Page 105 of Bound By Blood and Lies

“I’ve got them.”

My head snaps up.

“Where?” I demand harshly.

“That’s… not right.” Atlas’s expression shifts as he looks back at me.

“Where, Atlas,” I repeat through gritted teeth.

“The church.”

I frown as I process what he just said. Why the fuck would Fae and my mum go to the church? My stomach drops as I jump up off the sofa and run upstairs to change.

My fucking dad.

“Get the boys,” I shout, taking two stairs at a time.

By the time I hit the landing, the house is already shifting around me. Doors open and close. Footsteps echo. My pulse pounds as I run into my own room and dress in my dark combat clothes. I run downstairs breathlessly as Felix meets me by the front door.

“What’s happened?” Felix demands.

“They’re at the church.”

The silence is deafening as he stares at me blankly and I count to ten to stop from exploding at him.

“They were meant to be having food, Felix. THINK. Why the fuck would they be at the church?”

“Fuck,” Riggs mutters and I spin, pleased to see he’s ready.

The door almost falls off the hinges as I rip it open and spill out into the evening. Riggs, Felix, Atlas and Victor follow, and I march over to Atlas’ van. The air is cooler now as the sky slips into that dull grey-blue where the sun has dipped but darkness hasn’t fully settled. It’s the worst kind of light. Too light, with not enough cover for what we’re about to do. But it doesn’t matter.

I’ll spend a lifetime in prison to protect my girls.

Fuck.

She’s pregnant. It’s not just my mum and her I need to be concerned about. We pile into Atlas’ van as all the doors slamshut. I jump into the driver’s seat as Felix sits next to me loading weapons. Riggs is muttering something under his breath that sounds a lot like a prayer and a threat combined. Victor checks his knife with the same calm precision he always does. I hear Atlas put on a bulletproof vest and my eyes move back to him, surprised for a moment that he looks like he’s gearing up to come in.

“I’m coming in,” he says, and I nod as I focus back on my task.

I grip the wheel.

Hard.

“Tell me the fastest way,” I say.

“Straight through the high street, cut left at Morrisons, then?—”

I’m already moving. The engine roars to life as I slam my foot down, the van’s tyres screeching against the road as we take off too fast for the street we’re on. Houses blur past. Streetlights flicker on one by one. Everything outside the car becomes irrelevant. All I can see is the church. All I can hear is my dad taunting me. All I can feel is that pulsing in my chest getting louder.

Too late.

Too late.

Too late?—

“Roman,” Felix says sharply and I swerve around a bend before shooting him an apologetic look.

By the time the church comes into view, the sky has darkened just enough that shadows stretch longer across the ground, swallowing parts of the graveyard in uneven patches. The building stands silent, exactly like it always has. Except this time, it feels like a warning. I slow the car before we reach the entrance, pulling it just far enough back to stay out of direct sight.