Page 2 of Brandishing Balance (Devil’s Psychos MC #3)

Marcos

T he Devil’s Psychos motorcycle club raced through Mourningside and over the Evermore bridge into Creekton, or the area right before Creekton city limits better known as The Edges. The address that Maya had texted us was barely a ten-minute ride away, and we flew the distance on our bikes.

A little over five minutes later, we pulled up into the neighborhood of the address. I commanded my guys via the Bluetooth intercoms in all our helmets to break off and surround the block.

I slowed as I approached the block the house was situated on. The Edges were run down and mostly vacant. Most houses around here were condemned or foreclosed on. There weren’t many families still hanging on.

Someone yelled behind me, and I jerked my head around. “Dad!” I heard it again and whipped my head around.

I found Luke. He was bruised and bloody, but he was running toward me, still in his lower football pads from the game.

Pulling the bike to the side of the road, I dropped my kickstand and jumped off the bike. I ran toward Luke, yelling his name. “Luke!”

I fell to my knees as Luke crashed into me, wrapping his arms around me tightly. “Dad! Mom came! I think he shot her!” Luke said between gasps of breath. He was crying hard.

I pulled away, cradling Luke’s face in my hands. “What do you mean?”

“She came for me. He told her he would trade me for her. She gave me her phone and told me to run. To call you.” Luke was still panting hard, tears pouring down his face.

My heart dropped into my chest.

Nico ran over; his eyes wide.

“Find her,” I ordered.

Nico took off toward the rest of the club and started forming a plan.

Jason pulled up in the truck, and I immediately picked up Luke and walked toward the Silverado. I opened the front passenger door before Jason could climb out. “Take him home,” I ordered while buckling Luke’s seatbelt. “Now.”

I watched Jason’s jaw clench as he ground his teeth, but I stepped back and slammed the door before he could say anything.

Jason sped off up the block to the intersection, where he flipped a wide U-turn and then barreled past us again.

With Luke now safe, I joined my brothers headed for the house.

Nico already had our guys surrounding the run-down shack of a house.

I drew my Glock from the back of my pants, not giving a damn who might see it in broad daylight.

The Edges was the kind of place where people kept their mouths shut, because they already knew the horror of loss.

When I reached Nico, I patted his shoulder and nodded. Nico kicked in the front door, and I followed behind him.

The ramshackle house had a massive hole in the roof, and there was no furniture inside. It was clear that this was just a meeting point. There was no one there. We took the time to search every square inch thoroughly, but there was nothing.

“Fuck!” I roared. I turned and punched the wall, breaking through the drywall in my fury.

Nico kicked in the closet door, yelling in anguish.

Maya was gone.

Nico “Dagger” Gage

I was furious and heartbroken all at the same time. We had barely been seven minutes behind Maya. Between organizing the crew, the five-minute drive and then deciding the plan of attack, barely seven minutes had passed from the time Maya had called Marcos and our arrival to save her.

It hadn’t mattered though. She was gone.

We searched it all again, but it was pointless.

Our guys started shouting outside, and I ran out the door, only to come up short beside Marcos. Six heavily armored SUVs had pulled up, and men clad in suits were climbing out of the vehicles.

The Seratelli crime family.

I stalked toward my cousin, Leonardo Seratelli, the head of the family and business. Our Don. “You’re late.”

Leonardo’s head whipped toward me. He buttoned his suit jacket and clenched his jaw.

“We got here as soon as we could.” Leonardo was the same age as me, at forty years old.

He had a full head of black hair that was coiffed back away from his handsome face.

He was tall and broad shouldered with tanned olive skin and the same blue eyes that I had. “I’ve brought you thirty men.”

I couldn’t even feel gratitude for the fact that my cousin had dropped everything and brought me a small army of trained killers.

It hadn’t mattered. “She’s gone,” I muttered.

“We got here too late. We found Luke, but she had already traded herself to free him. Hillcrest had already moved out, taking her with him.”

Leonardo clenched his jaw and grabbed me by the shoulder. He pulled me in so our foreheads were touching, and we were staring into each other’s eyes. Leo’s gaze was hard as he met mine. “I promise you, cousin. We will do everything we can to get your woman back.”

Tears welled in my gaze at the intense promise from Leo. I nodded. “Yeah.”

Leo nodded as well. He squeezed my shoulder before letting go and turning away, immediately barking orders to his crew. “Spread out. Canvas the neighborhood. Knock on doors. Find out if anyone saw anything. You tell them Leonardo Seratelli is looking for Dax Hillcrest!”

The weight of Leonardo’s words barely registered. My cousin was declaring open war on Hillcrest on behalf of me and the Devil’s Psychos. It was monumental, and I should be more grateful. But I couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that Maya was gone— again .

“Thank you,” I murmured in a daze. I wasn’t sure if Leo even heard me as he was already on the phone a few feet away.

Marcos walked over and pulled me into a hug. “I need you to stay strong, brother.” Marcos hand wrapped around the back of my neck, holding me tight, grounding me.

“I just got her back,” I breathed.

“I know, brother. I know.” Marcos’s voice was tight, emotion choking his throat.

“We’ll get her back, if it’s the last thing we do.”