Page 78 of Lane

We’d had the other location scoped out. We knew what we were getting into in terms of where we could station men. Ulrich must have had this planned all along. It was easier for him to have the advantage if we were surprised along the way.

Glancing in the rearview mirror once Lane sat back in the seat, I saw tears running down his cheeks. I couldn’t do a damn thing about it from where I was. It tore my heart into pieces.

“We’re going to find him,” I said, trying to stay calm. One of us had to keep it together or this would be an epic fucking disaster. “He’ll be okay.”

“We can’t lose anyone else, Ray. I fucking can’t. Al didn’t have anything to do with this. Ulrich wanted Jordan and me. He wanted the money. Now Sheldon could be… And Al might be…”

“No, you’re not going to talk like that. Corbin will take care of Sheldon. Alton will be fine. What good is he to Ulrich dead? There’s no reason to kill him.” If I said the words firmly enough, I would believe them too.

We parked in the garage of Jordan’s building and rode the elevator to his floor. The moment we exited it, Vail was there to embrace us.

“I’m so sorry. You’ll find him and everything will be all right.”

We both hugged him, but my eyes were on Jordan, who stood behind Vail. Jordan’s hair wasn’t neatly combed like it usually was. His dress shirt had the top few buttons undone, and his tie was gone. He wasn’t handling this any better than we were.

The moment Vail released us, my brother filled my line of sight and drew me close with his hand on the back of my neck. “We’ll get him back. I fucking promise you, we’ll bring him home.”

That was when emotion slammed into me to the point I could hardly breathe. Not when Lane unleashed his anguish in the SUV. Not when Vail hugged us. It was my brother who almost brought me to my knees. Reghan wouldn’t ever let me fall though.

“I can’t…” I whispered and fisted his shirt at his back.

“You won’t.” Reghan didn’t need me to finish my sentence. He understood where I was going.

I can’t lose him.

I can’t bury him.

I can’t say goodbye.

I won’t.

The same words would have floated viciously through my head if it had been Lane. The truth was, we weren’t whole without Alton. We needed him with us, where he belonged.

Jordan cleared his throat, bringing my attention to him. He swam in front of me through the tears that had built in my eyes. I quickly blinked them away as Reghan stepped to my side, steadying me with his hand on my bicep.

Lane was there with his arm around my waist to walk with me to the table. We took seats next to one another while Jordan leaned his knuckles on the table.

“I’m going to start this by saying, Sheldon is being taken into surgery. He wasn’t shot. That would have been too loud. Ulrich stabbed him repeatedly. If the other doctors hadn’t deliveredfirst aid…” His eyes met ours. “If you hadn’t asked Barry to check the footage… Let’s just say, I don’t want to think about how the outcome would have been different. As it is, he’s not even close to being out of the woods. Rory will keep us updated once Sheldon is out of surgery.”

Jordan took a deep, steadying breath before continuing, “As for Ulrich and the fucking bullshit he pulled, I know you’re upset about Alton being taken. So am I. However, I don’t want you to worry or be fearful. That will work against you. I need you fucking angry. I need you ready to kill this motherfucker to get back the man you love and the one who’s been there for me whenever I needed him.”

He took a seat. “I’m going to wire Ulrich half the money to get Alton back when we meet. Once Alton’s with us, we kill Ulrich. I honestly don’t give a shit about the money at this point. I want this piece of shit dead. I want his blood coating my goddamn hands. I want my face to be the last fucking thing he sees because, how fucking dare he take who’s ours.”

I expected Lane to put up a fight, to tell Jordan he wanted to be the one to kill him, but Lane wasn’t angry. He was scared. We both were. Alton was our world, and we’d do anything for him.

“I don’t want you to keep paying me,” Lane said. “I’ll cover the cost. I don’t care if I have to work for you for the rest of my life.”

“Have you lost your goddamn mind?” Jordan growled. “It’s a lot of money, yes, but nothing I can’t easily part with. You’re my family, Lane. You, Raiden, Reghan, everyone in this fucking building. You’re mine. Alton too. The moment he agreed to work for me, he became one of us. He might not be the same or do what we do, but he’s been mine for years and I’ll be damned if I lose him. You and Raiden are his partners, but we’re all fucking family. Get that through your head. I protect mine. This asshole messed with the wrong people.”

I had no idea how to reply. Jordan wasn’t one to speak his feelings. To call us his family meant more than I could voice, not only me, but everyone who heard Jordan’s words.

Vail and Hartley sat on the couch, their arms around each other as they watched the man they loved threaten murder, while also being somewhat sweet with his words.

Barrett held my brother’s hand on the table as they looked at each other, communicating without words. Vincent and Oleander sat near each other. Oleander’s eyes were red. Sheldon was his best friend, a brother not by blood but one nonetheless. They’d been through a lot together. It had to be destroying him that he couldn’t be there. Oleander would want revenge for what happened to Sheldon.

Lane pushed his chair back and stood. He sat on my lap, his legs hanging off the side, not caring about the others in the room. “Hold me,” he whispered as he tucked his face against my neck.

I did. I reveled in his warmth and his beating heart. We weren’t sure what we were going to walk into. Anything could happen. I hoped we made it home safe, all of us.

---