Page 88 of Into the Fire

“That’s great news. So then you can tell me where I can find Bianca. Dominic would really like his wife back.”

“Man, shit’s bad. I-I need a minute, OK?” Drake sighed.

“We don’t have a minute, Drake. If you don’t give me what I want, then we’re all coming for you. Is that something you’re prepared for?”

“Fucking just hold on,” Drake snapped.

Silence greeted us for a moment. I glanced over at Dom to see him looking like he was ready to jump the phone like it was Drake.

“I’m not with the lords. I left when shit went down,” Drake said, coming back on the line.

“And what went down?” Cole asked like he was discussing the weather.

“I’m sure you’re with the kings now. I’m sure you already know.” Drake let out a big sigh.

“Vasiliev raped Bianca,” Cole said softly, his voice shaking.

Drake grew quiet. “I left. I don’t kno—”

“Don’t fucking lie to me!” Cole shouted, letting loose with the monster he actually was. I knew he was thinking about our Rosie going through this. It was safe to say none of us were relaxed about any of this. It had us all on edge.

“This is fucking insane!” Drake snarled back like he was trying to be quiet but getting angry. “Fucking god damnit! Iwasn’t interested in going to war with the fucking kings. I never was. My interest was taking out the fucking Bratva here and being free of this shit. And now I’m caught in the middle of all the fucking bullshit. You want to know what’s going on? Bianca was raped. Beaten. They planned on killing her. In fact, the plan was to lure the kings there under the pretense that they’d be able to save her. The lords were going to kill them, take the cash, and kill Bianca. Game fucking over.”

Dom went so silent he wasn’t even breathing. Vincent visibly shook where he sat. Levin grabbed his hand when he tried to get up.

“Where is Bianca now?” Cole asked, clearing his throat, his voice still shaking.

“I don’t know.”

“You didn’t leave before it happened, Drake,” Cole murmured. “I know you stayed.”

Drake was silent for so long that I wondered if he’d hung up. “I stayed through some of it. I couldn’t take it, so I pulled my gun. That’s why the feed cut off. I tried taking out the lords. One against four isn’t a fair fight. I couldn’t win, so I got the fuck out of there.”

“And Bianca?” Cole pressed, a note of hope in his voice.

“They still have her,” Drake answered, his voice wobbling. “I’m sorry.”

“Where do they have her?”

It took Drake a moment to answer. “I can’t fucking believe I’m doing this,” he muttered and let out another sigh. “I want to know I’ll be left the fuck alone. No one comes after me once I give you this information. That includes the horsemen and the fucking kings.”

“You have my word,” Enzo spoke up. I nodded with E.

“And mine,” Dom finally said.

“Fuck, De Santis,” Drake husked out. “Man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know this shit was happening until last night. Fallon outed Tate for having Bianca. It was the first I’d heard of it. I’ve been with the horsemen for a while now. I push sugar for them. I’ve wanted out of the lords for a long ass time. I’ve been planning to take their asses out for so long now. I could have gone to them, or even you, last night, but I saw it as my chance to finally end them. I didn’t have the location to where she was being held, so I had to play along until I got there.”

“Drake, you really fucked up,” I said with a sigh, voicing what I knew everyone else was thinking. “You should have told us.”

“Like I said, I was desperate to get rid of them. They’ve been ruining my life since I was a kid.”

E gave a shake of his head and said nothing.

“I want you to all know I didn’t touch her. Her condition. . .” Drake’s voice trailed off. “Dominic, she’s bad. Tate fucked her up while he had her. This entire ordeal might take her life.”

Dom shook, his jaw tight as he stared at the phone.

“Where is my wife?” he rasped, his voice trembling with emotion.

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