Page 6 of Fall of Hellfire (Hellfire Society #3)

five

CASH

F or once, taking the so-called "scenic route" home is a bit more calming.

I knew there wasn't anyone following me halfway through the drive, but the quiet helped me think.

I always knew my father was a bastard, but the last few weeks made it even more evident.

Sadly, I never thought it would come down to only one of us making it out alive.

Pulling up to the old gym, our temporary home, I throw the SUV into park and climb out.

Grabbing everything I got from my father's office.

Arsen is more tech-savvy and will know how to sort out all these files for good information, or he will know someone we can trust to do it for us.

I'm the first one back, but it doesn't take Arsen long to show up next.

We don't immediately talk, because none of us like to repeat ourselves, and it’s better to share everything once everyone is back.

He decides to go shower, complaining of smelling like a cheap whore, while I move around the kitchen and make some coffee.

Within the hour, Riot is pushing his way through the door, covered in blood and grinning like a maniac.

None of which surprises us. I simply roll my eyes and continue to review some of the files I had grabbed, seeing if I can find anything useful while we wait for the others.

When Riot finally notices Ali isn't home yet, he gets annoyed, huffing and puffing as he glares around the room.

Arsen, who is seated across from me doing his own research, suddenly clears his throat. “I think Ethan may be a bigger threat than anticipated.” My head snaps in his direction, as does Riot’s. I cock a brow in question, wondering where this statement suddenly came from.

“What do you mean?” Riot demands.

Arsen begins to go into his reasoning, explaining how one of the girls at the club he visited was talking about a Mr. E. Mr. E, apparently was bragging about his status within the Hellfire Society and how big changes were coming. Before I can ask for sure if it’s Ethan, Riot beats me to it.

“Okay. Do we know if it’s him?” Riot is in full guard mode. Glaring at all of us and probably going over ways he wants to kill Ethan Black.

Arsen lets out a heavy breath, a look of disgust crossing his face before he looks up. “I have a feeling it’s him.” I frown at the way he grinds out his words.

“Why?” I demand in a calmer manner than I actually feel. Somehow I know I'm not going to like Arsen’s next words.

“The girl said that lately Mr. E has been asking the girls to wear a black and pink wig and a bunny mask.” Riot and I freeze, our bodies going tight with tension. “He even calls them Ali when he is fucking them.” With those words, Riot sees red.

“What the fuck!” he screams, standing and rushing to the wall closest to him before throwing his fist into it as he curses up a storm.

“That sick fuck needs to go!” he says, turning back to couches, a look of rage on his face.

His chest rising and falling in deep pants, trying to control himself from rushing out and hunting the dead man walking down.

Arsen puts his hands up in a don't kill the messenger way. “Okay, we all need to calm down. We shouldn’t make any decisions without Ali here.” He has a point.

When she finds out about this new development, she is going to flip.

Probably want to join Riot on his hunt. Setting his tablet down, Arsen stands.

Turning to Riot, he says, “Why don’t you go get cleaned up?

” That's a good idea; Riot needs a minute to calm down before he actually does something stupid.

Arsen offers to make some food in the meantime while we all wait for Ali.

It's getting dark, and Ali should be getting back soon, but something feels off.

I can't place it, but I’m sure it's nothing. Honestly, it’s probably the last few weeks and how I can't control anything that has me on edge all the time.

I'm used to being able to solve or fix a problem quickly, but lately it seems like everywhere we turn, a new problem presents itself. A small part of me wishes I would have killed my father years ago; then none of this shit would be happening. But I know things would have turned out differently as well. Plus, as much as my father was a bastard—all of our fathers—me and the guys still believed in The Hellfire Society. Yes, we wanted to change it, but it was for the better. We were going to go further than all the generations before us. Take the society into a new era of rule that doesn’t involve as many illegal aspects as it does now.

Were we going to be saints? Fuck no. We were all born sinners, but we were going to make it so that we were untouchable.

A headache starts to build in my temples as Riot begins to pace the living room floor.

The man looks as if he is a caged animal at the moment.

Arsen is still in the kitchen, going about making food, but I see the way his eyes drift to the front door.

Watching. Waiting. I'm no better. I may have files in my lap, but my eyes can't seem to focus on anything but the sounds coming from downstairs.

Which happens to be none at the moment. Which means Ali is still not back.

I don't know what this woman has done to us, but it's like none of us can settle until we see her.

If I didn't know any better, I would say Ali somehow bewitched us to be obsessed with her.

I'm not even surprised when Riot is the one to break first. “Where the fuck is she?” he snaps, spinning on his heel and glaring at me like I should know.

Sadly, I haven't had time to place a tracker on her.

I doubt she will be a willing participant, but I doubt the guys will disagree she needs one.

The woman is a trouble magnet. Pulling out my phone, I check when she last texted us.

She said she had to make one more stop but didn't say where she was headed.

I debate if I should call her or just wait a bit longer.

Instead, I decide to call Shane. She was borrowing his truck anyways so he could know where she was.

I don't even get a chance to connect the call before a ruckus from downstairs is heard.

All of us are on our feet, eyes trained on the door, assuming Ali is finally home, but it's not the sound of her footsteps we hear.

