Page 64 of Filthiest Of Them All

Tatum

Five days…

Never in a trillion fucking years did I think I would be leading an army or be the one planning the attack to save Alexander Denver. Six months ago I would have laughed in your face and told you to lick my ass but now, I can’t stop myself from being in a constant state of worry. Anxiety is a bitch to live with on a good day but these past five days have been agony. It’s the not knowing part that is killing me. It feels so strange to be so consumed with worry and fear over someone other than myself, this is new to me and I can honestly say, I fucking hate it.

“The tracker’s been activated, we have a location!” I dart across the room to where Halo is sitting at the table with his laptop set up in front of him. Halo has been working tirelessly since Omen and Carnage decided three days ago to go after Alex. We had no way to know where he was being held and Devon has gone dark ever since he texted us a warning that we needed to get him out now.

Omen and Carnage offered to go to Desire and get taken, knowing she wouldn’t kill them. Carnage has a tracker on him that we’ve been waiting for him to activate. This is huge. Halo said we would get one shot since the tracker would be able to be detected if he was checked for transmitters. For both of them to offer themselves up like this shows just how much Alex means to them both.

“Where?” Pope asks as he peers over his other shoulder. Vatican comes to stand at the other end of the table with a tense look on his face, I know this whole situation is hard on them as well.

“Downtown Chicago, they’re being held at…” Halo clamps his mouth closed and frowns at the map on the screen.

“Spit it out!” Vatican snaps.

“They’re at the courthouse, well, underneath it by the looks of this thing,” Halo mutters as he zooms in on the map. I press in closer to get a better look but honestly, I have no idea how to read a fucking map, I rely on Siri calling out directions as I drive. “Why the hell would she take them there?” he wonders aloud.

“Because she has the cops on her payroll,” Pope grits out. I look up and meet his angry gaze.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“It means, we’ll have to go through the CPD to get to Alex and my brothers,” Vatican answers for him.

“How the fuck are we supposed to do that?” I exclaim.

“By calling in the favors you have garnered. Don’t second guess yourself, Tate. What you have accomplished in five days wouldn’t be possible for anyone else in fifty years.” Halo’s acknowledgment of my achievements these past couple of days has me preening, I admit, it wasn’t fucking easy but I did it. I have no idea who the inner badass was that I was channeling when I walked in that room three days ago, but I had those men eating out of the palm of my hand and I didn’t need to flash them my pussy to hold their attention.

“Can we trust them to keep their word?” I ask the guys as I look at each of them.

“Given what you have promised them?” Pope says then scrubs a hand down his face. “Yeah, I think you can because the demise of my family means the rise of theirs and they won’t pass that shit up.”

I release a breath and nod. “Okay, let’s make a call and then get ready to head to Chicago. I want to get Alex out of there because I don’t trust that bitch not to kill him.”

“She won’t kill him, Tate,” Vatican says, trying to ease some of my worries but fails.

“I didn’t mean literally. She’ll destroy his mind first because she knows he can withstand the torture anyone inflicts on him,” I admit bitterly.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Halo pushes.

I take a deep breath and meet his gaze with a firm look. “She’ll use Omen and Carnage against him. To truly destroy Alex she’ll hurt the ones he loves most.” All three of them stare at me like they never considered this option. I did. As soon as Omen and Car told us about their plan to cause a distraction so we could meet with the others, I knew Desire would use them to get to Alex.

“Fuck!” Pope roars and punches the wall, leaving a nice little hole in the wall. I frown at him and shake my head.

“Breaking things won’t change what’s happening,” I scold. I know they may all be older than me but the three of them haven't been thinking clearly since Alex was taken. I know they all harbor guilt over that but it wasn’t their fault. My brother is to blame. He set all of this into motion. That shit burns me deep. Nexus is no better than our father. I trusted him blindly because he saved me from being subjected to Thomas’s wrath that night at the crematorium with Vivian. I thought he did it because he cared about me. My need for family clouded my judgment, all I wanted was for someone to be there for me. I didn’t realize it then, but I already had that with Vivian, Nova and even their guys. Now, my circle has widened as I now have Alex and these guys who I care about… a lot.

“Make the call, Tate. We leave for Chicago as soon as the plane is ready. I want my brother’s back,” Halo grits out as he climbs to his feet and stalks out of the room. Pope and Vat follow after him with their heads down, I can see the tension wafting off them in waves. I know this has to be hard for them. I get it because much like them, I have to face off against my own sibling and that shit is a hard pill to swallow. I push those thoughts away because they will do nothing but eat me up inside, and I can’t afford for that to happen. I need to keep a clear head and focus on what’s important.

Alex.

I pull my phone from my pocket and bring up my group chat with Nova and Vivian and hit call. I wait for them to answer.

Vivian is the first to answer. “Hey, how are you holding up?” she asks.

“I’m okay,” I answer as Nova joins the call.

“I’m making this a Facetime,” Nova says a second before my phone pings, alerting me to accept the change. I do. Both their faces fill the screen and I hate that they both look worried, I never wanted to involve them in this but I was out of options. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I breathe out.

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