Chapter 124

An odd calm settled over me, considering what we were about to do and the danger my brothers were putting themselves in. Cade and Gabby could handle themselves. They’d do whatever the fuck it took to survive. But Declan, Lucas, and Finn? They didn’t fucking have a mean bone in their body. They were fired up over Nolan and Genevieve being taken, but would that be enough?

I wasn’t so sure.

“Listen up,” I began quietly, “Lane and I will take the front. Cade and Gabby are going to stick near the back. I need the three of you to stay in the fucking middle and don’t get involved. I know you want to help, but you’re not cut out for this shit. That’s not a bad thing, but it is the fucking truth. I don’t want anything to happen to you three. Got it?”

“Yeah.” Lucas nodded, a motion echoed by Finn as well.

“Step one is to get us in there,” I continued. “From what I can tell, they’re toward the front of the fucking building. But that’s just from what I can hear. I have no fucking clue what we’re walking into, but we’re going in the back door. Step two will be to draw her out. Beau?”

“Where do you want me, boss?” Beau asked, grinning like a fucking idiot.

“Beau, you’re going to be bait,” I told him. “She’s in there, and we need her out of the fucking way. I need you to draw her away from them. Understood?”

“Think she likes love ballads?” he replied.

“No one likes love ballads sung by you. You’re tone deaf, and you change the fucking lyrics.”

“I improve the fuckin’ lyrics but point taken.”

“Remember, you’re not impervious to magic,” Lane cut in, glaring at Beau. “It didn’t work out for you. She may not be able to control you, but she can throw your ass into the fucking water.”

“She can fuckin’ try,” he scoffed.

“Step one, get us in there. Step two, Beau serenades her enough to get his ass kicked,” I said over them. “Step three is to get Genevieve and Nolan. That’s where you lot come in, you understand? Get them and get the fuck out. Cade and Gabby have got your backs, and Sam is close enough for a fast getaway.”

“What about you?” Declan asked.

“Me? I’m going to fucking kill her. This ends tonight,” I replied. I stared at Declan, watching as he crossed his arms and drew in a deep breath. I expected backlash and morality.

“You better be careful,” he said softly. “I want everyone home tonight, understand?”

“Yeah, I do.” And that was that. There wasn’t a fucking thing more we could say. “No talking, head’s up, stay ready. Lane? Take the lead.”

Lane gave a curt nod and drew his gun. The man was all business where it counted—thank fuck.

“Beau, get your sorry ass around front and wait for my signal,” he ordered. Beau offered a quick salute and vanished into the dark. “Slow and quiet, wolves. The last thing we need is you drawing her attention our way.”

I stuck close to Lane, gun in hand and ready. This part was fucking easy. This part was muscle memory. How many places had I broken into just like this? Breaching the back door was easy—maybe too easy—and painful screams greeted us.

Nolan.

My stomach knotted while Lane whirled on one heel, finger pressed to his mouth.

“No one move,” he hissed. I watched his face as magic swirled in his eyes. It was brief but there. Not even a minute later, somewhere on the other side of the building, Beau belted out the worst fucking song I’d ever heard. He was loud, obnoxious, and butchering lyrics. I cocked my head as I listened closer, trying to pick up the tune.

“Is he… singing Careless Whisper?” I asked, bewildered. Jesus fucking Christ, this goddamn man.

“Trying to is the key phrase,” Lane muttered. Beau did say he’d sing her a love ballad. “Man fucking loves George Michael.”

I shook my head but said nothing more. Every muscle tensed, and I felt the monster inside me screaming to be acknowledged. Not yet. I kept that phrase on repeat as I listened to Sadie storm out of the warehouse to deal with Beau.

“Fast and light on your feet,” Lane ordered. We moved quickly and silently—mostly silent. Finn damn near brained himself slipping on water.

The minute I saw Genevieve, I held a finger to my mouth to silence her as her eyes widened. Anger fucking surged through me. My poor wife. She dangled from the ceiling by a chain clamped around her wrists. Her tiptoes barely touched the ground. She looked fucking exhausted and terrified.

Over my shoulder, I motioned for Cade to follow me while Lane took charge of the others. I holstered my gun and fucking prayed I didn’t need it.

