9. Chapter Three
Xander
"Reid, he should have called by now, it's been ten fucking days. What the fuck is the hold up?" I growl.
"He would have gone to the safe house, I'll send you the coordinates. I know my grandson, Grayson. If he had heat on him he would never meet with me. Go to those coordinates and he will be there." I pull the phone away from my ear and sure enough there is a message from Reid sitting there.
"What if he isn't there?"
The old bastard sighs. "I'm afraid that means my son finally got his wish and killed my grandson."
"I'll call you once I get there," I grit out.
"No, you won't. There is no cell service out there unless you hike out into the woods." I grind my teeth as I end the call. If I didn't need to earn Knox's forgiveness so badly I wouldn't be here helping the former Irish Captain. I hope that returning home with Karl's head will earn me some favor with my best friend. I miss home. Being out here alone without Knox or Tay watching my six is hard. I hate being on my own, it gives me too much time to think and my mind always drifts back to her. The way she would smile at me or the way she flicked her hair, even the way she stuck her tongue out when she was concentrating. I push away those thoughts, knowing all thinking about her will do is send me into a dark spiral and I can't have that. It's been fourteen years and I still can't let her go.
I plug the coordinates into the car's GPS and sigh when it tells me it's going to take a few hours to reach Trevante. Why the dumbass didn't just leave with us is beyond me. I need to find this fucker. Reid said as long as I help him put his grandson on the throne of this family I can have Karl's body to take back to Knox. It was surprisingly easy to strike a deal with the former Captain. When I told him what his son had been up to behind his back and all the shady as fuck deals he had made, he asked me for proof. Andreas and Ian were both all too willing to back me up. Karl has stolen money from his family to fund his activities. I don't know why he has a hard-on for Knox but it can't just be over Lakeland marrying him and not Gio putting an end to their plan of taking over Canada.
Ian is still peddling in the skin trade but is slowly pulling out since the rest of the heads of the families are making it hard for him, which leaves Karl all alone. No one will come to his aid and help him back on his feet. He burned all his fucking bridges and it's a beautiful sight to see. The dumb fuck even tried to recruit Artemis, the Godfather of the Greeks who happens to be engaged to Bishop Murdoch's Granddaughter. There was no way her father, Royal, would have stood by and allowed his future son-in-law to enter into that deal.
The drive is long and filled with nothing but stone fences and mountains. Sheep and cows litter the hillsides and after a while, I find myself envious of those fucking animals. They don't have a care in the world and have no idea they are only allowed to roam free so they can get fat enough to fetch a good price at auction so they can be someone's dinner. My phone rings, pulling me from my thoughts. The sight of the caller brings a ghost of a smile to my face but also has longing hitting me right in the chest.
"Taylan, what's going on, brother?"
His chuckle fills the car. "You may have been able to fool Knox with that bullshit cheery tone but not me. What's going on, Xan?" A whoosh of air escapes me.
"Nothing, just hustling and pushing on."
"I call bullshit. This time of year is fucking hard for everyone, Xander, don't act like you are heartless."
"I don't have a heart," I clap back.
"You do, it's just fractured." The reminder that my heart is broken has me clutching the steering wheel tightly until my knuckles turn white.
"I'm not talking about this?—"
"It's the anniversary of her death, Xan. This year is harder than the others because Rave is old enough to understand." My shoulders deflate. Rave is Knox and Lakeland's son, he's seven now and named after Riverland and Waverly. They have another son, Axlyn who is five. I thought the fucking name was so stupid until Taylan told me that it was a mix of mine and his together. For the past five years, I have been fighting harder than I have before to find a way home. I miss my brothers and I know I fucked up fourteen years ago doing what I did to Lakeland. I hate myself for that shit and I don't expect her or Knox to ever forget it but I just hope that they can find it within themselves to forgive me enough so I can return home and be with my family. "I'm trying to get him to let you back for the celebration?—"
"Don't," I cut in and say.
"Why not?" His annoyance is clear in his tone.
"Because I have a plan and if this shit works I will be home for good. Trust me, Taylan."
"I do trust you, dumbass, why do you think I never cut you off? Between you and Knox you both need to grow the fuck up. I'm sick of being the middle man." Guilt churns inside me. Tay feeds me information about Knox so I know he is okay and I know he does the same for Knox about me. It isn't fair to him but it's the only way we can know the other is alright without Knox breaking his vow to banish me and act like I never existed.
"I know, but I have to go. I'll check in when I can. Hug those boys for me, and tell them I'll see them real soon." I don't wait for a reply before ending the call, talking to Tay is hard and it always makes me homesick. I spend the rest of the drive lost in my thoughts, it's probably a good thing because the hours fly by and I don't even notice it until I pull off the road onto a dirt track that looks abandoned, the weeds that line either side are taller than my car. I slow the car down and lean forward, peering out of the windshield as I creep ahead. The road is long and if it wasn't for the directions from Reid, I would have missed the driveway. It takes me five minutes to finally clear the brush and for the house to come into view. It's fucking small and looks unlived in except for the car that has bullet holes on the side parked out front.
