Chapter Fifteen

Reynolds

E xiting the underground hell that King uses to question his victims, I grab the towel King offers and wipe the blood off my face.

“What the hell is it that Mark is hiding?” Ghost asks as he, too, wipes blood from his body. “It can’t be worth his life.”

Shaking my head, I try to get my breathing under control, the coppery scent of blood still clinging to my senses. “He’s hiding something big,” I rasp, my voice rough from hours of interrogation. “Nobody takes that kind of beating and keeps quiet for nothing.”

“Or,” King says, wiping his hands on his jeans. “He’s hiding nothing.”

“You think he’s playing us?” I ask.

“He gave us the location of the USB drive hours ago,” King reminds us. “After what we put him through, there is no way in hell he has anything else to say.”

“So, Paston, not Mark, is playing us,” Ghost says. “You sure?”

“I’d bet my bike on it,” King says. “That asshole just wanted his son to pay for his betrayal, but he didn’t want it done by his hands. Fucking coward.”

“What does that mean for our people?” Ghost asks. “It’s been nearly three days now. If he isn’t expecting an actual response from Mark, then why the hell tell us he was holding Steel and Freckles hostage?”

“To distract us,” I growl, my heart pounding out of my chest. “He wanted us to know that he had them, but he didn’t want us out there looking. Why?”

King crosses his arms, leaning against the wall with a grim expression. “Because he’s got something else in play. Paston’s not the type to just mess with us for fun. There’s always a purpose with crime bosses. If he wanted us to know how to free Steel and Freckles, it’s because he knew it would keep us tied up.”

“Or keep us desperate,” Ghost adds darkly, pacing back and forth. “He wanted us focused on Mark, hoping we’d slip up somewhere else. If he’s playing this big, it’s not just about revenge. It’s about control.”

I clench my fists, fighting the urge to hit something. The image of Freckles and Steel flashes in my mind. Freckles quiet strength. Steel’s unwavering loyalty. Both of them suffering God knows what while we’ve been spinning our wheels. My jaw tightens. “We’ve wasted three damn days. What else has he been doing while we’ve been stuck here playing his game?”

Ghost stops pacing and turns to me, his expression as sharp as a blade. “That’s the real question. Paston didn’t have us on his radar until you guys were hired to keep Mark safe. Could this be about revenge?”

“You don’t get messed up in European Crime shit,” King says. “They’re hard bastards to deal with on their best days. But Paston has an empire the size of Texas. My main question is why he came all the way to the States to deal with this himself instead of sending one of his goons.”

King’s words hang heavy in the air, the weight of them settling in my chest. He’s right. Paston could’ve sent any number of his men to handle this. But he didn’t. He came here himself. That meant something, and whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

“He’s here because it’s personal,” I say, my voice low but sure. “Mark wasn’t just a loose end. He was leverage. And now we’ve got him, which means Paston’s losing control. A guy like him doesn’t let that slide.”

Ghost nods, his lips pressed into a thin line. “But personal enough to come here and risk exposure? It doesn’t add up. Even if the police had his trophy list, that doesn’t mean they could’ve found him any easier. What’s his game?”

King shrugs, his posture deceptively relaxed, but the tension in his voice betrays him. “Maybe Mark’s not the only leverage he’s after. Paston could be using Steel and Freckles to smoke out something or someone he’s been hunting.”

My stomach twists at the thought, a sick mix of dread and fury. “Steel’s been with the club for years. If Paston wanted to take a swing at us, he’d have done it by now. This isn’t about the Obsidians.”

Which can only mean one thing.

“Delphi?” Taylor asks. “What could he possibly want with her?”

The room falls silent, the weight of Taylor’s question sinking in like a lead anchor. It’s the question none of us want to ask, but the answer is staring us dead in the face.

“I don’t know,” I admit, the words tasting bitter. My mind races through the possibilities, none of them good. “But it has to be connected to her past. There’s no other reason he’d target her specifically.”

“Tell us everything you know about her,” Ghost orders.

“Fuck, okay,” I rub my hands down my face trying to focus. “When she was in high school, her principal raped her. She ended up getting pregnant. Her parents told her to abort the baby. From what I could tell, they cared more about her pregnancy than they did the rape itself.”

“Are they still alive?” Taylor asks.

“I don’t know,” I sigh. “She told them she didn’t want to have an abortion, so they kicked her out. I didn’t even think to ask if she lived on the streets after that. I didn’t want to scare her away with my questions.”

“Eli?” Ghost growls.

“Yeah,” I answer. “You know the part about Eli already.”

“Tell us anyway.”

“Freckles told Eli about his father and what he’d done not long ago,” I continued. “The man was released from prison after fifteen years. He came to their home and tried to kill Delphi, but Eli stopped him. Shot and killed the bastard.”