“Lift her up,” Cade said. He barely had the chance to as I wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted, bearing the brunt of her weight. Fuck, her shoulder was dislocated. I could see it in the way she winced and how it jutted out at an odd angle.

“Nolan!” Genevieve gasped. “You have to—”

“We know,” I interrupted. “We know, baby girl. They’ve got him. Just let us focus on you, okay? Let us focus on you.”

“You have to save Nolan,” she whimpered as I repositioned her and ultimately adjusted her shoulder.

“We will, Genevieve, but right now we need to get you down, okay?” I told her in a hushed voice. “Cade? Any fucking luck?”

“Just give me a minute,” he replied.

“We may not have a fucking minute,” I warned him as the singing turned to yelling outside. “Faster, Cade.”

“Almost there…” He grunted. The grinding of metal made my wife startle in my arms, and her head whipped around, trying to see what he was doing.

“Look at me, Genevieve,” I said gently to pull her attention back to me. “Come on, princess. Eyes on me.”

Those golden eyes were wide as she did what I asked. She struggled to hold my gaze. I didn’t blame her. She wasn’t made for this shit.

“I’ll get you out of here. I promise. Both of you,” I whispered. She faltered, searching my face as the words sank in. “I know. Lane told me.”

The chains gave way, and her body gave out. I caught her and held her up. Her legs trembled something fierce as Cade made quick work of disengaging her wrists from the chains.

“Baby girl, I need to pop your shoulder back in,” I said. “Cade’s going to cover your mouth to keep you from making a sound, okay,”

“I’ll be gentle,” Cade promised. He stood behind her and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Ready for me?” I asked. Hesitantly, she nodded. She wasn’t ready. But I didn’t fucking count it out or any of that shit. That shit was a waste of time. I just put her shoulder back in place with a hard push. Her knees buckled, and Cade’s hand caught the cry she let out. I smoothed down her hair when he let go. “You’re good. You’re good.”

“Nolan!” Genevieve exclaimed and completely disregarded anything I had to say. Before I could stop her, she skirted under my arm and darted across the warehouse.

“Genevieve!” I hissed and rushed after her. Jesus fucking Christ this woman was going to get herself killed.

My heart stuttered in my chest when I rounded the corner and nearly ran her down. I grabbed her as her legs gave out—clinging to her the same way she did to me. We weren’t the only ones shocked. Finn was crouched a few feet away, head between his knees as he took deep breaths, while Lucas stood frozen. Only Declan knelt in the blood next to Lane as they studied Nolan.

Fucking hell. She’d done a goddamn number on the kid. More than half a dozen metal spikes were drilled into him—shoulders, arms, legs, and torso. I lost count of how many cuts she’d dolled out, carving into his skin. Some were deeper than others. Some quick slices, others planned out paths of torture.

But the worst of it was the spike drilled through his eye. Blood coated his face and every so often, his eyelid fluttered against the spike.

Jesus fucking Christ.The room tipped as I saw red. Nolan was breathing—barely. We had to get him the fuck out of here and fast.

“We can’t fucking touch him,” Lane snapped angrily. “The metal is wolf’s metal, which means you can’t touch him, and my magic won’t fucking work on it. She stripped all the fucking screws, so we can’t even do it the long way.”

“I have the bracelet you gave Raven,” Cade said. “Would I be able to?”

“Even if you could,” Lucas whispered, “we can’t take any of that out here. It could kill him.”

I glanced at Lucas, and my heart lurched into my throat as I caught the movement behind Finn. Sadie. Silent and using our distractedness against us, she approached Finn from behind with a knife in her hand.

“Behind you, Finn!” I yelled and hoped to fuck he moved fast enough because there was no way in hell I was getting to him first. He twisted, throwing a hand up to protect himself as the knife came down. I drew my gun and braced for the worst while my heart hammered in my chest.

But the worst never fucking happened.

Her knife came down as his hand flew up, and the two collided. His hand began to glow, bursting to life with a golden light. It radiated down his arm and consumed his entire body until he was nothing more than a ball of light—too bright to stare at.

“Holy fuck, he’s got magic…” I let out in awe. Sadie’s magic flared—purple clashing against gold—unable to touch him. I grabbed Genevieve and dragged her close, shielding her. I knew unstable magic when I saw it. I shouted, “Right hook, kid!”

Without question, Finn did as I ordered. Magic sliced through magic and exploded.