Chapter 44 #2
I finally catch her about halfway down the passage, and as I grab her arm, I throw her into the stone wall.
Just so she doesn’t pass out, I plant my hand behind her head, but pin her to the wall with my body so she can’t escape.
She hits my chest with her small fists, but her hands don’t hurt.
Her little form feels surprisingly firm, and when I smell a hint of tonka bean, I have to shake my head to force it away.
Of course this little demon would smell like something toxic.
“No! You have to let me go or he’ll kill her!” she screams, and ice races through my limbs.
“Kill who? Ashia?”
She nods frantically, and of course, I let her go. If someone is threatening my sister, then that takes priority. I can come back to Victoria later.
She instantly starts to sprint again, but I remain on her heels this time.
We only move a few more doors before we reach what I’m assuming is their version of the Batcave.
There are screens everywhere, and a lot of wires along the walls.
There are plush chairs, like the devils had to make themselves comfortable in these conditions, and the thought makes me sick.
She runs up to the monitors and starts hectically looking over them.
The second her eyes lock onto a screen, my eyes follow, and my body explodes with fear when I see a live scope-feed of the hospital presented on the monitor.
And the scope is looking right into Ashia’s room.
“What the fuck?!”
“That’s Sette. He’s one of the assassins. If Saconne gets a hold of him, or the hour is up, he’ll kill her! You’ve got to move her!” she yells.
“What hour?” Grease asks as he runs into the room, slightly out of breath. I can’t help but roll my eyes at him. He’ll never be cut out for our line of work.
“Sette was ordered that if he didn’t hear from DeLuca every hour, to shoot her immediately. It was a fail-safe incase Damien ever killed her.”
“Well, how long has it been?!” I scream and immediately pull out my phone.
“I don’t know how much time has passed. I haven’t exactly been on their good side lately!” she screams back. My nerves tick with her tone, and I can feel my anger towards her grow tenfold.
“Well, this is my fucking sister!” I storm up to her and pinch her chin in my fingers.
My eyes bore into hers as I force her to look up at me.
That same fucking scent hits my nose again, and I snarl.
“If she dies, then you’ll follow her!” I release her and step back as I call Alex.
When he picks up on the second ring, he visibly sighs, and I can see it on the monitor.
“What’s up, Zeke? Did you find anything?”
“Leave the room,” I demand and keep my gaze to the screen.
“Walk out very smoothly, and very quietly. Do not let Ashia know something is up. Do you understand?” He doesn’t know I can see him, but I watch as he heads for the door.
Even I can see the worried look that cascades over his features, and I’m not the killer behind the rifle.
“I said smoothly, dumbass! Get that look off your face!”
“Oh, fuck y—wait. How can you see my face right now?” he asks as he walks out of the room and closes the door behind him.
“Because I could see you on the scope feed of a sniper rifle. Go to my car. Now.” I can hear shuffling from his end, so I’m assuming he’s listening.
I turn back to Grease and whisper, “Call Carter and tell him to make Serena grab all of the medical shit she can.” He nods to respond and pulls out his phone.
“Alright, I’m going down the stairs. What am I doing?”
“Under the floor of my trunk, there’s a bag of pistols and ammo, and my rifle is under that. Grab it.”
“Let me guess, this is the bastard that try to take John out?”
I can tell that he’s starting to breathe heavily, and I’m sure his nerves are starting to go crazy. While Mister ‘I’m so perfect’ likes to act like he’s got his shit together, I know his tells. He can have his little freak out later, though. Right now, my sister needs him to get his shit together.
“I’m going to guess so, and now he’s aiming at Ash. So, get fucking moving. She’s on the fourth floor, right?”
“Yeah,” he says not so surely. “Zeke, I’m not the best with sniping…”
“Well, you’re going to have to be,” I interrupt him, so he doesn’t let his mind get in his way. “Go to the fifth floor of the parking garage—east side.”
He doesn’t say anything else, but as long as he gets his ass into gear, I don’t need him to.
I hear a lot of shuffling, and eventually some clanking metal.
That tells me that he’s at least made it to the car.
I can’t tear my eyes away from the screen.
The smallest movement from this ‘Sette’ fucker has my stomach rolling.
It doesn’t look like he’s aiming anywhere vital, but as I watch my sister stare blankly out the window and rub her belly, I can’t help but shake.
She’d never see it coming, and if we don’t take this mother fucker out, we’ll never know if she safe.
Simply moving her out of the room isn’t going to do anything.
The second he would get another clear shot, he’d take it.
“Alright, I’m here,” Alex says with a trembling voice, and it brings me out of my daze.
“Alright. It looks like he’s aiming from a balcony with a screen door from the left of Ash’s room window. So, you’re going to adjust for the wind, and aim high.”
More shuffles and noises come from his end, and I have to clench my jaw to keep my teeth from chattering. I have no idea how much time we have, and I don’t know if I can stomach the anticipation.
