Page 72 of With This Ring

I look over at Nico. “How many are out there?” I ask, thumbing to the window.

“By my quick estimate, thirty. Maybe more. We could probably handle them if they just had guns but?—”

Another bang sounds in the house and it makes the whole house shake. “Bastards came with toys,” I finish the sentence.

“In.” Carter stands to the side and ushers us into the closet. No one in the room looks like they want to run away. It’s in our nature to stay and fight, but all of us know if we do, we’ll die.

Listening to the gunshots that sound outside, I know some of our men are being killed. My entire being urges me to run out and help them, but like Declan says, I need to be smart. A lot of the men we had patrolling are here now, so not everyone will be a casualty.

Despite Declan being the one to suggest we leave, indecision clouds his face. Stepping beside him, I grab his forearm. “You gotta be smart too,” I tell him.

His face morphs from indignation to resignation and he nods and steps around me. We all hurry single file through the secret door at the back of Carter’s closet no one would notice if they didn’t know it was there. When the last man is through, Carter locks the door and sets the alarm.

We take the back stairs down to the basement and instead of exiting out through the gym, Carter pushes through another door. He looks back at all of us. “We got about a mile walk, butthis tunnel leads to a service shed on another property. No one knows it’s mine. Follow me.”

We all follow behind Carter, the sounds of shooting and violence dimming the further we get away. Everything in me wants to turn back and put some bullets in people, but like Declan says, it’s not smart. I don’t want to just kill a few Fenster men; I want to kill the entire family. Strike their fucking names from the census.

“Dad,” I hear Carter say, his phone pasted to his ear. “We got hit. The Fensters are at my place. You need to get out of town, now.” He pauses for a few seconds to listen, then relief crosses his face. “Okay. I’ll let you know when we’re settled.”

Carter hangs up and meets Declan’s worried eyes. “He’s not in the country. He picked the perfect time to take a fucking vacation.” Declan nods, his relief palpable.

Once at the end of the tunnel, we arrive at a ladder with a trap door over top of it. Carter climbs to open it, pulling himself up. My breath freezes in my chest at having him out of my sight. I push through the guards that are at the bottom of the ladder, and I climb up myself, wanting to set eyes on Carter to make sure he’s okay.

He holds out his hand and I grab it so he can pull me up the rest of the way. I kiss him quickly, my heart still thumping hard in my chest. “You okay?”

“No. They’re probably slaughtering our men and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Yes there is. We can kill them all.”

When everyone is out of the tunnel and the door is closed, Carter slides a heavy beam over the covering. “If they find this place, they won’t be able to get through. Not without making the whole building cave in on them.”

The interior of the building we came out in looks nothing like any shed I’ve ever seen before. It’s the size of a five-car garage,with three large SUVs parked inside. The walls are bare, save for the keys for the cars. There’s enough space for us all to fit comfortably, but not room for much else. The floors are concrete and dirt, appearing almost unfinished.

Gavin, Nico and another one of the Whitlock men run over to the wall and grab the keys. If the SUVs fit eight people, we have just enough room for everyone to fit, even though it will be a tight squeeze.

After we quickly figure out the logistics of how we’ll travel, we pile into vehicles. Declan said it’s best if me and Carter ride separately, but neither of us was worried about that.

“I have a place right outside of Yorkley,” Declan says. “No one knows about it.” He looks at the two of us, his eyes boring into his brother’s. “Drive straight there. Don’t pass fucking go, Carter. You hear me?” Carter nods. Declan rattles off the address and Carter punches it into the GPS. Forty minutes away.

As soon as the doors of the shed open, all three SUVs shoot off, driving at a quick clip. None of us slow down until we’re about ten minutes out from Declan’s place.

The whole ride, I run through what has to be done. The Fensters will hurt for all the shit they’re doing. For killing Pop, for desecrating his grave and for almost killing us. I won’t rest until every single one is in the fucking ground.

“There’s only one way into my place out here,” Declan says through the open phone connection we have with him. “Surrounded by a lake and forests. Equipped with motion sensors in the woods and around the house. If someone tries to come down that road, we’ll know and we’ll be ready.”

As soon as we pull up in front of Declan’s house, we’re ushered inside and all the men that came with us besides Hendrix, Nico and Gavin stand outside the house, guarding us.

We all sit around a large table, no one saying anything for a few minutes.

Hendrix runs a hand over his low fade, his dark brown skin flushed with anger. “This is fucking bullshit. How are we going to pay those cocksuckers back for an attack like this?”

Carter and I make eye contact. I’m sure he’s thinking what I am. Whatever we plan, it has to be big. Big enough so no Fensters remain. And it has to send a message.

“I’m tired of being on the defensive,” I say, my anger rising again. “They fucked on top of my father’s grave and pissed all over it. I want them fucking dead. Yesterday.”

“How do you want to do that?” Declan asks, shooting me a flat look.

I reach behind my back and pull out my gun, slamming it on the table. “With this. We go to wherever they are, and fucking cut them down. Sam, Gabbi and Anthony are always together. It shouldn’t be too hard to find them.” When no one says anything, I push back from my chair and pace, pulling at my hair. “I’m not going to continue to run from them. Today was the last time. So, let’s fucking figure something out. No one leaves until we do.”

---