Claimed (Blood Ties Book 6)

Emptiness. That’s all that filled me now. Not the sharp stench of flames, or the tang of blood that clung to my nostrils. I was a vacuum of violence as I climbed back into the Audi outside Hale’s empty house. A void. One that stared straight ahead as London started the engine.

“The warehouse.” I heard myself mutter. “Take me to my warehouse.”

Colt’s face came to me. Dark, intense blue eyes that bored right through me.

But out of the millions of snapshots I had of him, one came blazing back. It was the moment with Vivienne, when he saw me hurting her.

His fists were curled, pulled back, ready to unleash as he grabbed me by my shirt, that careful stare full of rage.

He would’ve punched me then. Would’ve laid me the fuck out…for her.

I closed my eyes as the floodgates opened and the flickers of him and her came rushing back, rushing to me so fast I couldn’t catch my breath. Them on the chair in London’s dark room, them in the shower as he fucked her against the wall.

Them holding hands.

Kissing.

Loving.

“Faster.” I opened my eyes. “Drive faster, London.”

The Audi surged and the speedometer rose. I gripped my gun and reached for the door handle as the glinting fence of my warehouse came into view. Tires squealed as the car pulled up hard. I was out before I knew it, slamming the door behind me, and racing for the locked gate.

My fingers shook as I punched in the numbers. The sound of London’s growl inside the car as he fought with Vivienne tried to push in, but I had no time for them now. All I had was that savage, desperate need of purpose.

One I’d use to find my brother.

I raced for the rear door of the compound, punched in the code and pushed in. Lights flicked on, catching my movement. I didn’t look at the wall of faces, didn’t care about strategic goddamn moves. I was beyond that now.

I grabbed the duffel bag from under the counter and started packing, loading guns, ammunition, and grenades inside before I grabbed the handles and turned.

The black Chevy waited, gleaming under the overhead lights. My brother’s favorite car. One I’d use to get him back. I crossed the floor of the warehouse, but sensed movement behind me.

Hinges squealed as I pressed the button and the overhead door rose. My pulse was racing as I yanked open the door, tossed the bag into the back, and climbed into the driver’s seat.

But I wasn’t the only one.

The passenger door opened, and Vivienne climbed in.

A nerve pulsed in the corner of my eye at the invasion. I didn’t turn my head. Didn’t look at her. “You sure you’re ready to see this?” I asked, knowing what I was about to do.

She just lifted the gun in her hand. Her focus was dead ahead, mirroring mine. “Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

My chest tightened at the unflinching tone of her voice. Still, I shoved the car into gear and punched the accelerator, tearing out of the warehouse until I left it behind. The automatic doors would close. The security would engage. But that was the last thing on my mind as I turned my focus to the Hale Club.

If his rats were going to be anywhere, it was there.

No doubt by now they would’ve heard about the attack outside the restaurant…and Ophelia. I was betting they’d close ranks—I pressed the car harder, peeling out of the open gate—or, they’d run. If they did that, I’d lose Colt for good.

Get to them…

I punched the accelerator harder, glancing sideways to find London’s Audi now gone.

Just get to them.

Vivienne was silent in the seat beside me as I worked the gears. Her eyes were wide. Her skin was pale. But her hand clenched around the gun’s grip didn’t tremble, not as far as I could tell anyway.

In an instant, the image of her lying over my brother in that shopping mall came rushing back. She was savage then, slashing the air with the shard of mirror in an attempt to protect him.

She’d need that savagery now.

No.

Colt would…

I yanked the wheel and tore through the streets, heading for the foul fucking place filled with dark corners and darker deeds. The place where these bastards hid. Where they schemed. Where they spewed their filth.

“Shoot to kill, Wildcat,” I muttered as I turned a corner. “And whatever you do…don’t fucking miss.”

The tires squealed as I yanked the wheel once more and wound down the window of the Chevy. Black sedans waited ahead, the bodyguards sitting inside. They weren’t waiting for me, which meant maybe word hadn’t yet reached them?

I should be so fucking lucky.

“Behind me, baby,” I growled and punched the brakes, swung the wheel, and skidded wide.

I slammed sideways, then yanked the handle and shoved. I was out of the car in an instant, lunging across the hood as the V8 engine throbbed underneath, and took aim as the first guard climbed out.

Crack!

I fired, taking him out, and swung my weapon.

I expected shots from behind me. I expected her screams of rage. But Vivienne was silent…until I fired again, then risked a glance over my shoulder….to find her running hell for fucking leather for the club.

“Fuck!” I roared as I fired again, but missed the asshole, who lifted his gun and fired back.

