Page 48 of Lies Beneath Secrets

I take stock of our situation and realize the van is upside down out in a field. “Seatbelts ain’t no joke,” I hear Knox say from beside me. “How long have we been out?”

“Not sure.” I do my best to pull myself through where the windshield once was and out onto the cold ground.

“Well, look at this. Two for the price of one.” Len whistles as he and Jasper walk up to the wrecked van. “I’m disappointed in you, Knox.” He shakes his head. “Suppose you don’t know who you can trust now days.” Len pulls out his pistol and draws back the hammer to put a bullet in the chamber. “Now, you can join them two chicken-shit, so-called brothers of ours.” Len jolts forward, his gun going off from the movement. The bullet just barely misses me as he goes down. Jasper isn’t far behind. Blood spurts from his mouth as a bullet rips through his throat. He joins Len on the ground.

“Bout time, Pace,” I grumble and push myself up from the ground. Walking over to Len, I grab his gun from the dirt, then kick him over so he’s lying on his back. Blood pours from his mouth as he clutches at his chest. “Not much that will do for you.” I pull back the hammer, ready to finish him off when he starts talking.

“They have your girls.” He laughs through bloody teeth, coughing as he chokes on his blood.

“The fuck do you mean?” I reach down and clutch at his shirt.

“King just raided your place.” He looks over at Knox, who has made it to his feet. I glance over at him; he’s a bloodied mess much like me. “That bitch of yours, your daughter and that sweet little sister of Knox’s,” Len sneers.

Knox now takes out his phone, cursing when he can’t get it to turn on. “Fuck!” He throws it onto the ground and pulls out his knife, bringing it to Len’s throat.

“How long ago?” Len only smiles. He could care less if Knox cuts his throat; he knows he’s a dead man anyway.

“Better hurry, I heard that woman of yours took a bullet and wasn’t doing too well.” He laughs again, spitting blood all over my arm. I land a fist into his face twice before letting him drop to the ground. I turn to find Pace driving up on us in his Suburban.

“We’re three fucking hours away,” I yell, then turn to kick Len’s face in. I land hard with my boot, feeling his skull crunch under my heel. The only satisfaction I’ll get until I come face to face with King and do the same.

“What’s that?” Knox says, trying to stop me. Instead of listening, I keep stomping my foot until there’s nothing under it but bloodied dirt. “Fuck, Con, hold up.” Knox moves me to the side, searching through the clothes on Len’s lifeless body until he finds his phone. “It’s King,” Knox says before answering the phone and putting it on speaker.

“Is it done?” King asks on the other end of the call.

“Oh yeah, he’s done,” Knox says, holding up his hand for me to not speak. There’s a long pause before King talks again.

“Knox, my VP. I have someone here who wants to say hello.” Muffled yelling fills our ears, then a woman calls out Knox’s name.

Kendra.

“You better not lay one fucking finger on her King,” Knox warns. “You don’t want me to be the one to hunt you down. I’ll make it so fucking slow.”

“Oh, I didn’t touch her. Can’t say the same for Brucie. He likes them teenagers.” King laughs into the phone. “Con. My condolences. You really had yourself a nice piece of ass. Too bad she caught a bullet. Such a shame. I would have liked to have my fun with her before I slit her throat.” Rage fills me as I reach for the phone, ripping it out of Knox’s hand.

“You listen to me, you piece of fucking shit. I’ll find you.” King laughs on the other end of the phone.

“Let me save you the trouble. I’m at the clubhouse.” The call ends, and a cold I’ve never felt before grips at my chest.

“Jesus, how the fuck are you two still alive?” Pace asks as he walks up to us.

“We need to go,” I tell him and start for his truck.

I do my best to put Lauren out of my mind. I can’t think about her right now. Whether King was telling the truth or not, I need to get to Gabby and make sure she’s safe. There will be time later to grieve if that’s what I have to do. “We’ll get the fucker,” Knox says as if he’s reading my mind.

“I don’t want to think about it.” I look down at my left hand, noticing a shard of glass stuck into the skin. I pinch it out with my fingers and toss it out the window as we drive down the highway.

CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN

Con

It’s dark by the time we reach the clubhouse. We were so fucking far away. Each mile was agony and seemed to take weeks, not hours, to reach the destination. There are no lights on as we pull up in Knox’s truck. “All we can do is walk right through the door,” Knox says. I nod in response, and we both get out.

We stopped off at Knox’s house before coming here so we could gear up. I do my best not to think about all the blood we saw on the couch in the living room. How much gauze was laying on the floor and the bullet holes that littered the walls. All that went through my head was,she’s dead.There isn’t any way she could have survived that much blood loss, not without a doctor.

“Keep your head on straight,” Knox reminds me the closer we get to the door. I nod knowing if I lose it now, Gabby doesn’t stand a chance. “Ready?” Knox asks as we reach the door, and he turns the knob. He doesn’t wait for my response before opening it up wide. There’s a faint light on above the pool table in the corner. It illuminates enough space for us to see King playing with Kendra. She has a stick in her hand and is shaking. Her clothes are torn, and her face has a small cut under her eye. Knox just about bolts toward her, but I manage to hold him back.

“Ah, just in time. I’m about to win.” His declaration is laced with so much more than winning at pool. King takes his time lining up his shot while I look around the room. Brucie has Siena on the floor at his feet. She has a cut right through her lip. Rage and Wesley stand on each side of the pool table, both ready with their guns in hand. Three other guys I don’t recognize stand in the corner of the room, also ready with their weapons. The clacking of pool balls hitting each other is followed by one dropping into the pocket. It’s so damn quiet in this room, the sound of the ball rolling through the table fills the space before it comes to a stop with a clink. “Now then. Down to business.” King brings his attention over to where Knox and I stand.

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