62 #3
“Griff—Gabriel—look at me,” he demanded. “I need you. Get it the fuck together. I need you focused. Kally needs you focused.”
Months went by. Leads that lead nowhere. Too many dead ends. I’d raged and torn through trafficking dens like I was the fucking reaper, like I was the Angel of Death himself.
Death on wings. Deathwing.
I stopped in front of the door that haunted my nightmares.
Same rust around the handle and a dent pushed out toward the hallway, like whoever was on the other side had fought to escape.
My lungs stopped working. I could hear my heart as it thrashed in my chest. I knew what I’d find, but I still grabbed onto the handle with hope anyway.
We pushed into the den and the smell assaulted me through my face covering. I heard the crying and sounds of pain, sex—the smell of drugs and worse.
It took us two rooms to find her.
Kyllion was at point and froze so fast I nearly ran into him. He signaled for the men to continue clearing the place, but stopped me at the doorway.
“Gabriel,” he said, worry shone in his eyes, but I shoved past him.
No. No. No. No—
Kalena. Kally. My Kally. My baby sister.
I heard Seven and Kyllion’s voices as they told me not to go in.
I could hear my thoughts as I hoped and prayed to a God I didn’t worship that she would be alive.
I pulled open the door—
A cry fell from my lips as I took in the broken human before me.
I collapsed to the ground next to her and dragged her into my arms. She was dead, blood ran from a gruesome gash on her head.
One of her eyes was gone, her teeth broken, her body an abused canvas of bruises, cuts and track lines from drugs.
But, the worst part was, she was still warm.
That’s how it had happened, but when I pulled open the door this time, she was alive.
I froze in shock. She stood in front of me—whole and smiling, like she was a moment ago in the forest. Relief and hope warred with the cruel voice of reality in my head that said none of this was real. It was only the desperate yearning of a man who wished for a different outcome.
“Kally,” I said, my voice broken and weak.
“I knew you’d come.”
The words destroyed me. I choked on a sob.
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to live here—in this warped world where she was whole and alive.
The version where I wasn’t too late. Where I got to her in time to save her.
Kalena’s arms went around me, and I felt them. I hugged her fiercely to me—
“I tried—” I gasped.
“I know. I waited as long as I could.”
“I’m so sorry.” I kept repeating it, even as the vision warped.
“No!” I cried and held on harder. “Don’t leave! Please, don’t leave me—”
“I love you, Griffy, but it’s time to move on.” The warehouse flickered and her form faded. “Someone else needs you now.”
The forest slammed back into sharp focus. I was on my knees, fists clenched around loam and wet leaves as my chest heaved in air—
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t fucking breathe. I love you too.
I barely heard my name being called again.
It was louder now, more urgent. I focused beyond my hands and saw I was at the edge of the forest. A few yards and the moonlight illuminated a strip of grass before the scent of salt hit my nose.
I stared at it while my breathing stuttered, and sobs rasped against my throat.
The grief was raw as it tore through my heart like shrapnel.
The past was right there—too close—like I’d just lost her.
Seven appeared beside me. He’d pulled off his mask and his face was full of concern, because he knew. He’d been there—he’d seen what I’d seen. He put his hands on my shoulders, not quite an embrace, but not letting me hold all of it alone. I couldn’t speak, and he didn’t say anything.
There was nothing to say, and we both knew it.
Gunfire through the trees had us both tense.
In unspoken agreement, I surged to my feet and staggered toward the treeline.
Seven led the way and we broke out into the moonlight.
Ahead of us was a rocky outcropping that lined the edge of the cliffs.
Seven brought us around the edge of a large boulder where Emersyn and Angel crouched.
Angel was on his phone again as he looked out at the ocean.
The sight of Emersyn did wonders to calm my nerves.
Her mask was gone too, and her eyes were filled with concern.
She shocked me further when she reached out a hand and grabbed mine.
Someone else needs you now.
Hand it to my little sister to remind me that I wasn’t alone and that through the deepest, darkest lows, sometimes there are things set into motion that we couldn’t see until later.
As much as I never wanted what happened to my sister to be the catalyst, it was undeniable that my future would not have been possible without her.
Because if it wasn’t for my sister, I wouldn’t have become Deathwing.
I would never have pursued a vendetta against the sex trafficking industry.
I would have never found a certain name carved into the walls of a boarding house.
I would have never found Emersyn North.