Chapter 39
Sweat beads at my brow when we're thrust into the line of fire. Several of Shadow's soldiers, dressed in black, meander through the crowds, randomly shooting at men firing in their direction.
War is here, and Shadow has declared it.
Screams echo all around us. Fires blaze hot in almost every direction, consuming the golden curtains and fanning across the decorated ceilings. If Shadow wanted to decimate this hotel with one attack, he is achieving his goals. In a matter of ten minutes, this place will be nothing more than ash. Another building obliterated in the heart of Briar Cove.
Desperation rears up inside me, aching to get to Journey as quickly as possible. My fingers itch to touch her again. Feel her. Consume her. Fully. Our brief tryst is not enough to quell the fire, begging to have her again.
To own every inch of her so she never forgets who she belongs to. Us. The Devils. Once we’re all back together, we’ll thoroughly remind her that her flesh is ours. Her soul belongs to us.
She can’t run from us again.
If she does, I will chase her through the smoke and fire until my greedy fingers grab her.
Arrow and I swerve through the debris, holding our breaths when we come to a stop. The smoke fills the space. My eyes burn as I try to look around and lock on our enemies surrounding the area. Elevators rest behind us, blocked off by falling supports and broken drywall. Large pillars still stand, offering us a brief reprieve from the carnage.
“Any ideas?” I ask, eyeing Arrow as he sits Shadow behind us. Not so gently knocking him around on the ground.
Arrow purses his lips, peeking around the pillar and rearing back with a huff. Several more shots fire our way, pinging off the marble floors and piercing through the burning drywall.
“Oh, I have a few.” The grin he sends me has the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. I’ve seen it many times before. It’s his reckless look. The—I’m about to fuck shit up and probably get killed—look.
“Arrow—” But I don’t get the words out in time before he’s moving out from behind the pillar.
"Fuck this," Arrow says with a whistle, gaining their attention.
Well, this is either going to turn out well, or I’m going to be planning my best friend's funeral.
Fuck.
Why did I leave Shadow’s guns behind? I could have picked them up and ravaged these assholes with the remaining bullets.
“What exactly is your fucking plan?” I hiss, ducking when bullets spray in our direction. Thankfully, the decorative pillar keeps me safe—this time. Since they know we’re here, I'm sure we’re about to be blown to bits.
“Uh, yeah. Let them shoot their shots. They can try to shoot me, but they’ll never land one.” Arrow proves his point by jogging in place. Or perhaps it’s a dance. Whatever it is, Arrow dodges every small bullet that whizzes by, making it look easy. “Then, when they get close enough, I gut them. Imagine this place decorated in intestines! It'll be a bloody good time.”
Oh, good. His demon is still in control, making his impulses flare to life.
“Arrow. What about Journey?” I need to remind him why we’re fighting this battle and who we are trying to get to before she runs.
“To keep my Kitten safe and protected, I must murder all the assholes!” he grits out, moving just as another set of bullets comes our way.
Fuck this.
“Arrow, I have an idea. But I need you to continue to do this.” I level him with a glare. He grins, holding his arms out wide. “Don’t fucking die. I swear to God...” I trail off when he waves a hand at me.
“I would never die on your watch, Daddy Jer.” And then, he’s gone, rushing through the smoke without a backward glance.
Fuck.
“And you,” I say to the passed-out Shadow. “Don’t move an inch.” I tilt my head when he sits there, unmoving. “Good fucking dick,” I grunt, driving my shoe into his side. You know, for good measure and all that.
Carefully, I make it back into the ceremony room. Smoke fills the entire area, making it almost impossible to navigate. Fire bellows up the walls, crumbling them into ash. Windows break. Decorations burn. What a way to celebrate the union of two lives with fire. This will be a wedding they will never forget.
I drop to my knees, crawling along the ground to be able to breathe and see, finally making it to the two discarded guns. Luckily, they’re still intact, although hot to the touch. Checking the clips, I count five left in each gun, giving me ten bullets in total.
It’s enough to take down ten men.
“It’ll do,” I mumble, getting back to my feet.
I keep an eye out while moving through the smoke, thankful for it hiding my existence as I navigate back to the smokey hallway. Arrow is nowhere in sight, but Shadow has awoken from his slumber.
He wiggles back and forth, trying to loosen the ties around his wrists and ankles. Knowing Arrow, though, there’s no getting out of those knots. He’s meticulously studied how to incapacitate someone for this very reason. Or, well—for Journey. But it all works the same in his mind. He’d never harm her. But Shadow? He’d cut off his blood flow in a heartbeat.
I press my foot into his neck, slowly bending down to look him in the eyes. “I think you’ve caused enough damage here.”
He grins, snorting at my words. “This is only the beginning, Viotto. You kill me, and my legacy continues one way or another. I have so many plans in place, it’ll make your fucking head spin.”
I roll my eyes, knocking the gun into his temple. Repeatedly until his blood spills on the marble. He falls limp, gasping for breath before the darkness takes him again.
“Shut the fuck up,” I growl, removing my foot from his neck and focusing on my surroundings.
I ready my guns, peeking around the pillars and stopping dead. “Arrow,” I sigh.
Blood covers every inch of his body. The only facial feature visible beyond the red is the white of his teeth when he dances my way, hooting toward the burning ceiling.
“All right, Daddy Jer. Let’s grab the trash and then our girl. Let’s boogie the fuck out of here before this entire building blows.” With that, he yanks up a bloodied Shadow, throwing him over his shoulder like he weighs nothing, and takes off through the smoke.
“What the fuck just happened?” I murmur to myself. Here I was prepared with weaponry, and Arrow single-handedly eradicated the enemy.
“Magic, Jer. It was magic! Look! I hung up the intestines with care,” he sing-songs while pointing to the four intestines hanging from the fake bushes. “Shall we sing oh intestines tree? It would make a beautiful holiday song.” The darkness in his eyes slowly dissipates the longer we speak and move toward the room Elias was last in.
If we’re lucky, our girl is in there, too.