Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

T he shrill ringtone of my phone wakes me. Swiping out an arm, I fumble for the device and see Gray's number on the screen. And then notice it's three in the morning.

"Yeah," I answer.

"We got him. Get dressed. I'm coming to get you."

His words have a sobering effect. I'm wide awake now. "You got him?" I ask, pulling the covers off.

"Yeah, Vinny's got your package ready for collection," Gray says cryptically.

"Okay, I'll meet you out front." I look back at the bed. Montana is still sleeping. "Shit," I hiss under my breath. "I can't leave Montana alone, Gray."

I know that technically she's not alone. There are a shit-ton of security guys posted around the property. No one is getting in. I just don't want her to wake up and find me gone. I'm also not about to wake her up and be forced to answer questions about where I'm going.

"Already on it. Kathryn called Aliyah. She's on her way to your place with Lil and O'Neil."

"Thanks." I run a hand through my hair. "For everything, Grayson. I don't know how I'd get through all this shit without you."

"Don't get soft on me now, Jameson. We're family. This is what family does for each other. I'll meet you out front in ten," he says, then cuts the call.

I pull out a pair of jeans and a hoodie, throw them on, and shove my feet into my runners. When I walk back into the bedroom, I pull the blankets up over Montana's body. "I'm going to make your demons disappear," I whisper before slipping out the door.

The moment I make it down the stairs, I hear a commotion in the kitchen.

"When did your brother call you?" I ask Aliyah when I see everyone crowded around my kitchen.

"About twenty minutes ago. What's going on? All he said was I had to come over here." She raises a questioning brow at me.

"I… ah… I have to go do something. I didn't want Montana to wake up and find me gone."

"Okay, well, we're all here, so you go do what ya gotta do." Aliyah doesn't pry any further. She and Liliana grew up in a world where the less you know, the better.

"Thanks. Sorry for dragging you all out of bed."

"Are you kidding? I'm raiding your snacks, bro. My wife doesn't let me have the good stuff. Yours hasn't taken over the pantries yet," King says, moving from one cabinet to the next.

Liliana walks up to me. "Be careful. Don't do anything that means you won't be coming home to her, because I don't want to see that girl go through any more pain."

"I'll be careful," I tell her.

"You know you don't need to do anything, right? You don't have to have that kind of shit on your conscience," Gray says. "There's nothing wrong with letting someone else take care of a problem for you."

"How's your conscience?" I ask him. We both know what I mean.

"Fine." He shrugs.

"I need to do this. I feel it in my bones. I want his fucking head ripped off his shoulders. He shot my wife, Gray."

"I know. Come on then. Let's go."

I follow him into the abandoned building and hear the groans as soon as we enter. I smile while wondering how loud I can make this fucker scream. Gray leads us into a large open room, where his brother and a few other guys are sitting at a makeshift table playing poker. That's not what has my attention, though. No, all my focus is on the guy sitting on a wooden chair in the middle of the space. He looks right at me and smiles. Fucking smiles.

"I've been waiting for you to show up," he says.

"Yeah? Why's that?" I take a step and then another, but before I reach him, Gray's brother is standing next to me. Pointing a gun at the fucker's temple. "Andrew? Right? This has been a long time coming." My right fist slams into the side of his head, knocking him and the chair to the ground.

He laughs. And then, like a goddamn ninja, he jumps to his feet, his wrists free of his restraints and Vinny's gun in his hand. I blink.

What the fuck just happened?

He's not aiming at me, though. No, his focus is on Gray's brother. Shit. Without a word, a gunshot sounds out and the weapon that was in Andrew's hand clatters against the cement floor.

I look to my right. To Gray and the gun clutched in his grip. Where that came from, I have no idea.

"Thanks, bro." Vinny smiles at Gray before kicking a leg out and knocking Andrew back onto his ass. "Fancy yourself a ninja, do ya?" Vinny asks, as if reading my mind.

"You have no idea." Andrew laughs again.

"I know you shot my wife after you spent years beating on her. You know what kind of man beats a woman?" I ask him. "A weak piece of shit undeserving of his next breath."

"I shot her, but I'm not who you think I am. Andrew was supposed to finish the job. He failed, so I had to pick up the pieces. You think I'll be the last? I won't be. You can't save her. It's her destiny."

I have no idea what the fuck this guy's talking about. And right now, I don't fucking care. I jump on top of him, my vision red as I throw my fist into his head over and over again. I don't know how long I'm on him before I'm pulled off.

"That's enough, Luke. He's done," Gray says.

I look down at the bloodied mess on the floor, then drop my foot on his head one more time. "It's not enough. He needs to feel what he did to her," I grind out while my chest heaves.

"I know. But dead men can't feel shit," he says.

I stare at the body and then at my hands. I killed him. I actually killed him. I try to dig into my soul for some hint of remorse. I don't find it.

"Guys, you might want to look at this," Vinny says while holding up a wallet. He reaches in, pulls something out, and hands it to me.

It's a photo of Andrew… and Andrew? There are two of him. "What the fuck? He has a twin? There's another one of him out there?" I look back down at what's left of the fucker on the floor, and then his words come back to me. "Who was he talking about? When he said they're going to keep coming for her?" I ask aloud to no one in particular .

"No idea, but I'll find out," Vinny assures me.

"Where did you find him?"

"Tracked him down to a shitty little house a few hours from here. No one else was there."

"Send some guys. Have them search the place. If this other fucker is out there, I want him found," Gray adds while tapping on the photo.

"Montana was insistent that it wasn't Andrew at the cemetery. And I think she was right. That's not him." I gesture to the body.

"If this Andrew fuckwit is still out there, I'll find him, Luke. Go home—but wash up first. Your new bride doesn't need to see you like this." He nods to the blood covering my face, chest, and hands.

"Thank you." I don't know how to express just how grateful I am to the Monroe family. I know Vinny's only doing this for his brother, but I'm still fucking glad to have his help.