Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
I press my hand against a tree, feeling the rough bark scrape across my palm.
The jagged pattern in the wood pulls a memory to the forefront of my mind.
I recall the bark of an old oak tree, the way it pressed into my skin the first night I watched my little bird.
In my mind, she sits with a book in her hand, her nose scrunched up as she reads.
Her eyes find me in the darkness, those green gems staring into my soul before she even knew I was there.
“Tell me,” Malik’s voice comes from beside me, dissipating the memory, “what’s the plan?”
Clenching my jaw, I look toward Bianca’s compound.
The evening sun casts a red glow over the large estate.
It rolls over the white mansion, painting the wood red.
The entire building screams of wealth. I scoff at the gaudy stone pillars that stand at the corners of the oversized entryway.
Of course Bianca would build a house that looks like a Roman temple.
Too bad for her that the only worship that will take place here tonight is a practice older than Rome. The red sky speaks to me like it’s beckoning me, demanding sacrifice. It dares me to spill blood here, to make the ground match the crimson sunset.
I follow the path of dim light as it climbs up the stone stairs and over the front door. Two men stand before it, their posture rigid. They each hold a semi-automatic rifle in their gloved hands. Their eyes scan the tree line, their gazes flicking over us without seeing.
“I’ll take the front door,” I say. “You take the back. We take out the guards quietly before we go inside.”
“That’s all?” Malik chuckles.
“Just get in the building. Take out everyone you see and find Ava.”
He nods, a smirk tilting the side of his mouth.
Leaves rustle softly beneath his feet as he moves further into the trees.
Pulling my hood over my head, I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jacket.
I wrap my fingers around my gun and take slow, casual steps toward the house.
At the sound of my footsteps, the guards perk up.
They raise their weapons in my direction, tilting their heads toward me.
A smile splits my face and I let out a loud chuckle as I make my way up the steps. “You guys get a look at the babe Bianca brought in? Tony said—” I really fucking hope there’s a guy named Tony here “—she’s got a fine ass on her.”
One of the men snorts out a laugh and brushes his fingers through his short-cropped hair.
“Fra, I saw them bring her in. I was hoping for a turn with her,” he says, jutting his hips forward and humping the air, “but she’s apparently off limits.
Nico’s fucking birthday present, they said. Lucky prick!”
My mouth snaps shut, my molars grinding together as red tinges my vision.
I smack my hand down on one of the guard’s shoulders and bark out a laugh.
My fingers dig into his clavicle and his chuckle turns into a grunt.
Whipping the handgun from my pocket, I slam it against his temple and squeeze the trigger.
His blood splatters across the pristine walls of the white house.
The other guard gasps and raises his gun toward me, his blue eyes wide with fear.
I pivot on my heels and shoot him between them.
I smash my shoulder into the ostentatious, white door, rattling its gold handle as I shove myself inside.
My bloodied boots slip on the white marble floor, sending me careening into a large wooden table.
It rattles as my hips collide with its edge, sending an ugly vase crashing to the floor.
The sound of shattering ceramic echoes through the foyer, bouncing off the high ceilings.
Across the room, five men jump to attention, their hands fumbling for their waistbands to draw their guns.
“One chance!” I shout. “Where the fuck is my woman?”
Eyes narrow and mouths drop open before someone yells out, “It’s him! It’s Grayson. Fucking shoot him!”
I drop to the floor, kicking my leg toward the leg of the table.
As it topples to the floor, I hope it’s as expensive as it looks because cheap tables make terrible shields.
Sticking my hand into my pocket, I pull out a pipe bomb and spark my lighter, holding it against the fuse until it begins to sizzle.
Wrenching my hand back, I throw it over the table toward the center of the room.
It clangs against the marble floor and I brace for impact, wrapping my arms around my head.
Within seconds, an explosion rocks the foyer.
Metal debris explodes outward, impaling the beige, paisley wallpaper and fragmenting ceramic busts and baubles.
I look up as the ceiling groans. A chandelier shudders before crashing to the floor, scattering crystal chunks across the room.
I press my palms to my ears, shifting them around to alleviate the ringing that’s blaring in my eardrums. As it begins to fade, screaming, groaning, and gunfire take its place.
I whip my head around as a booming laugh sounds beside me.
Malik runs toward me, his long legs bounding across the room.
As he nears, he lets them slip from under him.
With surprising fluidity for a man of his size, his body sinks to the floor.
He glides toward me with a grin plastered to his face.
His clothes squeak against the marble as he slides in my direction like a muscular luge sled shooting across the ice.
His shoulder collides with my hip and he chuckles. Tucking his hand beneath his chin, he looks up at me with a smirk. “This is exciting!” he chirps, inserting a fresh clip into his gun.
“Go find her!” I shout over the chaos. “I’ll hold them off here.”
His smile fades, replaced by a solemn look that forces his mouth into a line. “Cover me.”
Popping my head up from behind the table, I spray bullets into the group of men on the other side. More men have filed into the room, replacing their fallen associates. Splinters of wood fly from the table as their bullets smash into it. When I duck back down, Malik is gone.
Pushing my arms out beyond the safety of my wooden barrier, I fire into the crowd.
Amidst the popping of gunfire, I hear the thunk of bodies as they hit the floor.
At each thwap of a corpse crashing to the ground, the creature inside of me perks up.
I can feel its feral grin stretching across my face as they die.
It claws inside of me, its talons ripping into my heart.
Ava is mine, it screeches. Bring her home.
Bring her back to me and kill everyone who’s touched her.