“That’s the case you were working?” Ghost asks Taylor.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Paston’s name ever come up?”

“Not once,” he responds. “Maybe we should see if Knox can find a connection.”

“Use the burner phone,” Ghost tells him. “I don’t want to take any chances of our cells being tracked.”

Taylor nods and moves to the corner of the room, pulling out the burner phone. As he dials, the rest of us sit in tense silence, the weight of the revelation pressing down on us. Delphi’s past wasn’t just a tragic story. It was a goddamn warzone, and now it was colliding with ours in ways none of us fully understood.

Ghost breaks the silence, his voice low and dangerous. “If Paston’s connected to that piece of shit or had anything to do with the aftermath, we need to know. And fast. If he’s after Delphi, this could be about leverage or revenge.”

“Leverage for what?” I ask, my hands balling into fists. “She doesn’t have anything Paston could want.”

“Doesn’t mean he thinks that,” King says, leaning against the wall. “People like him, they don’t see individuals. They see pawns. Maybe he thinks she’s got dirt on someone, or maybe he’s just using her to send a message.”

“She’s not a fucking pawn,” I snap, the edge in my voice sharp enough to cut.

King holds up his hands, his expression calm but his eyes hard. “None of us think she is. But Paston? He doesn’t give a damn about her or Eli. He cares about power, and right now, she’s a thread he thinks he can pull.”

Taylor lowers the phone, drawing our attention. “Knox is on it,” he says. “He’ll dig through every connection Delphi’s rapist had, financial, personal, and criminal. If there’s even a whisper of Paston’s name, he’ll find it.”

“Paston didn’t give us a way to contact him after the three days,” I say. “So, maybe he plans to contact us. If he does, we need to be ready. It might be our only chance to get them back.”

My head spins, knowing that my beautiful woman is most likely being abused and beaten.

“Keep your head on straight, brother,” Taylor tells me. “You have to know Steel will keep her safe.”

“Not if there’s a bullet in his head,” I respond. “Who the hell would risk keeping a beast like him around knowing he’d likely find a way to kick their asses?”

“He’s not wrong,” King says, turning back towards his hellhole. “Let’s flip things around on Mark while we wait for Knox. Let’s promise to save him from his father and see how fast he talks against him. We might get some promising intel.”

Ghost nods sharply, already catching on to King’s plan. “Good. Let’s twist the knife. If Mark’s got anything left to give, fear of his old man might be the key to prying it out.”

I glance at Taylor, his words still echoing in my head. Keep your head on straight. But how the hell am I supposed to do that when every second feels like a countdown to losing Delphi? The thought of her suffering, or worse, makes it almost impossible to think clearly.

King moves to the door, his steps deliberate. “I’ll take the lead. He’s already seen me as the devil. I might as well keep playing the role. Reynolds, you’ll back me up. He doesn’t trust you, but he knows you’re desperate. That’s leverage we can use.”

I nod, running a hand through my hair. “Fine. Let’s see how fast he folds when he thinks we’re the only ones who can save his sorry ass.”

As King pushes the door open, Ghost calls after him, “Make it quick. If Paston makes contact, we drop everything and move.”

Taylor’s phone buzzes again, and he picks it up, his brow furrowing as he reads the message. “Knox has already found something,” he says, his voice tight with urgency.

Ghost turns sharply. “What is it?”

Taylor looks up, his face pale but his eyes blazing with fury. “The bastard who raped her was on Paston’s payroll. He funneled money and information through a ‘school improvement fund.’ Regarding what, I’m not sure I want to know. But that’s not all. Paston’s been keeping tabs on Freckles since the trial. The second she testified against that bastard, she was on his radar.”

Ghost’s jaw tightens, his face a mask of fury barely held in check. “It’s worse than that. If Paston’s been watching her this whole time, taking her isn’t just leverage; it’s tying up loose ends. He doesn’t leave witnesses, Reynolds. We all know that.”

“A witness to what?” I fume. “The name Paston wasn’t attached to her case whatsoever.”

“No,” Taylor agrees. “But the fact that she put the name Ryan Honiker in the spotlight would be enough. I dug deep into Honiker’s past and not once came across the name Paston. But that doesn’t mean anything. Paston most likely used a fake name in his dealings. If someone was curious enough and knew what they were looking for, like Knox just did, they could have found it easily. Then Paston’s name would have been lit up just as brightly as Honiker’s.”

Ghost resumes his pacing. “He knew that the second Delphi testified, he became a liability, a potential loose end. He’s been hunting her ever since.”

“That trial ended fourteen years ago,” I remind them as we make our way back inside. “She never changed her name. Hell, her son is going to the same high school. Why wait all this time, after Honiker’s death, to come after her? And for that matter, how the hell did we end up protecting someone from Paston’s family while all of this was going down? It can’t be a coincidence.”

