That was it. Erin halted in mid step and didn't move a muscle. I had hoped beyond hoped that what I had noticed and Dimitri's silent warning had both been wrong. She had been in on Mia's abduction. She had said it herself not fifteen minutes ago. Because of scheduling just yearly shit and any other type of appointment for anyone, she would indeed have a schedule for absolutely every planned event, which would also tell her who was where, along with a tentative schedule to plan around.
I saw both Alex and Axel closing the distance that separated us quickly as my balled fist connected solidly as I wound up with my fists in the wall beside me. The entire room fell into an eerie and foreboding silence as I turned from the wall to lock eyes with Erin. "You self-serving, self-righteous, ungrateful bitch!" My voice echoed throughout the room, making even steel faced men such as Eric flinch at its sound. I could feel my hands shaking as I stared her down. In a flood of anger reality came crashing in on me. My body was in motion before anyone caught it. In seconds I was stood inside our twins' room, over their cribs watching them breath. They were okay, a fleeting moment of relief passed over me as I made my way back to my office where everyone was still standing in a state of confusion. "You, you lying, manipulating bitch! We gave you everything you ever fucking asked for. I trusted you enough to bring my children into this world, and knowing that I would have taken your word as truth should anything have happened to any of them. You were granted a seat at my family's fucking table!!! You've stitched up our wounds too many times to even begin to count, why wait until now to choose their fucking side, when it would have so much fucking easier to kill both his sons as children in their damn sleep!? Why Mia instead of one of us?! I TRUSTED YOU WITH MY ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD ERIN AND YOU, YOU TAKE HALF OF ME AWAY AND HAND HER UP ON A SILVER PLATTER TO OF ALL FUCKERS GREGORY VAZCLAV?"
Alex looked back and forth between us as I dared her to answer my question. "Deacon, what's going on?" He asked cautiously as he took a small step or two backwards.
I looked at him fire burning in my eyes. "We've been wondering how those fuckers knew exactly how and when Mia would be the most vulnerable? Your answer is right in front of us. She admitted it herself she had access to all of our whereabouts, schedules and medical records Alex." I stepped forward, again using my full height to my advantage as I towered over her in the most threatening way I could. "She knows exactly what made those bruises on Mia's head don't you? And it wasn't some vicious assault while she was in those assholes hands, was it?" Dimitri stepped forward on my left side as his hands tightened and loosened over and over again. "You're apparently having the exact same thought I am Dimi."
"I think for the first time in my entire life I finally understand you Deacon." He chuckled, as he moved in closer to my side now preventing any chance of Erin attempting to bolt around either one of us. "So, what was it huh? I know when you look at men like us you see brutish and dull-witted beings. Let me clue you on a little secret sweetie. I might not brilliant, but even I know that if Mia would have actually had any type of head trauma like you're trying to claim she does, she'd never have been able to keep herself alive. Yes, and the next time you try to lie to people about someone's blood type being negative you might, just might want to make sure no one else in that room understands what would happen if a negative carries a positive child. I saw the look of confusion in his face when you said she was AB negative. So why don't you just fess up doc, maybe just maybe Deacon here will be kind enough to make your end quick and as painless as possible." Now I realized that Dimitri and I were not alone in the idea to keep Erin from running. Alex stood behind her literally breathing down the back of her neck. A look of pure unadulterated hate and disgust that could have easily made her feel like there was a gun put to the back or her head. "I would suggest you start running your mouth, Erin." He whispered venomously into her ear. As he recoiled into his previous position like a snake getting ready to strike without notice. "Considering you didn't seem to have any problem opening them when it came to throwing my sister to those fucking wolves. You made sure they knew everything down to the details so that she was here alone for the first fucking time with my infant niece and nephew. You were low enough to tell them how to keep her from getting to every damn weapon so she was defenseless while six men had guns pointed at her. Did you even fucking care that there were two innocent children left with no one to protect them?" Alex hissed from behind her through gritted teeth. His anger poured off of him like the wind from a hurricane blowing against a sailboat at sea. "The only reason Mia didn't greet those motherfuckers as they walked through that door with a bullet in each of their skulls is because unlike you, she's loyal. She made damn certain her children were safe, before she ever even considered she might not be."
I looked to my right side as someone was moving in beside me. To see Nicco standing there absolutely enraged, while still taking the time crack his knuckles was disturbing to say the least. His usually kind eyes revealing a look that if it could kill Erin would have already been dead and buried. To his open side stood Eric who had Trisha standing only slightly behind him to his left. Both of which had their eyes locked on Erin with an ominous glint that you could hear begging to be unleashed. Immediately to Dimitri's right Axel stepped into view with Rose taking the same stance as Trisha had behind Eric. The only two people that weren't standing with us were my father and Cassie. After taking a quick glance behind me I saw why. My father stood with a damning look as he had clearly put Cassie behind him as a means of protection. I smiled as I saw everyone else who had been in the room with us now standing behind us like wild animals circling their prey.
My attention now turned fully back to Erin who must have followed my gaze around the room because terror had become etched into fiber of her appearance.
"What caused the bruises on her head Erin?" Nicco snarled. Taking a menacing step forward. He glanced at me. "I mean no offense to you or your family with what I'm about to say." He stated before his attention turned solely back to her. "If I were you, I'd start talking. You may have thought you had all your bases covered because of how long you've known them, but there was one detail you forgot to take into consideration when you offered Mia up as a sacrifice."
Erin looked at him with a hint of a smirk on her face. "And what would that be little one?"
Nicco gave her a halfcocked smile as he closed the distance a little more. "Take a good long look at the people who are standing around you." He gave her a moment for her to do so. "See, although I did indeed agree to uphold the values of this family and I will. If I'm correct there are only three people standing here right now that would have any amount of hesitation on causing you pain. The rest of us however don't have that for you. See, you didn't spend years under our noses, wiggling away gaining our trust, only to throw it away trying gain what you thought you had deserved and didn't receive. I really do hope what they gave you was worth all the pain that you have coming."
I watched in amazement when Eric and Trisha stepped forward standing shoulder to shoulder with each other. Rose although cautious doing so, stepped out from behind Axel taking her place with them standing tall, Dimitri also stepped forward joining the group that had formed in front of us, leaving myself, Alex and Axel in a middle ground.
Curiosity piqued my interest as I tried to put together what this small group all had in common. None of them had really been there long.
I felt Axel nudge me lightly with his elbow. "We may need Mia to call off her pit bulls here." He joking laughed. "Then again I've never seen Rose mad so it has me curious as hell.
But in all seriousness Deacon, Mia might be the only person they'll be willing to listen to. You may be the man with the name, but to them Mia is the one in charge. She has saved every single one of their lives bud."
That was their connection, none of them would have been around if hadn't been for Mia. Looking at each individual it wasn't just that they wouldn't be here with us, the odds were each and every one of them would probably not be alive had it not been for Mia. She saw something in them that she had felt the world needed in it, and she protected it.