Page 92 of Pray for the Damned

I fight to keep myself awake, desperate not to allow myself to be dragged under, but when a series of shouts explode around me, my mind gives me no other choice but to fade into the darkness with two identical faces playing in my mind.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

KADE

ONE HOUR AGO

I force calming breaths into my lungs despite the unfamiliar emotion that tries to drag me under.

Panic.

My hands shake as I pace back and forth on the street corner, trying to figure out what my best play is here.

He has them both. My brother and my woman. The only two people on this godforsaken earth I care about, and I have no fucking idea how to get them back.

I’ve always prided myself on my self-control. It’s what got me through years of my dad pitting Emmett and me against one another, and it’s how I stayed in the shadows for as long as I did with Waverly. But right now, it’s so thin it’s bound to snap any second.

“I need a plan,” I murmur to myself.

I can’t just stand here. I need to do something, but I’m not sure what.

My father’s call came seconds after I realized Waverly’s tracker was gone, but Emmett’s wasn’t. The asshole that raised us is too cocky to think I wouldn’t track my own brother, which means I have a lock on their location.

The issue is that I have no clue what I’m walking into.

The business employs hundreds, and there’s no telling how many he brought with him to New York.

My phone vibrates in my hand, and I glance down to see a number I don’t recognize. “Kade,” I answer.

“It’s Elias. Waverly was dragged out of the club about ten minutes ago. I’ve been trying to get a hold of Emmett, but the calls are going straight to voicemail.”

“My father has them both,” I say and almost immediately regret the words. I can’t get them involved in this because I swore black and blue that our presence wouldn’t impact the Syndicate, and Elias and Wyatt helping us would be exactly that.

“How can we help? Wyatt and I are dropping Leighton off with Camilla and the guys, and then we can help bring them back.”

“Why?” The word slips from my lips before I can think twice about it.

“Because Waverly is part of the family, and our wife will be really pissed if we let something happen to her new friend.” It’s meant as a joke, but there’s no humor in his words. The situation we’ve found ourselves in doesn’t allow for it.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Send us the address, and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”

PRESENT MOMENT

“Get on the fucking ground!” Elias shouts as he and Wyatt step into the warehouse. Their semi-automatic rifles are expertly positioned on my father because no one would dare to shoot at them while there’s the risk of the boss being killed.

I draw my own gun from the back of my jeans and train it on him as well. He needs to die for an array of things, but most recently for putting hands on my girl.

I want to cut his fucking fingers off one by one for ever daring to touch what belongs to me, but something tells me Waverly wouldn’t be all that partial to the idea, even if he is an evil son of a bitch.

Emmett catches my eye, and I tug my knife from its holster, making quick work of the zip ties around his wrists before handing him the knife.

“Couldn’t bring me a gun?” he asks.

“I didn’t exactly have a lot of time,” I snap over my shoulder as I move toward my father.

Waverly’s body crumbled to the ground when he hit her, and my teeth grind painfully at how tiny she looks beneath the blanket they wrapped around her.

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