Reaper led a whimpering Matt out the cabin, and by then Ryker had dropped the gun and was untying my rope. My gaze was fixated on a stunned Allie as she stared between us and the dead man with confusion on her face.

“Sorry for Reaper takin’ it too hard,” Ryker said quietly, staring at the bruises littering my body. “We had to make it look real.”

I barely cared. I hurried to Allie and quickly untied her. I peeled the tape off her mouth and took her into my arms. She buckled from the pain in her arm, and I had to stop to look down at it.

“Jesus,” I muttered. “Give me something to wrap around her arm, Ry.”

“Use the cloth around her neck,” he replied.

I took it off and wrapped it over the gaping hole in her arm. It looked god awful. She’d bled a lot. “You’re going to get some help soon, baby. They’re coming, okay? They’re coming.”

She was a mess, crying and shaking her head. “What is going on? I don’t understand.”

“I’m going to explain everything. I promise.”

She stared up at me and put a hand to the side of my bruised face. “I thought you were going to die.”

For a second there, with Ryker looking down at me with that look of hatred in his eyes, I kind of thought so too. I wondered if he’d taken me for a fool and had concocted this whole thing just to take me down, especially when he showed up at the house earlier than we’d intended.

“It’s alright,” I told her, kissing her softly. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Matt ordered the hit on you,” she then said, sniffing back her tears. “He said he tipped the police off for Ryker’s bust first, and then when I called him asking where you were, he realized what you were doing. It was my fault you almost died –”

“Don’t,” I cut in. “Don’t blame yourself, Allison. Nothing was your fault.”

“Fuckin’ Matt,” growled Ryker from behind me.

And before any of us could say another word, a gunshot sounded from outside. Fucker was dead. I half-wished I’d been the one to kill him. That little fucking snake had been the cause for so much trouble.

“He’s gone,” I said firmly. “They’re all gone now.”

“I called Marko after we took you,” Ryker replied. “He lured the guys at the cash house. It’s probably blown to smithereens by now, which means they’re probably scrambling. And once they find out nobody is going to lead, they’ll scatter like cockroaches. Nobody knew the connections Boss had. They’ll never be able to bring in the supply to keep the crew afloat. I doubt they’ll show themselves after they’ve heard what’s happened. There’s going to be some serious heat from the police. Hire a good lawyer if it gets to that. But as it stands, the Syndicate are no more so long as you keep on top of it.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I know.”

“And once everything is pinned on me, nobody will be suspecting you of anything. You’re just victim to a jealous ex-boyfriend.”

I didn’t respond for a moment. This was the part of the plan I didn’t want to happen.

“Nobody will be after you,” I told him. “You don’t need to do this, Ryker –”

“Police are already on the way,” he cut in, passively. “It’s already done. I’m doing this to protect you guys. It’s important everybody knows you had no part in any of this. You say you were about to get killed when I heard the police coming around. That I did all of this on my own. That I turned against Boss in order to take over the crew. And now that I’ve been found out, you say I’ve fled. Understand?”

I couldn’t say anything. This was beyond fucked. I just looked at him, searching for a different way out of this. But he was resolved in his decision.

“Why are you okay with this?” I asked him in disbelief. “You want to live your life on the run, Ryker? Don’t… Don’t do this.”

He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “I don’t want to live my life on the run, Heath, but I don’t want to live in this town either. There’s too much… bad here for me. I need to start over somewhere. I need to try even if it means I might get caught somewhere down the track.”

“But… I’ll never see you again if you go.”

He wouldn’t look me in the eye. There was so much exhaustion there. So much sadness in him. I could hardly keep myself composed.

“Maybe one day,” he replied quietly, but it sounded like an empty promise.

I walked over to him and grabbed his face with both hands. I forced him to look up at me, and he sagged a little as we finally made eye contact. Brown eyes to brown eyes, we stared and took each other in. He could see my sorrow and I could see his pain. We were brothers – close brothers for so long before we were torn apart, and I wished I’d had some more time with him. To let him go now… it was killing me.

“I love you, brother,” I said hoarsely.

He nodded and swallowed hard. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I kinda like you too.”

I barely cracked a smile, and then I finally dropped my hands and stepped back.

“I got to go,” he quietly said. “I need a head start.”

“I’ve got a car for you already,” I told him. “I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I knew you’d be a stubborn bastard. Cut through the forest and head right. Follow the stream until you see an off road track. It’s parked there. There’ll be a card on the windshield and it’ll say Location R.” R meaning Ryker. “That’s the proof you got it’s the right one. Your share of the money is in the boot, and at the bottom are a couple fake passports, just to get you out of the country if it comes to that.”

Ryker managed a stiff nod. Avoiding eye contact again, he muttered. “Take care, Heath.”

He hurried out of the room and Allie’s head turned, following him leave. With panicked eyes, she called out, “Ryker, wait!”

I heard him stop.

“You don’t need to go,” she pleaded. “We can think this through. You start running now and you’ll look guilty –”

“I am guilty,” he interrupted, looking at her. “I’ve fucked you guys over. I’ve hurt you, and I’ve made too many mistakes. I deserve this. If not for this crime, then for all the others. You just take care of Kayden, and you keep Heath close to you. He’s the best man for you, I know it. I knew it a long time ago. There’s nobody else I’d trust to be with you than him.”