“No.” He looks up at me through his wet lashes and I arch a brow. “I promise. We just wanted her…”
“Wanted her what?” Tyson snaps, ready to get this over with.
“Begging.” He hangs his head. “Not dead.”
“Tyson.” I nod to Chance, and he walks behind him.
Chance’s head snaps up, wide eyes on mine. “I didn’t know,” he rushes out. “You were dead.”
“Yet here I am.” I hold my arms out wide.
Tyson grabs a hold of Chance’s hair and yanks his head back. I run the tip of the blade slowly across his neck, doing exactly what I told him I’d do. Stepping back, I watch the bastard bleed out onto the floor with a smile on my face.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
SIN
I GET HER back to our house and carry her into the kitchen. The only light that’s on is over the stove, giving me just enough to see the island and to set her down on a barstool. “Sit right here,” I tell her, turning to the fridge and grabbing her a water.
Turning back to her, I see she’s now bent over, chest and face lying on the marble island, arms fanned out in front of her. Sitting the bottle down, I go over and flip on the light, only to turn back and freeze when I see a man sitting at the head of the table, and it’s not her father. “What the fuck do you want?” I growl.
He taps his fingers on the table, tilting his head to the side. His blue eyes drop to Elli, and I step in front of the island to block his view of her, and he smirks. “I don’t believe in love,” he states and I snort. “Something so pure can’t survive in hell. But I do believe in revenge.”
“Why are you here?” I’ve had all the riddles I can take tonight. I’m fucking sore as shit and exhausted. I just want to clean both of us off and crawl into bed with my wife, knowing she’s safe and sound.
“Do you know why I called Tyson and told him to bring you back after your first meeting with us at Carnage?”
“No.” I didn’t care.
“Me and my brothers didn’t run Carnage when Nicholas was brought in. Not until later on. But we found it strange that all those nine years he’d been there no one ever asked about him. Until after you showed up.”
I frown, stepping closer to the table. “What do you mean?”
“We hadn’t asked who you wanted because it didn’t matter. We don’t hand anyone over. No one gets a pass. But you…” He sits up straighter. “You show up with Tyson, demanding to see our roster, and when we tell you no, you leave. That very next day we get a phone call. Someone checking on a Lord. Do you know how often we get calls from people wanting to know the status of someone at Carnage?”
“How many?”
“Never.”
“Who was it?” I wonder, looking over my shoulder to see her still lying on the island. I quickly scan the room to make sure the other two aren’t here as well. I’m here alone right now. Gavin dropped me and Elli off and her father stayed back at the house with Tyson to clean up the mess of dead bodies we made.
“Your father,” he answers, getting my attention once more.
I look at him and frown. “How did he…？” Of course. I asked him about Carnage. If he knew about them, but I never told him who or what I wanted. Thank God for that. He could have beat me to Nick and made sure he was dead for real somehow. Making sure we never found out the truth of what my father did to put him away.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” he goes on. “So we called you back for a meeting, and wouldn’t you know, you wanted the same Lord that he called about.” Crossing his tattooed arms over his chest, he sits back in the chair. “We decided we’d hand him over in exchange for you. Honestly, we didn’t think you’d do it.” Tilting his head to the side, he asks, “How do you feel, by the way?” his eyes drop to my bloody shirt.
I don’t answer, making him give a dark chuckle. “Yeah, it hurts like a bitch. That’s what it’s supposed to feel like.”
“What do you want?” I’d rather not rehash this situation. And he came here for another reason other than why they let me make a deal to release Nicholas.
“The only reason you’re free to fuck your cunt,” he nods to Elli, “is because her father offered up yours.”
My hands fist. “Get to the point,” I demand. This is not news to me.
“Your father hasn’t been able to keep his mouth shut since he’s been dropped off. Went on and out about his partner.”
Partner? What the fuck is he talking about? Who else is out there that I have to hunt down and kill to make sure my wife stays safe?
“We thought he meant your mother at first, but he started dropping names. Guess who was one of them?”
Elli moans and I look over my shoulder to see her run her hands through her hair to push it off her face. But her eyes remain closed. “Who?” I ask, ready to get this over with.
“Chance.”
My spine straightens and he taps his tatted knuckles on the table. “So I planted a bug.”
“What do you mean by planted a bug?”
“I made sure he got word that you had passed away.” He gives me a smile, showing off his white teeth. They’re a stark contrast to the black ink that wraps up around his neck to his jawline.
“You what?” I snap, stepping closer to the table. That’s why Chance’s face turned white when he saw me and said I was dead. He was so sure that I had died. “Why would you…” My voice trails off and I suck in a deep breath. “You wanted him to go after Elli.” He used her as bait. “You son of a bitch…”
“It worked, didn’t it?” He looks over at her still passed out.
“He could have killed her.” I point to her.
“She looks alive to me. A little out of it,” he shrugs carelessly. “But breathing nonetheless.”
“He could have. Fuck. He drugged her. Who knows what he would have done to her had I not got to her in time.” I’m screaming, throat burning. Fuck him for playing this game with me. My wife is off-limits.
“I made sure you were aware of the situation…”
“Situation? You didn’t tell me where she was. I thought you guys had her, for fuck’s sake.”
He snorts at that. “If we were going to take your wife, the last thing we’d do is let you know. She’d just … vanish.”
My chest tightens at that thought and I step back, getting closer to her once again.
“What happened to Nicholas was unfortunate. And we don’t like being made to look like fools.” His eyes go to my wife as she makes another noise that sounds more like a whimper. “And Elli really was an innocent.” They return back to mine. “I’m all for brutal revenge, but not when it’s not deserved. So…” He stands from the head of the table. “Take it as the peace offering it is. She has her father and you. Not to mention, I brought to your attention an enemy that you didn’t know existed. Now you’ve killed every person that has harmed or planned to harm your wife. I’ll say our business is done.” Walking over to me, he holds out a black box I hadn’t noticed he had with him. “Here, you’ll want this.”