Chapter 38 Bastian
BASTIAN
Iwanted to shout Lark’s name.
I moved as fast and as quietly as I could through the murky tunnel. There were puddles of foul-smelling water on the ground, and the darkness was thick, hiding secrets.
He could be hurting her.
I gritted my teeth and kept moving. Dean would feel the full force of the Reaper.
My foot hit something and I heard it skitter across the concrete. I aimed my cellphone light down and saw the earpiece.
My gut locked. I crouched and picked it up.
It was Lark’s.
I cursed, my fingers curling around it. I felt the others at my back.
“Bastian?” Rafe said.
He and Alessio had caught up with us a few minutes ago.
“She took out her earpiece.” It wasn’t damaged, so I didn’t think Dean had found it. “The little fool is determined to protect me.”
“She loves you,” Nash said. “I misjudged her, but I see the way she is with you. The way she is with no one else.”
“I know she loves me, but if she heard that word out loud, she’d run for the hills. It scares the shit out of her. And now, she’s trying to go it alone with a serial killer.”
To keep me safe.
No one, not once in their lives, had tried to protect me. I was the Reaper. People needed protection from me. The men at my side had my back, always, but they knew that I could take care of myself.
Lark knew that too, but she didn’t care.
She was driven to protect me.
As I was driven to protect her.
“Can you track her bracelet?” I asked.
Nash shook his head. “Not down here. There’s no signal.”
I looked ahead into the dark tunnel. “I’ll find her.”
“Just don’t rush in and get yourself killed.”
With a nod, I took off at a jog. Dean would know I was coming, so I gave up being quiet. I’d take speed over stealth.
We followed the turn of the tunnel and I saw debris. There were homeless people living here.
As I glanced around, the steady drip of water echoed in the background. Old memories stirred. My shoe kicked through old, used needles, empty liquor bottles, dirty rags. I’d slept in places like this. Slept with one eye open in case the predators attacked me in my sleep.
It was in a place like this that I’d worked hard to become big enough and scary enough to protect myself.
We reached a junction. Three tunnels branched off.
Fuck, which way had they gone?
As I stared, frustration gnawed at me. I didn’t know how much time Lark had.
Something stirred in the shadows to my right. I pivoted and lifted my gun.
The man shuffled out of the darkness. His clothes were little more than rags, and he reeked of unwashed body and old sweat. I couldn’t tell his age or ethnicity under the dirt.
“You boys look like monkeys in your fancy suits.” His voice was rough like rust.
I thought maybe he was African-American. His hair was steel-gray and curly.
“All too pretty for down here.” He broke into a hacking cough.
“Don’t be fooled,” I said. “We’re all very comfortable in the shadows.”
He met my gaze. “’Spect you are.”
“I’m looking for my woman. A man has her.” My chest throbbed. “A bad man. He’s planning to kill her.”
“That’s not good.” The homeless man’s gaze skated away.
“What’s your name?” I fought back the urgent need to keep moving.
“Errol.”
“Errol, did you see them? Did you see which way he took her?”
He sniffed. “Maybe. How much you willing to pay to save her?”
I gave a harsh laugh. “Everything. The cost doesn’t matter. She’s the most important thing to me.”
Errol nodded and his gaze dropped to the watch on my wrist. “Nice watch. Shiny.”
I took off the Patek Philippe and handed it to him. “Take it.”
The watch disappeared into the folds of his rags. “They went that way.” He pointed a bony finger at the middle tunnel.
Excitement lit inside me. “Thank you, Errol.”
The man shrugged. “Would have told you without the watch.”
“I’m happy to give it to you. You need anything, Errol, clothes, food, anything, come to the Avernus Casino. I’m the owner. Ask for Bastian Thorne.”
The man’s bushy eyebrows winged up. “Maybe I’ll stop by. Now, go get your woman.”
“Thanks, Errol.” I strode into the central tunnel. Nash, Cole, and the others closed in, flanking me.
“He’ll know you’re coming,” Cole warned.
“I’m counting on it.” I didn’t care. If I died getting Lark free, I’d pay that cost. “If anything happens to me, get her out.”
Cole muttered a curse.
“I’m serious.” I looked straight at Nash. “The casino is hers. If I die, it’s all hers. I’ve left provisions for all of you.”
“You’re not fucking dying tonight,” Nash gritted out.
“No one is dying,” Landon added from behind me.
I glanced at Cole. “Get her out.”
“We’ll take care of your girl. And you.”
I met all their gazes, then nodded.
We continued on. Thoughts battered at me. They couldn’t be far ahead. Had he hurt her? Had he taken a knife to her smooth skin?
For once, I found it hard to focus and find the zone.
Then, I heard a sound ahead and we all halted.
Footsteps. Moving fast.
I lifted my gun.
Then a swirl of red came out of the darkness.
“Lark!” Shoving the gun in my waistband, I stepped forward.
She threw herself at me and I caught her.
