Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I 'm keen to get this over with. I want to go back to Vancouver and start my fucking life with Montana. These past couple of weeks have been a nightmare. I'm still having flashbacks of seeing my wife's lifeless body in my arms. That's not something I ever want to experience again.

There are five SUVs. I'm in one with Gray and his brother, Vinny. My knee bounces. I want to get this done. I wouldn't say I enjoy taking a life, considering I've only ever done it once before, and it's not something I plan on continuing.

But it's a necessity. My need to keep Montana safe makes it worth the risk of whatever could happen to me. Her life is more important to me than anything else. If I have to spend the rest of my years behind bars, knowing that the assholes determined to hurt her are no longer breathing, then I'm okay with that.

We pull up the long winding road on the farmland the cult uses as their base of operation.

"Let me get out first. Let me talk to her first," Vinny says.

"Why?" I ask him.

"Because she knows you, and we don't want to spook her," he explains. "Let me get her restrained so she can't run off, and then I'll signal for you to come out."

I nod my head in agreement, when really it's the last thing I want to do. If she runs, I can fucking chase her ass. I don't care about the extra effort. That said, I will do this his way. I'm not exactly the expert on turning up at someone's residence with a plan to kill them.

"It's going to work out," Gray tells me.

"I know." I'm not leaving here without knowing that woman's heart no longer beats within her chest.

Vinny gets out of the car, followed by a bunch of his guys, and together they all approach the perimeter. Gray waits in the back of the SUV with me. I don't know if it's for moral support or if it's more to make sure I don't jump out.

It doesn't take long before Vinny and his guys are surrounded by a crowd of people. Other cult members, I'm guessing. "Fucking morons," Gray mumbles under his breath while staring through the windshield.

Everyone is wearing some shade of white or cream. It's the very picture of one of those weird communes you see on documentaries, right before everyone drinks the Kool-Aid. I look through the many faces. But I don't see hers. I don't see the man she's supposed to be married to either.

I studied the photos of the pair of them for hours. Then again after we surveilled the farm yesterday. I wanted to know them the moment I saw them. But they're not here, among the group of people surrounding Vinny and his guys, who are all pointing guns at them. Not that the cult members seem at all fazed by the weapons aimed their way.

None of them are saying anything. They're just looking. Staring. Almost as if they're seeing aliens or some shit. It's weird, and a little freaky. "What the fuck is going on?" I ask Gray.

"No idea." He shrugs.

"They're not here," I tell him while gesturing out the window. That's when I see it. A blur, someone shuffling through the tents. "There!" I point, not waiting for Gray to acknowledge me before I open the door and run in that direction.

I weave around the tents. I can see two figures ahead of me. I can't tell if it's them, but my gut is telling me I'm right. Spineless fuckers. Some leaders they are. Running at the sign of trouble and leaving their unsuspecting minions to face the firing squad. Quite literally.

I catch up to the pair, tackling the first one I can to the ground. A grunt is followed by a string of curse words as I land on top of him. Then someone is pounding on my back repeatedly. "Get off him. What the hell do you think you're doing?" a female voice hisses at me.

I look over my shoulder and recognition hits both of us. I jump off the figure on the ground, just as Gray stops short, pulls the guy to his feet, and holds him in place. I take two steps towards Kristy Baker. My mother-in-law. The bitch who wants to kill my wife.

"Luke? What are you doing here?" she asks. "How's your mother?"

"You know exactly why I'm here, Kristy." I don't owe her the same respect I did as a child. I won't call her ma'am or Mrs. Baker. She's just Kristy now. And she doesn't even deserve that.

"No, I don't." She shakes her head while taking a step backwards.

"You see, I heard you've been after my wife. You want to sacrifice Montana for your own selfish agenda," I tell her what she already knows.

"Your wife? You and Montana got married? When?" Kristy folds her arms over her chest, not doing a single thing to refute the claims I just made.

"That would be something I'd share with her mother. But you? You're not her mother. You're nothing but a pathetic excuse for a human being. Do you have any idea how much your leaving fucked them up?" I'm angry. I don't know if I've ever hated a person as much as I hate her right now. Except maybe Andrew. They can share the privilege.

"I'm her mother, and this is her birthright. It's an honor to be the sacrifice. She'll see that," Kristy says.

"You don't get it. I'm not here to have a friendly little chat. I'm here to make sure you can never hurt my wife again," I tell her.

I pull the pistol out from where it was tucked into the waistband of my pants. It seems I still have some morals when it comes to this woman, because I can't bring myself to fucking hit her. Instead, I aim the barrel right between her eyes.

"Any other mother would be fucking proud of her. She's an amazing person, despite what you've done to her. But you'll never know that." I click the safety off and press down on the trigger. My arm jerks back slightly. "I'll see you in hell," I grunt as Kristy's body hits the ground.

"No! You can't. What did you do?" This comes from her husband.

Vinny steps forward and takes the gun out of my hands. "Go get in the car," he says before turning to his brother. "Gray, take him home. I'm going to finish up here."

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Gray lands a palm on my shoulder, and I follow him to the car before jumping into the passenger seat.

Throughout the drive, Gray keeps glancing in my direction. I have no idea what he's looking for, but I don't say a single thing. When we're thirty minutes away from the hotel, he stops the car on the side of the road and pivots to face me. "You okay?"

"Fine," I tell him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you just shot your mother-in-law?"

"That was not Montana's mother. That woman hasn't deserved that title in a really long time," I say. "I'm not going to let anyone who's a threat to my wife continue to breathe the same air as her."

"Okay. Well, if you ever need to talk or anything, you know I'm here." He pulls back into traffic.

"I appreciate that."

When we park at the hotel, Gray heads to his room and I go straight for mine. Montana is sitting cross-legged on the bed watching a movie. She looks at me and then jumps up.

Without a word, she walks over and throws her arms around my waist. "Thank you," she whispers.

"You don't have to thank me, Tanna." I kiss the top of her head.

"Are you okay?" She peers up at me .

"I am now that you're in my arms. Are you ready to go home? We have a dream to start living."

"More than ready," Montana says. "I love you, Luke, so much."

"I love you." I lean in and press my lips to hers. This woman is my whole fucking world. I was an idiot for wasting so many years without her. I will never spend another day away from her.