Chapter Twenty-Eight

Eagle

It was just before three in the morning when they arrived to meet Ice and Fisher at the location. Supposedly, Ice had gotten one of Elron’s men to turn on him, and Eagle had to wonder how Ice had accomplished that task when nobody else was talking.

It was better not to ask questions, he decided when the rest of the men exchanged glances and didn’t make any comments when they pulled up to the end of the block.

Rolling up on the street, all vehicles killed their lights, but it wouldn’t stop the ground from rumbling. Creed, who was driving the biggest vehicle, shut off the ATV’s engine and coasted to a quiet stop well before they reached the address.

“That’s fucking odd,” Jordan muttered.

Eagle frowned, gazing at the darkened street where only a few houses had faint lights glowing from behind curtains.

He followed Jordan’s finger when the guy pointed to the address. That house was completely dark along the front without the benefit of a porch light. The yard was lit up a bit from a nearby streetlamp, showing the overgrown grass and the sagging chain-link fence.

“What’s odd?”

“This is the place of the foster family who took Tyler in.”

Eagle’s blood ran cold.

“He must have been watching,” Dalton said.

“Or had people watching,” Link said. “We know we didn’t get all of Elron’s crew yet.”

“Why would he go after Tyler though?” Jordan said, sounding confused.

“Because of me,” Eagle said, dread filling his gut. “He wants to get back at me.”

“But Tyler isn’t any relation to you,” Jordan said.

“When I was held captive, I promised Tyler I would be back. I told Elron that I would drown him in his own blood if anything happened to Tyler,” Eagle admitted.

A beat of silence filled the vehicle and then Link cleared his throat.

“Okay then,” the man said calmly. “Let’s do this.”

They moved like avengers, slipping through the dark, wet streets silently, deadly. There were enough operatives to cover every angle of the house, preventing any and all escape.

Eagle had one goal in mind and that was to find Tyler.

Ice picked the front door lock and disappeared inside along with Fisher. Eagle and Link entered while the others stood guard. There wasn’t an escape route to be had. If Elron got past him and Link, the fucker would have to get through Pegasus to get away.

The first body they came across was of a man sitting in his recliner, a bullet hole in his forehead, his reading glasses skewed. The cigar he’d been smoking was still burning in the ashtray on a small table nearby. It seemed the older man had just sat down to watch fucking reruns of CSI that played quietly on the television.

Clenching his jaw, Eagle pointed to a door off the side of the room, and Ice and Fisher disappeared through the opening. It looked to be a lower level—a basement perhaps.

He and Link moved on, slipping through the room until they reached the kitchen. Eagle eased the door open to the sound of running water. At first glance, it appeared empty, but then Eagle spotted a pair of woman’s shoes on the floor, sticking out from behind the center island. He stepped around the counter and found an older woman lying on her back, her neck slit from ear to ear. The fixings for a salad sat on the counter and Link reached over and flipped off the faucet. The room dropped into a deafening silence.

“Motherfucker,” Link hissed. Stooping down to check her pulse, he shook his head.

Eagle gripped his Glock and slowly eased to the only exit beyond the kitchen. Pausing at the opening, he took a look around the corner before slipping into the darkened hallway.

Voices reached him, but not the words said. Inching closer, he found a closed door and listened. One of the voices was Tyler’s, of that he was sure.

It was a crappy situation.

If he went in guns blazing, he could accidentally hit the boy. But to negotiate with that motherfucker Elron went against every cell in his body.

“What’s the play?” Ice whispered, suddenly next to him, along with Link and Fisher just behind.

“Can you two find the window to that room and wait for my signal?” Eagle whispered.

“Got it. What’s the signal?” Ice murmured.

“When Link tells you, I want you to break through the window of this room.”

Without another word or sound, Ice and Fisher disappeared back down the hallway, and a few moments later, Ice’s voice came over the comms.

“Ready.”

