigger than it looks from the outside. We know that Gracie had been being held in a room at the back of the house. Two K&S guys that I don’t know silently join us as we make our way down the dark hall. One of them is carrying a black 12 gauge Mossberg shotgun. Travis motions him to take the lead. He does, opening doors and making sure the rooms in front of us are empty before moving on. I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong end of that guy.