Chapter 167 MINE
Chapter 167 MINE
Knox
The tunnel narrowed ahead, forcing us all into a choke point where every footstep echoed twice as loud, and every breath felt too close. Damp concrete pressed in on either side, the walls slick with condensation. Overhead, a cracked pipe dripped water into shallow puddles, each drop sending ripples across the flashlight beams shivering on the ground.
I kept my shotgun leveled, barrel steady and sights locked on Rourke’s chest. He didn’t flinch. Standing there in that immaculate suit... no blood, no grime, not so much as a wrinkle, he looked like he’d wandered out of a boardroom, not a battlefield. His face was calm, almost bored, as if he’d seen a hundred gunfights before breakfast.
But my eyes slid past him, searching.
Lily stood by his side. Not restrained. Not fighting. Just... standing. Her posture was stiff, shoulders squared, chin lifted. She wasn’t crying... thank god for that, but the skin around her eyes was red, raw. She had been crying. Recently.
My grip tightened on the shotgun, knuckles aching. I wanted to ask if she was hurt. If he’d touched her. If she was all right. Instead, I scanned the tunnel behind her... empty. No sign of Jinx or Darius. Fear stabbed through me, cold and sharp. Where the hell were they? Had they fallen? Had they stayed behind for Lily’s sake? Were they bleeding out in the dark?
Lily caught my gaze. Subtle, almost undetectable... she shook her head. Once. Tiny. But I saw it. Relief hit so hard I nearly stumbled. They were alive.
Now, all my worry narrowed to one thing, getting her out of here.
Rourke followed my line of sight, a knowing smile curling his lips. “You care about your people,” he observed.
I didn’t answer.
He sighed, almost theatrically. “Admirable.”
Victor snorted, shifting beside me. “He’s trying to compliment us.”
Silas rolled his shoulders, his own shotgun resting easy in his hands. “I liked him better silent.”
Rourke ignored them, his focus returning to me. “Mr. Hayes.”
“I know who you are.”
He dipped his chin. “Congratulations.”
“I wish I could say the same.”
“You’ve made quite the name for yourself.”
“I wasn’t trying.”
“No,” Rourke murmured, glancing at Lily. “None of you were.”
Silence unspooled, thick and tense.
Finally, Rourke spoke again. “We don’t have to do this, Knox.”
Victor blinked. “...Seriously?”
“I’m suggesting we act like reasonable adults,” Rourke replied.
Victor leaned in, lips twisting. “I already don’t trust him.”
“Didn’t before he opened his mouth,” I muttered.
Rourke folded his hands behind his back, voice smooth as glass. “I can make this very easy for you.”
I didn’t move. “Talk.”
“I’ll clear every warrant attached to your club. Erase every outstanding investigation. Remove every name from every state database by morning.” He looked at me, eyes glinting. “No more looking over your shoulder. No more raids. No more surveillance. You could finally be free.”
I stared at him, then glanced at Lily. “And?”
He spread his hands, palms up. “I leave with Miss Vale.”
A beat of silence, cold and final.
Victor’s eyes darted from me to Silas to Rourke. “That’s your offer?”
Rourke nodded. “A generous one.”
Silas actually laughed, a deep, booming sound that bounced off the tunnel walls. “You’ve got balls.”
Rourke’s smile never wavered. “I’ve been told that.”
Silas grinned wider. “No, you’ve got fucking balls.”
My voice was flat. “No.”
Rourke sighed as if disappointed. “You haven’t heard everything.”
“I don’t need to.”
“I can also offer money.”
Victor raised a hand. “Question.”
Rourke looked at him.
“How much?”
Silas stared. “Victor—”
“What? I’m curious.”
Rourke’s lips quirked. “Ten million.”
Victor whistled low. “Damn.” He looked at me. “Still no.”
“Still no,” I echoed.
Rourke nodded thoughtfully. “Twenty.”
Victor looked almost offended. “Now you’re just trying too hard.”
I lifted my shotgun a fraction higher. “My turn.”
Rourke gestured. “Go ahead.”
“You done?”
“I believe so.”
“Good.”
I stepped forward, slow and deliberate.
“Lily isn’t a shipment.” Another step. “She isn’t inventory.” Another. “She isn’t something you get to bargain over.”
His smile faltered. “You misunderstand.”
I shook my head. “No. I understand perfectly.”
Every Reaper behind me was holding their breath. Every muscle in my body begged me to pull the trigger. But I kept walking, slow and sure, until only a few yards separated us.
“You offered us money.” I shrugged. “I don’t need it. You offered us clean records.” I shook my head. “I don’t care. You offered us freedom.” Now I smiled, cold and fierce. “The funny thing about being an outlaw...” I racked another shell into the shotgun. The sound cracked like thunder. “...is we never asked permission to be free.”
Rourke’s mask slipped. He looked, just for a second, uncertain. Angry. “You’re making a mistake.”
“No.”
My eyes cut to Lily. She was watching me, seeing everything. Like she already knew what I was going to say.
I aimed the shotgun squarely at Rourke’s heart. “My mistake was letting her out of my sight this morning.”
Victor groaned, eyes rolling. “Oh, Jesus.”
Silas shook his head. “I was wondering when he’d say it.”
Rourke frowned. “When who would say what?”
Victor pointed at me. “He’s about to get possessive.”
“I am not.”
“You absolutely are.”
I ignored them, never taking my eyes off Rourke. “She’s leaving this tunnel with me.” My voice was low, final. “Maybe with Silas.” Silas nodded, stone-faced. “Maybe with Jinx, if he behaves himself.”
Victor snorted. “If?”
“Maybe Darius, if he stops pissing me off.”
Even Lily let out a breathy, broken chuckle. Relief, maybe, or just the need to feel something besides fear.
I stared Rourke down. “But she sure as hell isn’t leaving with you.”
For the first time, Rourke’s composure cracked. His smile vanished.
A gunshot echoed from deeper in the tunnel. Then another. Then a third... sharp, close.
A familiar voice bellowed through the dark, “YOU COULDN’T JUST WAIT FIVE MINUTES?!”
Jinx.
Victor grinned, eyes shining. “There he is.”
A second voice, Darius. “Stop announcing that you’re alive and SHOOT!”
Jinx again, unflappable, “I’M MULTITASKING!”
Silas chuckled, shaking his head. “I was wondering what was taking those two so long.”
Rourke’s gaze flicked over his shoulder, just for a moment. It was the first crack in his cool. I saw it. And I smiled. Because now, finally, the Reapers had him exactly where we wanted him.