Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

LUCILLE

As much as I know that I need to stay in this condo, as much as I know there are dangerous people outside, I also can’t just sit here any longer. Theron came to me, then he was gone again. Something is happening. I can feel it deep in my bones. If I stay here, I won’t know what it is.

If I go out there, I might die.

I’ve never been one to just sit around and not take any chances. So I do the one thing that I swore I wouldn’t. I sneak out of the condo. I know where Theron has gone. Well, I suspect I know where he’s at, so that’s where I go.

It doesn’t take me long to get there. Stepping out of the condo and gathering my bearings, I know exactly where I am. I’m only a few blocks from the Willow Club, so that’s exactly where I head.

I know I shouldn’t, but Theron is there, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else other than with him, beside him. That’s where I need to be. I can’t think of anything or anyone else.

There is only Theron.

I press my lips together as I move closer and closer to the club. When I finally arrive, I stop in the parking lot. It’s full. Completely and totally full. There are cars everywhere, and early in the morning.

What the fuck?

What the actual fuck ?

My initial idea is to walk straight up to the door, reach for the handle, open it, and walk right inside. Rationally, I know that’s really freaking dumb, so I decide against it. Instead, I scan the parking lot for Theron’s car. It doesn’t take me long to find the sexy beast, so I decide to stand beside it and watch.

So much watching.

I need to know what I’m dealing with here.

As I sit and watch the door, I can’t help but think about the way he made me feel this morning. I seriously can’t get past it. I love this man. With everything inside of me, there is nobody else for me.

I’m completely and totally obsessed with him. If he tried to walk away from me again, I would simply follow him.

There can be nobody else for me, and there sure as shit cannot be anyone else for him but me.

I’m not sure how I’m going to get into this place without being seen. I’m pretty sure the reason there’s a price on my head is because I snuck down into their basement. Granted, I didn’t find anything except an empty room, but the heaviness of that room and the way it made me feel was all I needed to know.

Bad things happen down there.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I tap the steering wheel and try to come up with a plan. I literally drove down here with no idea of what I was going to be doing. Just driving here on hope and a prayer, and now what?

I’m seconds from giving up completely, backing out of the spot, and heading back to the condo when a car pulls up beside me. Slowly, I turn my head and wince at the sight of Vaughn jumping out of the driver’s seat.

Of course, he found me. He’s probably already told Theron that I’m here, too. Keeping my gaze on him, I watch as he walks up to my window, rapping his knuckle on the glass. Letting out a heavy sigh, I roll the window down.

Vaughn crouches down, his eyes searching mine. “You ran off,” he announces.

“I wanted to know?—”

He holds up his hand. “I know what you wanted to know, but trust me, you do not.”

I open my mouth but snap my lips closed when I hear the door to the club swing open. Vaughn stands, and then I watch as he rushes forward. Turning my attention toward the action, I gasp at the sight.

Theron is running out of the Willow Club. He’s got one boy in his arms, three more behind him, and he’s covered in blood. Without thinking, without caring for my safety, I push the car door open and unfold before I run toward Vaughn and Theron.

I don’t know what to say when I arrive in front of him. Thankfully, he doesn’t give me the opportunity to speak. Instead, he thrusts the boy from his arms to mine. His gaze meets mine. It connects for a moment, and then he speaks.

“Take them to your car. Stay there. Lock the door. Go back to the condo if shit gets bad,” he barks.

Holding the little boy in my arms, I’m surprised at how absolutely still he is. The others are wide-eyed but don’t say a word. I do what Theron demands, although I have a million unasked and unanswered questions as I do it.

Once the boys are all settled in the back seat of my car, except for the one who clings to me, I keep him in my arms. Flicking my gaze to the rearview mirror, I watch them. The oldest can’t be more than ten.

What were they doing in that nightclub?

And why was Theron covered in blood? I have so many questions.

THERON

Leaving the boys with Lucille, I jog back into Willow Club. I’m not sure what I’m going to find. I know I didn’t kill everyone. I also don’t know what the fuck has happened in there within the few minutes I’ve been gone.

Running down the staircase, I stop when I make it into the room. Vaughn has three men held at gunpoint, plus Emmie and Charlie. Asher is sprawled out dead in a pool of his blood, along with Victor, who is much the same.

Fucking pieces of shit.

Gnashing my teeth together, I jerk my chin toward Vaughn. “Where are the rest?” I ask.

He turns to me, his eyes finding mine, and I expect him to look pissed, but he doesn’t. “Hale called us all the minute he saw you walk in here. This shit has stunk all fucking day long. The activity was way beyond normal, and he’s been on high fucking alert.”

