Page 90 of Retaliation
I blew out a breath, my heart cracking and darkness settling in. I didn’t have time to feel for the men I opened myself up to, the men who betrayed me so deeply.
“Be careful, Tibby.” I couldn’t lose my only friend.
“You too, Sara.” Her voice sounded nervous, but this had to be done. No time for second guesses.
I dropped the phone and rushed to the door, opening it as quietly as possible. I was no amateur and obviously knew how to be silent as I quickly descended to the first floor. I grabbed two sharp kitchen knives and slipped out the door. I didn’t have an earpiece, so there was no way to call Tibby. I had to trust she would get to the warehouse safely.
I jumped on my bike and grabbed the hidden key. The engine roared to life, and I sped through the city. The warehouse was in a seedy part of town, and I could be there in ten minutes if I ignored traffic lights. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for the others to catch up. Tears burned the back of my eyes as I recalled the pain and anger Dev directed at me at the party. Was he so mad because he fell for me before or after he betrayed me? I didn’t understand. Flashes of all the moments between me and my men invaded my mind. How could I be so stupid? I let them become something more, refused to see them for what they were. Obscuritas fucking Princes. Bastards like their evil fucking fathers. My rage flooded my body, and I screamed at the world for the bullshit I fell for like a fucking idiot.
The warehouse loomed ahead, and I turned two streets down to park my motorcycle out of sight. The cold air did nothing to smother the fire raging through my blood, and I thanked mother nature at least for the overcast day. The dark clouds rolled in as I crept toward the warehouse. I found a side entrance and snuck in as quietly as I could. There was very little light due to most of the windows being boarded up. I slipped down a dark hallway and heard voices echoing ahead. I stopped short as the hall ended at the entrance of a massive open room. There was a chair at the center and someone tied to it with a cloth over their head. My heart raced. My sister was here, before me, after all these years of searching.
I scanned the open space. One guard stood at a set of double doors on the opposite side of the room. He faced away from me, so I slipped into the massive space, keeping close to the walls and in the shadows. The only light in the room shined down on my sister strapped to the chair. I pulled out one of the kitchen knives and, just before the guard turned my way, I sliced the blade across his neck. He dropped instantly, unable to call out before he died.
I grabbed his gun and tucked it into my waistband. There was no time to check for anyone else. I ran to my sister and ripped the cloth from her head as I came around to face her.
My face fell. It wasn’t her. The girl looked up at me with wide, fearful eyes, her mouth taped over. She was roughly my age, but most definitely not my lost sister. Tears fell from my eyes, and I dropped to my knees as the doors opened and ten armed men entered the room.
They were dressed in black, and trained their weapons on me. Dozens of laser sights pointed directly at my heart.
One guard stepped forward. “Drop the weapons and stand up.”
The girl tied to the chair began to shake, tears falling uncontrollably. She was just another lost girl. Like my sister, like me. It was all wrong. And I fell for the trap so easily.
“Did you hear me, bitch?” the dumb fucking guy shouted, and I blew out a breath to steady my nerves.
I closed my eyes and let the rage burning through my veins take root. This is where I thrived. I would get my vengeance. One way or another.
I stood, slowly. “I heard you. And my voice will be the last thing you hear before you all die.”
I aimed my gun and shot out the light above us, plunging the room into darkness. I knocked the girl over, hopefully saving her from a bullet, as I raced toward the men. The idiots were shouting and easy to find. The first two died quickly. I snatched their guns and fired shot after shot, taking them all out as they fired aimlessly into the dark. My breathing remained even as I cut them down. I listened for their screams, relishing in the pain I could give them before I stopped their stupid heartbeats forever.
Two men remained. They called out to each other in a panic, searching for the door to leave the room, and the devil in me laughed at their fear. I crept up behind one of them, slamming my knife into his exposed throat. Blood splattered across my face. I was covered in gore. He dropped to the ground as his life force drained away.
“Please,” the last man pleaded in the dark. “I have a family.”
I laughed, and it sounded hollow and terrifying. “So did I.”
I ran across the room where I heard his voice. His gun fired, and I almost stumbled as a stray bullet grazed my arm. I kept running until I lept at him, smacking his gun away and stabbing his chest with my knife. He screamed. I pulled it out and stabbed him again. His groans turned wet as the blood gushed into his lungs, and I stabbed again and again until my arms grew weak.
I dropped the knife and hung my head, the silence deafening. The creak of a door echoed into the room. I snatched up the dead man’s gun and turned, ready to fire. Light poured into the room from the open door to reveal the monster before me.
“Seraphina?” Ty’s voice was gruff as he spoke my name so quietly, as if he didn’t want to spook a wild animal.
I pointed the gun at his head. “Don’t fucking move,” I snarled at him, but he didn’t listen.
He moved anyway, opening the door wider to let in more light. His eyes surveyed the carnage.
“I told the guys we had nothing to worry about. Our girl could handle a few assholes.” Ty grinned, and I wanted to scream.
“What the fuck are you saying? You did this. My sister isn’t here. It was a trap. Dev…the others…” Tears blurred my vision, and I shouted at him. “You fucking did this!”
I couldn’t see his face clearly, but his voice was low and steady as he raised his hands in surrender. “Seraphina. We didn’t do this. Who told you that? Is Dev here?”
I shook my head, refusing to believe him, and inched closer to him. Ty’s eyes widened as he saw me fully, covered in blood and training the gun on his heart.
“Lies. She saw him here. He’s somewhere. Did they send you in first to subdue me? Thought I would be worn out from the fight by now? Guess again.”
Ty frowned, shaking his head. Our eyes locked, and his widened at whatever darkness he found in mine. He dropped to his knees.
