CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RITCHIE

THE PROBLEM IN INDIANA

“ W hat do we have here?” Catch asked, slapping my shoulder as he entered the torture room.

“I’m not sure you’ve officially met Reece. He’s Daryl’s boyfriend.”

Reece’s head drooped towards his shoulder, but he quickly lifted it with a glare. His caramel skin turned red with anger. “Screw you, asshole.”

“Calm down. You don’t have to get so worked up. Tori is the only one who has a right to be angry. You betrayed her by sleeping with her boyfriend behind her back. Daryl came clean to Tori so I could move past that part. I’m sure she has to. What pissed me off was learning she was blackmailed into staying in a fake relationship with that asshole. That was wrong.”

Laughter erupted from Reece. “She wasn’t too upset while she was driving fancy cars and going on lavish shopping sprees.”

I stalked across the room and curled my fist in the front of his green t-shirt. “She wasn’t free,” I roared.

Taking a step back, I exhaled. “Catch and I are about to grab Man-Man and bring him here. You two can say your goodbyes before I kill you both.”

I firmly placed the gag in his mouth and gave him two quick slaps on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon,” I promised before turning my attention to Rosco, who was huddled in the corner.

His body showed signs of decay and he was shaking uncontrollably from the torture that had been inflicted on him. He was barely holding on. I hoped he would make it through. If not, then Daryl would have to face the sight of his lifeless body.

“Catch, you and I will meet Kagan and the rest of the guys where we believe Daryl is hiding out,” I stated, as we sauntered out of the room.

“Rémy, Romeo, and Ezra will stay here with the girls. Meet you outside in five minutes.”

“All right,” he said before darting down the stairs.

As I entered my bedroom, the darkness enveloped me. The only source of light was the sliver that spilled onto Tori’s peaceful face from the bathroom. She was fast asleep, her soft breathing a soothing sound to my ears. She deserved some rest after everything she had been through. I couldn’t believe I had taken her out of the warehouse earlier, but after the kidnapping, I couldn’t risk leaving her alone. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I gently brushed a loose strand of blonde hair into her messy bun.

Leaning over, my lips brushed the shell of her ear. “Baby, I have to go. I’ve got some important business to handle. I love you. See you soon.”

“Love you, too, Ritchie,” she murmured.

A smile picked up at the ends of my lips as I marveled at her beautiful face. I pressed my lips to hers before I gathered my bulletproof vest and ambled out of the room.

AS SOON AS WE ARRIVED at the specified location in Indiana, my team and I scattered. We were all equipped with bulletproof vests, earpieces, and duffel bags slung across our bodies. The bags were loaded with essential items such as tear gas, grenades, ammunition, and gas masks.

We also carried powerful machine guns and assault rifles equipped with silencers.

Kagan had paid a few neighbors to give him information. He had that boyish charm about him. It didn’t hurt he was the youngest mobster of the group.

Having Kagan here was a big help. His presence allowed Catch, Ezra, Rémy, Romeo, and me to focus our efforts on keeping our women safe and torturing Rosco. Killing Daryl’s men earlier was an added bonus.

Standing with my back against the side of the house across the street from Daryl’s house, I peeked at my watch. My heart slammed against my ribcage. I never knew how shit was going to play out. Daryl had proven to be very crafty.

It was fifteen minutes after midnight. A group of guys pulled up in front of the two-story house. I recognized one guy as the passenger Tori and I had a run in with earlier.

“Once they’re inside, we’ll surround the house and attack,” I said over the earpiece.

“Got it,” Catch said.

He was lying on the roof next door, peering through a sniper rifle scope. He was always our eyes during a situation.

The front door swung open and revealed a towering man, at least six-foot-five, glaring down at the three men on the porch. “Why the fuck are you here?” he growled.

“Come on, man. We just want to party. The incident earlier made those guys run away with their tails between their legs,” the passenger stated.

Catch chuckled. “Oh, so wrong,” he muttered, clearly disagreeing with the statement.

I smirked in response to my cousin’s comment.

The giant man pointed a finger squarely at the chest of the passenger. “I don’t give a damn. You can’t show up here after what went down. Not on the same day. You’re an idiot.”

“Man, you trippin’. Let us in. I heard it’s some fine ass bitches in there.” He peeked to the left and right, trying to see around the big guy’s massive body.

Someone inside the house said something to the big guy. He grabbed the passenger’s jacket and yanked him inside. Seems like he didn’t want to let them in but was ordered to.

Once the guys were inside, I heard the door slam shut.

“Brock, do you have eyes at the back of the house?” I asked.

Music blared through the house. The party had officially started.

“All clear, boss,” he stated.

“Let’s move in,” I ordered as I pulled my black mask over my face, that covered my hair, nose and mouth.

Our men stepped out of the shadows and crouched beside Daryl’s house. I stalked toward the backyard and unhooked the privacy fence latch. Peering inside, I noticed two men standing at the windows, gripping assault rifles. They stared out the windows into the yard.

