23. Gage

23

GAGE

D on't slip. Don't mess up. Don't blow your cover.

Gage set his expression into a hard mask of hatred as he stepped into the storage room. No amount of repetition could have prepared him for the sight in front of him.

Thea was slumped to the side in a chair that was bolted to the floor. Her hands were tied behind her back, and her ankles were strapped to the legs of the chair. The rag in her mouth that was tied behind her head muffled her protests as she squirmed in the seat.

White-hot rage heated Gage from the inside out. He'd make sure they paid for every scratch they inflicted on her. The fear in her eyes only propelled him forward.

Cain stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. Bruce stood beside her, staring down at her like a hungry wolf.

Gage slowed his steps as he moved to stand in front of his sister. Bending down, he braced his hands on either side of the chair. He locked his gaze on her but directed his words toward the men behind him. "Police were dispatched to the wreck. They should be out of the way for now."

"Where is Tommy?" Cain asked.

Thea's breaths were short, and tears streaked down her cheeks as she held Gage's stare.

"On guard." His attention didn't move from Thea as he mouthed, "Brett is coming."

A sob racked her chest, and the tears renewed. Gage reached behind Thea's head and untied the rag stuffed in her mouth. She gasped as soon as it fell from her face.

When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide with fear. "They'll kill you," she whispered.

Bruce walked behind Gage to talk to Cain, and Gage let his mask fall slightly. His whispered words were barely audible. "I'd rather die than do this to you. Hang in there, and trust us."

The door opened again, and Gage lifted his attention from Thea. All the hope he'd been carrying died when Emerson stood in the doorway.

Thea shouted, "Help! Get–"

"Get out!" Cain bellowed above Thea's plea, pointing toward the door behind Emerson. "Forget what you saw, and don't come back."

Emerson's wide eyes darted around the room as she stood frozen. Gage warned her to leave, and she hadn't listened. Now, he had two people to protect if things got dicey.

Slowly, Emerson stepped backward into the hallway and closed the door.

One down, one to go.

Cain cursed. "Go shut her up."

Gage gave Thea another glance. He needed to find out where Brett was and make sure Emerson got out before Tommy caught her.

"Don't hurt her. Please," Thea begged. She was doing a much better job at acting than Gage, and he'd be sure to applaud her for it later.

There would be a later. He just had to choose his actions carefully.

Gage walked out of the room slowly, buying time until backup arrived. Emerson slumped against the wall in the hallway, panting through panic.

"I told you to leave," Gage whispered.

"I couldn't. They have Thea!"

"They'll have you too. Get out of here."

A crash sounded from the garage, and Gage darted down the hallway. That better be Brett.

Brett charged toward the doorway as another man let his fist fly at Tommy's face. Bones crunched as the older man fell like a tree .

"Where?" Brett asked.

"There." He pointed toward the storage room. "Does your friend need a hand?"

Brett didn't look up. "Nope. Got it covered." He stalked over to the storage room door and tried the knob.

"You're so wholesome. It's locked, nitwit."

Brett took a step back, lifted his leg, and slammed his foot into the door. It rattled but stayed. He kicked the door again, and the wood around the lock splintered and burst open. Thea screamed from inside the room as Brett barged in.

Within seconds, Brett's fist met Bruce's face, then Cain's. They'd been too stunned to defend themselves and both landed on their backs.

Brett cut Thea free from the ties, and Gage kept an eagle eye on Bruce and Cain, watching Brett's back while he freed Thea. Brett was still worrying over her when Cain pushed to his feet. Shaking his head, he wiped a drop of blood from his lip and reached for the waistband of his pants.

Gage chambered a round and raised his pistol, pointing the barrel steady and sure at Cain's chest. "Drop it."

Cain's eyes widened and he cursed, raising his own weapon at Gage.

Steadily, Gage squeezed the trigger, and the shot rang out in the small room. Thea let out a shrill scream as Cain twisted and fell to the ground like dead weight.

So much for walking out of here without any bloodshed. As long as Thea wasn't the one bleeding, Gage was counting it as a win.

Brett's attention was locked on Thea who was gasping for air. She had a collapsed lung. How far had they set back her recovery today?

Cain screamed and writhed on the floor as Bruce made his way to his feet. Brett herded Thea behind him.

"Don't worry. The police are on their way," Brett said over his shoulder.

"Let them come!" Bruce spat as he glared at Brett and Thea. "You're trespassing."

"I gave you a chance," Brett said. "I offered you a ceasefire. You were stupid not to take it. If you think we win by killing each other, you're wrong."

Bruce turned his fury toward Gage, pointing at him as if he were identifying a suspect. "I knew you were a traitor."

The broken door moved behind Gage, and Brett's friend stepped into the room. Emerson hid herself behind him, clearly taking a side of her own.

Bruce's chest heaved in deep swells as he pointed at the guy and Emerson. "And you, too. You were a Patton from the start."

Brett's friend frowned. Confused by how he fit into this tangled web .

"What?" Emerson asked with narrowed eyes.

"You," Bruce said, jabbing his finger at his daughter. "Your stupid mom couldn't stay away from the Pattons. You're just as much a Patton as he is." Bruce's finger swung to Brett.

Gage blinked between the two. Emerson was a Patton?

If she wasn't in danger before, she was now.

"That's not true!" she shouted.

"She couldn't stay away from Oscar! You were a Patton from the start."

Oscar. Brett's dad. That would make Emerson Brett's sister.