“You guys are all so fucking stupid,” Mark laughs from the chair he’s tied to. “Father had his doubts, but I knew it would work.”

The sound of Mark’s voice cuts through the tension in the group, sharp and mocking. The bitter laughter echoes around the room, sending a shiver of frustration down my spine.

Ghost stops pacing abruptly, his body going still as he turns toward the chair. His expression darkens, lips curling in a snarl. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I know why you’re all spinning your wheels,” Mark taunts, his voice a twisted mix of pride and anger. “You’re so focused on Delphi, you’re not even looking at the big picture. Father didn’t come after her because of the trial or because she put Honiker’s name out there. He came after her because she was always meant to be part of the plan. That trial? That was just a side effect, collateral damage. You think you’re protecting her? Hell, you’re the ones walking right into our trap.”

The realization hits like a slap to the face. My blood runs cold. The plan . What the hell is he talking about?

“Stop playing games, Mark,” I growl, stepping towards him. “What plan? What the hell are you talking about?”

Mark chuckles again, a harsh, ugly sound. “Your precious Delphi? She’s been a pawn in this game from the start. She doesn’t even know it. Her life’s been a setup since she was in middle school. He’s been waiting for the right time to pull her back into the fold, and now here you are, doing exactly what he wants.”

Taylor’s voice cuts through, sharp and cutting. “What the hell does that mean? How is Delphi involved in Paston’s mess? She’s just a survivor.”

Mark’s voice takes on a more sinister edge. “You think she’s just some random survivor? You think the hell she went through, losing everything, her family, her sanity, was all just by chance? No. Father’s empire isn’t built on coincidences. Everything, every piece, was a calculated move. And Delphi? She’s part of that equation. Her story, her pain, all of it was by design.”

My heart stops. I take a step back, reeling from the gravity of his words. “What the hell do you mean by design?”

“Father doesn’t waste resources,” Mark continues, his voice gleaming with a sick sort of pride. “Honiker was selling information to my father for years. Info on the students that walked through his doors. Father took a keen interest in Delphi. So, father put his plan into play. However, the pregnancy was a surprise. But Father used it to break her. He paid her parents to toss her aside like trash. They folded the second they saw the zeros. He needed her broken, vulnerable. And when she fought back, when she chose not to abort, that’s when he saw her as valuable. He made sure she was kept on the radar, controlled, kept in the dark about just how much of her life had been manipulated.”

The sick twist in my stomach feels like acid eating away at my insides. “You’re telling me her whole life was some kind of fucking game to him?”

Mark’s laughter rings out again. “You think you’re so much better than me? I was bred for this. Everything Father did, every move, every choice, was calculated. She’s never been free.”

“This is all bullshit . If Paston really had this much control over her, why not just take her years ago? Why now?”

Mark’s voice drops lower, filled with venom. The fact that he can even speak with how swollen everything is is shocking. “Because Father wasn’t ready for her. Then you started protecting her, and Father had to act. She’s his greatest leverage, and you’re too damn blind to see it. The second she came under your protection? That’s when the real game began.”

The implications hit like a freight train. I run a hand through my hair, trying to steady my racing thoughts. “Delphi’s been part of this plan for years,” I murmur to myself. “Not just some pawn in Paston’s game, but a prize ... a key piece.”

“His Queen,” Mark laughs before choking on his own blood.

“We’ve been played,” Ghost mutters. “And it looks like we walked right into it.”

A grim silence hangs in the air. The truth is ugly, and it’s too late to ignore. Delphi, Mark, and Paston, everything’s tied together in ways we never understood until now. We’re running out of time, and we’ve been working with half the picture all along.

Mark’s voice breaks the silence again, sneering. “You’ll figure it out eventually, but it’ll be too late. Father always makes sure it’s too late.”

“So, you’re what? A sacrifice?”

“I did plan on surviving,” Mark wheezes. “I figured the fake list would work, but Father was positive it wouldn’t. I planned to turn in the list, get into protective services, and ask to be protected by you lot. Once father made contact, I was supposed to slip out in the middle of the night. I didn’t plan on you all agreeing so fast to beat the shit out of me.”

“Why are you telling us everything now?” King asks calmly.

“It’s been three days,” Mark smiles, blood pouring from his mouth. “Your man is dead, and the woman is gone. My name will live on as a hero. I die proudly. AND THE ACADEMY AWARD GOES TO…”

“Oh, you don’t die at all,” King says. “Not for a very… long… time.”

Mark’s eyes widen with shock before King injects a needle into his neck.

“This is why I told everyone to avoid any internal organs and go for face and limbs only,” King smiles. “Always have a backup plan, brothers. I need to call Venom in and see if Doc can patch him up. Until then, let's go find our people.”