I come to a stop and skirt my gaze, feeling like I'm being watched which sets me on high alert. I reach for my gun discreetly and hold it at my side as I climb out of my car and look around. I spot something moving out of the corner of my eye and spin toward the woods with my gun raised.
"Calm down, Grayson," Trevante calls out as he stalks out of the woods with hands raised. I frown at the sight of him shirtless and wearing basketball shorts.
"What the fuck are you doing in the woods dressed like that?" I snap as I drop my gun to my side not wanting to sheath it in case this is a trap.
He ignores my questions as he answers. "I'm assuming since you found this place my grandfather sent you?"
"You still have to hold up your end of the deal, asshole. I'm not leaving until I have your father's body." A look flickers across his face and I snarl at the fucker. "You renege on this fucking deal and I'll blow a hole in your head," I shout. He stops at the edge of the woodlands but doesn't come any closer. He keeps his arms raised and that's when understanding dawns on me, I snap my gun up and dart my gaze around. "Come out, motherfucker!" I roar.
"You don't want to do that, Grayson," he warns.
"Shut the fuck up, you little rat bitch. Who the fuck is out here with you?" I sneer at the bastard.
He sighs and shakes his head. "She won't come out here, you want to know the answer to that question then you need to follow me but you leave that fucking gun in your car." The warning in his tone is clear, causing me to bristle.
"Why the fuck would I trust you?"
"Because we're both dead if you don't, and from what I have learned, you wouldn't kill her."
I jerk in surprise. "Her?"
He nods. "Follow me but leave that fucking gun behind or you and me will have a problem." His tone is hard and unyielding.
"You're out of your fucking mind if you think?—"
"Do as I say and fucking stow the gun away now!" he screams. We stand here glaring at each other for a minute before I relent. I make a show of tossing the gun in the car and slamming the door, then raise my hands, shooting him a dirty look as I round the car. "Ditch the second one, now." I tense, my nostrils flare in anger as I grind my teeth. "I won't allow you to set her back after the progress she has made."
"Who the fuck is this bitch?"
"Someone you won't want to hurt. Now, do as I say, because if you try anything I will kill you." I growl as I turn and toss my second piece through the open window and turn to him.
"Your bitch better have the information I need." I sneer in disgust.
"She isn't mine or yours," he mutters as he turns, leaving me no choice but to follow after him. My senses are on high alert as I keep my head on a swivel and listen for any sign of an ambush. If I wasn't so desperate to kill his father so I could go home, I would never take such a stupid risk like this. Trevante doesn't stop moving until we are in the thick of the forest. I'm about to call him out when he pushes through shrubs that are taller than me. I follow after him and come to a halt at the sight of a… campsite set up in the middle of this tiny clearing.
I look around, two tents, a small fire in the middle, a couple of tables are scattered but it's the sight of the wooden training dummy, bow target and set up of knives on the far side that has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up.
"What the fuck are you doing out here?" I demand. He slowly turns to face me and the look of regret that flashes in his eyes has me taking a step back and dropping into a fighting stance. "Motherfucker!" I roar as I ready myself to charge the cunt.
"Touch him and die, Gray."
No one calls me Gray, only she did.
I freeze, my body turning to stone. I'm a statue. My eyes track the movement from across the campsite as she slowly comes out from the cover of the trees. My breath hitches, my heart beats over time as she comes closer and everything inside me goes haywire. One second I'm standing and then the next thing I know, I'm on my ass gasping for air as she comes closer and stands next to the fucker in front of me. Her moss colored eyes look haunted and angry. Her hair is short, around chin length and dyed black, she looks like my Wave but… doesn't. I feel like my eyes are playing tricks on me, this can't be real.
"I'll give you two a minute." She shakes her head in response to Trevante.
"No. Him and I have nothing to say to each other, he won't touch you." She looks at me with nothing but hatred in those beautiful eyes. I open my mouth but no words come out. My mind is playing tricks on me, there is no way my sweet Waverly is alive and looking at me like I am nothing to her. She only ever looked at me with love and joy. I run my gaze over her. She wears black yoga pants and a sports bra. I frown at the scar that runs from the center of her breasts and disappears into the waistband of her pants. She shoots me one last glare before spinning on her heel. I make a strangled sound in the back of my throat at the jagged raised lines on her back. Some are fully healed and some aren't, tears fill my eyes at the sight.
What happened to you Wave?
When she tenses and slowly turns back to face me with a deep seated look of hatred in her eyes, I realize I must have said that aloud.
"Waverly died fourteen years ago, Alexander." I flinch at the use of my full name, she only called me Gray or Xander, never my full name unless she was pissed off. "I am nothing to you and you are nothing to me. Run back to my brother and let him know when I am finished with these Irish cunts I'll be coming after him next. Enjoy the time you have left because it isn't long." She doesn't stick around for a response.
"Waverly, wait!" I call out as I climb to my feet ready to go after her but the fucker darts in front of me and blocks my path. "Move, bitch!" I snap as I shove him in the chest, needing to get to my girl.
He shakes his head. "Her name is Doxy, she will never be your Waverly again." I see red and before I know what is happening, I strike out and clock him across his jaw, relishing in the feeling of releasing some of my pent up rage.