Oh, man. This was going from bad to worse. Bruce had probably been stewing on this for years, waiting for a chance to punish Emerson or her mom. Now, the cat was out of the bag, and all bets were off.

Thea pleaded from behind Brett, "Linc–"

Her life was clearly in danger, but she was asking Brett's friend to protect Emerson. The guy, Linc, had already moved in front of Emerson. Bruce's shoulders drew in, and his face bloomed a deep shade of red.

Emerson pushed around Linc, who stuck out his arm, trying to keep her behind him. "What are you talking about? I'm your daughter. I'm a Howard."

Bruce let out a sinister laugh. "Not enough of one. "

"Let Thea and Emerson go," Brett said. "They didn't do any of this."

Bruce let out a high-pitched whistle and turned to Gage with a sinister grin. "I have backup, and you're out of time."

Gage pointed his gun at Bruce, but his blood ran cold.

I'll call him. The words Gage had overheard Tommy say while listening in on their conversation earlier. They hadn't called Brett. They'd called for backup.

Making a grand entrance, Gage's younger brother, Max, stepped into the doorway wielding a shotgun as if it were a child's toy. His sadistic smile had Gage's stomach rolling in his middle.

He hadn't seen Max in years, and from the familiar wildness in his eyes, his mental state was as volatile as ever.

Max leveled the shotgun at Gage. "Hey, bro."

Gage locked his attention on his younger brother. Max's moods flipped like a light switch, and he could easily take out the whole room with one squeeze of the trigger. "What are you doing here?"

Max grinned. His teeth were more rotted and twisted than the last time Gage saw him. "Good behavior."

Gage pointed his gun at Max, ready to act on a moment's notice. Max wouldn't give much of a heads-up before launching into a killing spree .

Max pouted. "You'd kill your own brother?"

"No," Gage answered surely, "I'm not like you."

"Where is Tommy?" Bruce asked.

Linc kept his focus on Max. "He's outside. He'll need a Band-aid when you get a chance."

Max turned to Linc as if he'd just discovered a new toy. He slowly swung the barrel of the shotgun around the room, looking all too excited at the prospect of a new victim.

Brett dove for Max's back and wrapped an arm around his neck. Bruce attacked Brett, punching and swinging furiously. Max fought back with wild and desperate punches.

Max dropped the shotgun, and Gage lunged for it. A whisper of sirens drifted over the shouts in the room as he handed the shotgun to Emerson.

Linc joined the fight, wrapping Bruce's stout body from behind enough to body slam the older man to the ground.

Brett wrestled Max to the ground, pinning him as best he could with arms flailing. "Gage, put the gun down before the police get in here."

Unwilling to let go of his lifeline just yet, Gage listened past the clamor in the room. The sirens had stopped, and a loud bang boomed in the air from somewhere outside.

Gage put the gun on the floor at his feet, and Emerson did the same. He fought past Max's flailing arms to help Brett pin him down .

Seconds later, a herd of SWAT officers dressed in black appeared in the broken doorway with guns raised. "Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!"

One officer held a weapon pointed at Brett and Gage as they struggled to hold Max down. "Now!"

Gage let go and backed away slowly. Brett pulled back, resting onto his knees, and Max immediately lunged for one of the SWAT officers with his hands, reaching for the guy's throat.

The officer fired, sending Max flying back to the ground. Thea and Emerson screamed, adding a level of fear to the already tense room.

Two officers quickly pinned Max as they shouted orders to the others.

Dawson Keller stood over Brett with his weapon at the ready. "Hands up. Don't move."

Gage might have had his hang-ups with Dawson over the last few months, but he'd never been more excited to see the guy. It had been Brett's idea to disclose everything to Dawson and Asa before the meeting this morning.

Asa barged in and marched straight for Brett. "I thought I told you to wait for me."

"You were running late, and I made an executive decision."

"We can't just barge in when there have been reports of gunfire! We had to coordinate the SWAT team and the hostage negotiator." Asa sighed and jerked his head toward Thea. "You can check on her."

Brett didn't hesitate, he rushed over to Thea who was sitting with her back against the far wall with Emerson. Blood streaked down her face, and her breaths were quick and shallow.

Dawson planted himself beside Gage. "Thanks for holding down the fort until we got here."

"All in a day's work," Gage said. "I swear I had no idea Max was here."

"We considered the possibility. We got word a few weeks ago he was out, so we've been keeping an eye out for him. I figured it wouldn't be long until he lost his cool again and ended up back in custody."

"Do you have a way to check on Hadley?" Gage asked.

Dawson turned his head and spoke into the radio on his shoulder. Gage tuned out the back-and-forth until the female dispatcher returned with the update.

"She has received medical attention and been released from the care of the paramedics."

"Where is she?" Gage asked, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Dawson shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"I need to get to her." Anticipation tickled just beneath Gage's skin, begging him to run and find her .

"You're gonna be here a while, but I'll tell Lyric to keep her updated on how things are going here."

A hollowness settled in Gage's chest. "No. I need to see her. I need to see if she's okay."

Dawson gave him a knowing side glance. "I'll see what I can do. I'd feel the same way if something happened to Olivia."

Gage and Dawson hadn't always seen eye to eye, but today, they were on the same team. Gage's alliances were crumbling and reshaping. This was his first time cooperating with law enforcement, and the level of patience needed was more than he could muster right now.

He had to get to her. With the threat to Thea's life resolved, Hadley was the only thing on his mind.