by G N Wright
“I didn't even touch you. Greg wouldn't let us; you were too important to him.” Does he think that makes it better? Like, is he that fucked up, he thinks I would accept that as his defense?
His answer pisses me the fuck off and I stab my knife right into his hand. “So, whose fingerprints bruised my legs as they held me down, whose laughs haunted my nights? Did I just make all that up?” I scream at him as I fight back my own tears. I won’t allow him to bring out that weakness in me again.
“You’re scum. You think just because you didn’t penetrate me with your disgusting dick that it’s okay? How many times did you watch Greg take someone against their will? How many girls were given to you to keep you quiet and compliant.” I laugh in disbelief at his audacity. “There’s a special place in hell for men like you and it’s time you went there.”
My ringtone blares from my bag and I frown at being interrupted, but Max said he would only call me if it was an emergency. I’ve heard from him a few times by text. He’s sent me information, warnings, bullshit. This is the first time he is calling. I huff, but move to the table, drop my knife, wipe my hands on my pants and then pick up the phone.
“Yes.” I answer in a no-nonsense tone. This might be an emergency but I’m kind of fucking busy right now and in case he hasn’t noticed, I sort of have my own def con one kind of shit going on.
“Elle?” My name is barely a whisper, “it’s me.” Logan’s guarded voice filters down the line and it pulls me from the murderous edge I have been on for the last week. It’s so familiar and safe that I feel like it can’t be real. It feels as if I haven’t heard his voice in months.
I pull the phone from my ear and check the screen, I see Max’s number lit up and pull the phone back, “Logan?” I ask even though I know it’s him, “everything okay?”
He takes a deep breath, going silent. After a couple of seconds, I hear Marcus murmur next to him, “This is bullshit. Give me the phone.” Just a few words and they crack my already shattered heart. I miss him so much. I miss them all. Regret so many things between us, but I know he understands. I can tell from the stern tone he just used on Logan. He isn’t falling apart without me; he’s fighting for me.
Just like I knew he would. Just like I needed him too.
“Logan?” I push again as panic starts to creep through me, and he sighs again.
“It’s Zack...” He pauses like he is trying to think what to say before he adds, “he’s gone Elle, we lost him. You need to come home.”
I barely breathe, I grip the phone so tight it burns my fingers. Zack is dead. The words blow my already broken world apart. I’m too late. He didn’t make it. My brother is dead.
“Elle, we need you to come home.” It’s Max’s voice I hear this time, his serious and bossy tone gutting me further. I lost my brother; he lost a friend. We fucking lost.
I can’t do this, not anymore, not without him. He saved me and I failed him, he saved me, and I lost him, he saved me, and he fucking died. He’s dead. I feel my heart beating out of my chest, the only reminder that I am still alive. Alive, while my brother is dead. Alive thanks to him. How do I ever repay him when he is no longer here? How do I survive when I no longer have my hero here to guide me? I collapse into the chair by the table as tears start to coat my face. How can I ever go home? That wasn’t my home, it was our home, mine, and Zack’s and now he’s gone.
“Home, home to what?” I bite back and the echo tells me I’m on speaker phone. No doubt all of them are listening in. “My brother is dead, and my daughter might be too, for all I know. Fuck coming home. There is only one place I need to go now.”
The tears spilling down my face aren’t going to do anything for me. I let them fall but I won’t let them control me. The empty crater in my chest has burst wider than ever before. There is no going back now. I pick up my Glock and stalk back towards Brett with the phone in my other hand.
Even though I know they can all hear me I don’t speak directly to them. I can’t, “tell Marcus that I love him and Ash and the guys that I’m sorry.”
“No, Elle, stop.” Max starts but I cut him off.
“Thank you for everything Max. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you, without Zack.” My voice catches as I say his name and I can barely hold back my sob. “Truly, thank you. Goodbye.”
“Elle wait!” Marcus roars.
“Where are you?” Max shouts.
“Hells Bells!” Asher screams.
