Page 87 of All's Fair in Love & Wrath

Cain.

He’s older now but still looks the same. Dark hair shaved down almost to the skin, soulless eyes that are near black. My stomach twists so violently and so quickly that I might actually throw up. I fight against it, my body swaying, just as Kinsey touches my arm. “Stay with us. You’re a badass. Wear those scars like armor.” Fear presses so hard against my ribs, I’m certain it’s trying to crush me from the inside out. Every terrified part of me wants to run and hide, but I ignore it. I can’t let him get a hold of me, because I know exactly what will happen if he finally gets his hands back on me. And the only way to do that is to fight back.

“Sienna, Sienna, where are you, my little pet? I’ve come to bring you home!” His voice sounds like a knife cutting throughlace, sharp and cruel. The girls and I stay huddled together at the edge of the hallway, Saige counting down for us to walk in, but then Otto appears from around the corner to the kitchen, firing off his gun, which gets us moving.

Morgan steps out first, quickly firing two rounds off into the group. She hits both targets, one in the neck, his blood squirting out and spraying everywhere, the other in the shoulder. It gets their attention, though. Cain darts quickly around a corner as Saige bolts into the room. She moves fast, dodging a hit as she ducks around them, jumping up on their back and slicing her knife right across their throat. Blood gushes immediately, pouring down his neck like a river.

Kinsey darts in next, firing her gun, the noise reverberating through the room. I’m completely aware how stupid and impulsive it is, but I run after Cain. I can’t let him leave here. I can’t let him win. This has to end.

My footsteps pad against the wood, and I hold the gun out in front of me as I walk into church, finding Cain way too relaxed, leaning against the large oak table, his arms folded across his chest like he was waiting for me.

For a moment, I’m right back in that room, drugged, helpless, unable to fight back. My stomach turns with the thought of what he did to me, how he beat me, assaulted me, disfigured my body. Then I remember what he did to my mother and father, the damage Maddox has to live with, how he took Jesse from Morgan, all the women and men he’s hurt. The room clears around me, and I stand up a little taller. I’m not back in that room anymore. I’m not scared anymore. He doesn’t get to win. I hold the gun out in front of me, steadier than it’s ever been in my hands.

“You won’t do it. You’re weak. You’ve been alone this entire time, just like I said you would. Those scars may havedestroyed your pretty looks, but once we get your hair back to normal, I’ll look past it.”

“I’m not fucking weak. You are. Men like you are a scourge on the Earth, to humanity. Every day that you get to breathe is too long.”

“We’ll see about that. You’ll feel differently when I’ve got your pussy wrapped around my cock in my bed. Or do you want a repeat of the floor?”

“Fuck you!” I fire the gun at the same moment Cain lurches for me. He jerks as the bullet flies straight past his head, barely missing him. He grips my wrists, shoving me backward, my gun falling to the ground as my knee reaches up, hard, connecting with his crotch. He grunts loudly, the scent of decay and evil assaulting my nose, turning my stomach. It gives me a split second to twist from his hold, my arm having just enough room to punch him in the throat. He gurgles as he stumbles backward for a moment. Pain spreads through my hand and wrist, but I push it down.

“You stupid fucking whore! Just like your mother, only good for one fucking thing. A hole for my cock. I’ll fix you, and then my men will fix all your pretty friends, taking turns until there’s nothing left of any of you.”

Everyone flashes behind my eyes, and I know that no matter what happens right here, this is the end, one way or another. Cain can’t get to any of them. Crashes and yells echo behind me; grunts and guns. It’s a fucking war zone.

“I’m not yours. My mother was never yours. Maddox isn’t fucking yours!” I scream at the top of my lungs. Then I dive for my gun, just as he grabs my ankle, dragging me back. I flip quickly, just like Kinsey taught me, bringing up my other foot and kicking him in the face. The grasp on my body releases as blood sprays from his nose, a terrible crunch from cartilageand bone breaking. I scramble for the gun, picking it up and quickly standing, holding it out in front of me.

Cain laughs sardonically, blood dripping down his face. He looks truly terrifying, but his expression morphs as we both hear the rumbling of bikes. I feel it in my bones. Those aren’t his men. They’re ours.

“You don’t have any power here. This is where you die.” I hold the gun straight out with both hands until woods and citrus envelope my senses, a familiar warmth stepping up to my back, his hand sliding down my arm and cupping around where I’m holding the gun, the other wrapping possessively around my waist. I melt into him, my entire body relaxing. He’s home. Everything’s going to be okay.

“I’m here, baby girl,” he whispers as he kisses my neck, soft and sweet. Then his tone changes. The one he reserves for people like Cain. “You deserve a slow, painful death. It should last a lifetime. But she’s right, this is where you die,” Axel says. “Are you sure you want to do this, baby?”

I look at the man in front of us and know that I want to watch the light leave his eyes. I want to know firsthand that there’s a bullet in his brain and that he’s unable to hurt anyone ever again.

“I’m positive.”

“On your knees, Cain. It’s time to pray to your God, even though no forgiveness will come to you.” Axel guides my hand when Cain doesn’t move, firing off a single shot into Cain’s knee. The spot practically explodes, and he falls to the ground with a scream that could shatter glass. “I said knees. Now bend them and bow to my fucking queen.”

Cain’s expression is pure evil, and even though his face has haunted me for years, I feel nothing but vengeance and peace right now.

I look down at the man who took everything from me from the arms of the man who gave it all back. And then I pull the trigger.

Chapter Thirty-Four

AXEL

Seeing Sienna in that room, alone with Cain, holding him at gunpoint, made me equally proud and fucking terrified at the same time. The men and I rode faster than we ever have before, pushing ourselves and our bikes to the absolute limit. It was reckless, but getting to them was the only thing that mattered. I’ve never been suffocated by fear like this before. Blood still rushes between my ears, only Sienna’s sweet jasmine scent, and her smooth flesh under my touch simmering the storm inside me.

Cain slumps to the ground, a perfect shot right into his throat, blowing out a major artery. He doesn’t die straight away. Instead, the blood sprays outward like a geyser while his hands try to hold it back in. It only lasts seconds before the trauma to his brain is too much, and he dies, eyes just as vacant and soulless as when he was breathing.

I take the gun from Sienna, setting it on the table before turning her in my arms. My hands grab her face, moving it from side to side, checking for injuries.

“He’s gone, sweetheart. He can’t hurt you or anyone elseever again.” I kiss her cheeks, under her eyes, her head, pulling her body into my arms and holding her close. Her soft fingers find my face, pulling me down in a hard kiss. I respond right away, her mouth opening and searching for my tongue. She kisses me like she’s starving for it, like she’s anchoring herself to something real, something important . . . something she’s chosen.

She heats it up quickly, pressing her body against mine, lifting her leg around my hip. I pick her up, my hands gripping her firm ass, setting her down on the table that’s sacred to every Heathen here. She’s still wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts, and my hands skim up her legs, pushing them open so I can step into her space. Sienna claws at my shoulders, dragging her hands down my chest until she reaches the button of my jeans. She only breaks away from our kiss for a moment, flicking open the button and dragging down my zipper. I help her, letting her lead as we work together to shove my jeans down my ass and free my aching cock.

Her hands wrap around my length, using both to jerk me in a firm grasp, just the way I like it. It feels so fucking good, precum already leaking from the tip. Adrenaline courses through my veins like a live wire, and I know she’s feeling the same and looking for a safe place to release it.