Page 94 of Chase

Harrison’s jaw drops a fraction as he searches her face, his mind running so fast I can almost hear it. “Fuck, Vi. Are you? Are we?” he stutters.

“Yes, baby. You’re going to be a daddy again.” Her hand lifts to his cheek, and he closes his eyes. I know Harrison has been desperate for Violet to get pregnant. Even though he treats Evie as his own child, they’ve both been keen to add to their family. “You need to come home for our children,” she tells him fiercely.

“I will.” He leans in and kisses her again; Samantha and I turn away to give them as much privacy as we can in the car. It hits hard that the older we get, and as more people enter our lives, the stakes get higher each time we face danger. Every day, our lives grow, but with that, so does what we can lose.

Samantha reaches for my hand, our fingers interlinking. She sits them on my knee. We both look out of the windshield our minds whirling with what may happen in the coming minutes and hours. Since she told me she loved Connor, I’ve flitted between determination to bring him back, hurt, and jealousy. I wonder if she would feel the same if it were me who was missing; would my removal make her want me more?

“How do we know he’s in there?” she asks me, and I shrug.

“We don’t. We have to hope that the location tag was to help us find him. If not, and we’re jumping to the wrong conclusions, it could all be for nothing.” I lift a hand and wipe my brow. I’ve never been more terrified than I am now. My brother’s life depends on me, on us, on our friends, and we have no idea who the actual enemy is or what his disappearance is really connected to.

“I love you,” she whispers, and I turn to face her. “Come back for me, and bring your brother too. We all need each other.”

I lean forward, my forehead pressing against hers. Closing my eyes, I allow a tear to roll down my cheek. I’ve never felt more vulnerable than I do now in all aspects of my life. My heart, head, and future could be blown to pieces depending on how this plays out. “I love you too, Trouble. I’ll bring him back for you. Remember, if you see anything, sound the horn and I’ll come for you.”

Without waiting for her response, I push open the door and step out into the street. My friends appear from their respective seats.

The old hospital is located in a poor area of the city surrounded by rundown apartment blocks. No one is on the streets. Cars are scattered around, a lot with tires too flat to drive. Every other property seems to have an old sofa in the garden as trash cans decorate the flowerbeds.

“This place is as terrifying as it ever was. The screams, fuck—I swear I can still hear them.” Harrison shudders, his focus fixed on our target. “Do you think they’ll be waiting for us?” he asks as we cross the road and reach the huge black iron gates marking the entrance.

“If they’re here, whoever they are, I have no doubt they will be,” Damon says. He stops as we step through the gates, touching the heavy chain clearly cut with bolt cutters.

We all pause beside him, looking up at the huge sandstone building. The old blue signs directing patients to various parts of the building still hang on the damp walls. Every window appears to be boarded up. Broken glass lies across the entrance. We pull our guns from our belts and make our way across the carnage to the front door.

“Clear,” Hunter advises as we move inside the building. The wooden boards ripped from the front doors are lying discarded on the floor.

“What are we looking for?” Harrison muses as all our eyes scan the space.

“Any sign of life,” I say as a car horn blasts in the distance. I spin to face it just in time to see a brute lifting his weapon in my direction. A second man appears beside him; then I feel eyes on my back.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” the first man says. “You certainly took your time. That poor brother of yours will think you don’t love him.” I look over the men’s shoulders to where Violet and Samantha are. There’s no movement around them, and I feel a little relief. During our drive over, we planned not to hide our arrival; sometimes, you must be brazen to find out what’s truly going on. Today, what we need is to find out exactly what the fuck this is all about.

“Hello, boys,” Hunter says, his face splitting into a wide smile. He spins his gun on his finger and slides it back into his belt. “How lovely for you to come and greet us.”

“Give us your guns,” the man barks, and Hunter shakes his head. The asshole wiggles his weapon in the mafia don’s direction. “Gun. Now.”

“Do you know who I am?” Hunter asks him, straightening to his full height and not looking in the least concerned that we are outnumbered or surrounded. The henchman blinks as if confused by the question. “Have you heard of Hunter Devane?”

“You're not him,” a second man scoffs. “Hunter Devane is the most feared man in London. He wouldn’t just walk in here. He wouldn’t be that stupid.” I roll my eyes as Hunter puffs his chest out. His slim frame gives people the wrong idea of how deadly he can be. “You couldn’t skin a banana. Devane can skin a man alive in minutes.”

“I appreciate the sentiment,” Hunter says. “But it would take longer than a few minutes to flay a whole body; perhaps a hand I could complete in the two-minute time period.” His hands move to his hips, and he bares his teeth once again. The men surrounding us look at one another, bemused by the strange character holding court.

“Bullshit!” the second man says, waving away Hunter’s claims. “You’re nothing but a lowlife idiot. Head of the Irish Mafia, my ass. Maybe you should be checking in here, mate.”

Hunter moves fast; his knife lodges directly in the bastard's eye. He wails, grasping at his face. The men behind us pounce forward. One grabs my arms and pulls them behind my back. Hunter spins, swinging a second blade from side to side.

“Who’s next?” he asks with a laugh. “Does anyone else want to question my identity?”

“I’ll shoot,” the first man stammers. “I’ll kill you.” Hunter glances over his shoulder. The man stabbed through the eye falls to the ground on his back. Hunter walks up and pulls the knife from the wound. The man groans like an animal whose life is seeping from its body.

I realize that Harrison and Damon are nowhere to be seen. They’ve gone, as planned, taking advantage of the distraction. If we ran into trouble, we were to split up. Hunter was to stay with me. He loves facing up to an enemy.

“I’ll shoot,” the bastard says again.

“I dare you,” Hunter responds. “It will be the quickest way to die. Take me out, and my family will seek revenge on you one person you love at a time. You would have written yours and their death sentences.” He raises an eyebrow. “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?” Everyone falls silent. The men with the guns look at each other, completely lost at how to deal with the situation. “Let go of my friend and take us to your boss,” Hunter barks. “We need to know what the fuck’s going on.”

One man nods to the other, and my arms fall free. I shrug to release the tension. Two men walk ahead of us into the building, another following behind.

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