Page 55 of Vengeful Devotion
Declan
I siton the edge of the bed, watching Gemma sleep. Her light locks spread across the pillows. She looks so peaceful. So perfect in my bed. She was always meant to be there. Always meant to be with me. Her chest falls and rises with every breath and it’s a sight I could watch forever. And I plan to. Just as soon as her uncle is dealt with.
Placing a small kiss on her temple, I stand up and walk towards the door. I take one look back at her, wishing like hell that I could stay. The peace etched in her face is one I wish I could feel. But there’s no peace for me. Not when I know there’s someone who wants to hurt her. Peace won’t be mine until every bone in his body is broken and his heart no longer beats.
I slip out the door as quietly as I can. The last thing I want to do is wake her. She’s so terrified of Lonny. She’d never let me leave. But I have to do this. He touched my girl. Tarnished her skin with his fingerprints. There is no scenario in which I allow him to keep breathing.
The house is quiet as I creep through it. A blast of night air hits me when I step outside. Balor and Dean have already divided my men into two groups. They’re standing next to the SUVs. They straighten on my approach.
“Everything ready?”
Balor nods. “We’re good.”
“Alright then, boys. Let’s go hunting.”
I pull my beretta out from beneath my jacket before climbing into the car. My eyes catch Grady’s in the rearview mirror. Danny asked for the night off. I didn’t hesitate to give it to him. I’m just happy not to have him around.
“Boss,” he says, tossing a chin lift at me.
I don’t greet him. Turning to the window instead, I listen to Balor and the men he’s leading tonight climb in. Dean and his group fill the car behind us. Everyone is silent as we drive to the hotel where Lonny is staying. The air full of homicidal fury. Most of it coming from me. These men are loyal to me. They’re gearing up for a fight that has nothing to do with them just to prove that loyalty. But me? This is more than a fight. This is justice.
The drive is a blur. My eyes are tinted with nothing, but red. Grady has barely put the car in park before I’m jumping out. My hands cling to my gun. Practically begging for a reason to use it. Usually, I’d force a man like Lonny to eat a bullet before even letting him utter a word. But that would be too nice for Lonny De Luca. He needs to feel the pain he’s inflicted on Gemma ten times over.
I look around, something immediately feeling off. We’re in the middle of the desert. The building in front of me could hardly qualify as a hotel. I’m not even sure it should even be open to the public.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” I say, turning towards Dean and Balor.
“If we go off the vibe he gave off when he showed up, he’d never stay in a place like this,” Balor replies.
The words have barely left his mouth before all hell breaks loose. Shots ring out in the air. Bullets start raining down from the sky. Taking cover, I look up and see a dozen men on the roof of the rundown hotel. I can’t tell who they are. The dim moon only offers enough light to see their shadowy shapes. They scream. Their machine guns spitting bullets faster than I can blink.
“Roof,” I yell to Dean and Balor.
Dean puts his rifle on the hood. He aims it towards the roof. Between me, Balor, and my men, our attackers are distracted. Giving Dean enough time to take a deep breath and pull the trigger. I watch his bullet travel upward at an angle, hitting a man in the shoulder. His bullet might as well have struck a beehive. Somehow, the men above us only seem to strengthen their efforts. Bullets whiz past me. Some bouncing off the SUVs. Others hitting the rocky earth.
Dean drags their attention off Balor. But not before they hit one of his team, knocking him down. Cocking my gun, I send a bullet flying into a young-looking man’s head. Balor takes another out on the far side of the building. We keep shooting until their numbers have dwindled to three.
“Search the place,” Balor yells to the men around us. “Find a way to the roof.”
While everyone else moves into the building, the three of us fire at the last ones standing. Dean hits his target in the head, killing him instantly. Balor sends a bullet into the thigh of his target, a slower, more painful death. I’m not so lucky. The man in the middle moves just in time for my bullet to catch the center of his hand rather than his head. He yelps, moving to the back of the roof before jumping off and running behind the building towards the desert.
“Find him,” I growl.
Dean and Balor run opposite ways, towards the back. Reloading, I move inside the hotel. The team is already tearing the dusty place apart. There are more cobwebs in here than there is anything else.
“No one else is here,” Grady says. “It’s clear.”
I lower my weapon. “Find anything?”
Grady shakes his head, pushing his coppery hair back. “There’s nothing here. This place hasn’t seen life in a long time.”
“Keep looking, Sullivan. Search the roof and get some people outside to search.”
“Yes, sir.”
I walk outside. Looking around at the dead bodies and blood spilled from both sides, I process what just happened. The longer I look at the carnage, the hotter the simmering rage becomes. I just can’t figure out how this happened. How did Lonny know we were coming?
“We lost him,” Balor says. “It’s too dark out there to see anything.”
