Page 16 of Ignite
I had only my voice to stop him from running, but it was no use. If I wanted a chance of stopping him, I had to cut him off. Jumping over a barrier wall that separated the parking levels, I managed to get in front of him.The cold, hard concrete floor stung my hands and knees as I hit the hard surface with a thud. My eyes burned from the pain shooting through my back. I couldn't let him run. Using all I had, I lunged at him, causing him to lose his balance. His body hit the concrete floor with a loud thud that echoed off the concrete walls.
The confusion in his eyes told me he knew he had been beaten, and I was now the stronger of two men. “Who the hell are you, and why did you run?”
He winced in pain before he spoke. “Get the fuck off me.”
There was no way I was going to let this guy go before I found out who he was. “Tell me who you are.”
I was getting nowhere with this guy. He refused to say another word. Reaching for my cell while holding him down, I dialed Davian and held my cell to my ear. As I waited for him to answer, I stared down at the guy, who was now sporting a bloody lip.
“Axe, where the hell did you go?” Davian asked, none too happy.
“I’m in the parking garage across from the hospital. I need your help. I’m on the lower lever, beneath the ground floor.”
I held the man in place against the concrete floor, my large hands pressing against his shoulders as I waited for Davian to arrive. He tried to squirm out of my grip, but without the use of his legs, he was pinned down. As I watched him, I felt like I recognized him. The way he stared back at me made me think I had seen him before. His face was familiar, but I couldn’t put a name to it. His expression was hard and resentful. I tried to remember where I might have met him, but nothing clicked. Given his size, I would have remembered him. He had an athletic build, which told me he liked to work out. His flannel shirt was stretched tight around his biceps. His hair was short and cropped close to his head, which told me he might have been in the military before. He was the type of man Van would hire to take out Margot.
“Let me go, asshole,” he hissed as he tried to get out of my hold.
“Not on your life. Tell me who you are and I might consider it.” It was a downright lie. No way was I going to let this guy go by just getting his name. I needed answers.
The more he squirmed to get out of my hold, the angrier I got. When he finally had no way of escaping, he told me his name. “My name is West McBride. I’m Levi’s brother.”
No wonder he looked familiar. Levi having a brother never crossed my mind. I couldn’t care less about his relationship with Levi. All I wanted was to know was what he was doing at the hospital. “What were you doing in the hospital?”
“Same as you.”
Before I could question him further, I heard footsteps coming my way. When I turned and saw it was Davian coming my way, I got to my feet and grabbed Levi’s brother by the collar and lifted him off the ground. I hadn’t noticed it before, but once he made eye contact with me, he was a good two inches taller than me. Because of his build, he could have easily given me a run for my money. Why, then, was he so easy to take down? Unless he was surrendering freely.
I didn’t have time to think as Davian stepped between us. “Axe, let go of West.” Davian said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.
Surprised and annoyed, my military training kicked in and my body responded on command. I released my hold of West and looked back at Davian. “Don’t tell me you know this asshole.”
Davian smiled in amusement and shook his head slowly back and forth. “West, meet Axe Riley. One of the men ofThe Society.”
Things couldn’t have gotten any stranger. Not only did Davian know this guy, he introduced me as one ofThe Societymen. A huge mistake, since we were trying to keep our group a secret from those who would stand against us.
“I know Mr. Riley well,” West said, before sticking out his hand to shake mine. Taken aback by his actions, I took his hand and shook it quickly.
“What the fuck?” I responded in a confused tone as I looked over at Davian for answers.
~
After the initial shook of Davian knowing West disappeared, the three of us headed back to the hospital. Davian thought it would be best to wait for an explanation until we were all back at the warehouse. I, on the other hand, wasn’t about to wait. The two of them knew each other, and before we left the parking garage, I wanted an explanation.
“I’m not moving until you tell me how you two know each other.” I crossed my arms at my chest and waited.
As though it was an inconvenience, Davian ran his hand through his hair and proceeded to walk away. “Not now, Riley.”
One way or another, I was going to get an answer. Placing my hand on West’s chest, I stopped him from taking another step. “Tell me how you know Davian.”
West’s eyes went to Davian, still walking away from us. It was only after Davian disappeared from view that he spoke up. “About a month ago, I got a strange call from my brother. He said he was in trouble and told me to reach out to Davian Cross. I had no idea what kind of trouble my brother was in. Needless to say, Davian agreed to meet with me. At first, I couldn’t believe what Davian told me. Levi was a dumb kid and always getting into some kind of trouble, but after talking with Davian and learning what my brother did, I found out that Levi wasn’t the brother I thought he was. While I was off protecting my country, he was working with known criminals.”
I should have been angry at Davian for not telling me, but I wasn’t. When Kenzi first told me about Levi and what he had done, I wanted to kill him. The way I acted, Davian had every right to keep his relationship with West from me. He saw that my hatred for Levi was impeding finding Kenzi. I wasn’t even sure if I believed this cocksucker. “You still haven’t told me why you were at the hospital, McBride.”
“I was sent there to keep an eye out for anything, or rather anyone, suspicious.”
“By who? Your brother?” I hissed.
“No. Davian.”
