Buttons and Blame Read online

  “Love you too, brother.” He stepped away and cleared his throat. “I’ll be seeing you.”

  “Yeah…I’ll be seeing you.”

  When I woke up the next morning, I felt like a different person. My life had changed overnight. My responsibilities had shifted. Button had been my number one priority, but now she shifted down to number two.

  And I didn’t even know my baby.

  But their existence changed everything. I wasn’t the same man anymore.

  Pearl woke up shortly after I did and turned over to look at me. She was exactly the same, the same size, the same shape…but now she was different. She was glowing when there was no evidence of a light. She was somehow more beautiful when nothing had changed. “Morning.”

  “Morning.” I kissed her on the lips then tucked my head under the sheets. I found her bare stomach and kissed her above her belly button. She was petite and slender with no evidence of pregnancy, but I knew my son or daughter was in there. They hadn’t even begun to form yet, but they were a part of my life.

  I lay beside her again and looked into her eyes. Today was an important day. My brother was about to go head-to-head with a formidable enemy. I felt like a coward for staying behind. It was a betrayal. He was my brother. I should lay down my life for him. I should do whatever he needed me to do.

  But I couldn’t now.

  Not when I had someone to protect.

  I somehow loved my baby more than my own wife.

  How was that possible?

  Button hugged me close to her and released a painful sigh. “How much time do we have?”

  “A few hours.”

  “Okay…”

  “But I’m coming with you, Button.”

  She shifted her eyes back to mine. “What?”

  “I’m coming with you to Santorini. We’ll wait it out until the dust settles.”

  “What about Cane?”

  “He knows I’m not coming. He’s okay with it.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  My hand moved to her stomach. “My job is to protect you—both of you. If I die…my child won’t have a father. I can’t let that happen. Cane knows that.”

  “I…” Her hand moved over mine. “I want you to stay with me too, Crow. But you know you can’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You can’t turn your back on Cane. He needs you.”

  “I know. But my duty is to our child. They’re the most important thing to me now.”

  “I know…but he’s your brother.”

  “He understands, Button.”

  “Look, I don’t want you to go either. I don’t want to lose my husband. I don’t want our baby to lose his father. But I understand you’re all he has. He’s your brother, your family—”

  “You are my family too, Button.”

  “I know…but it’s different. You already said you would help him, and you can’t turn back now. He needs you, Crow. Adelina needs you.”

  “I’m surprised you feel this way.”

  “I hate it,” she whispered. “It would be so easy for us to run off and forget about it. But I know you, Crow. I know it’ll haunt you forever. If the situation were reversed, what do you think Cane would do?”

  He would have my back—always.

  Button knew my answer just by looking me in the eye. “You have to go.”

  I sighed as I explored her stomach with my hand. “You can be selfish, Button. All you have to do is ask me to stay, and I will. Any other woman would want her husband to stay by her side and protect her.”

  “I know how much your brother means to you, Crow. You have a bond just as powerful as ours. I know you’ll do everything you possibly can to come back to us. I know you won’t hesitate to slaughter everyone in there to make it back to me. We’ll just have to take the chance…and hope for the best.”

  “You’re sure, Button?” I whispered. “Because we don’t have much time for you to change your mind.”

  She cupped my face and kissed me. “Yes…I’m sure.”

  14

  Cane

  “Are you sure you about this?” The cars were lining the driveway as the men prepared to take Pearl and Lars away. They were leaving the estate and retreating to Greece, to a small island where people wouldn’t look twice to find her.

  “Yes.” Crow’s expression didn’t change as he held my gaze.

  “Because you don’t have to do this. I understand, Crow.”

  “I know you would be there for me if this were reversed.”

  “That doesn’t mean you’re obligated to do this.” Whether I would do it for him was irrelevant.

  “I’m in, Cane. Pearl is too.”

  “You’re certain she’s okay with this?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  I knew Crow wouldn’t change his mind. “Alright. Thank you…”

  Crow nodded before he stepped aside.

  Pearl walked up to me, looking exactly the same even though everything was different. “Please get her out of there.”

  “I will.”

  “And please…bring Crow back to me.”

  “I’ll make sure that happens,” I whispered. “I’d rather die than keep that from happening.”

  She nodded slightly, tears in her eyes.

  “Congratulations on the baby.”

  “Thank you.” Her hand immediately went to her stomach. “We weren’t expecting it…but now it feels right, like it was meant to happen.”

  “I’m excited to be an uncle. I told Crow I would feed them lots of candy and get them into all sorts of trouble.”

  I got her to laugh, but it was weak. “I’m sure you will.”

  “And you’re gonna be a great mother, Pearl. If you have a daughter, she’ll be strong. If you have a boy, he’ll grow up to a man.”

  “Thank you, Cane.”

  I brought her into my chest and hugged her, holding her like a sister.

  She rested her face against my chest and breathed hard. “I love you, brother…”

  “I love you too, sis.”

