Page 69 of Cruel Savior

Her eyes popped open and she blinked several times as if attempting to clear her vision. "Axel?"

"Yep. We just got done with the meeting and found you all in the truck. Can you remember what happened?"

She started coughing and I helped her lean forward to get it out and take a breath or two of fresh air. "There was some kind of gas," she choked out. "It burned."

"Did you see where it came from or who did it?"

She didn't answer right away, and it didn't sound like JD was having any better luck in the backseat. "C'mon, hon. I know you probably don't feel good, but I need any information you can give me. Mandy's been taken. Was it your brother? Did he attack you all?"

She shook her head amidst violent coughs. "No," she managed before another series of coughs tore through her small body.

"It wasn't him," came a rough voice from the backseat. I turned to Tel. "Then what the hell happened? I need to know who has her. We have got to get her back before it's too late."

"It washer," he said. "She did this."

I couldn't figure out what the hell he was talking about. "Her? Her who? Izzy?" That made no fucking sense at all. That asshole may be her brother by blood, but she'd never met him. No way in hell she would help him kidnap Mandy.

"Let's get Houston awake. Maybe between the three of them we can put the puzzle together. They aren't making sense," I agreed. JD propped up Tel, went back around to the driver's side and yanked that door open. "Hand me the ammonia."

I did as told, and then settled Izzy back against the seat. She was still coughing, and until she got control of it, we weren't getting answers.

Like Tel, Houston did not wake easy. By the time he stirred, Izzy finally seemed to have some control. "Is he okay?" she rasped.

"Seems like it. I don't know what you were hit with and what repercussions it might have though."

"This wasn't my brother," she whispered. "At least not directly." She hesitated, looking directly at me when she finally spit it out. "Amanda did this. Said she didn't feel good and had to step outside. There was a canister in her bag.” She pointed at the rear floorboard, but it was empty and my mind couldn't comprehend what she was saying. "It filled the cab with gas before we could do anything to stop it."

And now my brain was about to explode. "Mandy? You're sure."

"Yeah," Tel agreed. "I wasn't quick enough to stop her. It happened so fast."

"What about the rest of the guys? Where the hell are they? You had practically the whole club for this. How did one woman get a jump on all of you?" JD's voice sounded dangerously on edge, resembling the same angry emotions making their way through me.

"We sent them after Mazzeo. She got a call on her phone, said it was her government contact and they had a lead on where he was. We were afraid if we waited, we might miss our opportunity. So, we split them up. Left some of them a block over in case we needed backup here, and the rest to a warehouse in SoDo based on her intel. We had no reason to believe she would lie to us."

My blood boiled as Tel continued to paint the picture. Mandy had used us all along for information until she could hunt the killer on her own.

All her bullshit about working together had been all part of an act. I hadn't even bothered to question her easy cooperation. I'd gotten one taste of her pussy and fell completely into her trap.

While she’d plotted out how she would escape and once again, leave her loved ones behind.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Amanda

As I approached the penthouse,a shiver worked down my spine. Everything about this place told me I’d made the right decision. I also didn’t know how long I had before Axel would find me. Since Izzy had given us the places to look, and Tel had done the research, they were bound to put two and two together and figure out where I’d gone.

Even sooner if the new corporation in charge had confirmed this location.

Of course, coming here without backup might be the dumbest thing I’ve ever done. But I could see too many things going wrong if the entire club came at this place all at once. This guy wasn’t stupid, he’d know long before anyone made it inside.

Not to mention, everyone wanted a piece of him now, and he was mine. From the moment that head had been delivered to my door. Either I’d kill him or he’d kill me. It was that simple.

I reached into my bag of tricks and pulled out the extra weapons I’d brought with me and strapped them to my body. Two guns and a knife suddenly felt like not enough, but they would have to do. These were the obvious necessities, but likely not the ones to do the trick.

I was counting on the fact that while he’d see me coming, he would also underestimate me.

I looked down at my phone and confirmed that the security system was still disabled. Tel wasn’t the only one who knew his way around a computer. My tablet had been more than enough to gain access. All that was left was for me to get through the front door and—

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