Page 82 of Mine, Forever

“The girls will create a diversion…” Ronni jumped down into the boat, “… let’s go.”

I looked over at York, then at Aubrey, who had a stone expression on his face. Ronni was talking to Chaz who was steering the boat out of the marina and following the other boat. I moved to the front of the boat with York. Aubrey stayed back—alone—probably thinking about going back to prison tomorrow. He really had nothing to live for—this had been a mere glimpse of a life he wouldn’t ever be a part of.

“How many guns do you have on you?” I asked York, looking back to the front of the boat.

“Six. You?”

“Four. We need to split up once we get there. The sooner I get to Ebony, the better, but it’ll be me who kills John. You hear?”

York nodded. “Yep. If I find him first, I’ll pull him up for you.”

“Appreciate it. Can we trust Ronni?”

York didn’t respond right away causing me to look over at him. “Honestly, I don’t know her that well. I met her once when I was younger, but she was always a force to be reckoned with. When John turned on her, she conducted business away from the eye of the city, but you always knew she could get to you if you crossed her. I think, for now, we have no choice but to trust her.”

It did nothing to ease my nerves, but York was right, this was our only option. I looked out on the dark water as we approached a boat isolated by the others. It looked like it had been out here for a long time.How could I not have known about this?

I could vaguely see the Stilettos making their way up the side of the ship like cockroaches. We were fast approaching. I moved to the back of the boat and took off my jacket ensuring my guns had their safety clips off.

“Ready?” I asked Aubrey. He looked up at me as if I’d surprised him. He pulled himself up off the seat he’d been on and nodded. “I need the Aubrey Caine who was arrested back then, not the broken prison bitch. You got it?”

He looked me in the eye, something dark coming over him. “You know nothing of my time in there.”

“No, you’re right, I don’t, but I do know your daughter needs you to be the asshole you once were.”

He pulled a gun from his jacket and threw it to the side. Pushing it into his belt, he nodded at me, but I could tell he wanted to pull the damn trigger on me.

Ronni came up to us sensing the tension. “Sixty seconds. Focus on the task and not the hatred. Understand?”

She walked off before I could respond, Aubrey followed after her. York had my back as the boat came up beside the bigger one, one of the Stilettos had run a ladder over the side for us. Aubrey and Ronni were heading up first. My men all knew what to do, so I headed up the ladder after York my mind focused on one thing.

Ebony.

The boat was poorly lit, which I guess was by design. York made his way left while I turned right. Opening a door, I stepped through into a dimly-lit hall, my gun cocked. I jumped at the sudden loud noise of a gun going off somewhere underneath me.

Well, so much for stealth.

I ran down the hall looking in each room as I went. A staircase was at the end of the hall. Moving quickly down the stairs, I came to a level of doors everywhere. York came out of one of them, startling me.

“It’s me,” he said. I put my gun down. “The Stilettos opened fire. John hasn’t been found yet, but Chaz is still looking.”

“Take the doors on the right.”

York ran to the first door while I took off for the left side looking through the round portholes on each of the doors. Finally, there was one door left. A door with no window, unlike the others. I looked over at York who raised his pistol to the door lock and shot until it swung open.

When the door fully opened banging against the wall, I gasped at what I saw. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected to walk in on this. Ebony hung from two chains secured to the roof. Her bloodied body was slumped in a way that showed me he’d relentlessly tortured her, and she was barely hanging on.

Anger rolled through me propelling me toward her. I supported her body against mine to take the pressure off her wrists which were red raw, blood had been dripping down her arms to her shoulder. I felt something on my arm, something wet. Turning around, I gazed down at her back. Horror filled me as I saw the red, bloody, and glossy wounds all over her back from a visible lashing. Her skin was open from constant whipping, blood drying in between the skin and broken flesh.

“Jett,” York came over to me to help me with Ebony. I looked over to the open doorway to see Chaz pushing John to his knees. My father had a cruel smirk on his face as I locked eyes with him.

“Do you like what I did to her, son?”

Fury rode me like a bitch, forcing me to see red as I walked toward him. Hauling him up to his feet, I pulled the gun from my belt and cocked it against his temple.

“You sick fuck.”

“Careful,” he said. “Is that emotion you’re showing? I thought I’d taught you better than that.”

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