Page 140 of Full Throttle

“I can’t leave him,” he said, looking at me.

No, no, no, no.

“Hey, hey,” I cooed in a panic, reaching up to touch his face with my free hand. “Remember what we said, babe. Wherever you go, I go. Remember?”

His blue eyes flashed, and I knew I was getting through to him. I knew he didn’t want to leave his brother, not after spending a lifetime making sure he was protected. I reached up, giving him a harsh, quick kiss. “Full throttle, remember?” I whispered on a sob.

Cain didn’t respond with words. He responded by moving, and seconds later, we were running hand-in-hand out of the Devils Den, leaving a declaration of war in our wake.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Cain

Twenty-six hours later. St. Louis, MO.

I stared down at Nik’s sleeping body, watching her chest rise and fall over and over again as I tried to get the image of Xander out of my head.

My brother was dead.

My brother died doing what I told him to do.

My brother took a fucking bullet for the annoying girl who grew up next door to us.

My brother gave his life for the only woman I’ve ever loved.

Now, I was here a day later, watching that woman sleep in my bed, in my house, in the city I’d spent the last several months protecting because my home was here.

Oasis was here.

“Cain.”

As I rubbed my finger back and forth across my lips, I turned away from my bed to find Leon leaning against the door, studying me. “You sure you're ready for this?”

I looked to Nik and then back to Leon. “Every last drop of blood he has left in his dying body will be spilled by me,” I vowed, walking out of the room.

Leon moved, letting me by, and I heard him close the bedroom door behind me. I went directly into my office, knowing that he, Dontell, and Jeremy were about to see another secret of mine.

As the seven screens turned on, I heard D mutter something under his breath. I turned to find them all staring at the screens. Dontell’s brows were raised, Leon’s brows furrowed, and Jeremy’s jaw was tight.

The Oasis leader looked at me. “What the hell is this?” he asked.

“A security blanket,” I told him, my voice empty as I clicked a few buttons. A second later, I took a step back, watching the dots pop up all over the city.

One for Mina, which was blue.

One for Casey, which was green.

One for Amara, which was red.

And then, of course, there was Nik’s yellow dot.

“The trackers are on their cars, but if you want something more permanent, just say the word,” I explained.

“The fuck you mean, something more permanent?” Leon asked, his eyes on Amara’s dot. “When the fuck did you plant these?”

“As soon as we landed.”

My friend blinked.

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