Chapter Forty-Five

Zach

Zach joined Jackson in his car, and Adrian and Ethan followed behind them in the truck. Jackson drove slowly by a little one-floor house.

The shutters were all closed, but there were men sitting out front in folding chairs and wobbly garden chairs. A fire was lit to keep the men warm.

“More thugs,” Zach observed.

“Yep,” Jackson answered, and parked the car a little farther down the road.

“So...” Zach turned to look at his brother. “What’s the plan?”

“We quietly surround them, then head in via the back door and the front door. I’ll divide the men into three groups, one for upstairs, one on the ground floor, and one for the basement.

“Then no one escapes, and we have all the men at the same time.”

“Basement? How do you know there’s a basement?”

“There’s a porch that has steps, just like our compound has. I noticed the small windows just above the ground. I suppose those give access to the basement.” Jackson shrugged.

“Well done. You seem to do well in your new position.” Zach gave him a smile.

“I finally have a purpose. I feel good.” Jackson smiled.

“Alright, now, let’s go.” Zach opened his door and got out. The other guys did the same, and a large group of muscled men gathered close to the cars.

Jackson quickly divided the group into three, and then they were ready to go in.

The thugs in the yard were quietly and quickly taken out. The soldiers crouched quietly behind them and, at the right moment, leaped up, putting their arms around their necks and slitting their throats with knives.

Without a sound, all of the enemies outside were taken out. The crackling of the burning wood in the fire was the only sound heard. Zach looked at Jackson, waiting for his sign to enter the house.

Jackson put a finger up, swirled it around, and then pointed at the door. All the soldiers took their positions. Jackson counted down from three with his fingers and then headed for the front door.

Zach was right behind Jackson and joined the group that was headed for the basement.

Inside, it was dimly lit; only a few lights were on, making big shadows on the wall with their yellow glow. Zach followed two soldiers down the stairs to the basement, where they opened a big steel door.

Soon the sound of fighting men was heard coming from the levels above him.

When the steel door opened, he saw a worn-out table with four chairs around it. At the table, four thugs were playing a card game, but they quickly stood up when they heard the soldiers come in.

The fight began. The soldiers quickly jumped into action.

Zach snuck away into the shadows. He observed the space. To his left, there was a row of cages. To the right, there was a door to another space. His instincts were going crazy. He knew in his gut he was near something familiar.

He walked over to the spot where the cages were and quickly looked at who was inside. No one was—they were empty. He suddenly held still. His ears picked up a faint sound of someone crying out in pain.

The sound came from the door he’d seen a bit earlier. He quietly snuck over to it. The door was closed. It was thick, but the feeling grew stronger.

Zach tried to open the door quietly but failed. The hinges squeaked and made a lot of noise. He looked inside through the small opening.

“Hello, Mr. Hunter. How nice of you to come and join me.”

He recognized the slick voice of Mercer.

Zach opened the door fully and appeared in the doorway. When he looked over to see what Mercer was doing, he raged.

A man lay on the floor, bound to a chair. It looked like the man had been bound to the chair and was then toppled over. The man was bleeding from multiple wounds, and his face was bruised.

The man couldn’t even see through his thick and swollen eyes. Little moans escaped his throat—the man was still alive.

Zach looked at Mercer, who had a gun in his hands.

“What is it, Hunter, don’t you recognize this man?”

Zach raged, fighting the urge to lunge.

“Ooh, is the big mob boss getting angry?” Mercer smiled devilishly and took a step closer to the man on the floor.

Still, Zach remained quiet. He needed to be able to take Mercer’s gun away before he started shooting with it.

“I think the big bad boss lost his tongue.”

Zach stepped closer.

“Oh no, I don’t think so. Stay away,” Mercer threatened. He pointed the gun at the man.

“No!” Zach roared. He couldn’t hold back anymore. He prepared to attack.

“I said, stay away!” Mercer shouted, getting nervous.

Zach moved forward.

“No, don’t come closer!”

A loud bang was heard.

Zach felt a piercing pain in his right shoulder. He roared. Then he attacked, not afraid of the man with the gun.

Mercer didn’t see it coming, and by the time he could respond to the attack, he was already toppled by Zach, the gun falling from his hand.

Mercer fell on his back with Zach on top of him. He looked around to see where he’d dropped his gun and found it within reach.

But before he could shoot with the thing, Zach landed a punch.

“I am going to shoot your head off!” Mercer shouted, and he aimed his gun at Zach’s head.

But before he could even put his finger on the trigger, Zach pulled a knife and slit his throat. The man went limp immediately. He was gone.

Zach stepped away from the lifeless body of Mercer then walked over to the man on the floor.

Zach crouched down in front of him and examined his wounds before wiping away some dried blood from the man’s face. The man was barely recognizable, but Zach knew who it was.

“Dad?”

The beeps of the machine beside the bed got on Zachary’s nerves. His father lay in the bed but was not awake. He’d lost consciousness on the way back home.

Zach wanted to talk to his dad so badly. It was taking too long. He got up from his chair and started pacing back and forth.

“Would you stop that?” Adrian looked up, annoyed.

Zach kept going.

“Just stop already!” Now it was Jackson who was annoyed. “What’s up with you?”

Zach sighed and let himself fall into the chair again. “Nothing.”

“Please lie to someone else.” Adrian looked at him. “We’re your brothers—you can’t just put us off.”

Zach grumbled again. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Seriously, Zach, take a walk and then come back and tell us what the deal is.” Jackson looked at him. “Don’t tell us there’s nothing bothering you, and don’t tell us that it’s not our business. We’re your brothers, dammit.”

“I just want Father to wake up, that’s all.” Zach looked at the man in the bed. He looked nothing like the tall, bad man Zach remembered him to be. Now he was skinny, his muscles gone, pale, and bruised all over.

Adrian laid a hand on his arm. “We understand. We want that, too, but you can’t do anything about it. You just have to wait. Getting impatient won’t help.”

“I wish Irene was here,” Zachary said bitterly. “She would be able to calm me down.”

“What do you mean?” Adrian gave Zach a frown.

Zach leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and shook his head before lowering it between his hands.

“He means that Irene is leaving him,” Jackson said for his brother. He looked at him with compassion in his eyes.

“What? Why?” Adrian looked surprised.

“She fears us…me.” Zach seemed to lower his head even more. “She saw us fight. She saw the dark side of our world. It must have scared her to death.

“And although I have told her multiple times how much I love her and will protect her, the fright dominates her feelings for me. Deep down, she knows she loves me, but she’s too scared to admit it.”

“Wow, that is terrible. I’m sorry, brother. Do you want me to talk to her?” The look in Adrian’s eyes is half-worried, half-compassionate.

“No! Don’t interfere. You’ll only push her away even more.” Zach shook his head and got up from his seat. “I am going for a run—want to come along?”

“No, we’ll stay here,” Adrian said. “If anything changes, we’ll call you.”

“Okay, thanks.” Zach walked out and shut the door softly. Once he exercised, he’d be able to calm down, if only a little bit.