Page 12 of Fall of Hellfire (Hellfire Society #3)

nine

CASH

I don't know what we were expecting to happen when Ali threw herself to the side of the bed and shoved her fingers down her throat.

After a few moments of confusion, we watched as she reached down and started digging through the bile before turning and showing us a small black thumb drive.

None of us were expecting that. After that bit of shock, Riot took the drive, placing it on the side table before focusing his attention back on Ali.

Handing her the water bottle again, we watch her take the two small white pills before Riot fluffs her pillows and helps her lay back.

I almost want to laugh at how whipped by a woman he is, but I can't say I wouldn't be doing the same if I were the one seated next to her.

Arsen finishes unwrapping the now bloody thigh wrap before tossing it in a small trash bag.

As if we can't help ourselves, all three of us glare at the word carved into Ali's flesh.

A stark reminder that we failed her. A part of me wants to grab her by her shoulders and shake her until she tells me what the hell she was doing to end up in the clutches of Ethan Black.

I mean, what would have happened if mine or Riot's father got their hands on her? It’s bad enough that she barely looks recognizable right now, but they would have done a lot worse than just beating her black and blue.

Ali can't even open her eyes right now to see the true extent of the damage done to her body.

I've barely been able to hold off my own rage that wants to follow Ri's lead and hunt this fucker down.

Fortunately, I have more control and more sense to look at the bigger picture.

We got lucky last night. Shane was able to get Ali to us in time for her to barely warn us of what was to come.

We were also lucky that Ri doesn't take kindly to those who threaten his family.

Arsen and I have been his brothers since the time we could walk.

But Ali? Ali was his wife, the only woman in the world that could probably handle and even tame the man, and seeing her the way she was now was probably messing with his head.

I try not to stare at the dozens of marks marring Ali's flesh, but it's hard to look away.

Clenching my fists, I snap my head up and stare at the wall.

The itch I feel under my skin, the one that tells me I need to be doing something.

That standing here uselessly watching the woman that has become all three of our obsessions is doing nothing to help our bigger situation.

I could be going through files, trying to figure out the best way to hit our fathers hard, how to track Ethan, or even what our next move needs to be, but I can't bring myself to move.

It's like my feet refuse to listen to the rational part of my brain.

It's frustrating, but as Ali lets out a small whimper of pain when Arsen tries to gently rub ointment over the deepest cuts she has, I know I won't move until I know she is comfortable.

The room is silent as Arsen works and Ali gathers her thoughts.

A part of me doesn't want to make her tell us what happened, not wanting her to relive it all, but we all know she might have information that could help us move forward.

We all know Ali is a tough woman; I watched her fight a grown man dressed like a killer clown and not bat an eye.

Hell, I've seen her take on two grown-ass men in a ring, taking them down without breaking a sweat before dragging us away and demanding the three of us fuck her senseless.

She is truly one of a kind for being able to handle all three of us, but even the strongest of women break.

I don't know if she knows what is carved into her skin, but it will be a daily reminder of him and what she had to go through.

After a few moments of the silence stretching on, Ali finally lets out a long, deep sigh, like the world is just too heavy to carry, before she finally speaks.

"So, it started when I decided to call Ethan. "

We all keep our mouths shut as Ali tells us about her conversation with Ethan before she gets the idea to go to her father's office.

It takes everything in me not to snap at her, tell her how stupid her plan was, and how it could have been so much worse if Ethan wasn't a delusion and sick fucker with an obsession over her.

She doesn't even know about him going to clubs and making girls look like her to feed his perverted fantasies.

"I just wanted to be useful. I felt like you guys just wanted me to get supplies because you all thought I couldn't do anything else.

" She frowns as her head tips down, and if her eyes weren't so swollen, I have no doubt she would have sad puppy dog eyes.

Fuck. That's not what any of us thought; we just didn't want her anywhere near danger.

She had already been taken by our father's once, and I bet my left nut that they would have used her in a whole different way before selling her to the highest bidder. We just wanted to keep her safe.

"I thought I could get in and out before anyone even noticed I was there.

" She lets out another long sigh. "I almost made it out before Ethan showed up. He hit me over the head with the butt of his gun, and I passed out, but not before I was able to swallow the flash drive. I downloaded as much as I could. I was able to peek at a few of the files and it seems like the Blacks were keeping track of properties and other things from your guys’ fathers.

If I had to guess, Richard was going to try and blackmail and weasel his way into something bigger.

" I almost scoff at that; the Hellfire Society wasn't stupid.

They probably knew what her father and brother were up to and wouldn't have hesitated to kill them, which meant they were still useful to our fathers. Maybe something to look into.

