Page 81 of Tainted Saints
“Are those details for the fight?” Lan asks, his glance pained as it darts to Bolt lying next to me.
“Yeah.” I sigh, feeling a hollow in my chest where a blonde beauty should be. It hurts to see her with that dumbass every day. Not to mention the urge to go and rip his fucking hands off for daring to touch her was almost overwhelming. “Sacromant County Park, 9pm tomorrow.”
Lan nods, Blaine doing the same. The big guy has barely spoken since the weekend, just working out like crazy. I know he feels just as frustrated as the rest of us, but we will get her back. No other option is acceptable.
“Okay, it’s going to be cutting it fine but we can do it,” Lan states aloud, looking from me to Blaine. “We do the dog fight, get the intel for Alfonso, and then we kidnap Duchess and get the fuck out of here.”
I watch as a grim smile crosses Blaine’s face, and I’m sure I’m wearing a matching one.
“We can get the security down around her home for about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes max,” I tell them, going over the plan that we came up with last Sunday. There was no way we were ever going to let her marry that fucktard, or leave her with her family. I glance at Bolt, a pang going through me at the danger we’re putting him in. He used to be aggressive to other dogs and people, was almost put down before I took his training on and showed him another way. I just have to hope that he remembers his survival instincts. It still cuts like a knife to think about even putting him in that ring, like I’m betraying one of my best friends.
“He’ll be fine, we’ve got Roger on standby,” Lan tells me, clearly seeing where my mind just went. Roger is the Pound’s vet, and a good man to boot. We’ve not told him what he’s on standby for, he’d chew our hides if he knew, but it’s reassuring to know that he’ll be able to patch Bolt up if need be.
“So now we wait,” I huff, glancing between my brothers who both look as antsy as I feel.
* * *
Saturday drags, especially without my beautiful helper as I see to all the dogs. It’s not the same without her, there’s no laughter and her angelic voice singing to them floating through the space.
But, soon, after a sombre dinner of pasta that Lan made us choke down, it’s time to go. With a heavy sigh, I clip a leash to Bolt’s collar, barely able to look at him as I lead him from our apartment.
A car idles next to the sidewalk, and Bobby hops out, pulling Blaine into a hug.
“Stay safe, cuz,” he murmurs, loud enough that I hear.
“It’s not us that you need to worry about, son,” I utter as Blaine gets into the driver’s side, Bobby lending us his car as we can’t exactly take Bolt on the bikes.
“Just keep your wits about you. Those rich pricks are slimy fuckers and I don’t trust the Ambassador to not have something planned for you guys,” Bobby tells me, clapping me on the shoulder and then going to shake Lan’s hand.
He hands Lan something metal, and my brows furrow when I realise it’s a knife. We were warned not to bring guns or weapons of any kind, but it seems that Bobby is serious about not trusting the Ambassador. Lan tucks the blade down the back of his pants, giving Bobby a firm handshake and then getting into the passenger side.
With a heart that’s made of fucking lead, I get Bolt into the back, climbing in beside him and resting my head back as Blaine takes off down the road with the purr of the engine.
It takes a little over an hour and a half to get to the woods, and it’s completely dark when we pull up in a lot filled with Bentleys and other million-dollar cars.
My lip curls as I take in the wealth surrounding us as we leave Bobby’s old Mustang and head into the trees. Bolt growls low as we approach a clearing. I want to reassure him, but I can’t. My voice is trapped behind a lump so fucking big that I’m surprised I can still breathe. This feels wrong, so fucking wrong.
All the hair rises on my arms as we approach a small clearing, a circle of men filling it. The circle opens up and we see several dogs, all standing and eyes locked on us and Bolt. My brows dip as I take them in. They’re not the usual fighting breeds. No, these dogs look like bloodhounds, tracking dogs that are often used to find people. The stamp and whinny of hooves has my head snapping to the side, my chest tingling as I take in the horses that are being held on tight reins. They paw at the ground, chomping at the bit, and I know that something definitely isn’t right here.
“Boys, so glad you decided to join us,” a voice calls out, and it takes every ounce of control I didn’t know I possessed not to launch myself at Aspen’s sperm donor, the Ambassador. His grin is wide in the moonlight, and he looks ridiculous dressed in a bright red tailcoat. “It would have been disappointing indeed if you’d not showed up.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Lan grits out, clearly sensing the same wrongness about the situation as I do.
“Ah, I suppose we should let the cat out of the bag so to speak.” The older man chuckles, and there are low rasps of laughter from the other five men that have formed a semicircle in front of us. “We do run dog fights, as you know, but sometimes we like a little something more challenging to entertain ourselves with. You see, back in England, they banned fox hunting, a poor show indeed,” he tells us with a hint of irritation in his tone, and my stomach sinks. “But, we are not in England, and apparently, there aren’t many foxes around these parts.” Again, low chuckles fill the space and I want to shoot each and every one of them. Bolt growls again, the other dogs responding in kind until their handlers hush them. “So, we moved on to a more…stimulating quarry.”
“If you think we will let you hunt us, old man, you are more fucking stupid than you look,” Lan sneers, and I smile. I love it when Daddy gets all arrogant. My grin grows when the Ambassador’s smile falters, his cheek twitching.
“So you have no interest in my daughter then?” We all go still, my chest barely moving as I wait for him to continue. “I have a deal of sorts for you boys. You play along with our little game, and if you evade capture until midnight, you can have her. I shall leave her on your doorstep like one of those abandoned mutts you take in. We’ll even give you an hour's head start.”
A low rumble sounds from Blaine next to me, and I’m inclined to agree with Big Daddy. I want to rip out his tongue for daring to speak of her like that.
“And if you catch us?” Lan asks, and I can’t fault him for contemplating the devil’s bargain. I would have taken it without even asking, because there’s no way we will lose.
“You never see her again, you leave Fairview and set up your little enterprise somewhere far, far away,” the Ambassador offers, his tone even and oh so reasonable.
“A moment,” Lan grits out, trusting Blaine to have his back as he faces us, ushering us closer. “Thoughts?”
“I say let’s do it,” I rush out, grabbing onto any chance to get our girl.