Chapter 44
SAXON
The drive doesn’t take as long as I remember.
Maybe it’s the adrenaline or the fear that something’s happened to her.
She hasn’t returned any of my messages or calls.
The realization that something bad likely has happened becoming more real by the minute.
Closing my eyes, I try to clear my head of all the possibilities.
I need to stay focused. I need to stay ready, so if anything has happened to her, I have the strength and energy to burn their fucking world to ashes.
“Five minutes out,” Saint says through his walkie, informing the rest of our guys in the van behind us.
“Got it,” Law says back. My shoulders tense as I lean forward and take in the view of the road up ahead. Squinting my eyes, I see something off in the ditch on the right. It looks like a vehicle and when we get closer, my chest cracks a little more.
“Hold on, why is Sky coming back here in the first place?” Brooks asks.
“This whole ride, and you’re just now asking that?” Saint sounds dumbfounded.
“Dude, she’s a legit serial killer. Like a good one too.
She’s killed so many people. Well, all the people that have hurt her in the past. Which just so happens to be members of the Hellstorms. She came here to kill off her mom and dad.
Fucking wild, right?!” Finn chuckles as he shakes his head back and forth.
“Are you fucking with me?” Brooks asks. But when his eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, it dawns on him that it’s all true. “Shit, man. Remind me never to make her mad.”
“That’s her car,” I say to no one in particular, mainly needing to hear it myself that she’s still here, which doesn’t mean that’s a good thing. “Fuck.”
“I’m going a little further ahead. We can hide the vehicles there,” Saint says as we pass her car.
I close my eyes tight, inhaling through my nose, and when I open them again, I feel ready.
I’m ready to tear this place apart to find her.
For their sake, she better not have a hair out of place, or they will wish she had succeeded with her plan, because mine is going to be so, so much worse.
“Finn, I want her father and her mother alive. They’re mine.” He scoffs behind me.
“Fine, you can have them, but you can’t stop me from killing anyone else that comes in my path. I haven’t killed someone in a while. I’m itching for some action.”
“Kill whoever else. I don’t care. Have a fucking ball, but they’re mine,” I say to my deranged friend, who responds with a mock salute as I watch him in the rearview mirror.
“So, is that the plan? Go in and kill everyone?” Owen says from the back seat, his head finally popping up from where he was lying down. I turn around to face my friends.
“No one is coming out of that house alive, except her and her parents.” Owen, Finn, and Brooks all nod.
The promise of violence makes all three of them smile, as well as Saint.
Finn is right. We haven’t hurt or even killed anyone lately.
Not since Diego and Leonard. My friends are all bloodthirsty, maybe not as much as Finn, but we all enjoy having the occasional blood on our hands.
It’s a way to purge our demons, giving our souls a break from the constant battle of holding them back every day.
We all need this night to feel cleansed.
As fucked as that sounds, this is our way of calming the shadows that live within us.
We all get out of our respective vehicles, grabbing our gear, and start the journey up to the Sagan compound. Everyone has their orders: get in, kill, and search for Sky. Easy and simple.
The large house comes into view, lights are shining through the windows, and I see a few men walking around inside, carrying weapons across their chests. What I don’t see on these men are any type of vest. No Kevlar and I know this will be easy.
We split into four groups. Saint, Owen, and I will take the front.
Brooks and Finn will look for a cellar or storm shelter door that leads to a basement.
Law, Enzo, and Heath are taking the back, while Trip and Mich are going to scale the side wall to the second story.
Luckily for them, the side of the house has a wooden lattice panel holding thick vines twisting through and all the way up to the second-story balcony. Cake.
We all have our mics set up now, making it easy to communicate with everyone.
The moment Saint, Owen, and I are at the front, we wait for the guys to tell me they’re all in position.
It doesn’t take long; my guys are quick.
Surprisingly, there is only one guard positioned at the front door.
Owen is fast, stepping up behind him and slicing his throat with his hunting knife.
“On three. One. Two. Three.” Saint kicks in the front door, splintering the wood as it flies right off the hinges.
Immediately, I take out two guys who come running to the foyer, dropping them to the tiled floor.
I can hear more bullets coming from upstairs.
We sweep the bottom floor, taking out three more men, two in the kitchen and one that appeared to be taking a nap on the couch.
Five guys total are now dead on the first floor and one outside, but still no sign of Sky or her parents.
“Two down upstairs, clearing rooms now,” Mich says over the radio. “Holy fuck!” I hear him yell over the radio just as I turn and see Mich now tumbling down the stairs. Shit. We race to the staircase, guns pointed up as we see a literal giant of a fucking man take on Trip.
“You okay?” I ask Mich, who is starting to get up and shaking his head side to side.
