Page 25 of Cherished Union

“Hayden,” Mick says as he rushes over to me. The guy’s five-foot-five and bald. “Those fuckers are on their way,” he tells me. “I’m a fucking dead man walking. I had no idea Gary was fucking working with those bastards,” he snarls as his gaze goes to his vehicle, and that’s when I see a man slumped against his tire, beaten to a pulp, blood pouring from his mouth, nose, and ears. “He’s told them that I’ve called you. They’re coming.”

I roll my shoulders back and smile. It’s time to take the trash out then. “Thanks for letting us know, Mick. Take that cunt and get the hell out of here.” He nods instantly and scurries away. I turn to Da and see that he’s on his cell, no doubt calling the men and updating them on what’s happening.

“You ready for this?” he questions once Mick is gone and the men are in position. I don’t want those bastards to know that we have backup. I always like having the element of surprise.

“It’s about time,” I tell him. The last month has brought about a lot of heartache for the Masters. First, they lost yet another son. Ian. That fucker deserved it. He came for Jade and ended up paying for his life, thanks to Rocco. Then last week, we used an old bar of theirs that was under construction to end the last bastard who raped and beat Jade while she was in prison. In doing so, the bar was burned to the ground and is currently unstable for them to continue work on.

Damn. What a shame. Not.

Da and I lean against my car with our arms crossed, while we pretend to wait on Mick. We’re both on alert, and the moment we hear a vehicle approaching, we don’t move, but I know that our men are ready.

The door opens and Garrant Masters, along with his son, Douglas, steps out. I shake my head. What fucking idiots. They only brought a driver and two other men. Christ, they really are fucking assholes.

“Expecting someone different?” Garrant questions with a smug smirk.

“I thought for sure you’d bring some men with you.” I shake my head. “Typical Masters, huh? Always believe that you’re better, stronger, and cleverer than you actually are.”

The smirk falls from his face. “What?” he hisses at me. “Don’t pretend that you knew we were coming.”

Douglas raises his gun and points it at me. I don’t make a move, nor do I cower. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a gun pointed at me and it’ll not be the last.

“Funny that you have to try and infiltrate our informants. Little did you know that they are loyal,” Da tells him. His voice is deceptively calm, and anyone who doesn’t know him would think he’s not bothered by this, but those of us who do know him, know that he’s seething. He’s pissed as hell and is ready to kill.

Garrant’s eyes narrow. “Fucking shit,” he grunts. “Never mind, Liam. You’re still here, and you’ll finally find out what it feels like to lose a child. Your fucking bastard children have taken two of mine.”

Oh, little does he know that he’s about to lose yet another.

“Say goodbye,” Garrant grins and Douglas fires.

The cunt’s bullet sinks into my side, and I hiss as the burning pain fires through my skin and into my body.

All hell breaks loose. Our men unleash Hell, firing bullet after bullet. They take out the driver, along with the two other guys the Masters brought with them, leaving just the two pussies left. Garrant’s eyes are wide, and his lips pull into a snarl as he glares at our men, who are now surrounding us.

“You good, son?” Da asks.

I nod, my jaw clenched and my side burning. “Grand, but these fuckers are going to die,” I hiss. I raise my gun and fire it. Unlike the stupid ass that hit me with his bullet, my aim is true and sinks into his heart.

Garrant’s eyes fill with pain as he watches his eldest child sink to the ground.

“I’m going to kill you,” he snarls as he takes a step toward us, his gun pointed at my da. “You Irish bastards think you’re the shit. You’re just common criminals. You’re going to get what’s coming to you.”

I fire once more. This time, instead of killing him, I put a bullet into his wrist. The gun drops from his hand as he wails in pain.

“I’d take this opportunity to get the fuck out of here, Garrant,” I snarl at him. “Go, run and hide, and don’t forget to take Lila and Ethan with you,” I say with a grin. “You fuck with us once more, and you had better make sure they’re somewhere no one can find them.”

Lila is his only daughter, and Ethan’s his last remaining son. I’m not finished toying with him yet. The entire Masters family is going to pay for the shit that they have done. Because of them, Jade was sent to prison. Because of their greed, she was beaten and raped. They are responsible for it all, and I’m not going to stop until every last Masters bastard is dead.

Dad fires his gun, and the bullet sinks into Garrant’s side, the exact same position as to where his son hit me.

“I’ll be seeing you soon, Garrant,” Da says with a grin. “You’d best hope it’s not when I’m coming for your daughter and son.”

We climb into the car, Cody jumping into the drivers’ side. My right-hand man is furious, his eyes narrowed, his lips pulled into a tight line, and the grip he has on the steering wheel is tight, so fucking tight that his knuckles are white.

“I’m fine,” I grunt, pissed that the cunt got a shot off on me.

“You will be,” Da replies.

I laugh, grateful that he’s not taking me home, where Ma will no doubt try to baby me, that’s after she loses her damn mind that I was shot in the first place.

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