Everything has fallen apart around me. I have lost too much, and this has gone on for too long. I got to as many of them as I could, but time has run out. Now I have to take the next step, take out Elliot and Greg. Getting to them won’t be easy, but I will. Even if I have to become Elle fucking Donovan to do it.
The bang of my gun is the last thing they hear before my phone goes dead.
I shoot Brett three times. One in the head and two in the chest. One for me, one for Cassie and one for Zack. The brother I am never going to see again. I won’t ever see his smile or hear him call me sweetheart. We won’t shoot guns at the range or take that trip to Vegas that he promised me for my 21st birthday. He won’t get to walk me down the aisle, won’t get to find the love of his life, have kids of his own. Everything we talked about, everything he deserved, gone and all because he was my brother. A blessing and a curse. We already lost so much time together and now we can’t make it back. The bullet that took him from me is never going to stop impacting my life.
I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Over and over again, just trying to calm myself and push through the pain. I have come too far to stop now. I owe it to Zack, and I owe it to myself. I meant what I said to Max, there is only one place I need to go now.
I stalk through the cabin grabbing my stuff as I go, I will send word to Oliver for clean up, but to be honest, I am beyond caring. Let someone find his body, let anyone find it. Because there isn’t going to be any hiding the fall out of my brother being murdered. They are going to need to a build a new fucking graveyard for all the bodies I plan on slaying.
Once in the car, I push down the accelerator until it hits the floor. Nothing is going to get in the way of what I need to do next. I don’t know exactly how I am going to play things when I get to the Donovan estate, but I do know one thing. They want me alive and that is the only ace I have to play. I could try to take out some of their men when I get there, but they would just be replaced with others.
Lord knows what they will do to me once they have me, but I can't think about that now, the only thing I can think about is seeing my daughter again, protecting her and avenging my brother. Greg wants a compliant wife, but he’s getting an avenging queen. I won’t be silenced again.
I drive so fast that it isn’t long before I approach the estate from the back. I dump my car there and waste no time grabbing my bag of weapons and moving towards the direction of the gates. I stop every few meters and stash weapons anywhere I can. Memorizing each stop for future reference, only keeping my Glock at my waistband and my knife at my thigh.
My thoughts are chaotic, and I struggle to stay in control, but I need to lock it down. My mind is the only weapon I will have once I enter their pits of hell. They will strip me of my weapons, my family, and my freedom, but that won’t stop me. Nothing will. The sight of Zack bleeding out in our home is the only thing in my mind. They did that to him, they murdered him in cold blood just to get to me. I can’t see the times he taught me to drive or the first time he took me to the gun range. I can’t see every time he made me breakfast, or all the times he sat through Disney marathons with me and Cassie.
No, all I can see is his blood, his panicked and desperate eyes as they locked with mine. I didn’t know then that it would be the last time I would ever see them, I didn’t let myself face that reality, I couldn’t. But now, as I make my way to the gates of hell, it’s all I see. That look I last saw on his face will haunt me forever, and that’s just one more thing the Donovan’s will pay for.
>
Once I clear the tree line it’s a short walk to the gravel path that leads towards the gates. As soon as I hit it, they will know I’m here and everything will change. I ignore every branch snapping beneath my feet and every rustle of leaves by my side. The cold December air bites into my skin and the hard thumping of my heart continues to beat against my rib cage. All I do is breathe and walk. Just in through the nose and out through the mouth. It’s time.
I step forward and aim my gun at the first guard before he even spots me. Yet before I can take the shot, I sense the presence behind me. The gun is knocked from my hand before I can even turn around and a gloved palm covers my mouth. I fight with everything I have got, but then another person joins the fray and when I feel the prick of a needle pierce into my neck, I know I’m done for. I continue to fight but my limbs become heavy and slow. I see a blur of movement surround me as I’m thrown around and carried away. The gates of the Donovan estate are the last thing I see opening before darkness claims me.
