“Eva’s already organizing the wedding.”
“I need your permission to come back to town. I’m not entering Fort Wills unless I have your agreement that nothing bad is going to happen. I’ve got to take care of my boys before I take care of myself.” Devil opened up the safe where he found his gun along with a stack of money.
“My woman will make the arrangements, and you’ll need to come back to Fort Wills before the wedding goes down. Butch got a call from Gonzalez last night. They talked, and the bastard knows you’re back in Piston County.”
Devil paused. “What?”
“You heard me. Butch let him know you were back in Piston County. I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t know until it was too late. Be careful, and we’ll talk soon.”
Fences weren’t mended, but Devil dropped his phone onto this desk.
How long had Gonzalez known he was in Fort Wills? Moving to the window he looked out over his front yard.
There was so much to be done.
****
Lexie felt guilty for the way she treated her kids. They didn’t deserve her anger or her pain. Kayla was dead, and Devil was right. Her sister would have gladly left her for dead before helping her out. She had no reason to trust her sister then or now.
Seeing her dead with bruises all over had been a horrific sight to take in. Staring at her children, Lexie was relieved that they were alive, healthy, and safe. She didn’t want anything to happen to them.
Turning away, she started to set up the oven so she could do some baking. Being in the kitchen was the only way she could get past the pain and heartache of losing her sister.
“Mommy?” Simon said.
She was about to look toward him when an arm banded around her waist and something metal was pressed to her neck.
“I wouldn’t move if I was you,” the male voice said. She stared at the oven in front of her as his arm didn’t move.
“Lexie, we’ve got a problem.” This voice didn’t come from directly behind her.
The man holding her around her waist turned her to face Gonzalez. He sat at the kitchen counter, wiping his hands on a cloth.
“What are you doing in my house?” she asked, gritting her teeth. She couldn’t look toward her kids, and she was too scared to call out to her man.
“This is Devil’s house, and you’re Devil’s woman. You’re not your own person. The Chaos Bleeds crew is owned by Devil.”
“What’s your point?”
“I don’t have a point, but I’m letting you know that this isn’t about you. This is because of Devil.”
He was looking at his nails and occasionally glancing at her. She hated the way he looked at her. The planning and scheming were easy to see in his eyes.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m here because you and Devil are, and I can’t find one of my men. He was working for me.”
“Do you mean the man who was supposed to hurt and kill Eva?” she asked.
“Yes, the very one.”
“I’ve never seen him.” She glared at him, wishing there was more she could do.
“You know, Lexie, you’re not in any position to argue with me. I could get Ronald there to put a bullet in any of your children and wait to kill you last.”
Tears sprang to her eyes at the threat he delivered. She couldn’t do it. There was no way she could fail her children.
“What do you want?”
“Where’s Devil?” he asked.
“He’s right f**king here.” Devil rounded the corner, holding a gun out that was aimed at Gonzalez.
Relief swamped her, followed by fear.
“Devil, I didn’t expect you home so soon.”
“I didn’t leave home, f**ker!”
Ronald still held her against him. His breath fanned her neck, leaving her feeling sick.
“Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I heard you and Tiny are no longer on speaking terms.”
“Yeah, we’re having a spat right now, but the wedding is still going ahead as f**king planned. Now, tell me why you’re in my f**king house, near my babies, and have got a man holding a gun to my woman?”
She saw the anger in Devil. He was barely holding it together.
“It’s simple, really. I’ve not heard from my man, so I’ve come here to find out the truth. It’s what anyone else would do.”
“Then go back to Fort Wills and you’ll find him somewhere. I can’t guarantee you’ll find all the pieces. Wait, you don’t have a problem with that, seeing as he was going to kill Eva?” Devil’s finger that was poised at the trigger looked ready to shoot.
Gonzalez chuckled. “You’re angry because I wanted to get Eva out of the picture. She’s vital to all my plans. Tiny won’t do anything unless she’s dead.”
“Tiny was doing exactly what you wanted. You didn’t like it and decided to take out Eva. Let me warn you, you kill Eva, Tate, or anyone else in that club and you’ve lost any chance of gaining ground in Fort Wills.” Devil didn’t move, but the gun was trained on Gonzalez and it was unwavering.
“Interesting.”
“The only shot you’ve got of Tiny cooperating is with Eva alive. You take the people he cares about away from him, and you’ve lost all your leverage and you’re on your own.”
The tears that filled her eyes spilled down her cheeks. She was so scared. This warning was the same for Devil. They killed her or their kids, it was over. Devil wouldn’t stop until he hurt everything related to Gonzalez.
“Now, why do you have a gun pointed at my woman?”
“I wanted some answers to some questions.”
“Lexie is not part of the deal. You let her go.”
“No, you think I’m going to let the one woman go that’s making sure I walk out of here alive?” Gonzalez rested his hands against his head.
“I could kill you right now.”
“You could, and that will be over.” Gonzalez turned his gaze to look at her. “But take a look at that beautiful face. She used to be a stripper, right? Lexie took her clothes off in order to take care of your kid? Look at her face. She’s beautiful, I’ll give you that. Sexy, hot, I’d f**k her given the chance.”
Devil scowled.
“If you put a bullet inside me and kill me, Devil, then you can kiss your woman goodbye. Ronald will put a bullet inside her head before you kill him.” Gonzalez stopped to take out a handkerchief. “You can live with killing me and even Ronald. Can you live with the last memory of your wife being without a face?”