Heart Recaptured (Hades Hangmen, #2)(81)

AK looked at me and then Styx. “It was the cosigner,” he said, and Tanner searched the screen.

“Well?” I pushed.

“Cosigner is… Yeah. The cosigner has the name Cain… Cain David.”

All the f*ckin’ air leapt outta my lungs and every single brother around the table froze.

Cain.

Cain?

MOTHERFUCKING CAIN!!!!

“Rider,” I hissed, and slammed my gaze to Styx. Styx was burning in silent rage, all the cords in his neck strained and his eyes bulging with anger.

Losing his shit, Styx jumped from his chair, picked the f*cker up, and launched it against the wall, wood splintering and smashing to pieces on the floor.

Standing, my fists smacked down on the table and I screamed, “CAIN!”

Flame began his psycho pacing, ripping at his skin with his fingernails, and I gripped onto my hair. Cain had got away. That f*ckin’ rat got away and now he got my girl. Every bone in my body locked.

Cain was the heir of that f*cked-up place, and AK had taken out Prophet David… That meant…

“He’s the prophet now,” I said out loud.

“What?” Viking asked.

My eyes found Styx, who was staring at me in shock.

“Rider—Cain—he was heir to The Order, right?”

Styx nodded and I saw the realization hit.

“AK put a slug through that old cunt David’s head, which means…”

“Cain would become the prophet if he survived… and Mae let him go. That f*ckin’ rat got loose and now he’s the f*ckin’ leader!” AK spat.

“Everyone sit the f*ck down,” Styx ordered through sign, and we all did as he said.

I was seething, twitching, going insane. Rider… Cain… The Order… Fuck!

Maddie’s words circled my head. Prophet David said he would return if he were to ever be killed. He was to be resurrected to seek retribution on those that wronged him! He has returned—I just know it—and he has taken Lilah! They will kill her. They will make an example of her desertion!

She had known. That bitch had believed those end of days f*ckers would come back. And they had Lilah. What the hell were they doing to her?

A hand clamped down on my shoulder, and Styx jerked his chin. I got that he was asking if I was okay. I nodded and waved for him to speak.

“We need to call on the chapters again. Same plan as last time. We go in and kill all those living there… but Rider is mine,” he signed. “We need to kill these asswipes once and for all.”

All the brothers murmured their agreement, and I pulled out my cell, ready to bring in the cavalry. But just as I was about to start the ring around, AK held up hand for me to wait, his eyes fixed on the laptop screen.

“What is it?” I asked, losing patience.

AK’s eyes narrowed on the map on the screen. “This ain’t nothing like last time. This place, it’s a f*ckin’ fortress. The last commune was wide open, badly protected. Those men posing as guards weren’t trained. It was easy for us to go and tear up flesh.” AK pointed to the map, and I could see his mind ticking over. “This place has more land, it’s closed in, has several buildings, all of which are thick-walled, meant to withstand an attack. Place like this probably has underground bunkers.” AK looked up at Styx. “Whole new ballgame, prez. We don’t know how many people are in there, how tight they’ve got it guarded. But after what happened to the last commune, they’d be stupid if they didn’t prepare for a similar attack.” AK shook his head. “We all know Rider, prez. That guy weren’t stupid. In fact, he was the opposite. My guess is he’s rebuilt, reinforced, and ready for a Hangmen assault.”

“You saying we couldn’t take those Jesus freaks?” I snapped.

AK’s gaze met mine. “I’m saying if we go in all guns blazing, not all of us will be coming out.”

“Smiler, AK… Tanner,” Styx signed, and the brothers all looked his way, Tanner shocked to be included. “Y’all are ex-forces. What you thinking?”

Smiler glanced at his brothers and said, “We don’t go nowhere until we know what we’re dealing with. We need surveillance, numbers of people, list of ammo they got, schedules, and blueprints of that base.”

AK nodded. “Agreed. We go in blind, we die. Gotta remember those f*ckers believe in dying for their cause. Nothing worse than going up against folk that ain’t afraid to die. I’ve been there and done that in Afghanistan… I was the only f*cker that made it out alive.”

I’d been sitting here boiling like a pot on a damn iron stove, and when I saw the expressions of agreement around the table from my brothers, I shot to my feet. All attention focused on me.

Styx motioned for me to sit, but I just couldn’t. “We go in… NOW!” I hissed through clenched teeth.

AK sighed and went to speak, but I cut him off. “No! My f*ckin’ woman is in that prison, and I’ll tell y’all now; you haven’t heard half the sadistic shit those cunts did to those bitches… to Maddie, Mae… to my f*ckin’ old lady!”

“Old lady?” Vike asked. “Since when?”

“SINCE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW!” I screamed, and Vike held up his hands. “Lilah, my f*ckin’ old lady, has been taken and y’all wanna sit ‘round like f*ckin’ housewives at coffee and discuss tactics? Then let me tell you what those cunts do. They f*ckin’ rape kids. They raped my woman for years, forced her to take cock she didn’t want, brainwashed her into thinking she’s evil ‘cause she’s f*ckin’ stunning. Told her that being f*cked by a ‘disciple of God’ would help save her f*ckin’ evil soul! And best of all, she was abused by her father… her f*ckin’ father, because he said she tempted him! He couldn’t resist her and made her stroke his cock when she was six! But the worst part is she still believes it all… still doesn’t see how f*cked up it all is because it’s all she’s ever known.”