Chapter 18
MARCUS
The adrenaline is pulsing through me like a drug. My breaths are coming in quick but steady pants as we move quickly through the tunnels underneath the Donovan estate. It’s dark down here and extremely dusty, but that isn’t what’s causing my short breaths. No, that’s the anxiety flooding through my veins. I’m filled with apprehension about what we are about to do. Over how we might get caught, how many people might get in our way, and what state we might find Cassie in. All of it causes the blood in my body to feel as cold as ice as it pumps through my body at a rapid pace.
We’ve split into two small teams of four, but also picked a partner to stay with and cover. Jace is with Max, Logan is with Elijah and Mason is with Oliver. Liam is back in the van running the tech alongside Ash who is at a safe house doing the same. He wasn’t happy about being left behind, but the last thing we need is any of his father’s men catching sight of him.
I’m with Lincoln, and we are tasked with going straight to where we believe Cass to be, while the rest of the guys keep our route clear. I’m scared, I think we all are, but I’m not afraid to die. No, I’m scared of what we might find when we get to Cassie. I know exactly what Elliot Donovan and his sick twisted son are capable of, and I just hope that sickness doesn’t extend to hurting their own flesh and blood. It’s the main reason I didn’t want Asher here with us, he would have been an asset for sure, but he also would have been a liability. I dread to think what his father or brother would do to him for betraying the family legacy. He didn’t give a fuck about that of course, but he knew deep down he was needed more on the outside of this.
It’s just me, Linc, Max and Jace in this tunnel, Logan, Elijah, Mason, and Oliver are entering through one further round the side of the estate. We want to cover as much ground as possible and as quickly as possible. Ash’s contact, one of the maids who has worked for them since he moved here, told him Cassie is being cared for by another one of the maids and is being kept in an east wing bedroom. Which is right above where we are entering the house, so it should be simple to get to her. I just hope the information is correct and we aren’t walking into the biggest trap of our lives.
We slow our pace as an old rusty gate comes into view. From the information Asher gave us, I know the entrance into the house is just round the corner. Max signals for us to stop, while he moves forward and checks the gate. Once he’s happy there is nobody here, he makes quick work of picking the lock and opening it so we can all get through.
“We’re approaching the door,” Max says quietly.
Ash’s voice follows in all our ears, “Okay you are all clear to enter, swapping to fake feeds in 3 2 1.” We hear the tapping of keys as Lincoln steps forward to stand by Max with the camera device in one hand and his gun in the other. Donovan's security was unable to be hacked, but Liam gave him some tech that will allow us to freeze the cameras as we come into range with them. Asher has entered Greg’s passwords into the system, so it won’t raise an alarm. At least, we hope not.
Max unlocks the cellar door with ease, and pushes inside, gun raised. We follow behind him quietly, all with our own weapons drawn. Max looks at ease, he must have done this kind of thing a thousand times, Lincoln strangely looks as comfortable as Max and I find myself, again wondering how he became how he is. Jace looks on edge and I don’t miss the shake of his hand slightly as he palms his own gun. He’s sober, for the first time all week. I suggested he sit this out, but he told me that wasn’t an option. That he was sick of not fighting back, so here he is. I’m calm, or at least calm enough that my hand holds the gun steady. Inside I am burning through fear, panic, relief, longing. All of them clashing together as my heart bangs against my chest.
We move through the cellar until we come to a set of stairs that I know leads up into the main house. Once at the top, Linc silently opens the door and pushes the device against it waiting for the light to turn from red to green, signaling that the cameras are paused. We don’t wait more than a few seconds before we see the green light, and we move inside the door. It leads us into the downstairs corridor of the east wing. From studying the floor plans, all we have to do is move to the end of this hallway, enter the foyer, go up the stairs and get to the third room on the right. Simple right?
Or at least it would be if this house didn’t belong to the biggest fucking criminal in town. Even with the blocker device, I still find myself tracking every camera I can see and sticking close to the walls as we move through the house.