“Make every shot count. Don’t kill women and children,” I ordered.

“Got it,” Kagan said, as he and Jesse approached.

Jesse was one of the many men my cousin Nick sent.

His dark brown eyes darkened as his gloved hand wrapped around the rifle handle.

The loud music poured out of the house vibrating the pavement.

I glanced at Kagan and Jesse. “On the count of three.” Holding up three fingers, I counted down.

“Three, two, one.”

My AR-fifteen was held firmly in my grasp, the scope aiding my sight as I cautiously made my way into the backyard. Kagan and Jesse were close behind me, ready for action. My finger tightened on the trigger and a shot rang out, shattering the window and hitting one guard in the head. He dropped to the ground with a thud. The other guard didn’t even have time to react before Kagan took aim and fired, quickly taking out the second threat. As a woman’s scream pierced through the air, I gave the command to move forward.

We couldn’t allow Daryl to escape.

I fired another shot, striking the lock before I slammed my boot into the thick wooden door. It flew open. A man stood in my line of sight and opened fire. The guys and I jumped out of the way. A bullet slammed into the enemy’s forehead.

“Great shot, Brock,” I stated.

“Don’t leave one stone unturned,” I ordered the team.

As we made our way through the kitchen, I noticed four women huddled together, hiding under the butcher block counter. They were visibly shaken. Tears streamed down their faces.

Suddenly, a woman appeared from the hallway and started firing bullets into the room. I couldn’t just stand by and let her harm those innocent women. My team and I quickly took up positions on either side of the room, and I cautiously peeked around the corner with my Glock ready. In one swift motion, I aimed and fired a bullet from my gun’s chamber. It hit her shoulder, and she fell to the ground.

Jesse moved quickly, knocking her rifle aside and zip tying her wrists and ankles.

“Get ready to die, bitch ass white boys,” she spat.

“The entire crew isn’t made up of white boys,” Jesse snickered.

“As you can see, I’m black.” He shook his head.

I guess Daryl told his people our crew was made up of only white men. Rosco knew different since my team, and I fought against him in battle.

Our team stormed the house. I could distinctly point out who was with us by the sound their weapons made. Because we used silencers, I heard pip sounds. Daryl’s men used handguns. Their weapons caused ringing in my ears. We apprehended as many enemies as we could as we stalked through the house.

I noticed something moving under the coffee table in the living room. Gripping one end, I tossed the table aside.

“Don’t shoot,” the guy spat.

A cocky smirk hit my lips. “So we meet again.”

The passenger smacked his lips. “Fuck you, motherfucka.”

Kagan and Jesse laughed.

I pressed the muzzle of my gun against his forehead and spoke over the music. “You thought we retreated with our tails between our legs. You were mistaken.” With that, I pulled the trigger and watched as his body fell to the ground.

To create a distraction, we left the music playing in the background. Through my earpiece, I asked for an update on our target’s location. Unfortunately, none of my team had eyes on Daryl. Frustration building, I focused my gaze on the end of the hallway, where I saw a familiar bulky figure. It was the same man who had been guarding the door, now deceased, with blood dripping from a bullet wound in his forehead. His lifeless eyes seemed to stare right through me.

Turning back, I peeked between Kagan and Jesse as I pointed a gloved finger downstairs. Our footsteps halted at the basement door.

Jesse reached for the knob, swinging it open.

Gunfire erupted. A bullet pierced Jesse’s vest.

“Ouch,” he barked.

“Kagan, cover me,” I said.

I grabbed Jesse’s body and dragged him to the side.

Staring down the hallway, I waved one of our guys over.

“Get him out of here,” I ordered.

“I’m not leaving,” Jesse bit out.

His determination made me proud. “Ok.”

I glanced at Ray, who kneeled beside Jesse. “Keep him safe.”

“I will,” Ray responded.

Standing to my full height, I met Kagan’s gaze. “Ready?” I asked as I slid my night vision goggles over my eyes.

“Born ready,” he replied, slipping his on.

I let out a small laugh in front of my team before we all put on our gas masks. I took out a tear gas canister from the pocket of my cargo pants and armed it by pulling the pin. With a swift throw, I flung it down the dark staircase.

“Shit,” Daryl muttered from somewhere in the basement.

We cautiously made our way down the stairs, with Daryl firing his weapon blindly into the darkness. My men and I, equipped with night vision goggles, easily picked off his men one by one as they surrounded him.

“It’s time to go, Daryl. I have someone special waiting for you at our headquarters,” I said coldly.

“Stay the fuck back!” Daryl yelled, frantically searching for us.

“Your time is up,” I stated calmly as I shot his gun out of his hand.

I lunged towards him, grabbing his t-shirt and delivering a strong punch to his jaw with my gloved fist.

“Ah!” he cried out in pain.

“I have big plans for you, Daryl.”