  She pulled away from me and walked to the car. The drivers were ready to take her away along with Lars. She would have all the protection she needed as well as most of Crow’s money. If we both died, she would be okay.

  “We’ll leave after I say goodbye to her.” Crow walked toward her in the entryway. The rest of the men and Lars stepped away to give them privacy. The engines were running, and the house was dark since all the curtains were drawn.

  Crow rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes.

  She did the same, but the tears started to fall.

  Neither one of them said anything.

  They just stood there.

  After a moment, Crow tilted his head back and looked at her. “I love you, Button.”

  Tears streamed down her face, and she started to sob. “I love you too…”

  He cupped her cheeks then kissed all of her tears away, treasuring her with his love. He rubbed his nose against hers before he pulled his hand away and abruptly walked away, turning his back on her so he wouldn’t have to watch her get into the car.

  But I knew the real reason he turned around.

  He walked toward me, his eyes visibly red and wet. He walked past me and stepped underneath the olive tree. His hands were in his pockets, and he stood absolutely still, listening to the car doors shut as they prepared to leave. Soon, the tires rolled as they pulled out of the roundabout and left the property.

  Crow didn’t watch them drive away.

  When they were gone and out of sight, he finally turned back toward me.

  With tears running down his face.

  Bran grabbed my wrist then pointed the gun at the underside of my forearm. He hit the trigger, and the tracker went inside.

  Crow hadn’t said anything since Pearl left. He was dead silent. He quickly wiped away his tears and returned to the stoic man I’d always known. It was like nothing had happened at all. When our parent
s died, he didn’t shed a single tear. When Vanessa was shot in front of him, he didn’t express a single emotion.

  But watching his pregnant wife drive away broke his heart.

  Bran turned to Crow. “You’re next.”

  Crow extended his arm without looking at him.

  Bran inserted the chip, and Crow didn’t flinch.

  “That way we’ll be able to locate each other if we ever lose track of one another. They shouldn’t be detected if we’re captured.”

  “Good idea,” Crow said quietly.

  “It can detect a pulse too. That way we know…you know.”

  “Yeah.”

  We prepared ourselves for the attack, stocking up on ammo, grenades, and guns. I had a pistol on either side of my holster, a knife in my boot, and I was going in with my machine gun. I wasn’t messing around, and I was going with only one intention.

  Killing everyone in that compound.

  I couldn’t let a single man escape. I couldn’t let a single phone call be made. I had to wipe out every last man in that complex so no one would know it was us. It could look like a random hit, a robbery.

  And I could get Adelina the hell out of there.

  I hadn’t slept much that week. It was a miracle that I was still functioning at that very moment.

  I had sixty mercenaries recruited for the operation, all skilled men that I trusted to have my back. Even if Tristan were ready for us, he would have a difficult time defeating us. We would get in and get out quickly, taking Adelina to safety.

  I couldn’t believe I let her go in the first place.

  I didn’t want to think about all the suffering she had already endured. She might be dead for all I knew.

  Bran rounded the men into the Hummers and then came back to Crow and me. “We should get going if we want to be there by three.”

  We were driving all the way there since flying wasn’t an option with our kind of artillery. “Last chance,” I said to my brother.

  He turned his eyes to me. “Let’s do it.”

  Hours later, we were a mile from the house.

  Crow was in a different Hummer with his own team of men. We were executing this in waves. The first group of us were supposed to take out as many men as possible silently. The second wave was backup, taking down all the men once they were aware what was going on.

  I wasn’t sure exactly where Adelina would be. I suspected she would be in her room. If she were, that would make this operation a lot easier.

  I pressed my fingers to my ear. “Crow, you there?”

  “Loud and clear.”

  “Alright. Let’s move.”

  We drove to the compound with the lights off. There were no gates around the mansion because he tried to blend into the coastline. When there were gates and fences, it looked more suspicious than leaving it totally open. Plus, it made a strong statement.

  Two men were already on foot, taking out the guards that were posted outside.

  John came on to the mic. “All four guards down. We’re clear.”

  “Roger that,” I said back.

  The cars pulled into the asphalt entryway that was as big as a parking lot. We parked two hundred feet from the house, not wanting the sounds of our engines to be a dead giveaway to anyone who was sleeping. We killed the engines, and it turned silent.

  The ocean waves were in the background.

  My team got out of the cars and moved in.

  My heart was beating so hard.

  So much adrenaline.

  So much ferocity.

  My woman was in there—and I wasn’t leaving without her.

  I frisked both of the men at the entryway and placed one of their mics directly into my ear. Now I had radio communication with the enemy. I tried the door and was surprised it wasn’t locked.

  What kind of idiots were they?

  I stepped inside the pitch-black house. There was a large entryway opening to a living room.

  No one in sight.

  My team moved farther inside and examined every room. Guards that were posted were looking at their phones, so they were easy to take out silently. But I wasn’t naïve enough to think that was it.

  Then someone screamed.