As she continued to explain how she woke up in the basement and Ethan kept demanding our whereabouts, to which Ali would refuse to tell him, all three of us were tense.

Coiled tight, like a snake ready to attack.

She could have told him, could have given us up to make her torture stop, but she didn't. She let him beat her, cut her, and carve her flesh — to keep us safe.

"I was already in and out of consciousness when I vaguely heard talk about a tracker, then I blacked out.

I don't remember much after that, but I remember being shoved out of a car, and then Shane was there.

He tried to take me to the hospital, but I knew I needed to get to you.

To warn you that he was planning something.

Nothing after that until I woke up a bit ago. "

The more she talks, you can tell she is struggling to stay awake.

Her words becoming a whispered, tired rasp.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep, bunny.

We can tell you our part when you wake up.

" She gives us a mumbled agreement. Stepping forward, I gently run my finger down the side of her face before leaning down and kissing the top of her head, whispering.

"Sleep, baby. You need your strength for when we strike back.

" Ali lets out another soft humming sound before her head tilts to the side, already starting to doze off.

Standing, I turn to my brothers, both giving our woman almost loving looks.

Who knew that a tiny slip of a woman could tame three men like us.

From the moment we saw her, she has turned our world upside down.

When they finally glance my way, I nod to the living room.

The cabin has two small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living space with a small kitchen combined area.

It's nothing fancy, but it will suit our needs for the time that we need.

Ali will need a few weeks to recover fully, and as much as I want to storm our father's castle, so to speak, Ali is as much a part of this now as we are.

She deserves her revenge as well. After what she went through for us, she deserves a goddamn fucking crown.

I head to the living space as Arsen and Riot give her their own kisses and quiet words.

I take a seat on the couch, grabbing the files and laptop I brought and start reading through more of the documents.

I haven't found anything especially useful, but I now have a small list of things I need to look further into.

Businesses, accounts, and a few names that aren't familiar to me.

Riot and Arsen come into the room, Arsen grabs his tablet and a few files and takes a seat next to me.

Riot didn't bring anything physical, but he was able to gain a little information from the men at the warehouse.

Like how his father has had extra shipments moving around from warehouse to warehouse.

Like he might be trying to hide a side deal or two.

"Do we think this thing will actually work still?

" Riot holds up the now clean flash drive before cocking a brow in our direction.

I shrug before side-eyeing Arsen. He frowns but holds out his hand for the small device.

He cringes as the drive is dropped into his hand before taking a closer look at it.

He pops off the top cover before reaching over and grabbing my laptop off my lap, settling it into his, and inserting the drive.

Riot moves to behind the couch as I lean over, all three of us staring at the screen in anticipation.

My shoulders almost slump when nothing happens.

But as I begin to pull away, a notification box pops up.

Riot makes an excited whoop noise before I snap a glare at him for being so loud.

He shrugs, like saying "who cares," before his eyes drift to Ali's room with a small, sad worried look.

Arsen moves the mouse, clicking on the download all options, before suddenly file upon file begins to pop up on the screen. Holy shit.

"Damn. She did good." Arsen lets out a whistle under his breath.

"Fuck yeah, she did. She’s my wife." Riot practically puffs out his chest with pride, making me roll my eyes.

"At least she will know all her pain was worth something.

" My words are like a bucket of cold water to the room as I point out what Ali had to go through for this information in the first place.

Arsen begins to open each file, quickly skimming it and deciding if it's worth reading more in depth.

Riot moves to the kitchen area and starts making coffee along with some food, knowing it's going to be a long night for us.

After an hour or so, Arsen and I have a few piles spread out across the coffee table.

Some could have useful information and need to be read in more detail or investigated more, others don't have anything useful at all.

We also made piles according to family businesses, knowing that will be important as well, with two fathers left standing; those are who we need to focus.

None of us have brought it up yet, but it's a topic that sits at the back of my mind.

What happens when we finally take out our fathers?

We talked about wanting to destroy the Hellfire Society entirely, but for some reason that doesn't feel right anymore.

I mean, we were born into this, bred and raised to put the society above all else.

It does rule generations back, but it was never meant to be this corrupt.

Yes, we were always taught to skate the lines of morally right.

We were never going to be saints, but our fathers crossed the line.

We knew that and we decided we were going to change it all.

Now I'm wondering if we should just reshape it.

Make it something beyond what it is now.

That sounds right. When I glance at my brothers, men who have had my back for years and the only men I would trust with my life, I know that the Hellfire Society is in our blood.

Moving forward, I have a feeling we will need to make it fall before we turn it into the empire it was always meant to be.