No one betrayed The Hounds.
No one.
It was treason, and there was only ever one punishment for that: execution.
I waited on the bike, staring forward to the road ahead while Ayda reassured Elise that we would be back, that she would ensure the family’s protection somehow, and how they should contact her if they came into trouble or they suspected anything at all. She was natural in the role, a concerned woman with a heart so huge and pure that she could fit the whole world inside it and still have room to love some more.
She was the woman who wanted everyone to live and be safe.
At that moment, I was the man who needed someone to die.
The ride back to Babylon was the exact opposite of the ride to Dallas. I was stiff, hardened by betrayal and a need for vengeance.
Was it Kenny?
Slater?
Jedd?
Deeks?
Moose?
My own fucking father?
I didn’t want to believe it of any of them, but somehow, deep down in my dirty soul, I knew it was true. How else would the Navs know about the Emps’ body we’d buried on their land? How else would The Emps have known where Ayda and I were the night of the warehouse nightmare that almost led to our deaths? How else would everyone on the outside seem to know what was going on on the inside… like when Cortez rode into the yard that first time after I’d been released from prison, and he somehow knew that Ayda was working her way into my heart, even before I’d known it to be true? The maid, he’d called her. He’d known she was getting under my skin. How could he have known unless…?
“Fuck!” I cursed quietly to myself all the way home. Ayda never reacted. Her arms didn’t even tighten to reassure me I wasn’t alone. I could feel the tension and need for answers pouring off her as much as they were pouring off me.
The dots were connecting more and more, but there were still questions. The first one I needed answering had to come from my father.
It was afternoon when we arrived in Babylon, and I made damn sure everyone on those streets could feel the president of The Hounds was back in town, and he waspissed.
Anger curdled my blood, and as we turned on to the street where The Hut and the yard sat proudly, I realized it was the first time I’d ever looked at it in a way that made me feel sick. There was no calling it home now. An enemy was inside that building. Someone I trusted was hurting my men while looking them in the eye with a smile on their face and false love in their voice.
I.
Was going.
To end him.
The bike kicked up dust as I tore into the yard, skidding to a dangerous halt and feeling the way Ayda tightened her arms around me as came to a shaky stop. Turning my head to the left, I saw my father standing outside the pawnshop. He was wearing a blue and black checked shirt with a dark T-shirt underneath, his jeans torn at the knee, and his thick, brown boots more worn than his gray-bearded face. When he saw me, his face remained calm, but ever the man of power and dominance, he merely crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his chin to the sky, waiting for me to make my move andgo to him.
My nostrils flared, and I struggled to drag in enough air, my chest bouncing as I stared at the man who’d created me, not knowing if he was an enemy or a friend. Not knowing if he even thought of me as his son at all.
Every drop of blood I’d ever shed had been because of him, this life, and the need to be what I’d been created to be.
Should I regret that? Should I hate him for it? Or should I revel in the power I felt within me, burning like a weapon that could tear anyone apart if it had to?
Revel,I thought with determination.
Ayda practically jumped from her seat, her bag falling to her feet with a thud as she tore the helmet from her head and dropped it to the back of the bike. Her eyes darted around the yard at some of the men who’d heard our approach and seemed curious about the mood we’d brought back with us.
I couldn’t concentrate on any of them. My eyes were fixed firmly on my father as I swung my leg over the bike and stood tall beside it. Every hair on my body rose to attention, willing me to fight, to go now.Now!But the raging in bull in me knew when to strike, and I had to get closer. My feet started moving slowly—heavy footfalls no one could feel but sure made me feel like the earth was shifting beneath my feet.
Thud.
Thud.