Chapter 20

I madeGabrielle a promise and I intend to keep it.

Wyatt never said a word about what he and I argued about, but I know he"s still thinking about it this morning. I can tell from the way he looks at me everytime I move around the clubhouse.

He"s waiting for me to come unraveled, but it"s not going to happen. I"ll keep myself composed for as long as I have to.

I meant what I told him though about going at it alone. If I had to search, find, and kill both Liam and Shade all in my own, I will. Of course, it"ll be that much harder. I tried to reach out on my own to all my FBI contacts, and every single one of them have told me all the same thing.

Let the authorities handle it.

After Rupert went down, the majority of the Faceless organization crumbled. Taking with it all the people that might have benefited from them. Now no one wanted to touch anything that had to do with the Faceless with a 12 ft pole.

"Mason, I wouldn"t be reaching out to you if I had any more information." I pinched the bridge of my nose, and exhaled into the phone.

Mason is an informant I used to work with back when I was trying to get information about some mafia dealers flooding the streets. He wasn"t much used to me back then, and he"s no use now.

"Look, Bishop, you know I want to do right by you, but these Faceless pricks aren"t people you want to fuck with."

"Mason, I couldn"t care less what you or anyone else feels about the Faceless. If you want to be a chickenshit, do that on your own fucking time. I know what needs to be done. All I need from you is their location." I growl into the phone and hear the man sigh on the other end. I"m getting real sick and tired of people warning me off the Faceless like I don"t know what they"re capable of. I know firsthand. I"m not scared.

"Fine, Bishop, I"ll do my best to get some information and get back to you."

It"s not the answer I want to hear from him, but it"s going to have to do. "You better make that fast. I know where you stay, Mason, and I"d hate to have to pay you a visit in my present state of mind." Before he can answer, I hang up the phone and lean back in my chair. Looking up at the clock, I see it"s well past one in the morning. There"s not much more I can do tonight. Not only because people are asleep but because I"ve been burning the candle at both ends. I don"t remember the last time I"ve eaten or had anything to drink. I need to make sure I don"t put myself at a disadvantage before it"s time to complete my mission. I have to stay healthy.

Getting up out of the chair, I walk out of my room and towards the kitchen, sneaking a peek in the direction of Gabrielle"s room. It"s almost as if my body is attuned to hers. I feel her wherever I go. She"s safe and sound. That"s what matters to me right now. I"m just happy I"m able to give her this space for that.

Walking into the kitchen, I stop short when I see English sitting at the table eating what looks like a bowl of cereal.

"What the hell are you doing up?"

"Sometimes the heart just wants a bowl of Froot Loops." He shrugs and goes back to digging into his bowl.

I scoff and shake my head but don"t comment anymore on it. What can I say? I"m about to go scrounging in the fridge for something to eat too.

I dig through the fridge, but the tension in the room feels off. I wonder if he"s upset with me too for wanting to go against Wyatt"s order and get the Faceless. Cody and Preston have already made their opinions known. Neither of them are too happy with me. English hasn"t said very much on the subject.

"What are you doing up so late anyway?" English turns his head to look at me.

There"s no need to lie. I don"t care who knows. "I was getting some information on where I"d be able to meet up with the Faceless higher-ups."

English"s mouth presses together, and he nods his head once before turning back to his food.

"Don"t tell me you think what I"m doing is wrong too?" I pull out some bread and peanut butter and get to work making myself a sandwich.

"Wyatt has already ruled on the subject. I"m worried you may be making more problems for yourself than necessary."

"I welcome the problems. It"s the only way to get to a clear solution. They have to go, English. No one is going to make me feel any different about the situation." I"m getting a little tired of having to defend myself on the subject. If any of them knew what I"d gone through, I don"t think they"d have the same reactions to what I"m saying.

"I said the order was given, I never said I agreed with it." English turns in his chair to look at me.

