Chapter 13 Noah
Chapter Thirteen
NOAH
There's a fucking gun pointed at my head.
A gun pointed at my head by someone who should be crawling on the ground and thanking me for saving her from Robert.
She's not doing that now, though. No.
Instead, Summer is looking down the barrel of the gun like she's seconds away from putting the bullet between my eyes.
Does she have the balls to do it?
I don't think she does. Not with the slight wobble in her hand before she takes a deep breath and steadies herself again.
If she were really going to shoot me, she would've done it the moment I walked through the door.
Summer is still wearing the tiny dress from last night, nothing but a cool anger in her eyes. "Stay there."
I hold my hands up, wishing I had remembered to tell Hector about that gun when he swept the room last night. He found everything else, clearly, but how would he have known about the gun in the back of the cupboard?
In a world where nobody can be trusted, some weapons have to remain hidden.
"Put the gun down, Summer." I stay still, not sure what she's going to do.
It'd be a mistake to think she's not going to shoot me. She comes from a family of killers. Hell, Skyla is a fucking serial killer, though I don't know how deep that secret is hidden.
The serial killer definitely taught all the younger ones a thing or two about killing people without feeling remorse.
Summer stays steady, not wavering even a little. "I'm tired of this fucking shit. I want to go back to school. I want to go back to living my life. I want to be away from this, and everything it brings with it."
The gun lowers.
She squeezes the trigger.
Pain erupts in my thigh as the ground slips out from under me.
The bitch hit the fucking artery.
Summer doesn't waste a minute as I sit up, clenching my jaw against the pain, trying to get my belt off so I can tie a tourniquet.
She barely spares me a glance as she slips around me, heading for the door, the gun still in her hand.
Scowling, I get my belt off and loop it beneath my leg, wrapping it around and slipping it through the buckle. I pull it as tight as I can, more pain spreading through me.
Summer is going to have a hell of a time getting out of the building, but there are fewer guards around right now than there were through the night.
Hector appears in the doorway. "You know she's escaping, right?"
More gunshots echo through the house, pained groans following.
I sigh and take Hector's hand, getting to my feet. My head is spinning, blood loss making everything feel a little lighter.
"Let her go."
Hector doesn't question it, but his silence is enough to make it known that he doesn't think it's a good idea.
"Let her think she's got some freedom. It's going to be more crushing for her when I take it away again."
"What makes you think you're going to be able to get to her again?" Hector helps me to the edge of the bed before pulling out his phone. His thumbs tap away before he pauses and looks up at me. "The doctor is on his way."
"Good. After I see him, I want to see Robert."
Hector nods. "I'll make sure they have him knocked out until you're ready."
I sit on the edge of the bed, stretching my leg out. Blood is definitely getting on my sheets, which is a shame. I like these sheets.
"Follow Summer. I want to know where she's going."
"What about the tracker in her neck?"
I tighten the tourniquet a little more, readjusting the buckle to hold it in place. "She's going to figure out it's there soon if she hasn't already, and then she's going to cut it out."
Hector nods, turning on his heel and striding out of the room without another word. His heavy footsteps echo down the stairs before the front door slams.
I fall back against the bed and stare at the ceiling.
The doctor is going to be here soon, and when he gets here, he's going to be poking around in my leg. I suck a sharp breath and rub my eyes with the heels of my hands.
This is turning into a shitstorm. Not that it wasn't one to begin with, but now I have more shit to deal with.
I should've just killed everyone years ago and been done with it all.
I could've handed the family over to someone else now if I had. I would've gotten my revenge. It would've been enough.
But no, greed took hold, and now here I am, still waiting for revenge, ruining my own life in the process.
At least once I track down Summer again, she's going to know that she's never safe. Her entire family is going to know that they're not safe, even when they think they are. They're going to be constantly looking over their shoulders, waiting for the moment when I finally kill them all.
Well, the kids will be spared. Their minds are moldable enough that I could take them and show them the right way, but the others will die.
Gia, Zoe, and Ezra last so they can see what they turned their backs on me for.
\\\*
Painkillers are a wonderful thing.
The doctor showed up, stitched and bandaged everything he needed to, told me to stay off my leg, and then loaded me up with painkillers. Though I've only taken half a dose, the pain in my leg is only a dull throb.
It's manageable enough that I make my way down to Robert's holding cell, stopping outside the steel door and waiting. One of the men unlocks the door and steps to the side.