Vaughn hasn’t answered my question. Thankfully, he isn’t finished talking because he continues and answers me when he does.

“Boden and Grayson were outside of the loading area. They took care of the truck driver, and that separated the men who got away from the boys. I wasn’t expecting this kind of bloodshed, though.”

I think about how to respond to that, mainly because it’s my fault that there is bloodshed to begin with. “You piece of shit,” Emmie shouts from her place on the floor.

Slowly, my gaze drifts down to her, and I arch my brow as I watch her for a long moment. “I’m a piece of shit?” I ask.

She lifts her chin, her gaze narrowing on me. There it is. The hate that fills her eyes is what I’ve always known was there. I take a step toward her and crouch down in front of her, making sure to be far enough away that she can’t actually touch me.

“I’m a piece of shit?” I ask again. “Explain. Why?”

Instead of saying a word, she spits at me, and it lands on the floor in front of me. I flick my gaze down to her saliva on the floor, then lift it back up and connect it to hers. “Cute,” I state. “You participate in selling boys to perverts, and I’m the piece of shit?”

Emmie snorts. “You think that anyone cares about them? They’re orphans, Theron. They will have a better life where they’re going than where they were, forgotten and ignored.”

The sheer amount of things wrong with her last statement is more than I can count on one hand. Tilting my head to the side, I watch her for a moment, wondering if she truly believes what she’s just said, and I can tell she does.

I lift my gun and press the barrel against her head. “I was one of those boys, you cunt. And I can tell you that never, not even once, did I think I was better off being abused by a grown-ass fucking man. Eat shit and die.”

I pull the trigger, watching as her brains are blown out of the back of her head. A woman’s shrill scream fills the room, and I look over my shoulder to see Lucille standing at the doorway, her hand covering her mouth, but it does nothing to muffle the sounds of her screams.

Then, I feel my body flying through the air. My breath is pushed out of my body before I feel hands wrap around my throat. Looking up, I see the man above me and almost laugh. It’s Charlie. This motherfucker thinks he’s going to end me. The thought is goddamn laughable.

Lifting my hips, I am able to throw him off guard and roll him onto his back. His eyes widen as soon as his head hits the concrete floor beneath him. He tries to continue choking me, but I’ve killed bigger men with less advantage before. He is fucking nothing.

Rearing my head back, I slam it forward against his forehead, hearing the back of his skull thump against the concrete floor again. Fucking brilliant. His grip loosens around my throat, and I slip my arms between us and push his hands away, then use my own to wrap around his throat.

Squeezing, using significantly more strength than Charlie could ever muster, even on his strongest day, I watch as the light begins to drain from his eyes. Straddling him for better leverage, I continue to squeeze.

When Charlie’s body stops squirming, then convulsing, only then do I stand up. Walking over to where my gun went flying, I pick it up and make my way back to his still body before emptying two bullets into his skull.

Vaughn clears his throat, jerking his chin toward the three men he’s still holding hostage. “Take care of that one,” he murmurs, jerking his head behind him toward Lucille. “I’ll get some answers over here.”

I want to be the one to get answers. I want to be the one who tortures and shows these men the same nightmares that they give to the boys they purchase. The nothing orphans, according to Emmie. I can’t do that, though. I need to deal with Lucille.

I make my way over to her and stop in front of her pale, almost seemingly lifeless body. She’s standing, but her eyes are wide and filled with fear. Her hand is still covering her mouth as she stares straight ahead.

“Sweetheart,” I murmur. “Where are the boys?”

She shakes her head, her mouth moving, but no words come out. “Grayson has them,” Vaughn calls out when Lucille doesn’t answer me.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her against my chest. Dipping my chin down, I look into her eyes, just inches from her face. I want to kiss her, then fuck her right here—right now.

“You’re covered in blood,” she whispers. “You killed Emmie,” she unnecessarily adds.

“I did,” I state.

“You said you were one of those boys,” she exhales.

“That’s a topic of conversation for another day.”

Lucille shakes her head. Looking over my shoulder, I glance back at Vaughn. “You got this?”

He clears his throat before he answers me. “Take your woman and get your shit sorted.”

As I bend down and slide my arm beneath her knees, Lucille’s legs give out. I pick her up, carry her upstairs, and head toward my car. She slides her arms around my shoulders before resting her head against me, nuzzling her face into my blood-soaked neck.

I don’t tell her that she probably doesn’t want other people’s blood on her, but I don’t give a fuck right now. I need her close to me, and she needs me close to her. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t.