“Yeah, fine. The fucker ninja kicked me right in the chest.” I start making my way up the stairs, my gun aimed at the back of Mr. Giant himself.
“Trip down!” I shout. Just when he ducks out of the way, I fire two shots to the back of the head. This behemoth of a man doesn’t drop right away. He staggers a moment before falling to his knees and then to his chest.
“Do you see how fucking huge he is?” Trip asks as he’s catching his breath from going punch for punch with the guy. Trip’s upper brow is busted and blood is dripping down his face, but other than that, he looks fine.
“Have you found anyone up here?” I ask, extending my hand and helping him up.
“Nah, just giant man and two others. There is a dead woman in the main suite. Looks like she’s been dead for some time.” We make our way back down the stairs when Brooks comes over the radio.
“We found her. She’s in the basement.”
“How is she?” I ask, panicked. I need to see her. I need to see she’s okay.
“Alive, but it’s not good.” I’ve never been a runner or a fucking track star, but the moment the words leave Brooks mouth, I’m sprinting for the basement. I have no idea where it is, but I’m opening every door I pass in a frenzy.
“Saxon, here!” Saint calls to me from the kitchen, his hand resting on a door handle that leads to a set of stairs, leading to what looks like the basement.
I don’t hesitate. I take the steps three at a time, damn near breaking my ankle as I finally hit the bottom.
I can’t see her. Finn’s back is to me. He’s sitting in a chair, cradling something in his arms—no, someone.
No.
I hold my breath as I make my way over to him. He’s whispering something. Words of reassurance as I finally see who he’s holding. Like a child resting against his chest, Sky lies motionless.
“He’s here. He’s right here, killer. You’re safe,” Finn says to her as I peer down at the woman who has my heart in a chokehold.
Looking up at me, Finn adjusts her in his arms, standing and extending her body towards me.
Slipping my arms beneath her legs and shoulders, she slumps against my chest. She’s breathing, but unconscious.
Her small frame feels so cold. I sit in the chair and hold her tighter against me, burying my face in the crook of her neck.
Every inch of her skin is black, blue, or purple.
Dried blood is blocking one of her nostrils completely, and her right eye is so swollen she wouldn’t be able to open it if she tried.
I notice freshly peeled skin from behind her ear, where her Hellstorm brand once was.
Someone sliced her brand off. Her shoulder sits at an awkward angle, dislocated as it lies limp by her side.
“Sax,” someone says to me, but I can’t tell who. Lifting my head, I see Brooks kneeling in front of me, his eyes pained as he looks me dead in the eyes.
“They assaulted her.” I can’t breathe, I can’t even comprehend the words he continues to say to me.
All I can see is the blood that’s completely saturated her panties.
Her tank top, the only other clothing she has on, is also covered in blood.
So much blood. I wasn’t quick enough. I couldn’t save her. I’ve failed her.
“Heath!” someone calls for him up the stairs. Heath is a paramedic, and I’m lucky he’s on our side. Heavy steps follow and Saint tells him what we all know. A whispered fuck is all I hear from him.
“Sax, let Heath take her to a bedroom so he can assess her. We need to make sure we stop the bleeding.” I can’t let her go. My grip tightens on my girl as she whimpers in my hold. I’m holding her too tight, but I can’t let her go.
“Sax, we need to hurry. Heath’s good. He can help her.
” Brooks is still talking, but I can’t stop the demon from screaming his way out of my throat.
A scream I can’t contain scratches its way up my esophagus echoing in the small basement.
The demon in me is out, and I don’t want to cage him back up. Not right now.
“Let’s go hunting, Sax. Let’s get these fuckers that hurt her.” Saint is the one who draws me out of my spiral. Heath’s arms come beneath mine, waiting for me to hand her over, and I do. Not before I kiss her forehead and promising her I will take care of who did this.
“Be careful with her,” I manage to say, before Heath stands and cradles my girl with ease.
“She’s safe with me, boss.”
“Trip go with him. Keep watch so he can work.” Trip nods and moves in front of Heath as they both ascend the stairs.
Standing from the chair, I straighten to my full height.
Black fills my vision, a narrowing path, leading me to whoever else is still alive in this fucking house.
Death will be too easy for them. No, I have better plans.
My entire being is absorbed by my own personal demon, the mask of a monster I usually try so hard to contain, but not anymore.
Not when someone’s hurt the woman I love.
This monster is ready, I’m ready, we’re ready.
I can taste the blood that will spill, and it’s the sweetest dessert on my tongue.
“Everyone dies. Sergio’s mine. Bring him to me.” My voice isn’t my own. My shadow has completely taken over my body, and he’s thirsty for vengeance.
“Let’s fucking go!” I hear Finn yell from behind me as we all head back upstairs. The hunt is on, and no one is safe.