Page 27 of Veiled Vengeance (The Devils of New York #3)

SPENCER

P ushing aside the guilt building in my stomach is difficult, but I can’t let my guys worry about the stupid shit I might do right now. I will never admit to them that attempting to run was a mistake.

I may be remorseful, but I also have pride.

Anthony did this. Anthony is to blame—not me. Zane’s driving has never given me pause, but I might throw up in his backseat. The erratic back and forth motion makes me feel like I’m on a boat in the middle of a hurricane.

When we finally arrive at my apartment, we jump out of the car and sprint inside. We maneuver around each other, stripping off our clothes and changing into practical attire. I look at each of us after we’re dressed and chuckle.

Great timing, genius.

They all freeze.

Zane’s brows draw together. “What’s so funny?”

Asher looks to Zane and Rio. “Is she going into shock?”

“Should we grab towels?” Rio asks.

Asher frowns. “Why the hell would we need towels for this?”

Rio throws his hands up in the air. “They’re always grabbing towels when something happens in movies!”

Zane shakes his head, and I laugh harder.

“No, no. I’m fine, I swear.” I roll my lips to keep the laugh inside but fail. My abs become sore, and I hold my stomach, bending at the waist. “Y’all look so?—”

Their hands guide me to stand upright.

“What?” Zane is getting more and more concerned by the second.

“Y’all look so adorable in your matching outfits.”

Asher grimaces, and Zane blinks rapidly while Rio has a smug look on his face. They’re wearing black cargo pants with multiple pockets on each leg, muscle black tees that hug their sculpted bodies, and black combat boots. All are clearly from the same store.

Bad Guys ‘R’ Us. Must be a members-only store.

Asher accuses Rio. “You did this, didn’t you?”

Rio doesn’t deny it and lifts a shoulder.

Zane pinches the bridge of his nose. “You would.”

“You two wouldn’t let me give us a name, so I figured the next best thing was matching mission costumes,” Rio defends himself.

My eyebrows shoot up. “Y’all have a name?”

“No,” Asher and Zane bellow in unison.

“Only because you buzzkills made sure of that,” Rio grumbles and crosses his arms.

I know we need to be serious, but whatever I can do to bring them a little light while we wait for Gabriel to get here, I’ll do it. “Let me hear some.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Asher implores me.

Rio ignores him and turns to me. Excitement enters his eyes. “The Devil’s Sword.”

My face scrunches. “Veto.”

Rio doesn’t let my rejection of the name stop him. “The Henchmen, The Devil’s Army . . .”

“We vetoed those already,” Asher interjects.

“The Devil’s Errand Boys,” Rio continues.

I shake my head. “That sounds like a weird boy band.”

“Please stop,” Zane whines.

“The Devils of New York.”

Tilting my head, I respond. “Ooo! That has a nice ring to it.”

Rio claps his hands. “Our queen has spoken!”

Asher and Zane groan.

Rio quite literally looks like a kid in a candy store. “I’ll add you to our group chat.”

I mock frown. “Don’t I get a matching outfit too?”

Rio smirks. “Check your closet.”

He didn’t . . .

But you know he totally would.

Rio beats me to it and hands over my very own badass outfit. They leave me alone to put it on and move to the kitchen. When I’m done, I look at my reflection in the mirror. I’m not the same woman I was a couple of months ago—she wouldn’t recognize me.

As I enter the kitchen, they all turn to me. Asher’s expression is one of pride, Rio’s is seductive, and Zane’s is admiration.

Before we can exchange words, there’s a pounding on the door. The weight of tonight returns as we all feel the pressure return to our shoulders.

Rio opens the door. “You’re late.”

Gabriel swaggers in, followed by Diego and Mateo. “I didn’t know there was a time constraint, amigo .”

Mateo spots me and winks, intentionally trying to ruffle some feathers. Diego scans the room, committing every detail to memory.

“Why don’t we all sit down,” I suggest, motioning to the large couch.

Gabriel’s eyes turn calculating and he smirks.

“It’s nice to know someone here still has some manners.

” He crosses the open room to the couch and takes a seat on the cushion closest to the door.

Diego and Mateo don’t sit, and instead spread out, taking up sentry strategically in the space.

Zane and Asher take up position next to Diego and Mateo.

Rio grabs the manilla envelope from the counter and follows me as I sit on the sectional a few feet from Gabriel.

No one speaks for a solid minute. In silence, they exchange threats I’m sure they’ve made countless times.

This gangster act is frankly annoying.

“Okay, that’s enough,” I snap. “If you need a measuring tape to make this go faster, I have one downstairs in my studio. But if we can skip past that part and get to the part where we decide how to rescue Carmen, that’d be convenient.”

Mateo and Diego react instantly. Gabriel keeps his composure, but his eyes give him away. He’s freaking out.

I figured they didn’t know, but now it’s confirmed.

“What are you talking about?” Mateo grills.

“Where is she?” Diego’s voice borders on the line of anger and desperation.

My men struggle to get the words out—I don’t blame them. Rio has been here before, and it didn’t have a happy ending.

I sit up taller and grab the envelope out of Rio’s hands, tossing it to Gabriel. “It’s all there. We need your help getting her back.”

“We don’t need them,” Zane comments.

“Yes, we do,” I push back.

When neither Asher nor Rio agrees with Zane, I know I’m right. I’ve never planned something like this before, but even I know we can’t do this on our own. It was a miracle that Rio and Zane were able to pull off that rescue without getting a scratch on them.

Gabriel scrunches his brows as he empties the contents onto his lap. The pictures fall, and Mateo’s and Diego’s eyes drop to the pictures, clearly on display.

“ Ay dios mio ,” Mateo whispers. Oh my God.

Diego’s face turns red.

Gabriel takes his time examining each photo and reading the note. He keeps his face empty of emotion, but his hands shake with suppressed rage. When he’s done, he places everything back in the envelope. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Fuck no,” Asher barks.

“Not without us,” Zane protests.

“That’s my sister!” Rio moves to stand, but I place my hand on his shoulder, urging him to sit back down.

Guess it’s up to me to be the rational one.

“You won’t get far without us,” I inform Gabriel.

He scoffs. “What? Are you going to throw some clay at them?” His ridicule is just a way to mask his fear.

We all hide our fear because it can make us weak and vulnerable. People are easily manipulated when they’re in that state. Most of us know what it’s like to trust someone when we’re scared, only to be taken advantage of. One hurt soul can easily recognize another.

I don’t play into Gabriel’s game by reacting to his barbed words. “If you try to negotiate with Anthony without me there, he’ll kill you on the spot.”

Gabriel leans toward me, resting his elbows on his knees. “I don’t give a fuck what happens to me.”

“He’ll kill Carmen too. He has no qualms about killing whoever he needs to get me back. We have to work together on this. Anthony has money, and lots of it. He can buy whatever and whoever. You go there without us, and you might as well shoot Carmen yourself.”

Gabriel rests his fist against his mouth as he stares at me, thinking over what I’ve said. I keep my hands still, not wanting him to see me flinch.

“Fine. What do you have in mind?”