Page 26 of It Was Always You

Text Chat

MATT: Hey man did your dad fill you in yet?

OWEN: Yeah, he mentioned you’re all in lockdown after the attacks…what the fuck is going on, man? I’m

losing my mind being so far out of the loop

MATT: Shit has hit the fan big time. Jonathan’s tried to organise a sit down but has had no luck. After these attacks, he’s thinking there might be a mole leaking the safe house locations since a few of them got hit last night

OWEN: What the fuck? Dad didn’t mention that to me, shit.

MATT: He said he didn’t want to freak you out but fuck man. I knew if it was me I’d want to know. If you need backup just give me a shout and I’ll get a team to you ASAP

OWEN: Cheers man, I appreciate it. We should be good for now, but I’ll keep you in the loop

Chapter 21

Nothing could have prepared me for the news Dad told me this morning—Angus Graham has put out a public hit on Cora.

We’ve lost soldiers in some of the fiercest attacks before. Our initiation process can be brutal.

For me, that meant hunting down someone who had been drugging girls in one of our clubs and torturing him for days before dismembering him piece by piece and then burning those pieces.

But the direct threat on Cora—they burnt her apartment and shot up what used to be her room in Jonathan’s place—made me sick to my stomach.

She could have been hurt or killed.

I could have lost her before we even had a chance.

It’s an all-out war with Cora in the fucking middle of it. And now, with a hit on her head, it’s not just the Clan we have to worry about; unfortunately for us, Jonathan has more enemies than friends now.

Even the safe houses have been attacked. I am positively losing my motherfucking mind. If even our most secure locations are compromised, then we might truly be fucked.

So here I am, in the last place I want to be—at a grocery store at the crack of dawn, trying to stock up on supplies until I can sort this mess out. I’m throwing items into the cart when my phone lights up with the one alert I hoped never to see: PANIC ROOM.

I can only pray that her phone is dead and that’s why she’s using that phone. I refuse to even consider the alternative.

“Cora?” I blurt out, not giving a fuck about the dirty looks others shoot my way for shouting. I throw everything into the car. The sooner I get home and have her in my arms where she belongs, the better. Maybe it’s time we get the hell out of dodge and go further afield. Spain is still nice this time of year. Or fuck it, it’s summer in Australia right now.

“Someone’s outside Owen. I can see them on the camera.” Her voice comes through, small and frightened.

Adrenaline surges through me as I throw myself into the car and start the engine. “Listen to me, Cora, you’re safe inside that room. It’s built for this kind of shit. I’m on my way, just hang tight,” I say, trying to hide my own fear as I push the car to its limits.

“They have these tanks of stuff they’re pouring round the place, O. I think they’re gonna light this place on fire.”

My grip tightens on the steering wheel. This is every nightmare I’ve ever had come to life. “Remember what I taught you about using the guns? You’re going to need to defend yourself if they get in. I’m less than five minutes away, baby. Do you trust me?”

“Always.” The tremble in that one word tells me what she won’t voice, and as much as now isn’t the time, pride swells at just how much bravery she’s showing.

“If they light the place on fire there’s a high chance that even in the panic room you wouldn’t make it out alive which means I’m going to need you to take one of the guns and as much ammo as you can. You need to try and get out without them seeing you. Remember the windows are blacked out so they can’t see in. I’m five minutes out so if we time this right, I should be there to get you the hell out of there before anything can go south, okay? How many of them can you see on the cameras?”

“Looks like there’s three of them and their car, so possibly a fourth including the driver but O..are you sure about this plan?”

I can hear the panic in her voice even as I hear her opening and closing cabinets, and grabbing a gun.

“It’s the best shot we have.”

It’s the only shot we have.

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