Page 76 of Playing with Fire

I opened my mouth to respond but immediately snapped it shut when the back entrance door flew open, and Noah strolled out with a phone to his ear. My gaze flashed to Aiden.

Game on!

"You have about 30 seconds," Aiden warned before you'll have the entire south side out here." He swallowed hard. "You can't fight them all."

"Guess I'll have to be quick," I said, the corners of my lips curving up into a smirk.

"And quiet," he warned.

Before he could say anything else, I silently slid out of the Jeep, stalking toward my prey.

Noah's back was turned to me. Distracted by his phone call, he never saw me coming. Tapping his shoulder, he whipped around, and I sunk my fist into his jaw. His phone went flying, and everything went white with rage. I knew he'd gotten a punch in, but I couldn't feel them. The adrenaline pumping overpowered any pain. I threw another hard fast punch that landed square in his face, sending him flying back to the ground.

"This is for Harper." I climbed over him to finish this. The fight would draw a crowd soon. My fist connected with his jaw. The sound of cracking bones echoed over the commotion behind me—another punch and then another. Using every ounce of body weight to pin him in place, I curled my hands tightly around his throat, squeezing. His eyes widened as he struggled beneath me, desperately fighting for air. His dirty hands scratched and clawed at my hands, tightening. This was it. Noah would never be a problem for Harper again.

"Stop, now," a muffled voice demanded, but I could barely hear through my rage. I didn't know if it was Aiden or someone else, but it didn't matter. I wouldn't stop unless they pulled me off.

I jolted, ducking, when the sound of a gun boomed, cracking through the night from behind me. I twisted around, my gaze flashing up. Red and blue flashing strobe lights filled the night, and men in uniforms surrounded us with guns drawn and pointed directly at us.

Who called the cops? My gaze flashed around the parking lot, trying to see through all the flashing lights. Noah and his gang weren't the types to involve the law, especially bringing it to their place of dirty business. They would let one of their own die and still wouldn't get law enforcement involved.

Chapter 48

Christian

"Noah Beckham," an officer announced as they surrounded him with weapons drawn. "You are under arrest for drug distribution." The officers passed me, moving quickly to Noah. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided."

Jumping to my feet, I brushed myself off; my gaze focused on the officers cuffing Noah.

"Christian," Link said from behind me. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I twisted around, eyes locked on his. The more important question was, why was he here? My gaze flicked over his shoulder, my face falling flat when my gaze locked with Mr. Elliott. And why was his dad here?

"What's going on?" I narrowed my eyes, flicking my gaze between them.

"Harper no longer needs to worry about anyone from the Villas," Mr. Water said, his gaze focused on what was happening behind me. "She's free to live her life now."

"Yeah, until they're released," I growled, my tone laced with anger and irritation. AJ Elliott knew nothing about the Villas or how this worked. He just made things worse because when they got out, and they would get out, they would come straight for Harper. If they ever waited that long. They could hire someone from the inside to take care of her.

"They'll never be released," Link whispered.

I snorted a laugh. Link knew better than that. We'd seen how the judicial system worked in this town. "Link," I started.

"They won't make it to the jail, son," AJ whispered in a low, deadly tone that only I could hear, and everything sank in. It all made sense now. AJ Elliott had nothing to do with the judicial system, but he had a lot of pull in this town, and his methods were always unconventional. I wanted to know exact details, but I knew he wouldn't give them, and more than likely, Link was only on need-to-know information as well, but I'd hear about whatever he'd planned tomorrow morning on the news.

My gaze met AJ's, and I gave the slightest of nods, relaying the message that I heard him loud and clear. AJ returned the nod before strolling back towards all the flashing lights.

"So, it's over," Aiden said, stepping in beside Link and me as we watched them load Noah into a squad car.

"This part is," Link sighed. "Harper is free from the Villa Boys."

Those words hit me hard for some reason. Harper was free. She was free from the Villas and would no longer be in danger, but she would never be completely free from her past.

"Wait," I paused. Bumping Link's shoulder, I twisted around to face him. "Do you know where Harper is?"

"Don't kill me," he exclaimed, holding his hands out. "But yes. She is safe."

"How long?" I said, stepping into him.

"I found her at the lake house the day she went missing." Anger simmered low in my stomach as I tried to steady my breathing. He'd known the whole time she was safe. My fist clenched at my sides. "Christian, she asked me not to tell you." He paused. His throat flexed on a hard swallow. "The same way she asked you not to tell me."

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