Page 74 of When it Raynes

“If it were me, I’d break her and send her back to Saint James beaten and bloody,” the big guy says menacingly, and I stare at him with wide eyes.

Hopefully he doesn’t have any kind of clout with the big guy.

I’m dragged through the building and up the stairs into the VIP area. The memory of coming up here for the first time just a couple of weeks ago washes over me. I had a bad feeling that night. I should have listened to my gut and got the fuck out of there. But then, from what Rayne has told me, these wheels have been in motion for a lot longer than a few weeks. They’ve been in motion since I first started working here.

Angelo Russo sits in the end booth looking over the club, just like he did the first night we met. His short hair is styled, the dark locks peppered with specks of white. But it’s his eyes that make me want to throw up all over his expensive loafers. All I see when I look into them is death. Dark and unfeeling pupils watch me as I get closer and closer to what he believes to be my fate.

“My dear, Emerson.” Angelo stands to greet me like the gentleman I know he isn’t. “Why what a day you must have had, you’re bleeding, my dear.” His eyes sweep over my body before stepping forward to kiss my cheeks. “How pretty you are covered in blood. Perhaps I will have to make you bleed more often.”

The nausea I originally contributed to my head injury hits me in another wave and I barely manage to swallow it down. Something tells me actually throwing up on a man like Angelo might be my own death sentence.

“She says she married Saint James last night and the papers were filed this morning,” one of the guys relays the lie I’ve told.

Angelo pulls back, his eyes flaring with anger. “Is this true, Emerson?”

I nod slowly. “Yes.”

“Doesn’t that mean we’ve just started a war?” Paul asks from his seat beside Angelo. I didn’t even notice him as I was marched to what may be my fate.

“Yes, cousin. That’s exactly what it means,” Angelo growls, his hand moving so quickly I would have missed it if it didn’t wrap around my throat and cut off my airway. “She’s nothing but one of the Saint James whores.”

“Are we going to send her back to them?” he asks.

Angelo nods, his eyes locking with mine. “Piece by piece.” He smiles wickedly.

42

Rayne

Ipace the boundary of our territory. I can see Aces from where I’m wearing a path into the asphalt, men covering every entrance and patrolling the streets.

Without walking straight into rapid fire, I have no idea what the fuck we’re going to do, but we have to do something soon. I can’t stand being away from Emerson, not when I know how much danger she’s in. Her fear is potent in the air, making each breath harder to drag in than the last.

I would have gone in alone if Tommy and Storm didn’t hold me back when I tried. It would be like walking into a war zone on my own. I was no good to Emerson dead, and ever since I’ve been pacing back and forth.

“All the streets around Aces are crawling with Russo men,” Everett tells me.

I close my eyes and breathe through the blinding rage settling over me. “If you tell me we can’t get her out—”

“That’s not what I’m telling you. I’m just giving you the facts. He’s got the place locked up tight, so our options are limited.”

I nod. “Please tell me you’re telling me this because you have a way in.” I rub my hand over my face. It’s been too long. Russo has had her for way longer than I’m comfortable with. We watched as they dragged her in kicking and screaming like the fighter she is. But since then, everything’s been quiet.

“Of course I have a way in.” His cocky grin only makes me want to punch him, but if he has a way to get my girl back, I can deal with him being a bit of a dick. “We’re going in the front door.”

The three of us stare at him like he’s sprouting a second head. “That seems like a one-way trip to meet the devil himself,” Tommy groans. Coming from the crazy fuck he is has to tell us how bad an idea this is.

“They expect us to sneak in. We could go through the sewers but I would put money on them having men down there expecting that move. We could take the roof, but how do you propose we get Emerson out if she’s hurt? They also have men on every rooftop. I had Steve fly the drone over to check the options. The only way they aren’t expecting is the front door, and that’s the way I propose we do it.”

Storm sighs. “And how exactly do you propose we make it to the front door?”

“As we speak, we have men going in the back of all these buildings.” He motions to the building on either side of the road. “And taking them out. At that point, we will have snipers on all the rooftops around the club and can pick anyone off who takes aim as we walk in the front door.”

If I thought we could run our businesses without him, I would probably kill him on the spot, but alas, he is probably more integral than even Storm or me. “And when we get into the building?”

Tommy steps forward, his favorite knife in hand has he runs the tip of the blade along his bare arms. When I first met him, I thought it was weird as fuck, but I now see it for what it is. A coping mechanism. “I have a man on the inside. I got him in when we first figured out where they were taking Emerson, and he’s been hiding out. From the last update I got from him, he’s taken out three of Russo’s guys already. So we’ll have an extra man when we go in.”

I look at Storm. “Everyone gets a raise after this shit.”

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