Page 9 of Carver

Carver smiled and nodded as he quickly built a lie in his head. “Yeah. My boy Smush took a few of the others and went to grab them once we cleared the place.” He turned to Tank. “It’s your call what happens next. We can torch it all or you can dig through the evidence she left behind. Either way, the favor count remains the same.”

While he didn’t actually have anyone named Smush in the club, he knew it was close enough to Slash that Tank wouldn’t call him out for it. Besides, Tank was distracted by having his men all in the same place again.

If there were men in collars there, then he’d absolutely take care of it. He’d have to call Trix as soon as he left.

Tank shared a look with Memphis before he answered Carver. “We’ll take a look at the evidence. How big of a mess is there? Can you pile up the bodies to burn outside or is it too residential?”

Carver laughed, then replied, “We can make it work. Doubt your team wants to work around all that death and blood anyway. Can be a real deterrent.”

Archie and Takeshi were in their own world as the rest of the group quietly went over the merits of what would be best. It was agreed Carver’s team would definitely take care of things to the best of their ability, which meant setting that house ablaze. Hex was going to love getting that news. He loved a good fire.

Fucking pyro.

Cohen, one of the guys on Tank’s team, cracked a joke about citizenship rights. Carver didn’t understand the nuance, but he laughed with the group anyway.

“I’m just glad Carver was able to find me so fast. I never doubted you guys were coming. And though he wasn’t who I expected, I’m grateful all the same,” Archie said to the group once everyone calmed. “He’s a good guy, Tank. Well worth the favors he intends to ask.”

Carver grinned wide at the completely false praise. “You hear that, Tank? No whining when I come calling those babies in. Archie here believes I’m a good guy.”

Deciding to leave on a high note, he turned around and stalked out of the office on cloud nine. He waited until he was back at his bike before dropping the façade as he dialed Hex.

“Tell me there aren’t fucking collars on the survivors.”

Four

He woketo the sound of guns going off. The doctor was long gone, and the two guards at the door stared warily at one another.

While he first thought it was the mean lady firing shots, there were far too many to be just here. Could it be that someone else was here? And what did that mean for everyone?

A silent alarm set the red light in the corner to flashing. He sat up at the sight. It’s never gone off before. He’d been told it existed, yet not once had someone ever activated it.

“If you see the red light, then you need to get to safety. The guards will take you to the secret tunnel we use.”

He looked to the guards, who also seemed amazed at the light. Forcing himself upright, he fought the waves of dizziness to wave his arms.

The movement woke the others from their dazed state. In an instant, they had their weapons drawn. One went to the door as the other approached the cage door.

“No fucking funny business, pet. You walk where I tell you to.”

He nodded as best he could. “Okay,” he said, forcing the single word from his lips.

The guard unlocked the door. He crawled forward until he was out. Standing was hard, but he somehow managed it.

As they approached the door, the guard standing there turned with panic in his eyes. “Other door!”

In the next second, he stepped into the hall. A bullet blew straight through his chest. A second through his head.

“Fuck.” The guard beside him cursed softly before redirecting them to the hidden door against one wall. He keyed in the code needed to release the locks. As soon as it opened, the two of them moved into the barely lit space.

It was muted in the tunnel. You could hear gunshots in the distance, but it wasn’t near as loud as it had been.

“What now?”

His question was as much for the guard as it was for himself. Though the woman had told him what to do in an emergency, she’d never explained the next steps.

Were they to wait on her? Was there a place for them to hide if anyone else found the tunnel? Was there an escape route away from the home?

The guard froze as he looked from the young man to the path ahead. “I honestly don’t fucking know. This wasn’t what I signed up for.”