I enter, rolling up my sleeves as I catch sight of Robert tied to a chair in the middle of the room.
Fond memories of torturing Emilio and leaving Summer with his rotting corpse flood through me.
I could do that to her again, but I don't think it's going to have nearly the same impact this time around.
Robert's eyes narrow as his head lolls to the side, the last of the sedative wearing off. "What the fuck are you doing?"
"Funny, I thought I asked you the same thing several times over the last few months, and you told me you were on my side. You assured me that you weren't going to turn on me."
"I didn't."
"I know." I slam my fist into the side of his face, snapping forward in the blink of an eye.
His head rocks back, blood dripping down his face.
Robert rights himself and spits out a mouthful of blood. "What the fuck?"
"I told you we needed her to be sold to someone outside our family when the auction was being set up. I told you the priority was getting her away from us to keep Aiden's attention on where she was and how they were going to get her back."
"Someone was going to hand her over to them right away." Robert spits more blood at the ground as the dripping of blood starts to slow. "She's best off right here where we can control her."
I chuckle and shake my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "And if I agreed to keep her after your little stunt, what did you really think you were going to do with her?"
He remains silent, his face flushing a dark red and his lips pressing into a line.
My fist collides with his face again. "You make stupid assumptions based on your own ideas of what's going on. You don't play games when you don't know the rules, Robert. Didn't you listen to anything we were taught?"
"I thought it'd be better to keep her close. I thought you weren't seeing things for what they were yet again because you're so lost in your revenge that you can't see the things in front of your face right now."
I nod once, not believing a word that comes out of his mouth.
I might not know what exactly he wanted with her, but I know he's never going to tell me the truth about it. He's going to continue to lie and wriggle his way out of whatever he can because that's what he's always done.
He's a coward. That's all he's ever going to be.
"What do you want with her?" Robert's gaze locks on mine, the corner of his mouth tipping upward. "Don't think I haven't noticed how obsessed you are with her."
I step back, leaning against the wall. I say nothing, knowing he's going to keep talking himself into a hole if I keep quiet. He always does. He's the kind of man who feels the need to fill a silence.
Pathetic.
Robert rolls his eyes. "I don't have time for your mind games. Let me out of this shit so I can go make sure they secured Summer the way I instructed them to."
"She's not your concern." I bristle a little as I glare at him.
"What did you do to her?"
"Since you've proven that you can't be trusted where she's involved, I've handled it."
I grab a knife and draw closer to him, enjoying the way he swallows hard.
His eyes widen as he looks at the knife in my hand, the color draining from his face.
It's good to see that he still remembers what I'm capable of when I'm pushed too far.
As I cut the ropes away from him, he relaxes, but there's still a hesitation in the way he stands up, taking a step back.
Robert clasps his hands behind his back, his gaze on the ground like the good little soldier he's pretending to be.
The gears in my head turn harder as I watch the way he looks up—it's like he's checking to see if I'm falling for the performance he's putting on. Sneaky little shit.
I might be willing to let him go for now, but I'm not stupid enough to make the mistake of continuing to trust him.
"You're going to go, and you're going to stay the hell away from Summer. I don't want to even see you looking at her after this. You've already fucked part of the plan. I won't have the rest of it going to shit."
Robert nods, standing stiff. "I won't."
"Good. See to it that the men are ready for the attack tonight."
He looks up at me, his eyebrows climbing. "There's an attack tonight?"
"There's a warehouse on the edge of town we're going to hit. I want it all to burn, and if there are people there, no survivors. Got it? The plans should be with Oliver."
"Not Hector?"
I turn and walk out of the room, knife still in hand. There's a strong urge to turn around and throw the knife at him. I could see it sink into him. Stand over him and watch the light drain from his eyes.
I could end one of my problems right here and now.
But I won't.
Not because I want him around. No. Because I think he's the one turning people against me, and the second I kill him, the rest of them disappear. If he's still alive, the others are going to make themselves known, and that's when I strike.
Picking off my own people while dealing with the Lyndes isn't ideal, but I've been left with no other choice.
Sooner or later, Royce is going to have a bullet in his head.
And after that, I'm going to deal with Aiden.
One way or another, I'm going to be the last one standing.
Now, all I have to do is hunt down the little temptress and show her what happens to women who run from me.
Hopefully, she hasn't made it all the way back home yet.