I stumbled backwards as the asshole’s shot hit the windshield of the Chevy, putting a neat fucking hole right in the middle of the thing. I unleashed a snarl, took aim again, and squeezed off a shot, hitting him in the chest. I needed to be that cold killer…but that goddamn woman was making me fucking panicked and full of white-hot, impulsive rage.

That I didn’t need…not here…not now.

I spun, driving my boots against the asphalt as I raced after her. But the moment I neared I caught sight of a massive bouncer standing outside the door.

She never missed a beat, just dropped her hand low to hide the gun behind her thigh as she screamed, “Please help me! My boyfriend has a gun! He…he attacked me!”

Of course, the asshole jerked his gaze to me, a savage glare narrowing in.

All she needed was to take the focus off herself. The moment she was close enough, she lifted her gun and pressed it against the big bastard’s side. “I don’t want to shoot you,” she urged, breathlessly. “Just let us inside.”

Stupid. Goddamn. Woman.

The asshole just lowered his gaze, narrowed in on her, and shook his head. “No—”

Bang!

The sound was muffled against his body. He jerked, then stumbled backwards and looked down.

“I gave you a choice,” she murmured as she stepped closer to reach out and snatch his passcard from his belt.

He stumbled, then fell to his knees. I lifted my gun and took aim. Crack! The bullet found its mark right in the center of his forehead before I met her gaze. “I said with me, Wildcat,” I snapped.

But she was already turning and pressing the card against the sensor. Locks opened with a click before she pushed through.

The woman was going to get herself fucking killed.

Only, she didn’t look so vulnerable stepping through the automatic doors with the gun in her hand. She looked like…one of us.

I followed her inside, sinking into that hunger. Click. A switch flipped inside me. As she strode through the entrance and out into the main bar, I knew exactly how this was going to go down.

Most of the tables were empty in the exclusive club. But it wasn’t the front of the club she wanted…it was the rear. I lengthened my stride, catching up instantly. “Wildcat.”

She sucked in hard breaths and turned that savage stare my way as I pushed ahead, lifting my gun and taking aim.

Crack! The guard standing outside the rear door dropped to the floor.

I’d wanted to go in through the back, the way I’d snuck in before when I’d killed the piece of shit who’d hurt her. But the woman was a force of raw chaos right now. One that consumed everything in its wake. I stepped around the guard and pushed through. One step and I took aim, driving myself toward the discreet tables and the filth who sat around drinking top shelf Scotch.

I lifted my gun, taking aim at the first bastard who held the rim of a glass to his lips.

“Where is Hale?” I growled.

His eyes widened, glancing from me to Viv. “I don’t—”

Bang!

But my hand hadn’t moved, my gun still aimed at the spot where his face had been.

Now her gun trembled. Her eyes were wide, that incensed look of horror and rage swinging to the next one. “Where is HALE!” Vivienne screamed.

But the asshole was already moving, shoving back from the body of his former friend as he lifted his hands. “Wait…wait! I-I can give you m-money!”

Bang!

The gun shook as she fired, hitting him in the side of the neck instead. Blood spewed from the severed vein and splashed against the back of the seat.

“Wildcat,” I called, lifting my hand for the gun.

She jerked her gaze my way.

“Easy,” I urged.

She was close to breaking, one squeeze of the trigger away from us losing my brother.

“We can’t find him if you kill them all.” I took a step closer, just enough to run my hand along her arm.

Her muscles trembled as goosebumps raced with my touch. Movement caught her eye, making her swing the gun around.

Two bartenders ducked behind the bar, their hands raised in the air, panic blazing across their faces. She spun around, aiming her gun through the club as hard, panting breaths consumed her. I saw them the moment she did…three of the bastards, edging toward the rear of the club.

My lips curled at the sight.

But she was already moving, lunging like the wildcat she was to scurry over the plush black leather sofa that divided the space.

“YOU!” she screamed.

They ran. The motherfuckers…like cockroaches exposed to the light. I unleashed a snarl and went after her, sidestepping the tables before vaulting the sofa two goddamn seconds behind her.

But the three roaches didn’t make a run for the exit. Instead, they headed toward the rear where there was an office and the secret door of a panic room behind the wall.

“The fuck you do!” I barked, moving faster as we hauled ass through the rest of the club.

But it was Vivienne who dropped her shoulder and barged through a second after they shoved the door wide and careened inside.

“WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!” she screamed. “Where the fuck is Colt!”

Three white men wearing the same fucking steel gray suits.

That’s all I saw when I pushed inside and lifted my gun. “You will answer her,” I urged and took aim. “You will tell her exactly what she wants to know.”

