11. Ryuji #2
She raised a bloodied hand to point down the bridge. Suddenly, the rest of our surroundings came into focus again.
Across the room, by the far controls, Max Volpe snapped a man’s neck, the body crumpling to the ground. At least half a dozen people were scattered between us and him. A fucking bloodbath happened here.
Behind him cowered six young women, pressed against the wall in fear.
His eyes locked on us, and I raised my gun. This fucker . I didn’t know how, but he got her into this mess. He was to blame. My finger curled around the trigger. I would kill him here, and we could leave this boat with our biggest enemy dead.
“Wait, Ryu,” Leona said as Obi began carrying her away. “Wait, please. We can’t leave him. Them.”
“Oh, I’m not leaving him,” I growled, aiming my weapon.
He stared, unflinching. Bastard didn’t even close his fucking eyes as he stared death down at the end of my barrel. The girls whimpered and cried, but I would deal with them once he was dead.
“No!” she shouted, struggling in Obi’s arms. “Stop!”
Why the fuck was I hesitating? Was it the crack in her voice?
“We have to get out of here, princess,” Cas said. He aimed his weapon at Volpe, just like me. Neither of us took one step backward, instead forming a wall of protection between him and her. “The girls we can take, but…”
But Cas wasn’t shooting either.
“Bring him!” she almost screamed. I turned my head at her voice. Her eyes were frantic as her fingertips dug into Obi’s shoulders. “Do not leave him or those women behind. He’s coming with me, or I’m not leaving.”
The four of us gaped. Ciel was the first one to clear his throat.
“All right, ángel , whatever you say,” he replied, stepping around me and pressing my weapon down. He did the same to Cas. “Let’s go, Max! We have to move! ”
The man took a careful step forward, saying nothing. His face was a blank slate as he stepped over the bodies between us. He only looked down to make sure he didn’t slip in the blood pooling from the unfortunate man Leona had sliced to ribbons.
“It’s okay,” Leona said to the women. “Come on. It’s safe now.”
They hesitated, holding hands and shuffling against the wall.
They kept their heads down, except if they looked at Leona.
But then the first one in line pulled forward, and they moved behind Max.
He kept his body blocking them, but there was no reason for him to do so. None of us would hurt those girls.
As soon as Max got close, Cas seemed to right himself. His gaze darkened, and he blocked Max’s path to where Obi still held Leona.
“You make one wrong move,” Cas threatened. Still, the bastard said nothing.
I stepped up beside him, pulling out my pistol and pressing the muzzle to his forehead. Max still didn’t flinch. “I’ll bury this bullet in your brain before you can even blink.”
“Ryu, please,” Leona’s voice begged. At that, Max’s gaze softened as he looked at her. It made my blood fucking boil.
“Just fucking try me,” I warned, pressing my gun to his forehead even harder. After another three seconds, I pulled away and tucked my pistol back into its holster.
Cas and I exchanged a glance, silently promising that if he stepped one foot out of line, he’d be dead.
As much as I wanted to murder him and leave him on this ship to rot, for now, we had to roll with this. If Leona wanted him to come, then he was coming. Same with the girls. We could figure out what the fuck to do once we got off this fucking ship.
But I wouldn’t hesitate to kick him off the yacht and let him fall into shark-infested waters the second he became a threat.
“Go.” I picked up my assault rifle again and used it to direct Max to fall in line between Cas and me. He followed the order with hesitation .
“It’s okay,” I added softly as the women walked past. “You’re safe now.”
Our group went back through the hallways of the ship, but we didn’t see anyone except dead bodies I knew we hadn’t killed.
I stared at the back of Max’s head. The two of them had to have something to do with this.
No wonder the boat was so quiet. They’d already killed everyone. They’d already freed the other women captive here.
Obi kicked open the door we had come through originally. I pulled the folded up wooden pilot ladder from my backpack, secured it to the lip of the bow, and tossed it over the side.
I radioed to the boat man, my eyes and weapon never leaving Max. “Target acquired, plus extras. Prepare the first aid kit.”
He radioed back. “Copy.”
“I’ll go down first,” Ciel said as he climbed over the side. When he got to the RHIB, he secured the pilot ladder to the edge of the boat and held his hand up. “Come on!”
“Wynn?” Leona asked, head upturned at Obi.
“Alive.”
She let out a heartbreaking sob as Obi carefully lowered her to her feet. He directed her to the ladder, but she paused before taking it.
“Wait,” Leona said, looking over his shoulder. “Is everyone here?”
Cas nodded his head. “Yes, baby. Everyone’s going to be okay.”
Her throat bobbed. Without another word, Obi and Cas helped her down the ladder, along with the women one by one. I watched as Ciel helped her aboard the RHIB, already glancing angry red wounds peeking through the suit covering her chest.
Anger surged through me so strongly my hands shook as I realized there had to be even more where I couldn’t see. My chest was hollow, like someone had fucking carved my heart from it with a blunt knife .
She was covered in blood, but what would we find when we cleaned it off?
She was alive, but what would be left of her when we returned home?
I needed retribution. My head was going to explode if someone didn’t pay for what had happened to her.
And I knew exactly where to lay the blame.