This was home. This was everything.
* * * *
A week later, Tomas was outside tuning his bike when Diablo approached. The big man’s expression was grim, jaw set in a hard line.
“Got a lead on that pendejo Brian,” Diablo rumbled, folding his thick arms across his chest.
Tomas stilled, knuckles tightening on the wrench. His beasts stirred, hackles raised and claws itching for vengeance.
“Where?” The word emerged as more growl than speech.
Diablo’s lip curled. “Holed up at his new boyfriend’s place across town. The cabrón’s been shacking up while hunting your mate.”
White-hot fury skewered Tomas. The wrench slipped from his hand, a clang of metal on concrete. That sick fuck had been coming after Noel, his sweet little flower, while playing house with some other poor bastard.
“I’m gonna separate the hijo de puta from his miserable existence,” Tomas snarled. He straightened, shoulders rolling as his wolf writhed and strained against its chains. “No more games, no more running. It ends tonight.”
“We end this fucker once and for all.” Diablo clapped him on the shoulder.
Tomas strode toward the bar, intent on grabbing his keys and weapon. Noel was safely tucked away with the other mates at Macey’s house, gossiping and bonding over cookies or some other silly shit Tomas didn’t understand. Suero and Cesar were there to watch over them. So was Miguel, who was probably painting her house and cleaning out her gutters.
A faint smile tugged at his lips despite the fury burning deep in his bones. He was so goddamn grateful Noel had found a place to belong, had finally begun putting down roots after years of trauma and loneliness. His little flower deserved to bloom, unfurling those gorgeous petals in the sunshine without fear of being trampled.
And Tomas would burn the entire fucking world to make sure of it. Brian’s existence was a blight, a cancer that needed excising before it could metastasize and poison everything Tomas held dear.
A flicker of guilt twisted in his gut. He should be there, basking in Noel’s happiness and making new memories. Not out here, preparing to bring more violence into their lives. But he smothered the ember of doubt. This was for Noel, to ensure that his ex could never threaten or harm him again.
With a low growl, he beckoned Santiago over from where he stood at the bar. Tomas glanced at Matias, who was serving a customer. He gave a single nod, his alpha telling him to go get the son of a bitch.
Santiago sauntered toward Tomas, stopping for a second to say something to Luca, then joined them at the door. “What’s up?”
“Found him,” Tomas said, jaw tight.
“Then we ride,” Santiago said with a roll of his shoulders. “We take my truck so no one hears our bikes.” His mouth curved in a wolfish grin. “Plus, we’ll have transportation for his body once you’re done with him.”
Diablo chuckled, and Tomas wanted to do the same, but all he could see was his mate lying in that hospital bed. “Let’s go. Antes de que pierda la poca cordura que me queda.”
The three strode out into the night, letting the door slam shut behind them with cold finality. The drive passed in a blur of neon and shadow, Tomas staring down at his phone, at the picture he’d taken of him and Noel sitting at the bar, both grinning like two idiots completely in love. A brilliant smile curved those pretty lips, crinkling the corners of Noel’s eyes. Tomas drank in the sight like a man dying of thirst, committing every detail to memory.
When they finally pulled up outside the nondescript suburban house, Tomas felt his beasts surge forward, but not so close he shifted. His vision sharpened, and every sense heightened. Smells were stronger, his hearing sharper. Inside, a TV was on, and someone sighed as the refrigerator kicked on.
He led the way up the front walk, the synchronized steps soundless.
Diablo said, low enough for only them to hear, “The kill is yours, but you’ve gotta at least me bust the door down. I love when a motherfucker pisses his pants at the sight of me.”
Tomas frowned at him. “No way.”
“You got to kill that hyena outside the warehouse,” Diablo quietly argued.
“Man’s gotta point.” Santiago smirked. “He needs to be a part of this, even if it’s a teeny tiny roll.”
Diablo scowled at Santiago.
Tomas rolled his eyes as he shook his head then gestured at the door. “Be my guest, crybaby.” Then his eyes narrowed. “That’s all you’re going to do besides watch my back. We clear?”
“As a crystal ball.” Diablo winked.
The brother wasn’t right in the head. Tomas and Santiago stepped aside, scanning the neighborhood.