Ride or Die (Rejects Paradise 4)

Colton looks up over my shoulder, really taking a second to take in the scene before him. The police are still scattered around, helping where they can while the firemen are putting out the last of the flames and checking over the condition of the building. I’m almost certain that someone is about to come and tell me that the building needs to be torn down, but I’m hoping against it. This is the Wolves’ home and while fire damage is one thing, actually having it taken away is another.

Nic won’t get away with this. I can’t let him go without punishment, and up until now, I’ve been hoping that his form of punishment would be to get the help he needs to turn things around. I’ve always had hope that the old Nic still lived inside of him, but he doesn’t. That Nic I once knew is long gone. A bullet to the thigh is not nearly enough to make up for the devastation he’s caused today.

What if I had been in there? What if it was me who lost my life today? How would he feel then? Would he just shrug it off and call it a shitty day in the office, or would it kill him like he’s always told me it would?

I can’t believe a word he says anymore. I should have let Colton handle it in the beginning like he’d wanted to. Look at all this devastation my actions have brought down over us. I have to do something to make it right, and this time, I won’t be talked out of it. I’m going to stand tall and give him exactly what he deserves.

From now on, Dominic Garcia is as good as dead.

Colton’s hand travels down my arm until it’s firmly grasped in mine, our fingers laced, and his grip tight. “Jade, please tell me that hole in the roller door didn’t come from you ramming Nic’s car into it.”

I nod my head. “You would have done the same thing,” I tell him. “The doors were chained and boarded up. They were suffocating in there. I did what I had to do.”

Colton lets out a heavy breath, not liking the idea of me putting myself in danger like that. But honestly, ramming the car into the door was the least dangerous thing I’d done today. “I know you did,” he urges. “Taking out that door … fuck, Jade. You must have saved countless lives today.”

My head falls back against his chest. “Just not all of them.”

“You did everything you could,” he murmurs. “Don’t hate yourself. You got here as soon as you could, and the Wolves rallied around you to get everyone out. You should be proud because even during this tragedy, you’re still thriving. You’re going to get back up, you’re going to end the Widows, and you’re going to rebuild this empire as your own, cleaning out all the bullshit as you go. This is a chance at a new start for the Wolves. The slate has been wiped clean.”

“Russo is gone,” I murmur. “A bullet right through the head.”

“Yeah, baby. I see that,” he murmurs, his voice low and strained as he pulls me away. “Come on, let me take you away from this for a minute. You need a second to figure out what you’re going to do because I can guarantee that those men are going to need your leadership. You need to come in strong when they start demanding results.”

I let him lead me over to his Veneno, and I climb into the passenger seat, staring out the window at the wreckage as he makes his way around the car. He drops down into the driver’s seat and as his door closes, shutting out the devastation across the road, a peaceful silence settles over me.

I reach over to him, putting a hand on his thigh as the engine rumbles to life. “Don’t drive away,” I tell him, nodding out the window to where I find the Wolves watching my every move. “I don’t want them to think that I’m abandoning them.”

Colton nods, collecting my hand off his thigh and holding it. “Whatever you need, Jade.”

I continue staring out the window, taking it all in and watching as the Wolves rally around one another, helping their brothers. They’re doing everything they possibly can to keep their spirits high. I bet they haven’t taken a hit this big in a very long time, I’m sure it’s crushing them.

“What am I supposed to tell the families?” I ask him, nodding toward the thirteen bodies that lay across the dirty ground as paramedics begin placing them into body bags. “They’re going to want answers, and I don’t know what to tell them.”

“You tell them that you did everything that you could to get them out of there. You tell them that they died with their brothers at their side. That they were strong, courageous, and loyal. And then you tell them that you’re going to make it right and ensure that Nic won’t be able to hurt anyone else because that’s what they deserve.”