Page 33 of It Was Always You

“Yeah, since when was Logan sending you tipoffs?” The confusion in his tone makes me laugh.

“Since I saved his ass and he owes me unless he wants that to be public knowledge.” It goes deeper than that, but I made a promise. It’s not my secret to spill anyway.

“Good to know. Wrap things up with Sam and head here. The address leads to an abandoned mental facility in Liverpool, so the sooner we get going, the better.”

With a muttered agreement we hang up. Circling back in front of Sam to see he’s still struggling in his bonds which gives me some sick satisfaction as does seeing him covered in bruises from my fists. Fucker deserves to leave here in a body bag but I don’t have time for that and Mum would kill me if I made that much of a mess and didn’t stay to clean it up.

“Well, as much as I loved our date, Sammy, I’ve got a better one waiting for me. Time to go lights out.” His eyes widen in fear before I deliver an uppercut packed full of all my pent-up rage that promptly knocks the fucker out. His body sags into unconsciousness, and I test his restraints before leaving him there to deal with later.

Making my way back into the house, I run into my dad as he grabs the car keys and we share a look that says it all.

It’s time to get my girl and bring her home.

* * *

Jonathan’s penthouse has our best soldiers ready by the time we arrive. Everyone’s high on adrenaline as they check their guns and ammo, go over maps and pack up some to-go bags full of all the shit we might need.

There’s something calming about the sounds filling the penthouse. The sounds of blades being sharpened. The click of guns being loaded. The rustling of maps being opened. Knowing that every man here is ready and willing to spill blood to get Cora back fills me with a sense of bone-deep satisfaction. The Four Points is first and foremost a family. And it’s not just my girl or Jonathan’s daughter that they’re ready to go for war over. It’s their heir. God help Angus when we get a hold of him.

My Dad immediately heads over to Ciaran who’s bent over a map to get a debrief, while I check in with Jack.

“Is Abigail and her mum safe?” I know if anything happens to them while we rescue her, Cora would be distraught.

“The Finlay brothers are taking them and their captive to your parents’ place as we speak. Most of the women and children are going to gather there with the Finlay brothers and a few others to stay safe.”

Suppose I should text Liam that they’ve got company before someone’s kid stumbles down there.

We focus on packing the bags with weapons and medical supplies before Jonathan lets out a whistle to get our attention. “The arrangements for the women have been made and the police will be turning a blind eye to any speeding laws we break. Teams of four in each car, Seamus and Owen, you’re with me.”

Is twenty-four of us going to be enough manpower to get her back?

Either I’ll return with her safe in my arms or I won’t. I refuse to come empty-handed and keep on doing this shit without her by my side.

* * *

To say the drive is tense would be an understatement. Jonathan’s glare remains solely focused on the road ahead and my dad has been obsessively checking that every gun is locked and loaded every fifteen minutes as if something could have changed since he last looked. As for me? I’m busy sharpening my knife in preparation to crave some eyeballs out and chop some hands off. Anyone who dared lay a hand on Cora or looked at what isn’t theirs to look at won’t be walking out of there alive if I have anything to do with it.

As much as every instinct I have is demanding our car be the first on the scene, driving in a convoy is the standard procedure in this kind of situation for a reason. We have no idea what we’re driving into or just how much power Angus wields over the city of Liverpool and if something was to happen with us at the front, the damage that having the Boss and his underboss both hit could be catastrophic to our organisation. In reality, having both Jonathan and my dad in the same car when we’re working a hit shouldn’t even be happening but desperate times call for desperate decisions and all that.

So instead, our car is in the middle with Ciaran, Jack and Matt driving the cars in front of us and Brennan and Declan’s cars pulling up the rear. Eventually, we pass through the busy streets of Liverpool all lit up and bustling with partygoers who are clueless to the darkness that is plaguing their city tonight.

We pull up a few streets away from our destination. Looking at the blueprints of the place, there’s a basement underneath which is likely where they will have Cora, so the plan is to start there and work our way up until we get her, killing any fucker in our way.

As we file out, I send a text to Liam who’s ready back home to hack into their security system and turn the cameras off long enough for us to get inside.

Time to kill some motherfuckers and get the girl.

Text Chat

OWEN: Hey man, just a heads up. That Sam kid is in my parents’ basement. Might want to deal with that before someone’s kid stumbles down there.

LIAM: Think locking Corey up with his ex would be a fitting form of torture?

OWEN: I like the way you think.

LIAM: Done. Bring our girl home in one piece, yeah?

OWEN: You know it, see you on the other side, man.

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