When we come to another door, it’s Liam’s voice, we hear this time, “Two heat signatures just beyond that door.” He confirms, and Max signals for us to stand back.
He opens the door, slipping inside and he is barely out of sight before I hear two muffled shots and a thud. He comes back through the door dragging two guards by their collars. Two very dead guards. Now we have spilled the first bit of blood, time really is of the essence, it won’t be long until someone stumbles across them, or us. We have to keep moving.
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I am holding my breath so hard that if the adrenaline wasn’t so potent within me, I would pass out. Max swings around checking everywhere constantly, as he speaks.
“Bottom of the stairs. Going up.” He states and swings around as a door on the other side of the stairs swings open. An arm sticks through it with a thumbs up, and he relaxes slightly as Elijah’s head follows it. With all eight of us now here, the four of them surround the foyer in the shadows, as we begin to ascend the stairs. Moving as one until we reach the top. As agreed, Lincoln and I will be the ones to grab Cassie. She has spent more time with us recently than Max and we want her to be as comfortable as possible. Especially considering we have no idea what state she is going to be in. Is she going to look like the same little girl I have come to know and love? Will they have hurt her or worse? Is she tied up? Have they fed her? The disgusting images barrel into my mind before I can stop them, and I shake my head like I can physically toss them out of there. Whatever state she is in doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting her home. I need to rescue the princess so the queen can be whole again.
Lincoln signals for me to move and I go ahead as he steps up behind with his hand on my shoulder. Both of us have our guns raised.
It doesn’t take us more than thirty seconds to reach the room we believe Cassie to be in and I waste no time in entering. I palm the handle and take a deep breath, before silently pushing it down and opening it as slowly as I can. The room is dark with the only light coming from a small lamp on the bedside table. I immediately spot Cassie sitting on one side of a huge bed and my heart rate quickens. Flicking my eyes to her left, I see a woman sitting beside her, reading a book, but as soon as I speak into my mic she looks up.
“We got her.” I say, and I hear Asher's sigh of relief loud and clear.
Taking me in, the woman’s features are shrouded in fear, but she doesn’t scream, run, or even try to reach for something to use as a weapon. She
just freezes, the panic forcing her body to shut down, as she stares at my gun. I lower it slightly and when she still doesn’t move, I take a slow step forward.
“I’m not going to hurt you; I just want the girl.” For how nervous I am, my voice comes out calm. Cassie is so close, her sleeping form snuggled down under the blanket. We could actually pull this off, all we have to do is grab her and get back out of here undetected.
The woman still doesn’t say anything, so I continue, “We are taking the girl home, with or without your cooperation.” I can see her shaking from across the room, but she nods ever so slightly. She looks young and is probably being forced to do all sorts under the employment of Elliot Donovan.
Lincoln enters behind me, but I don’t risk looking at him as I move closer to the bed, until I reach the side Cassie is sleeping on. I breathe a slight sigh of relief that she appears to be unharmed and as Lincoln stalks across the room to deal with the maid, I gently pull the blanket from her causing her to stir.
Her sleepy eyes open and lock with mine and her surprise is instant, “River?” She wonders aloud in a tired tone.
“Yeah baby, it’s me.” I say with a soft smile. I barely have time to register her moving before she dives at me and flings her little arms around my neck. I don’t think I have ever felt such instant happiness. The comfort of finding her here, and from what I can tell, unharmed. It’s the best I could have ever hoped for.
“I missed you so much,” she whispers, and my throat burns with the pain of emotions as I place my gun back into its holster and cuddle her back.
“I missed you too.” I reply, rubbing my hand up and down her back, watching as Lincoln ties the maid up with ease and drags her into the closet shutting the door. Once she’s secured, I pull back from Cassie, “are you okay?”
She nods enthusiastically, “Is my Mommy here?” She asks and the hope in her voice cuts me. Four words and I can tell how much she has missed her mom, probably just as much as Elle has missed her.
