Page 41 of Unbreakable
"Remi, babe. Come here." Glory coaxes, and Remi runs into her aunt's arms. The kid is smart. She knows. Without another word, I walk out of the room and downstairs with my boys at my back. It's time for some fuckin' heads to roll. If that means I have to tear up this town, and search every goddamn house in Polson, then so be it. And when I get my Little Bird back home, I'm going to tan her ass for this stunt. And Ronan De Burca is going to be wishing for death by the time I get through with him. The same time we make it to the main room of the clubhouse, Victor walks in from outside with a stern look on his face.
"What is it, Victor?" Demetri asks from behind me.
"Found Miss Cohen's car on a private road off of Highway 54. It had been set on fire. I found this about thirty feet from what was left of her vehicle. No signs of her inside." He says handing me a crumpled piece of paper. The words Grace has written on them nearly brings me to my knees. Tucking the paper into the pocket of my cut, I look around me at my boys who are waiting for their President to give them instructions.
"Time to saddle up. It's go time. This shit ends today."
Straddling my bike, I lite a cigarette and wait for Quinn to make his rounds with the brothers handing out extra artillery. When he makes his way to me, he passes me a clip belt along with six loaded clips and two grenades. Raising my eyebrow at him, he shrugs his shoulder and says. "Better to be safe than sorry."
A few minutes later we're all loaded, saddled and ready to go when Bennett comes limping out of the clubhouse with his arm cupping his side and his head wrapped in a bandage. Emerson is hot on his ass and pissed off.
"What the hell you think you're doing?" I ask. Not sparing me a glance, he mounts his bike. "I'm going to get my wife. That's what the hell I'm doing. And before you say another word, ask yourself what you would do in my situation. Would you lay your ass in bed, or roll some heads and get your woman back? I heard about Grace, so I already know what your answer would be, brother."
"Fuck, Prez. Can't argue with him there." Quinn cuts in.
Just as I see Emerson about to open her mouth and protest, a big black SUV comes barreling through the front gate and skids to a stop right in front of us sending dirt and gravel flying everywhere. And before the truck comes to a complete halt, every one of my men is off their bikes and has their weapons drawn and pointed directly at the SUV. We are shocked by who we see come flying out of the driver side door. Lisa.
"Lisa!" Bennett hollers jumping off his bike knocking it down in the process and they run into one another's arms.
"Oh, god! I thought I had lost you." She sobs into Bennett's neck.
"I love you, baby. I love you so much." Bennett tells her in return while holding her face in his hands and peppers kisses on her lips.
After respectfully giving my friends a moment to collect themselves I come up behind Lisa and place my hand on her shoulder. "I hate to do this now, sweetheart, but time is of the essence. We need to get to Grace. I need you to tell us everything that happened and where Ronan is keeping her."
"Fine, but let's do it on the way there," Lisa tells me as she makes her way over to Nikolai's SUV.
"Where the hell you think you're going, woman?" Bennett snatches her arm halting her movements.
"To get Grace. And before you try and protest, you best remember I am the only one who knows where they are, and it would be a hell of a lot easier for me to show you than tell you. So, don't bother trying to pull the stubborn alpha card on me, Bennett. Now I suggest we all get our asses in gear and go get Grace."
Without another word, Bennett and I follow Lisa and hitch a ride with Demetri and Victor. We know better than to argue with our momma bear. Before climbing in, I see Logan talkin' to his brother. Nikolai volunteered to stay and watch over the family along with one of Demetri's men and O'Rourke. Once we pile into the truck, Lisa instructs Victor to turn left out of the compound and head east.
"Lisa, I want you to tell me everything that happened. From the time you were taken up until you got out." She goes on to recount the events from when she and Bennett were run off the road and witnessing him get shot. I can tell by the crack in her voice when saying that part; she truly believed she had lost him.
"You would be so proud of Grace, Jake. All she was concerned about was getting me out of there."
"How were you able to escape?" I ask.
"We kicked one of Ronan's goon's ass, is what we did. When he came into the room we were being held in, I busted a lamp over his head, and Grace kneed him in the face. I am pretty sure she broke his nose too. Once he passed out after I broke a drawer across his face, I found a set of keys in his pocket and Grace took his gun from the inside of his coat. We broke the window, and she helped me out. Grace didn't have time to follow before someone started trying to kick the door in. She begged me to go--to run. I knew at that point and so did she, that me making it back to the clubhouse was her only hope. So, I hauled ass to their SUV and got gone, but Jake, there's something else."
"What is it, sweetheart?" I ask even though I know I don't want to hear the answer.
"Just as I was driving off, I heard a gunshot. I'm sorry, Jake. I didn't want to leave her. I didn't know what else to do. All I could think about was getting to you all as fast as I could." She cries, and Bennett pulls her into his chest.
"You did good, Lisa and I'm damn proud of ya, you hear. Damn proud."
A few minutes later we're riding in silence, and the only thing I can hear is the beating of my own heart and my adrenaline kicks in the closer we get to our destination. Lisa informs us we are about five minutes out from the house Ronan is keeping Grace when Victor pulls off to the side of the road and my brothers follow suit. The whole scene feels a bit like Déjà Vu from when Bella and Alba were taken a couple of years ago. With his rifle slung over his shoulder, Reid takes off. He knows the drill. The rest of us men are silent as we ready ourselves. I take a moment to eye each one of my boys. Logan and Gabriel have been in my shoes. They understand what is at stake and that my woman's life is on the line.
"I want to make things clear before we go in. You all do what you got to do to get my girl out of that house, but that motherfucker Ronan is mine." I declare. "Now let's go in there and show those pussies what happens when you fuck with the Kings."
22
Grace
When I come to, I feel a little disoriented, and my right eye is partially swollen from the blow I took to the face. I'm unable to move my arms. Turning my head, I look to see why. I'm also on my knees, with my arms outstretched, and both wrists are bound with rope to pipes sticking out of the walls on either side of me. With little movement and barely able to see through one eye, I can't get a good look at my surroundings. The lighting is very dim, and it smells a bit musky like mildew. The floor at my knees feels like concrete, which leads me to believe I might be in the basement of the house. Tugging on the ropes causes a burning pain to shoot along my shoulders from the extreme tension on my muscles.
Another thing I notice is how cold I am. Looking down at myself, I realize my clothes are gone. The only article of clothing on my body is my cotton panties.Oh My God. How long was I out?What else has he done to me?I close my eyes. Pure panic sets in as I ignore the stabbing pain I'm inflicting on myself by trying to break free. I knew what I was walking into and all the possibilities that came along with my choice to come here, but fear has a way of lurking in the shadows, and right now it has its claws sunk into my chest.