“Zeke, I don’t know if I can do this, man…
What if I miss?” he says softly, and I know he’s hesitating, but we don’t have time for that right now.
I look back at Grease, and as he quietly talks to Carter, I see him eyeing the screen as well.
Hopefully he’s telling him what’s going on, so if Alex does fuck this up, he can get to her before Sette has the chance to shoot a revenge shot.
“Alex! Get it together! You have to do this right! Do you understand? He will kill her!” I look back at the screen just as I hear him audibly gulp, and I give him only a second to rein it all in.
“Okay… Okay, yeah.”
I breathe in so harshly I might throw up.
“Just remember what D taught you, alright? You can do this,” I try to encourage him like he’s about to make the winning shot at a game.
His deep breaths make their way through the phone, but I’m holding mine.
Sette continues to move softly, and I can’t tell if he’s just shifting or if he’s actually about to aim.
“Did you find D? Please tell me you found him…”
“I’ll tell you after you kill this mother fucker,” I bargain.
Alex takes another deep breath and then exhales very slowly, like he’s using it to steady himself.
I pull the phone away, anticipating the loud ‘crack.’ It still takes me by surprise, though, and it makes me flinch.
My eyes stay locked onto the screen as the scope topples over and shakes erratically.
Once it finally stops moving, I can’t see the entire body, but this Sette character lies completely motionless on the floor—now on top of a growing puddle of blood beneath him.
“Nice fucking shot! You got him!” I scream out and punch the air. I hear Grease’s subtle ‘holy fuck’ behind me, and Alex sighs audibly.
“Oh, my God… Don’t ever make me do that again,” he begs through heavy breaths, and I run my hand through my hair.
He starts to retch, and I have to keep the phone at a good distance away from my ear—so I don’t do the same.
As I take a look around the room, my eyes land on Victoria once again, and all of my relief skitters away.
My anger and hatred resurfaces, and before I even realize what I’m doing, I’m storming over to her. “Did you find him?” I can faintly hear.
“Yeah. Yeah, I fucking found him…” I grip the top of her arm and start dragging her back to the room Damien is laying in.
“Alex, we gotta call it.” I drag Victoria down the hall and once we reach the room, I shove her inside.
Until Damien wakes up and tells me what the hell we should be doing with her, she’ll be treated like one of them.
“What? But you just said earlier—”
“Alex!” I swallow harshly and look back down to Damien.
He’s muttering to himself, and his head moves from side to side in slow motions, like he’s rocking himself.
I almost can’t stomach looking at him. The extent of what he’s been through only barely shows by the physical damage.
It’s clear that his mind has suffered even more, and that’s going to be the hardest to heal.
“Get Ashia out of that hospital and back to the house. Once you’re a safe distance away, fucking call it. We’ll meet you there.”
I hang up and slowly kneel beside Damien. His eyes are barely open now, but it’s like he’s not even there. They’re watery, and move back and forth like he’s staring at things no one else can see.
“D? Come on, man. We got to get you home.” I grab his arm and pull him to sit up. It’s much easier than it used to be, and that worries me even more. He screams as I stand him up, no doubt in pain, and my heart breaks. “Grease? Get his other side.”
He runs up and wraps Damien’s arm around his shoulders, and we drag him out.
Even though we’re carrying all of his weight, and he can’t even step right, Damien tries to pull away—like he’s afraid of what we’re going to do to him.
I can’t stomach it anymore. I look at his face, seeing the pain that lives there now, and I can’t help but choke up.
“It’s alright now, man. We’re getting you home to Ash, okay? She’s going to be there waiting for you.” As if my words actually reached him, his grimace in pain fades ever so slightly.
“Ashia?” he questions weakly through tears, shattering my heart even further. He looks to the rainy sky when we finally make it outside, and it’s like he’s looking to heaven for her.
“Yeah, man. Let’s take you home to your wife.
Alright? Fuck, D. She’s going to be so happy to see you.
” Grease and I lay him in the back seat of the car, and he sprints back to his bike.
I turn to Victoria, surprised she actually followed us out and didn’t try to run away the second I got preoccupied, but that’s her own foolishness.
She’s hugging herself like she’s the victim here, and it instantly pisses me off.
I’m not stupid enough to fall for her act, and if she thinks for even a moment that we’re concerned about anyone other than Damien right now, she’s got another thing coming.
I pull my pistol back out and aim at her, not caring about the way she cowers and throws her hands up.
“Get in the fucking car. If D said you’re coming with us, then that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“How do I know you won’t just kill me, asshole?” She actually has the guts to taunt me, and that only adds another spark to my fire.
“That’s the best part. You don’t.” I deride and jerk my head towards the passenger-side door, silently telling her to get in. She narrows those dark little eyes, but shockingly, she listens. The moment her ass hits the seat, I slam the door shut and sprint around to the driver’s side.