This is a first. As far as I knew, no one in the club wanted to continue the fight against the Faceless for their part in what had happened. They considered the matter closed and dead now that Rupert Giles was dead.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I stop making my sandwich so I can pay attention to what English is saying.

"I mean if it were me and something like what happened to Gabrielle were to happen to any of my family, or Angel for fuck"s sake, I don"t think I"d be able to just sit back and let them walk either. I"d be on a rampage the same as you. Sometimes retribution is not only hoped for but it"s warranted."

My eyebrows jump up to my forehead. This is the first I"ve heard him talk about Angel, Million"s ex. After Million died, the Boys of Djinn took her and her son in until they were able to get back on their feet. They"re staying in one of the empty cabins on the property.

"Angel? You really want to go down that road?" I ask English. I smirk at him and sit in the chair next to him.

"No, it"s nothing like that. I mean... I wish but no."

"Why no? What"s wrong with her? She seems like a good woman from what I can tell." I shrug and lean back in the chair.

"Are you kidding me? That"s Million"s ol" lady. I can"t... it"s wrong." English pushes his bowl away and crosses his arms over his chest, his head hanging low and his mouth twisted in a deep scowl.

"Wrong? How is it wrong? Both of you are hurting right now. You lost a brother, and she lost the man she thought she was getting back together with. You can share in each other"s pain, be there for each other."

"It"s more complicated than that."

"Why, because you like her? You want to touch on her and make her feel good?"

"Million would rip my fucking balls off for even letting those thoughts pop into my head." English sighs and looks up at me.

"He would, but, brother, Million is dead. Don"t you think he"d want Angel to be happy? His son to have someone to look up to? If there was anyone in the world Million would trust to care and love his ex, don"t you think it"d be one of his brothers? The people he trusted the most in his life?"

English blinked a few times as if he"d never thought about what I was saying to him.

"I don"t know. I don"t even know if she feels the same way I do. It could all just be from grief." He shrugs and looks away again.

"It could be, but you won"t know until you ask."

I watch the expression on English"s face go from disbelief to disgust to hopeful in the blink of an eye. The only person holding him back from being happy with Angel is himself. If she"s feeling him, there"s no reason for him to be guilty about wanting to pursue something with her. As long as he doesn"t hurt her, I think it could be good for both of them.

"Thanks for the chat, man." English nods once before getting up from the table and dumping the remainder of his food in the trash and making his way out of the kitchen. I sit back in the seat, looking at the unmade sandwich in front of me. I"ve always been good at that: helping people sort out the shit in their heads. It"s a gift, some would say. Problem is, I could never do the same for myself.

A million different emotions are rushing through me right now, but the one that sticks out the most is rage and guilt. I didn"t act quickly enough back at the place where Liam had us all tortured. I was too indecisive. And now, after I"ve already promised Gabrielle and April that I"d find Shade and the rest of the Faceless, I"m coming up on dead end after dead end. It"s like I"m destined to fail.

My hands shake and my vision pinpoints until I find myself reaching down for the bread and tossing it with all my might against the wall. No, I can"t fail. I won"t fail them. Not the way I failed Uma and Willa. These bastards will pay. I just need one break. I need someone to know something that can get me to the people I want.

I"ve already gone through all of my outside contacts. Wyatt and the crew here aren"t going to be of any help to me. If Wyatt isn"t going to help, I already know the Wings of Diablo chapters aren"t going to help. I even tried Eve"s Fury and the Purged, but they didn"t have any information either. Who else is there?

Suddenly, a thought pops into my head. What if I need to be looking outside of my inner circles, outside of the people that I know? The last place I saw Shade and some of the Faceless was in that underground bunker near the lounge outside of town. What if some of them had come back? Do they have a safe haven somewhere near there?

I"m not really reveling in the thought of getting someone outside of the life mixed up in this shit, but there"s every possibility that they are already mixed up in this. I have to try. Even if it"s just a photo or a phone number, anything is better than what I have right now. I"ll let my club handle putting people in jail. For Shade and Liam, I"ll handle their death sentence.