Page 61 of Cruel Master

“But we’ll get her back,” the woman—Scarlett, he’d called her—said. “I promised her we’d help.”

“That was with her client,” Hadrian reminded his wife.

“Doesn’t matter.” Scarlett shook her head. “A couple of years ago, Eve got me out of a pickle—whether it’s her client or being kidnapped by her deranged sister, I owe her.”

“Eve?” I frowned back at the woman. I hated that damnable alias of hers. “Her name is Angel.”

“Right.” Scarlett nodded. “Sorry, it’s a habit.”

I eyed her again, but then my gaze drifted back to the building. She was in there somewhere. Scared? Probably. Reliving her father’s death? Most likely.

“So, what’s the plan, man?” Hadrian asked.

Just as I parted my lips, a new voice rang out in the darkness. “Take the mansion, obviously.”

The cavalry had arrived. Ian, Archer, and Jensen melted out of the woods like they’d always been there. Their bodies were laden with supplies—bags of weapons and ammo. As Jensen approached and tossed one at my feet, it landed with a loud thump. I didn’t hesitate to bend down and unzip the contents.

After Matteo and I had lost our main weapons to Jackie, we’d only had our backups in the car to rely on. Having a rifle back in my grip felt like coming home. I checked the boxes of ammo and found that they’d delivered on their promise. Once I’d hung up with Hadrian—and found out that I’d been right in my assumption that Jackie had captured Angel—I’d called them in, and this was what we’d been waiting for.

The bag contained several handguns, a sniper rifle, and enough bullets to take down an army. I glanced up at the men. “Thank you,” I said, meaning the words more than I ever had in my forty-one years on this earth.

Ian nodded. “You helped us with Perelli,” he said. “No thanks necessary.”

Matteo shifted closer to me and I handed him one of the guns from the bag. “How do you want to do this, boss?” he asked as he took the weapon and checked the clip.

“We hit them hard and fast,” I said. “We don’t give them room to fight back. They aren’t expecting more men.” I loaded another gun and stuck it into the back of my pants before casting him a warning glance. “Make sure the guys at the front are ready. I want you to circle around and lead them through.”

“You’ll go through the back?” he confirmed.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“You’re not going alone?” Matteo’s meaning wasn’t lost on me, especially not when he lifted a brow at the others lingering nearby.

“No, he’s not going alone,” Ian answered. “We’ll be with him.”

“They’ll watch my back, Matt,” I said. “Now go.”

He hesitated, but without much of a reason to refuse, he was forced to give me his nod and once he was gone, I threw myself into preparing to take the Price Estate. It’d been a long damn time since I felt my blood pumping like this, and familiar sensations were spiraling through me.

The thrill of the hunt sizzled in my veins. The knowing that blood would soon be coating my hands and that I would hold bodies and lives, once more, in my command made my insides riot with excitement. Perhaps, in another life, I could have been another man—one more deserving of Angel—but this wasn’t another life. This was here and now. This was our reality, and I was thankful for it because it meant that all of the darkness I held would now be used to protect what was mine. I only hoped she was still alive when I reached her because if she wasn’t … I shuddered to think of what I would do.

As if he could sense my thoughts, Ian moved to my side along with Archer. “She’ll be okay,” Archer said. “I think your girl’s stronger than you think.”

“She is,” Scarlett piped up.

I nodded and focused on loading another handgun. Maybe they were right. Angel was no longer the innocent eighteen-year-old who had been forced to marry me. She was older, wiser, and far more worldly now. She was intelligent. Creative. Intuitive. Resourceful. She’d escaped me not once, not twice, but three times. That was no easy feat, and yet she’d made it as simple as possible. She’d used my obsession against me, and even if it burned in my gut, I had to admire that too.

“We get in,” I started, shoving the second gun into my chest holster before I lifted the rifle and slung it over my shoulder. “We move fast—before they know what hits them.” I look to Archer. “You bring your field shit?”

His head lifted and fell. “Yup.” He patted the bag he carried. “Got all I need.” He turned to Hadrian. “Want to help me fuck up their security?”

Hadrian grinned in response. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“Alright,” Ian said. “Hadrian and Archer will stay behind, cut their cameras, and take down the fence’s defenses so that we can scale without getting our asses fried.” He reached into his own bag and pulled out several Bluetooth in-ear devices. He tossed one to each person in the vicinity before putting his own in. “We’ll use these to communicate.”

“I’m going too,” Scarlett said, stepping forward.

Hadrian practically growled. “No, the fuck you’re not,” he snapped. “You’re staying here with Archer and me.”

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