Chapter 43
Itoss that fucker’s phone on the floor, smashing it into pieces, and take my phone out of my pants pocket.
I dial Judas.
“Is it time?” he asks.
“St. Stephen’s Church. Now.”
I hang up and call Adam.
“I’m kinda busy right now.”
“He has Kate?ina.”
He inhales through clamped teeth. “Where?”
“St. Stephen’s Church.”
“I’m on my way, brother. Let’s end that bastard.”
My phone is already in my back pocket as I storm through my blood-bathed mansion.
Before I go, I pick up my gun and a single cigarette from my pack, but I don’t light it up. Not just yet.
I ride my Ninja and hit the road fast. The church is fifteen minutes away, but I don’t have that luxury. Not with her in his hands. The bike shakes under me, and the engine roars as I twist the throttle.
I should’ve never let her out of my sight. Fuck, I should have been next to her all the fucking time. I’m a fool.
After a few minutes that seem like an eternity, I arrive at the church’s garden. The place seems quiet, and the boys don’t seem to have arrived yet. I step closer to the entrance, and that’s when I hear the first bike. That’s Adam, for sure.
He turns off the engine, takes off his helmet, and gets off the bike. No smug smile on his face. He’s serious. Finally.
“Is he here?” he asks.
“That’s what I’m going to find out,” I reply, checking my gun’s bullets.
Another biker shows up on a black M RR. Some habits never die, indeed.
“Nice touch, for a priest,” I joke darkly.
He doesn’t respond; he merely brushes his brown hair back with his fingers. “Hello, Adam.”
“So, you’re still alive, huh?” Adam replies.
“Let’s skip the chit-chat. I have to save my girl.” I tuck my gun back into my waistband.
“A church, huh?” Judas asks, raising his golden eyes and looking at the building.
“How poetic. Since we’re here, pray for this motherfucker’s soul, because when I’m done with him, there won’t be anything left to save.”
I march ahead. Adam follows me first, and after a few seconds, Judas joins us.
I kick the door open, and there she is.
My girl.
My little rose.
Tied to a chair in the middle of the goddamn cathedral, blood running down her face, and duct tape slapped over her mouth. What the fuck did they do to her?
“Kate?ina,” I mutter.
She looks at me as if she heard me, and her gorgeous, glacier eyes widen. Her voice is muffled, her head trembling, and her eyes fill with tears.
Six men raise their guns to Judas and Adam from right and left. They don’t move or panic.
Then, more of his men surround us, all dressed in black tactical armor. Kate?ina sobs louder.
A slow, mocking clap echoes through the hollow church. Then he steps into view, pacing in front of us with that dead-eyed calmness of his. His face is half-burned, but there’s something wrong with it—it’s still alive. No matter; I will fix that fucking mistake tonight.
“Glad to see you brought company. It’ll make things more amusing.”
“Nice to see you’re still wearing my little gift.” I sneer. “That looks nasty.”
He hums with a cold smile on his face. “Judas, still keeping up with your little hobby, huh?”
“It’s been a while, but it’s always a pleasure coming back to end bastards like you.”
“Ah, ah, ah! Cain is the bastard here,” Wade says with a smirk. If he wasn’t holding Kate?ina, he’d be dead already. “But who’s the beauty in the back?”
“I’m flattered. It’s the first time you’ve noticed me, Father,” Adam says sternly.
Wade widens his eyes. “Adam?”
“And you remember my name? I’m almost blushing.”
I roll my eyes.
“Wow, it’s hard to believe that scrawny twig is actually you,” Wade says.
“I was your fucking son, and you never turned your eyes to look at me,” Adam growls. Does he care?
“My son was Atticus. He was my only child, until this bastard took him away from me,” Wade says, taking out a knife.
My eyes are fixed on him, observing the tiniest move he makes. My hands twitch by my sides.
I am ready.
“What happened, Cain?” he asks with a disgusting smile on his face. “Are you scared of a little blood?” He places the blade to her throat, making me jolt.
She squeezes her eyes, forcing more tears to run down her face.
“Touch her again, and I’ll tear you apart with my teeth.”
“Always with the threats. What you don’t understand is that I have nothing to lose, whereas you …” He presses the blade against her skin. She cries uncontrollably.
“You fucking pig!” I yell, unable to contain myself.
“Cain!” Judas barks.
“What?” I look back at him, my eyes narrowing.
He locks eyes with me like he’s trying to tell me something without saying a word. But I know what that look means. I need to get my girl.
“Don’t you hear it already?” he asks, a sinister smile crossing his lips.
Everyone remains still, without even breathing, trying to hear something.
Perfect feint. “The devil is already waiting for them all.” He gazes around.