  Gunshots fired off, and the war began.

  I sprinted down the hallway and opened the first door.

  A gun was pointed right at my face.

  But I fired first. I took out two men then cleared the room before I moved forward. My goal was to find Adelina. Everyone else’s goal was to kill anyone inside that building. I searched more rooms, killed more men, and then finally made it to the final bedroom on the bottom floor.

  There she was.

  Naked.

  Dirty.

  Her ankle cuffed to the wall.

  There wasn’t time for tears or emotions. There wasn’t even time for anger.

  She covered herself with her hands when I first stepped into the room, but once she recognized me, her hands slowly dropped. “Oh my god…”

  I shut the door behind me and got to work. I didn’t have a key for the chain, and I wasn’t going to bother looking for one. “Don’t move.”

  “What are you going to—”

  I shot the chain until it snapped in half.

  Adelina let out a scream.

  “Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her up. There was nothing to cover her with, but her nakedness wasn’t important right now. I had to get her out of there. “Stay behind me.” We moved back into the hallway and walked over the dead bodies back to the front door.

  Some of the men were mine.

  One of Tristan’s dead men was wearing a sweater. “Take it off him and put it on.” I kept my eyes trained around us, prepared for unexpected company.

  Adelina did exactly as I commanded and yanked it off him. She pulled it over her body and zipped up the front. The fabric stopped just above her knees.

  “Let’s go.” I guided her out the front door, the sound of gunshots still going off upstairs. “Come on.”

  The men in the cars covered both of us as we made it back to the bulletproof SUV’s. I opened the back door to one and pushed her inside.

  “Cane—”

  “I don’t have time to talk.” I shut the door and ran back into the house. My primary goal had been completed, but the job wasn’t done yet. I had to kill every single asshole in there. “Crow, what’s your status?”

  “Killing these assholes. What the fuck are you doing?”

  I ran to the second floor and helped my men, but I didn’t see Crow.

  “Cane.” Crow’s voice came over the line. “Tristan jumped out the window. He was on the second story.”

  “I’m on it.” I darted back downstairs, knowing Tristan was heading for the ground floor. He was probably trying to get to the cars left on the side of the compound. I rushed into the night and scanned for him everywhere.

  That’s when I heard the sound of an engine.

  A boat.

  Tristan was inside a speedboat parked in the harbor. He must have jumped to the bottom floor and kept going.

  “No!” I sprinted down the dock then took aim as he sped off. I fired all my ammunition, determined to sink that asshole into the deep ocean. It was too dark, and I ran out of bullets. I had no idea if I hit my mark or missed it. He was too far away for me to hear the engine. “Fuck.” Even if I sank his boat, there was no guarantee he was dead. He could have missed the bullets, and he could swim to safety once we were gone.

  Crow’s voice returned. “All clear. Did you get him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How do you not know? What the fuck, Cane?”

  “He drove off in a boat, and I fired all my rounds. It’s pitch black, and I can’t see a damn thing.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah, fuck.”

  Crow and some of the men ran out onto the deck with me. The black waves were choppy as the wind picked up. If it weren’t for that, we might actually be able to hear something. We
scanned the horizon left to right, as if we might see something jump out at us.

  Crow released a frustrated sigh beside me. “All of his men are dead. Where would he go?”

  “He probably has his phone on him. Could call someone.”

  “What’s the likelihood that you hit him?”

  “I don’t know. I fired off until I was empty. Chances are, I hit my mark.”

  “And even if you did, the asshole can probably swim…”

  “Yeah.”

  “I say we leave a team behind until morning. All of his stuff is here, and the rest of the coast is mostly cliffs. This is probably where he would swim back to.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Then let’s head out. You got Adelina?”

  “Yeah, she’s in the car.”

  He clapped my shoulder. “Good. I’m glad this wasn’t for nothing.”

  I didn’t have a single second to contemplate the fact that Adelina was safe and in my custody. I’d barely had a chance to speak to her, to think about her condition when I walked into that room.

  “Cane?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I have some bad news.”

  He was alive, and Adelina was safe. There was nothing he could say that would ruin my victory. “What?”

  “Lizzie is dead.”

  I looked into his dark face and didn’t see an ounce of sadness.

  “She was wrapped in a bag downstairs. Looks like they were about to toss her into the ocean.”

  “How do you know it’s her?”

  “Fits the description. And there were no other women in the building.”

  I’d suspected she would already be dead. I figured they’d killed her a long time ago. “Adelina will take the news hard.”

  “Or it might give her peace.”

  Before I reached the back door to the vehicle, she pushed it open and slid to the asphalt. In her oversized sweater with messy hair and bruises all over her face, she jumped into my arms and locked her arms around my neck.

  I scooped her from the ground and held her to me, letting her rest against me. The rest of the team packed up and prepared to leave. Everything had been swept clean, and the perimeter had been checked. We should leave now before the sun rose, but I knew Adelina wanted to be held—by me.