Unfinished Hero - Raid Part 47

Oh G.o.d.

I looked frantically to Knight. "You have to stop him. Stop him from doing something that might get him in trouble. Stop him from doing something he can't live with."

"He'll be able to live with this," Deacon's voice rumbled up from my feet, and my eyes moved to him.

"Don't let him do this," I begged Deacon, his mentor, a man he trusted.

"Woman, we're here to find out how to help him," Deacon told me, and I stared.

"We need to find him, Hanna," Sylvie Creed said, and my eyes moved to her. "Find him, calm him down and find these guys who did his to you. You need to help us."

Okay, calming him down sounded good.

"Tell us everything you know," Tucker Creed ordered.

Darn.

"I don't know anything," I told him.

"No, honey, everything you saw, everything they said, everything you can remember," he clarified.

I shook my head. "I... they set on me fast and I..."

Sylvie (and her cute baby) leaned into me and she wrapped her hand carefully around my cast. "We dig this can't be easy, not this soon after it happened, but as they say, time is of the essence. Anything you remember could help, Hanna. I know it sounds crazy, but even what shoes they were wearing could help. An accent you heard in their voices."

My eyes widened, she saw it and leaned in.

"Talk to me, girl," she urged.

I talked.

They asked questions.

I answered them and talked more.

Then they were done, and I knew this because they all looked at each other and Anya s.h.i.+fted around the bed.

"Give me Jesse, Sylvie," she said.

Sylvie handed Jesse to Anya, leaned in and kissed her son before she ran a finger down his cheek then she turned and looked down at me.

"We'll find your man and it'll all be good. I promise, Hanna."

I nodded. She nodded back, turned, tipped her head back to her man and she started to move. Tucker Creed moved with her.

I lunged, pain shot through me, but my hand clamped onto Knight's.

He stopped and looked down at me.

Really unusual blue eyes. Startling.

"Hanna?" he prompted.

"Don't let him do anything he can't live with," I whispered. "He lives with enough. He doesn't need more. Not because of me."

"What happened to you is because of me," Knight returned, and my brows drew together in confusion. "So Raid won't be takin' care of this sick f.u.c.k. That'll be me." He caught my eyebrow movement and finished, "In other words, don't worry."

That seemed pretty firm.

Still.

"I'm trusting you," I told him.

His hand twisted until it was holding mine and he bent close.

"That means something to me," he stated low.

Then he let me go, moved back and he was gone.

That was it.

Seriously?

"If he says it means something, seriously, it means something," Anya told me, and my eyes went to her to see her bouncing Jesse on her hip.

"Did I just get surrounded by a pack of hot guys and a pet.i.te woman who is clearly bada.s.s who are all off to hunt my man, who's off hunting the man that had three of his goons beat the d.i.c.kens out of me?"

She grinned and answered, "Yes."

I settled back on a "humph" then kept grumbling. "You know, when Raiden entered my life, I knew something huge was happening. I was not wrong, seeing as the foundations of my world have s.h.i.+fted about a dozen times. Most of it was good, but I have to admit, I'm kind of getting sick of it," I shared and she smiled.

Then she said, "You'll get used to it."

I stared at her.

Great.

Then she turned her head and cooed at cute, little Jesse.

Watching that, I sighed, thinking that maybe I would.

Then I went straight back to worrying.

Raid Three weeks later...

They all stood in the dark parking lot of the Pancake House to touch base before they disbursed after finally taking care of the guy responsible for attacking Hanna and Knight's girls.

"I want Nair," Raid rumbled.

"Patience, Raid," Knight said quietly.

"I think you get him, man," Creed stated. "He found his woman on the floor of their house with her face in a puddle of blood she coughed up. You need to speed this s.h.i.+t up."

"That f.u.c.ker we took care of had no idea Hanna had anything to do with Knight *cause he had no idea Raid was lookin' for him. He doesn't even f.u.c.kin' know who Raid is," Deacon put in. "He was just p.i.s.sed he lost a s.h.i.+tload of dope and it was Hanna who called it in. The operation is still sound."

"When you got a woman or kids or, I don't know, maybe even just a f.u.c.kin home you give a s.h.i.+t about, Deacon, then you can talk about how sound this operation is," Creed growled.

Deacon's body went dangerously still.

"That blow was low," he clipped.

"But it hit true," Creed bit off.

"I don't want a f.u.c.kin' debrief and I don't wanna pull you two out of a G.o.dd.a.m.ned smackdown. I wanna get to my woman," Raid ground out and his eyes cut to Knight. "We bottom line this, this s.h.i.+t is on Nair. I want him."

"I indirectly put your woman in danger, Raid. This s.h.i.+t is on me," Knight stated.

"I don't wanna go over what we've gone over time and a-f.u.c.kin'-gain the last three weeks either, but I will repeat what I've said a hundred G.o.dd.a.m.ned times. That's bulls.h.i.+t." Raid's eyes grew sharp on Knight and his voice got rough. "I. Want. Nair."

"We do that, we have to do it in a way that it's permanent," Knight replied. "That requires planning."

"Think we proved about ten hours ago not a one of us has got a problem with a permanent solution to a problem," Deacon reminded them.

The men fell silent.

Knight broke it. "I need to understand what my brother's involvement is, Raid. I know you get that."

"Yeah. I do. So find the f.u.c.k out and let me loose on Nair," Raid shot back.

"I'll take care of Nair," Knight returned.

"I get he's f.u.c.ked with you, and G.o.d forbid he reaches out to Anya, Kat or Kasha, then you can have him. But until you come home to find someone you love lyin' unconscious in her own blood, I got dibs."

Knight held Raid's eyes.

Then he jerked up his chin, saying, "Fair enough."

Raid headed to his Jeep.

He swung in, pulled out and didn't look back.

Because he was headed home.

Twenty minutes later...

Raid drove his Jeep around the back of the farmhouse.

It was after one o'clock in the morning and all the outside lights were on. The house was dark except a light coming from the kitchen.

She was up.

He parked in the back, angled out, moved swiftly through the yard, up the back steps and tried the handle.

She'd locked up.

He almost smiled his relief when he inserted his key, got the door unlocked, moved in and stopped dead.

Miss Mildred was standing in the kitchen.

f.u.c.k.

He stood silent, but impatient as she made her slow way to him, stopped a foot away and tilted her head way back.

Her shrewd eyes moved over his face.

He let them and it was his mother's deeply ingrained manners that kept him standing there rather than setting her aside and getting to Hanna.

He watched her eyes close.

When she opened them, she whispered, "Wash it away. G.o.d gives tools to His earth that He uses, son. He puts men here like you to love girls like her, to protect them," she lifted her hand, rested it on his chest and her sharp eyes flashed with wrath, "and, if necessary, to avenge them."

It was then Raid closed his eyes.

She knew.

"But you know that already, don't you, Raiden Miller?" she asked. "You already know G.o.d's use for you *cause He's needed to use you before."

Raid kept his eyes closed and said nothing.

"Wash it away," she kept whispering, the words flowing through him, leaving him clean.

Jesus.

f.u.c.king clean.

Raid hadn't felt clean in nearly five years.

He opened his eyes.

She shuffled away, murmuring, "Go to her. I'll call Eunice. It's late but she'll come get me."

"Miss Mildred-"

She slowly turned her head to pin him with her eyes. "Proud of you, son. You do things others can't do and you stay standing. Now get upstairs and reap your rewards."