But they never had a chance to answer. Vivienne surged forward, grabbed the first asshole by his jacket, and screamed in his face. “TELL ME WHERE YOU TOOK HIM!”

They didn’t know. That was easy to see. Left out in the cold, the foul fucking captain had abandoned ship and left his crew behind.

“Look, just calm down,” one of the assholes snarled as he stared at her. “We might be able to figure out who the fuck you’re talking about.”

Calm down…calm down? Condescending, fucking prick.

“We can help.” Another one glanced at his buddy, then me. “If you tell us who you’re looking for.”

“Tell. You. Who. We’re. Looking. For?” I took a step closer, herding them further into the office. “Tell you who we’re LOOKING FOR?”

One of the guys glanced at a section of the wall behind them. One I damn well knew housed the safe room. They thought they could scurry for safety, call the police, and wait us out.

I swung my gun toward him. “Take a step toward that door and I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

He flinched, paling instantly as he shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Bang! I squeezed off a shot, one that hit the wall next to him. “I know more about this place and your kind than you ever will. Now, we’re going to ask one more time. Where is Hale, and where the fuck has he taken my brother?”

“Hale?” The asshole who’d looked to the panic room muttered.

I took a step closer, so close I stared into his eyes. “Yeah, Hale. Tell us where he is…and we’ll let you live.”

The one next to him shook his head. “We…we don’t know.”

I swung around. “You. Do. Know!”

He trembled, wide-eyed, his knees shaking until he finally fell to the floor.

“Tell us!” Vivienne screamed. “Tell us where he is!”

But the asshole ignored her. Instead, he turned my way, sizing me up. “I can help you. Just you and me.” He even shifted his body, giving Vivienne his back. “Let me make some calls. I’ll try to get a hold of Mr. Hale. I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this.”

Mr. Hale…

This fucker wasn’t even important enough to call him by his own name…and yet—

Wildcat shook her head. Her hand clenched around her gun. “Look at me, asshole.”

We both stood here with guns pointed at them. Yet in that guy’s view, there was only one threat here and it sure as hell wasn’t Vivienne.

“LOOK AT ME!” she screamed.

He flinched, his jaw flexing. “Fucking women, right?” he forced through clenched teeth, shooting me a glare. “Every one of them, attention seeking whores. I bet you she roped you into this, right? I bet she fucking did. It’s okay, I get it. I know exactly what good pussy can do, but there’s plenty of cunt around here. You don’t need to do this for one decent ride.”

“One decent…ride?” Vivienne repeated slowly. “ONE DECENT RIDE?”

She stepped closer, lowering her gun until she pressed it against his cock. “Is that what you think of me? All kitten and no FUCKING claws? Not dangerous enough to look at. Not fucking important enough for you to see until you’re fucking me, that is…”

Bang.

Her hand flinched. He screamed as he fell to his knees and grabbed between his thighs. Bright blood seeped between his fingers as he clutched his bullet-mangled cock.

“I’m not the goddamn kitten, asshole.” She lifted the gun to his head. “I’m the fucking lioness and you took my mate.”

“Fucking BITCH!” he howled, writhing.

Only the third guy, who’d stood quiet through all of this, didn’t look down at the scumbag next to him…no, he watched her…then reacted, lunging with a roar to grab the gun from her hand.

The moment he moved…so did I.

But it wasn’t my gun I reached for…I dropped my hand to my waist, palming my knife in a second. My thumb pressed the button, releasing the blade as he grabbed her wrist with one hand and swung her against the wall.

She hit hard, unleashing a roar, and squeezed the trigger. Crack! The bullet slammed into the ceiling.

“You fucking bitch!” he screamed, wrenching her against him to growl in her ear. “I hope Hale has whoever you’re looking for…and I hope he returns him fucking destroyed.”

With a savage snarl, I moved.

A bullet to the brain was too easy for men like this.

Too quick.

Too simple.

I pressed the knife against his neck, letting him feel the sting as the blade bit his skin. “You’ll release her now. Do you understand?”

Hard breaths consumed him as he slowly eased his hold. Vivienne jerked out of his grasp. Her hair swung wildly as she turned on him and unleashed her fist, driving it into his face.

His head snapped backwards.

“Easy now, baby,” I urged, my gaze never once moving from the piece of shit.

I hope he returns him fucking destroyed…

That cruel fist tightened around my heart, squeezing until I could barely breathe. All I could see was my brother’s fucking severed thumb on the counter in that townhouse. The Hale Order almost destroyed my brother the last time…this time they might just succeed.

“In that case, we’ll need to send Hale a message.” I tightened my grip on the knife and lowered it, before I plunged it deep into his gut, then jerked upwards, disemboweling him where he stood. “We’re coming for you.”