Eagle held Link’s gaze in the dark and even though he couldn’t clearly see the man’s expression, he knew that no matter the outcome, Link would have his back.

He didn’t wait; he touched Link on the shoulder and then reared back and kicked in the door.

“Ice, now,” Link barked.

The shattering of glass pierced the room just as the wood from the door splintered beneath Eagle’s big boots.

Rushing inside the bedroom, Eagle found Elron with his pants down, cock hanging out, and a scared Tyler naked from the waist down huddling on the floor near the bed.

Elron stumbled, jeans caught around his ankles, and lunged for the gun the stupid motherfucker had placed on the dresser. The bastard must have thought he’d have all night to rape Tyler and nobody would know the difference.

Eagle shot out Elron’s knee.

The man howled and cracked down to the floor before he came up on his good knee, still reaching for the gun.

“You fuck,” Elron hollered.

Eagle put a bullet in Elron’s gut.

Beneath the impact, the guy slammed back to the carpet, surprise on his face, his hands holding the red stain that blossomed on his white t-shirt.

Yanking a blanket off the bed, Link wrapped a sobbing Tyler in it and guided the boy out of the room. Ice climbed through the window, gun drawn.

“The knee was for me. The gut wound? That was for Tyler,” Eagle snarled and shot again.

The bullet pierced Elron’s arm and the gang leader howled, rolling on the carpet.

Eagle waited, watching Elron like a fucking bug. The man finally struggled to sit up against the wall.

“What the fuck was that one for?” Elron hissed out a ragged breath.

“That one? That was for the other times you raped Tyler,” Eagle snarled and stalked up to the guy. He bent over and put the barrel of his Glock beneath the man’s chin.

Elron’s neck arched and his eyes went wide. The smell of urine filled the air and the man started babbling.

“Please, man, please. I’m unarmed,” Elron begged.

The thought of this motherfucker spending the rest of his life locked up in a small cage was a satisfying thought.

“You’re not worth any more of my bullets,” Eagle sneered and pulled his gun away.

The man fell back with a gasp against the wall and Eagle turned away.

He was all the way to the door when a shot rang out.

Snick.

Whirling around, he found Ice standing over Elron.

“What was that for?” Eagle squinted.

Ice met his eyes across the distance, and they were cold and flat. “He was taking up air.”

Fisher snickered and climbed back through the window to the outside. Ice turned to follow Fisher, but then turned back to Eagle.

“Tell Ace I appreciate the offer, but I’ve got something else in mind,” Ice said.

Eagle studied the dead gang leader with the bullet center mass in his forehead. He had a pretty good idea of what Ice would be doing. Now that he thought about it, Ice appeared a better match to Erebus than Pegasus.

“I will, and Ice?” He waited until the man glanced back. “Be careful out there.”

Ice gave him a flat gaze and a slow nod before he disappeared.

Eagle left the room in search of Link. He found his man standing at one of the Pegasus vehicles, pulling a clean, warm blanket around Tyler, who was busy tying the drawstring on a pair of sweatpants.

He walked straight up to Tyler and lifted the boy’s face, checking for any new bruising—thank fuck he didn’t find any.

“Did he…” Eagle said gruffly.

“No,” Tyler said, wiping a hand at his nose. “You got there in time.”

“We should probably get you to the hospital,” he said with a frown.

“No,” Tyler shook his head. “Honestly, he didn’t even get a chance to do more than what he did. Which was yank my pants off and pull his down.”

Eagle swallowed through a tight jaw at the thought of being a few minutes later.

“I’d feel better if you were checked over.”

“Eagle,” Tyler said his name softly, as if testing it out. “I swear, I would tell you. Please don’t make me go there again.”

That’s all it took, and Eagle nodded before pulling the blanket higher around the teenager.

“What now?” Link said, having stood quietly during their exchange of words.

“Now? We take him home.”

A satisfied smile lit Link’s blue eyes and Tyler’s sob of relief was all Eagle needed to hear.

He gathered the pair into his arms, silently offering his strength.