Page 99 of Brutal Knight

I rush past him before he can finish talking, throwing open the door to the armory. It’s a small room tucked away and locked at all times, hiding a stash of weapons for whatever the occasion is. I don’t pay much attention to what I throw into our bags. I’m sure Edward has everything and anything on hand.

For all we know, he’s barricaded himself with a whole laundry list of weapons. At this point, I’m worried he’s not doing this just to get Willow and her power back. I’m worried it’s personal.

I’m not afraid of Edward Channing. I’m worried about what he might do to Willow.

I slam a fist into the door when I finish loading the bags. I wish the man was right in front of me. I wish he wasn’t such a coward, that he’d meet me face-to-face. He shot me in the back. I know he’s weak. He has no spine. He did the easy thing, the thing he knew would get him Willow. He was willing to paint a target on his back to do it.

He’s the worst kind of man, and all I want is to find him and kill him. He’s crossed the line in a way that’s unforgivable.

I swing the door to one of the lockers shut. My shoulder aches, a dull throb traveling down my arm. The gunshot hurts like a bitch, but I ignore it. I’ll be fine. The only thing that matters right now is finding Willow.

I leave the armory, and as soon as I do, I hear Aiden on the phone. I jog faster to catch the tail end of his conversation.

“Yeah? All right, good. We’re going to head that way. Keep an eye out. I don’t know what he’s thinking. He’s got a death wish.”

Aiden hangs up and Lachlan nods sharply before turning to me. “Kade found the car parked outside a warehouse. We have him.”

“Then let’s go.”

“Wait a second. We need to know what we’re going to do.”

“Get her back,” I say, aggravated. I know I’m being edgy, but I can’t help it.

Aiden’s hand squeezes my shoulder. “I know as well as you what this is like. But he’s right. If we run in there without a plan, we could all end up shot.”

“Fine. Then what?”

Aiden checks his gun as he answers. “Kade said it’s going to be pretty dark. Close quarters. There are other warehouses around it, so if we keep low, we can sneak in. We’ll have to handle a few of his men, but we might be able to surprise him.”

“Right. But we have to be careful, or it’s blown and we all get fucked,” Finn agrees dryly. “So just keep the silencers on, all right?”

“It’s a plan.” Lachlan looks at me, gaze steady. “Are you ready?”

I don’t want to waste any more time, but I take a second to inhale and exhale. I know they’re right. If I go in stupid, I’ll just leave myself open to getting shot—and then I can’t save Willow.

If I want this to work, I have to be sharp. I have to be ready.

“Yeah,” I say. “I’m ready.”

We leave the club, and I take one last look at it over my shoulder. I’m not dying today if I can help it, but I know that’s not always something we can control. There’s a chance we’re walking into a shitshow.

All I know is that I won’t let Willow stay in her father’s grip for a second longer. If I have to lay my life down to make sure she comes back, I will. I know my family will look after her. I don’t care who I have to kill or if I have to bleed out again for her.

She’s my wife, and no one will touch her as long as I’m alive.

Tristan is waiting for us when we leave. I can’t believe he’s here, but one look at his dangerous eyes tells me he’s just as furious as the rest of us are. He might be the corporate man that never gets his hands dirty, but this crosses a line.

The trip seems to take hours, although I know it’s barely minutes. I’m itching to jump out and just run, frustrated that I have to wait to find Willow and make sure she’s okay.

When we reach the warehouses, Lachlan turns the headlights off and slows to a crawl. He stops the car far enough from the warehouse for us to get out and quietly make our way toward the one where we know Edward is hiding.

The others grab their guns from the bag. I already have the only thing I need—the gun my father left behind, one of the only things I ever received from him. I never had the chance to get my first weapon with him, to share that rite of passage with him.

I know he’d be right here with me if he could. So I’m going to use his gun to do the one thing I wish I could have done as a child. I’m going to protect the woman I love, the family I’ve made. I’m going to kill the man who threatened to destroy everything.

There’s a man outside the wall we approach. He’s patrolling, it looks like. There are probably men at the other corners of the building too. Lachlan and Aiden split away in one direction. Tristan and Finn go the other way.

I stay right where I am and silently dash toward the man in front of me.

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