Page 41 of Unholy

I kiss the top of her head, my lips moving against her hair. “I don’t think he knows.” Blowing out a deep sigh, I squeeze my eyes as I continue. “I have reason to believe this has to do with the disappearance of Brad’s head. It definitely escalated things before when we had originally anticipated everything to kick off. I am so sorry, Puppet.”

Rylee sobs harder into my chest. Wearing just a white tee, I can feel her tears soaking through the fabric and my heart fucking hurts for my sweet girl.

Elijah always means well, but this time he has fucked up royally. And instead of him paying for it, Greta, Rylee, and all the others who relied on The Ranch are suffering.

Catching me off guard, Rylee’s hands brace on my chest and push me away. My feet stumble over one another from the sudden movement.

“Get away from me!” she shrieks. “And stay away from my family.”

I don’t get the opportunity to respond because she is already walking past me to get to her grandmother. I love my kid, but today I am really questioning why. He acts so impulsively sometimes and never deals with the consequences of his actions, I am always left cleaning up after him. And I know he can’t fucking help it, but dammit.

My phone buzzes again. Looking down at it, another message has come through, this time it’s Rain, and whenever I see her or we talk, I thank whoever I need to for bringing her to us. And as I read what she’s typed, all my reactionary resentment washes away.

Rain

I gotchu, Papa. Our boy will have to learn one day lol.

She has slowly startedto call me Papa shortly after finding out they were pregnant, maybe to prepare me, but a part of me hopes it’s because she can trust me, and I protect and love her as if she were my own blood.

We are so similar, always on the same wavelength, and she can put Elijah in his place with the snap of her fingers, and it’s a pleasure to watch. He can also bring out her crazy, which I always get a kick out of. They truly balance each other. Soulmates and partners for life, without a doubt in my mind.

But before Rain gets to him, I need him to do something for us.

Turning around, the house is pretty much gone; the flames still roar and everything is burning with the exception of the wooden swing set in the yard.

A few people come up to me. Their mouths are moving, but I can’t hear anything they are saying. My mind is racing, planning and analyzing which move makes the most sense without risking more loss.

Dalton is reacting, he isn’t thinking. He is likely celebrating this victory. Father like son, both arrogant and narcissistic.

I shout, “ELIJAH!” Everyone around me freezes.

Casually, he walks up to me. “Yeah?”

“Handle it,” is all I have to say for him to understand.

He nods and calls out, “Thomas.”

Right, because he can’t go anywhere without his pet anymore.

Looking to Thomas, he says, “Involve the Antichrist.”

He very seriously responds, “Of course, Duke.”

They both take off to the waiting Range Rover and peel out of here in a hurry.

I give Greta and Rylee space to mourn and keep an eye on them from a distance.

Pulling my phone back out, I message D.

It’s go time, brother.

D

He responds with a thumbs-up.

Fabulous.His enthusiasm is always top fucking tier.

Hair has fallen over my forehead, my fingers push it back, with Rogers being next on my list of people to call. He answers after the first ring, eagerly, but I speak before he can. “We need to find a house for the others to work out of that’s safe. I don’t want them losing money or clients because of this shit.” I don’t wait for his response before hanging up, simply because I don’t have time to waste. I then send a quick message to Ryder, letting him know that shit is maybe going down. He is supportive and offers help if needed.

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