The Devil's Honey

THIRTY-FOUR

THIRTY-FOUR
Rocky

"You're an idiot." I glare at my one and only best friend on this planet as the doctor stitches him up in the back of the van. The stupid idiot smirks, and then winces when Doc starts stitching him up. He's already changed out of his jumpsuit, the orange fabric scrunched up on the floor and he is now back in his usual suit — minus the shirt and jacket.

"I felt like Rapunzel back there with you saving me." He grins and I roll my eyes at him, chewing on my bottom lip as I hold my rifle close to my chest.

Extracting Xavier out of that building wasn't fucking easy, and I have no idea what he had done to get to us, but I don't even want to know the details. He was covered head to toe in blood when I laid eyes on him just before he passed out and scared the shit out of me.

"My girls okay?" He groans and bats away the help from the doctor who huffs and moves away.

"They should be. Left Santiago in charge." Xavier nods his head, closes his eyes and rests his head back against the wall of the van.

"Xander and James are in DR." He mentions, his eyes still closed shut as he inhales a sharp breath.

"You're not fit to fly," I speak out and he opens one eye to stare at me. "What?"

"Rocky, my friend, how much longer do you want this shit to go on for? The quicker we do this, the quicker we can live a peaceful life." I snort. A peaceful life? Nothing will ever be peaceful in our lives and if it is, then it's only for a short term before everything goes to shit. But I can't deny, it would be nice to retire and spend more time with my girls. "So, no, I don't need fucking bed rest." He grits his teeth and shuffles about until he's comfortable.

No point arguing with him, he's just as stubborn as his wife.

"Anybody got a phone, I need to hear my wife's voice," Xavier speaks up, and all the men look at him and shake their heads.

"Sir, the signal has been cut for some time," Harry mentions, typing on a computer and my body freezes. I pull my phone out of my pocket to check, and Harry is right, there is no signal.

I told Honey to call me if there were any issues. There very well could have been issues back home, but I wouldn't know because she wouldn't have been able to get through to me. I trust Santiago and some of the others to keep the place safe while we are gone. Xavier even stated that Santiago was one of the best men he had on the team, but there is still a nagging feeling in my gut. We're thirty minutes away from the house.

"Step on the fucking gas," I order.

No signal is not a good sign. This doesn't just happen unless it's been done deliberately.

"I know that look on your face." Xavier's deep voice, filled with warning causes me to look at him and he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and squints his eyes at me. "Talk."

"Fuck." I mumble to myself, worried for my wife and daughter, and Honey and Ayla. When I don't have a good feeling, it usually means something.

"You trust Santiago?" Because I'm beginning to question my judgement on trusting him.

Xavier's dark brows furrow and he leans back slightly at the question. "Yes."

"Okay." This is all I say because I pray, we don't have a mole buried way too deep in this family.

Of course, Xavier doesn't drop the subject.

"Why are you asking that, Rocky?"

"Well, he's your third, when I'm not around you leave him in charge. He's been around long enough to gain your trust, and Xander and James are playing people like puppets. How do we know if they haven't got to Santiago?" I ask the valid question and watch Xavier's expression change as he thinks about what I've just said. "You told him a while back to keep an eye on that Zach kid. The same kid who was a puppet to Xander."