No, these are heavier, more rushed. Riot is the first to move, rushing to the duffle he brought back and grabbing a gun and aiming it at the front door as the footsteps get closer.

Arsen grabs a kitchen knife and readies himself as I place my hand on the gun at my back.

Seconds later the door is kicked in. It takes me a second to realize what I’m seeing as Shane stands there huffing and puffing while holding a limp, pale looking Ali.

Both are covered in blood, but my eyes are glued to Ali's small form that is more than just pale and covered in blood.

She's also black and blue, like she's taken one hell of a beating.

Riot stands there in almost disbelief as an almost whispered plea of Ali's name escapes him.

Like he can't process what he is seeing right now.

It doesn't take long before I’m snapping out of my own disbelief, rushing forward as Arsen does the same.

I gently scoop Ali into my arms and move to the kitchen.

Arsen rushed ahead of me to clear the counter.

Everything he was making moments ago now spilled across the floor, but none of us care.

Riot finally snaps out of whatever was shocking him as Shane starts to explain what the fuck is going on.

“A car dumped her in front of the gym. I didn’t know what to do.

She was barely conscious, and there was so much blood.

I was going to take her to the hospital, but she kept mumbling about “the guys,” so I brought her here.

Fuck. What happened to her?” A car? Where had she even been?

Most importantly, who the fuck did this to her?

Riot moves to her lower half as Arsen and I begin to check her over.

There is not a single part of her that is not touched with bruises.

What the hell happened? I'm almost afraid to touch her, thinking I might add to her pain.

“Ali, baby, what happened? Who did this to you?” Riot's voice breaks on his question, the pain he feels for her clear as day.

Her head falls to the side as she slowly opens his mouth, but she winces in pain.

Carefully, I wipe away some of the blood on her face as Arsen grabs a wet rag and does the same around her lips.

Small cuts and broken skin peer back at us.

“Ali. Ali. I need you to stay awake. Tell us who did this,” I demand.

She moans out in more pain as she tosses her head from side to side. Fuck, she’s in so much pain.

Finally, she turns towards my voice, her eyes too swollen to open. “Tr-tra-track,” she murmurs what little she can, but it's nothing more than a whisper. I lean in closer, straining to hear her better.

I think I hear a word, but I’m not quite sure if I even heard her right. “Track?” I ask, frowning. “What track? Track what?” Does she want us to track someone? Was someone tracking her? Looking over at Arsen, he has the same frown as me as he takes in her entire body.

I had noticed all of her when Shane was holding her, but I know I need to focus on one thing at a time.

Right now, it's what the fuck even happened to her? But I can't forget what I’m witnessing. Ali is barely even in any clothes. As scraps of fabric still cling to her body from what I’m guessing was the t-shirt and jeans she wore earlier, but right now the only thing I can see is a bloody bra and underwear.

I notice deeper cuts marring her thigh and the way her breathing is quick and shallow, like she might have broken ribs or even a punctured lung.

Fear of what damage we can't see consumes me.

What if she is bleeding out or there is something more serious happening that we can't see? Fuck.

Her head flops to the side again, like it takes too much strength to even keep her head up. “Tr- er. Track -er,” she whispers out again, and this time we all hear it. My blood turns cold as I stare down at her with concern.

“Fuck! Search her now!" I bark out, and we all snap into motion, running our hands across her skin as gently and swiftly as we can. Riot’s hands run up her thigh and to her new marks.

Making Ali flinch again as she cries out in pain.

That's when Arsen and I notice the actual mark and what it is. Arsen’s grey eyes widen in shock as mine turn to daggers.

Riot ignores us as he begins tracing the edges of the letters now carved into Ali's once creamy flesh.

M. I. N. and still nothing as each touch makes Ali wince and cry out.

He moves to the E, pausing as he glances up at Ali, a look of true misery that he is causing her more pain right now.

But these are the only cuts deep enough someone could place a small tracker in.

Riot suddenly freezes before, as quick as he can, whips out his knife and glares at the spot his finger is touching.

Glancing up, he grinds out, “Hold her down.” Arsen and I each grab a shoulder and arm before Riot nods.

With one last sad look in Ali's direction, he digs the tip of the blade into the already torn-open flesh of Ali's thigh.

In a small mercy, Ali passed out again a few moments ago, so she doesn't make a sound as Riot digs around.

A second later he removes the blade and replaces it with his fingers.

Unlike usual, Riot's happy, gleeful demeanor when he gets to play with blood is nowhere in sight as he finally finds what he was looking for.

Holding it up to the light, we see the device and realize what this means.

Riot wastes no time slamming the small device down on the counter, smashing it into pieces.

As if I haven't said it enough...FUCK!

“We need to go now,” I say, looking around the room and running through the list of shit we need to grab.

No one argues as Arsen and I start grabbing up all the files, throwing them in backpacks.

Riot gently lifts Ali in his arms, trying not to cause her any more pain or discomfort as he does.

Blood immediately coats his skin again, and there's no joy on his face. Not when it’s our woman's blood and pain.

He turns to Shane, who is still standing there looking a little freaked out and unsure of what to even do.

“You know how to use a gun?” he asks. And he silently nods.

“Good, grab that duffle bag and stay close.” Within minutes we are ready to head out.