Alive. I hugged her tightly. She was alive.
I drew back. “Are you okay?” My gaze ran over her. “Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine.” Her gaze met mine, and I saw a graze on her face, but otherwise she seemed unhurt.
“You were trying to take him on by yourself.” My hands tightened on her.
She nodded. “I couldn’t risk him hurting you.”
“Lark,” I growled.
“Then I realized we had a better chance of taking him down together.”
Elation hit me. Finally, I was getting through that stubborn head of hers. I pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “We’re a team, little bird.”
She nodded, then glanced at the others. “He kept saying that I was like him. A lone killer. That I had no one.”
My hands clenched on her hips. “You’re nothing like him.”
“I know. That’s when I knew I had to come back to you.”
I pressed my forehead to hers. “We’re better together.”
She nodded.
I set her down. “It’s time to end this.”
“Good,” Rafe drawled. “Because I’d really like to get out of this dirty sewer. I’ve already ruined my shoes.”
“He’s armed,” she warned. “Armor piercing rounds.”
“Shit,” Cole muttered.
“Stick to the walls,” I ordered. “We’re going dark and silent.”
I heard a noise ahead. All of us lifted our heads.
He was searching for Lark. He was coming this way.
“Let’s do this,” I murmured, clicking off my phone light.
I kept Lark close and we moved along the wall, Nash and Cole with us. Landon, Alessio, and Rafe were on the other side of the tunnel. I couldn’t see them in the darkness.
“You can’t hide from me, Lark.” Dean’s voice echoed off the walls.
I squeezed her arm. Draw him out.
“I’m not hiding,” she called back.
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel, the noise deafening.
“Is that the best you’ve got, Dean?” I taunted. “Who taught you to shoot? Oh, that’s right, no one. Ed knew you had zero potential.”
“Thorne.” Dean made an enraged sound. More gunfire filled the tunnel. I crouched down, covering Lark with my body.
I waited. Soon, he’d need to reload.
The gunshots stopped.
I rose and strode down the tunnel. Dean looked up from trying to reload, his eyes widening in the light from his flashlight. I didn’t pause. I kicked him.
He staggered back, but caught himself. The flashlight rolled across the ground, giving us a little light. Then he launched himself at me.
I blocked his hit, then swung my arm. It turned into a wicked, brutal fight. We moved fast, our blows a blur, our grunts filling the tunnel. I blocked his hits, and landed some of my own.
We got close to the wall, and I twisted sideways, pressed my shoe to the wall and jumped into the air. My kick curled around and hit him in the face.
Dean’s head snapped back, and he sprawled back on the dirty ground.
My friends and Lark emerged from the shadows. Seeing them, a panicked look covered his face. He scrambled to his feet.
“Did you expect us to be alone, Dean?” I shook my head. “It ends here.”
Lark stopped beside me. I reached out, gripped the back of her neck, squeezed.
“I won’t let you hurt him,” she said.
“And I won’t let you hurt her. We learned an important lesson, Dean. Being alone makes you weaker, not stronger.” I looked down at my woman. She slid a hand into the slit of her dress and pulled out a knife. Then, she tilted her head.
I slid my hand in, along her sleek thigh, and pulled out her last knife.
“No.” Dean tried to run backward.
“Do your thing, little bird.”
She ran and leaped, her thighs clamping around his neck, the skirt of her dress like a red waterfall. With a twist, she took him down, landing with one knee on his chest.
I knelt beside them. “The last thing you’ll see before you die is the Reaper.” I smiled. “And his Lark.”
I met her gaze. Our knives moved in unison. She stabbed. She knew exactly where to aim for maximum damage.
I slit Dean’s neck. I cut into the artery and blood gushed.
Lark stabbed directly into his heart, her blade sliding between his ribs.
Dean made a gurgling sound, his eyes as wide as dinner plates, his body thrashing.
I leaned in, my mouth close to his ear. “I’ll bury you in that unmarked grave in the desert. No one will know your name, or what you’ve done. You’ll be nothing, and no one will remember you.”
He made one last sound, and I saw the life leave his eyes.
I felt nothing but vicious satisfaction that it was over.
I looked up and saw Lark staring at him.
“Lark?”
I expected a grin, I expected to see relief on her face.
Instead, I saw nothing.
“It’s over,” she whispered.
I pressed a hand to her hair. “It is. He’s done.”
“It’s all over. I have nothing left.”
I frowned at her blank face, then glanced at Landon.
“I think she’s in shock,” he murmured. “Get her out of here. Get her warmed up and get some food into her.”
I nodded. “Find all her knives for me?”
“Will do,” Landon promised.
The kill was done. Now, I needed to take care of my woman.
I scooped her into my arms.
She blinked. “Bastian?”
“I’ve got you, Lark. Just hold on to me.”
Her arms tentatively slid around my neck. I started down the tunnel.
I wanted her out of here.
Dean was dead, but now I was facing my biggest challenge.
Convincing Lark to stay.