“They have sown the wind, and now they shall reap the whirlwind.” He crosses himself. “God has mercy. I won’t.”
And here is the beast. Glorious, fast and effective.
Judas and Adam jump on the men around them, using fists against guns and knives, and I run towards my girl. Bullets fly around the air, but I don’t give a damn. Kate?ina is all that matters. I take out my gun and shoot his thigh, just enough to lose balance and get away from her.
Slowly, I remove the duct tape from her lips. “I’m here, babe.”
“Watch out!”
Someone slams a gun into my back, nearly knocking the air out of me.
I spin around and smash my fist into his face without even looking. I don’t care who he is. Two more assholes come at me. They’re on me in seconds, their fists slamming against my face and their boots cracking into my ribs and thighs.
These fuckers aren’t trying to kill me. They’re softening me up, breaking me down slowly, like they’re enjoying it.
I rip the knife from one of the bastards and slam it straight into his fucking throat. Blood sprays across my face, soaking me. He gurgles like a dying animal and drops. Before I can breathe, another knee slams into my ribs. Fuck.
I glance up. Judas and Adam are deep in it, fighting like demons against thirty maniacs. Two more sons of bitches step up to me, circling like wolves. They think I’m tired. They think I’m done.
I spit blood on the ground and crack my neck again. My ribs hurt like a bitch, but I don’t give a shit. One of them lunges. I catch his arm, twist it until it breaks, and drive my elbow into his face. He drops dead quickly.
“Cain?” Kate?ina’s trembling voice reaches my ears, and I look at her.
Fuck …
Wade is up and points a gun to her head again.
“If you touch her—”
“I already did, boy. Now kneel,” he growls, blood dripping from his thigh.
“Cain, no,” she sobs.
“Shut up!” he shouts, slapping her hard.
“You fucking coward!” I roar, lunging at him. Two of his men grab my arms, but I repel them. “I will end you and bury your fucking headless corpse right next to your beloved son’s.” Four men now grab me, keeping me in place. “You’re nothing. You’re fucking nothing!”
The others have seized Judas and Adam.
“You’ve dropped low, boy. Letting this little cunt wrap you around her finger, running behind her skirts? That’s just fucking pathetic.”
“Fight me, you fucking coward!” I roar.
“Kneel. To. Me.”
I try to escape their grip, but they seize me again, hold my wrists crossed behind my back, and secure them tightly with duct tape.
One of them tackles the backs of my knees, forcing me to do as my father asks.
“That’s more like it, isn’t it?” Wade mocks. “Oh, I figured … why should you just hear her die? It seems a bit impersonal. This time, you’ll get the full show, front-row seat and all.”
He chuckles, tucking her hair behind her shoulder. I try to escape, but they push me down again.
“But there’s no need to rush. Let’s have ourselves a little fun first. She’s still breathing, after all.”
He smiles like it’s a joke. Like the whole thing’s a goddamn game.
“Don’t look so sour, boy. You used to have a stomach for this.”
“Jdi do prdele, ty zkurvenej hajzle!”
He slaps her again. “I said, shut up,” he says calmly.
I watch his hand crack across her face again, and something in me goes rabid. I’m trembling from the pure, volcanic need to butcher this fuck.
My mind’s already dissecting him, like he’s meat on a hook.
“I’ll snap your arms like twigs and shove them down your throat.” My wrists hurt from the pressure of trying to break free. I’ll rip his fucking face off.
He takes the knife and drags it along her thighs. Along the scar I gave her.
“This one doesn’t look deep enough,” he jeers.
“Jsi jen ubohej srá?!” she curses.
He grabs her face and jams her cheeks together. “Say that in English, honey.”
She breathes heavily through her nostrils and clenches her jaw. “I said … you’re just a pathetic piece of shit.” She spits in his face.
He doesn’t move, just chuckles, wide and slow, eyes locked on hers. He wipes the spit off, then, in one sharp, sudden motion, grabs a fistful of her hair.
He’s fucking hurting her.
“Get your fucking hands off my girl!”
“I’ve met many whores like you in my life, and honestly, I see what my bastard son sees in you,” he hisses in her face.
I try to get up one more time, but someone punches my ribs with an iron fist. Pain shoots through my side like a hot knife.
“I’m wondering if he’ll still want you if you are … flawed,” he continues, trailing the knife over her bare thighs.
“I’ll carve out your fucking eyes and feed them to you,” I scream, attempting to release myself, but three bulky men hold me in place.
The blade grazes her thigh but doesn’t cut her.
“Let me go, you fucking freak!” she yells, yanking herself, trying to break free.
He cuts her …
She gasps with pain.
“Son of a bitch—” I growl, but another strong, iron punch lands on my ribcage.