Page 37 of Vengeful Union

"You are not family. You do not belong. Your opinion does not matter. Whoever you are working for is going to die. No one comes between us. No one hurts my family. And nobody, and I mean nobody, tries to come after my sister and think they can get away with it. I will hunt, maim, and kill anyone who even tries.”

I unsheathe my knife. This bastard has been given every opportunity to answer the questions I have asked, and each time he’s just replied with bullshit.

“I hope whoever it is you’re working with, was worth it,” I tell him as I slide the knife into the lower right side of his abdomen, pushing through the muscle and tissue until I reach my destination. “Right now, your bowel has been perforated.” I tell him with a grin.

“Please stop,” he pleads with me, his voice laced with pain, eyes wide with fear. His brows furrow as he swallows harshly.

I shake my head. “I gave you every opportunity. All you had to do was answer my questions. Instead, you threatened the life of my sister.” I grin at him. “There are no more opportunities for you.”

I slide the knife into the left side of his chest, and instantly, his breathing changes. Instead of the slightly elevated breathing he had, he’s now gasping for air. The shortness of his breath is a telling sign.

“I nicked your lung,” I tell him with pride, glad that I’m hurting the bastard.

“What—” he gasps, pressing a hand against his side, “can I do?” Blood soaks through his fingers, dripping down to his leg. “Help, please.”

I crouch down in front of him. “I told you, Bannon, your time for pleading is over. You’re dying. Now’s your last chance to ease the pain. Who are you working for?”

He closes his eyes as a lone tear falls. “I can’t,” he breathes. “You killed—” he gasps, the pain too much for him as he struggles with his words, “my brother."

“That’s why you betrayed me? I’ve killed countless people. As have you.” I shake my head in disgust. I’ve had enough of his bullshit. I slide the knife into the other side of his ribs and nick that lung. His lips are turning blue, his face a pale gray. It doesn’t take long until he stops breathing.

“Clean this shit up and get rid of the body,” I instruct Reilly and Boz. “No one is going to know he’s dead. Do I make myself clear?” The anger is still riding through my veins. Someone is trying to off my sister and I’ve no fucking idea who.

They both nod. “Of course. No one is around. There are no witnesses to say we were here. It’ll be as though Bannon went into hiding. We all know he’s a rat. It would make sense,” Boz says with a gleam in his eyes.

This is why I was happy to bring both him and Reilly into my fold. They’re both ruthless and loyal. Everything I need them to be.

My phone sounds an alarm, and my entire body freezes, as does every man’s in this room. We all know what that means. Simultaneously, their phones begin to beep.

My house has been breached.

“Boz, Reilly, I want you to get rid of him and clean this up.” They both nod at my words. “Jacob and Alex, call the men. Find out what the fuck has happened.”

Fear grips me. I turn on my heel and run out of the building, toward the car, Alex keeping pace with me and Jacob trailing behind a beat.

Destiny. That’s my only thought. Her. Not my men. But my woman.

On the car ride home, I hear the murmured conversations they have with the men, trying to figure out what has happened, but as of yet, no one knows. The fifty-minute journey turns into twenty-five, and as soon as Jacob pulls up outside the house, my heart fucking sinks.

The entire front porch is gone. Blown off.

I’m out of the car and moving through the rubble before my mind can catch up with my actions. Both Alex and Jacob call after me, telling me to wait. I’m not fucking stopping. I need to see her.

I stalk through the house until I reach her room. Just as I expected, it’s empty.

I knew that fucking kiss was too intense. Knew she was saying goodbye.

But how the hell did she orchestrate this? Where the fuck are all the men? I left five men on her. They had instructions to ensure that she was safe. What the hell were they playing at?

“Find her!” I roar. My ears are pounding as blood rushes from my head.

“Boss, there was a fire set by the permitter. It was a ploy to get the men on alert and out of the house,” Alex informs me. “The men are going onto the streets and finding out what they can about where she’s gone,” he assures me.

Too little too fucking late.

“I want her found within the next two hours. I don’t give a fuck what the men are doing, they stop. Everyone stops what they’re doing. I want my woman found.”

Everything around me stops as I stare at the crumpled sheets from this morning.