“Tatum,” he greeted me, coming towards the bed.

“Have you found him?” Monroe said as she shot out of the chair.

He shook his head. “No, not yet. But I’ve got half of fucking Sydney on it so it’s just a matter of time.”

Disappointment filled me. I’d hoped he had come with good news.

He moved closer to me. “I just wanted to see how you were doing,” he said, surprising me even more. His gaze travelled over me and he hissed at what he saw. “I should have listened to him,” he murmured.

“What about?” I said.

He let out a long breath as regret settled into every line on his face. “Nitro warned me about getting into bed with Joseph. I was so screwed up in the head over this fucking war we’re in that I thought I knew best.” Scrubbing his face, he added, “It’s just another example of when I didn’t know best. And now we all have to deal with the consequences.”

This was a whole new side to King that I never imagined existed. The regret and anguish he expressed were real, and he seemed to feel it deeply.

Ignoring the pain it caused, I reached my hand out for his and when he gave it to me, I gently squeezed it. “We all fuck up in life, King. It’s what we do after that counts.”

He regarded me for a few moments, holding my hand in silence. When he placed it gently back on the bed, he said, “It’s a bitter pill to swallow, though. It’s a mistake I won’t make again.”

Monroe asked him a few questions, but I couldn’t keep up with them. Tiredness took over and as much as I tried to keep my eyes open, I couldn’t. The last thing I heard King say was, “As soon as we find him, Tatum will know.”

Sleep claimed me then, and I drifted into a web of nightmares where I never saw Nitro again.

 

 

43

 

 

Nitro

 

 

“The Unforgiven” by Metallica

 

It had been three days since I’d seen Tatum. I’d dreamt of her during the fitful bouts of sleep I’d had in those days. Mostly I had nightmares about her not surviving Joseph’s torture. In reality, I knew she would most likely have been okay once she’d sought medical treatment. But my mind liked to fuck with me and make me deal with my darkest fears. Never seeing her again was a nightmare that wouldn’t let up.

Joseph still had me locked away in the tiny room where I’d been for days. The four walls closed in on me a little more each day, but still I managed to keep my shit together, even when I’d ended up with hypothermia the day before. Joseph had been furious with William over that. He’d abandoned his harsh treatment of me for the day and given me excellent medical care, which meant I was okay. Exhausted, but at least I was still alive.

The day passed slowly. William didn’t show his face, but Joseph spent some time with me. He’d surprised me by talking about his plans for the Sydney arm of his operation. Sitting with him for those hours, listening to everything he’d said and pretending to be interested in it made me feel sick. But I’d got through it by telling myself that my chance to end all this would come soon enough. I just had to be patient.

He’d left me alone for hours in the afternoon. Stir crazy and me spent that time together. I was close to climbing the walls by the time he returned later that night.

Jerking his chin towards the door, he said, “Come. We have that meeting with Eric Bones and I want you there again.”

I followed him down the long hallway and out into the open-plan area of the warehouse. There were fewer men there than I’d assumed. William was nowhere to be seen, and I wondered where he was. In total, there were only six men. They were unloading a semi-trailer full of large wooden boxes, stacking them onto pallets.

We cut through the area and exited the building into the dark night. The outside wasn’t lit up and it took my eyes a moment to adjust, but when they did, I could see we were alone.

Joseph headed towards the Jeep parked at the end of the building. He insisted I walk ahead of him. Again, I wondered where William was.

“William not coming with us?” I asked.

“No.” His reply was short and begged no more discussion, so I left it alone. I was intrigued as hell, though. Those two seemed as united as they had nineteen years ago, but maybe appearances were misleading.

We reached the Jeep, and as Joseph unlocked it, the sound of someone running our way drew our attention.

“Joseph, wait up!” William called out, and I heard the hiss of disapproval that left Joseph’s mouth.

“I told you that Rhys and I would do this alone,” he snapped.

William came to a halt when he reached us. Ignoring me, he said, “You need me.”

“Not tonight I don’t.”

I watched as William exploded in front of me. For a man whose emotions were always so contained, this told me there was something very wrong between them.

“I have been with you from the very beginning, Joseph. Loyal to a fucking fault. No way am I going to sit back and watch while your asshole nephew worms his way into my spot. No fucking way!”

Rage contorted Joseph’s face and he made the mistake I’d been waiting days for. He turned his back on me to roar something at William. I didn’t take in what he said because I was too focused on the gun holstered at his waist. His shirt covered it, but I made out the shape.

There was no time for thinking; I had to react. Reaching out, I pulled his gun from the holster at the same time as I hooked my arm around his neck and squeezed him hard. His fingers curled around my arm, trying to pry it away, but I tightened my grip, determined not to let go, even if every movement hurt my aching body.

My intent had been to shoot William first, before he could react, but the fucker’s reflexes were faster than I thought they would be. I pointed the gun at him while he aimed his at me.

“Put the fucking gun down, Rhys, or I will shoot you!” he bellowed.

Adrenaline surged through me. It blocked out enough of the pain I was in so I could focus on what I had to do. “You let me kill him and his business is yours, William.” It was a lie. I would never allow William to walk away from this alive.

Joseph tried to fight me off, his body jerking in my hold. “He’s lying, William!” he yelled.

“Am I? Tell me, William, what have you received in return for your decades of loyalty to this man? Besides him fucking your wife, that is.” I had no idea if that was true, but I didn’t doubt it could be.