by G N Wright
I don’t know why Jace is still here. I vaguely remember Greg saying we had a deal and maybe that’s why. Did I save Jace's life only to offer up Taylor’s? The old Elle would fight, kick, scream, do anything that wasn’t just sitting here, but that was before. This is after.
Do not defy me. Submission is my only salvation now.
One of the women grabs me by the arms and stands me up, directing me out of the tub as the other wraps me in a towel. I am ushered over to a chair where I spend the next couple of hours being pricked, poked, and fucking polished into the perfect bride. Jace was led from the room, still in cuffs, halfway through my makeover and all I could do was watch him go. Broken and alone.
Once my hair is perfectly curled and my makeup pristinely finished, I am led into the bedroom and find myself stepping into a wedding gown. It takes two of the women a couple of minutes to get it on and fastened, and then they fit my head with a crowned veil. They give me one last check over, then gather up their supplies and take their exit. I wait until I am completely alone in the room before I turn to look in the dirty mirror in the corner.
A crisp white, silk dress molds to my curves. Hugging my breasts with a plunging neckline and straps going around my neck. The bottom isn’t big, but layers of silk still fall all around me, giving the impression of a wide dress. It’s covered in crystals and pearls that just scream ‘obscenely wealthy’. If that didn’t clue you in, then the real diamond crown would. It’s nothing like I would pick for myself. The only thing that resembles me is the necklace from Marcus that still hangs around my neck.
Marcus. Just thinking of his name causes me pain. Yesterday morning we were tangled up in each other's arms. Now I’m about to marry another man. Everything we did, everything we planned, we were so close. Yet I still stand here, dressed as somebody else's bride.
The door handle pushes down, and I slowly turn as Elliot Donovan steps inside, followed by his son and a guard dragging in a now suited up Jace. When Elliot sees me, his smile could rival his son’s. Dark, deadly, and disgustingly smug.
He blows out a slow breath, “you were always a looker Elle, just like your mother.” He lets his gaze trail over me slowly from head to toe. Lingering on my barely concealed breasts. “But now you are truly breathtaking.” He turns to Greg, “she’ll make the perfect wife, son.”
Greg leers at me as he stalks my way, his eyes roaming over every inch of my exposed skin. Once he’s done, he picks up a piece of the skirt of my dress and grins, “this is going to look good stained in blood.” He leans in grazing his lips against my cheek and I hold in my shudder, “I’m gonna enjoy making you bleed while I fuck you, raw princess. Just how I always planned.” He hears the sharp intake of my breath as his sick words wash over me and laughs. Fuck. What I would give to have my knife strapped to my thigh, right now. See how much he could fucking laugh without an intact esophagus.
Elliot moves towards the both of us with a seemingly genuine smile this time, as he smacks Greg on the shoulder looking between the two of us with proud eyes. “A Donovan and a King. Just how it was always meant to be.”
Unlike Greg’s, his words do nothing to me. I’ve accepted my fate. Cassie is safe and I trust Marcus, Ash and my family to get her away from here. To run and never look back. To save her in a way I couldn’t.
Elle King dies today, and Elle Donovan will be born.
We step out of the room, into a dark, barely lit hallway. I know immediately we are still at the compound as memories flash across my mind at the familiar surroundings. Guard’s march both in front and behind us. I don't think about escaping, I just follow them to my fate. I ignore the weight of the ridiculous diamond on my hand, the feel of the silk gown against my body and the veil pinned in my hair. This isn't how my wedding was supposed to be. No, it's all wrong. I was supposed to be older, happier, marrying my best friend, my River. But the Devil found me first and now I must atone.
I wonder if Marcus and the rest of my guys are ripping the town of Hallows apart, looking for us. If I had any feelings left inside of me, I’d smile at that. But I can’t. I don’t want them to come for me. I want them to run, run and never look back. Escape this fucking pit and forget I ever existed. Take my daughter and give her the life she deserves, one without fear and pain. One without me. My life in exchange for hers. The best thing I have ever done.
We reach a door and when it swings open, we step outside, the sun blinding me after being held inside for so long. It pierces through the clouds, making my dress shine. The perfect weather for a wedding. Your wedding day is supposed to be the best day of your life. I should be happy. I should be free. I should be marrying the man I love. I am none of those things. I am empty, caged and about to make the ultimate deal with the Devil.
We head towards an outbuilding and I see an actual priest making his way towards it too. I almost laugh. Of course, they have a real priest. No doubt another sick twisted fuck who they have bent to their will with blackmail. My footsteps falter, but I am pushed onwards without a second passing as we descend towards our destination.
Greg pushes Jace to my side, “don’t forget your best man, wifey. Be nice and I’ll let him watch me fuck you later.” He winks, before turning and heading into the building, no doubt to await my arrival like this isn’t a fucking sham of a wedding.
I look to Jace and for the first time since yesterday he’s staring back at me. I don’t know what he sees on my face, but I watch the vein in his neck thump wildly and his chiseled jaw clench. He closes his eyes briefly, breaking our connection, before opening them again and I am greeted with a flash of my Jace. My reckless rebel and his tortured soul. We are in this together to the very end.
I take a deep breath as I cross the threshold into the building and mutter to myself, “Forgive me father, for all my sins.”
Chapter 45
MARCUS
The signal pinged not even ten minutes ago and we are already out of the house and on the road. I haven’t slept, I couldn’t. Not when Elle and Jace are with those cunts, going through god knows what. I can’t bear to think about it and from the way Asher has been raging around, I know he can’t either. We all know exactly what kind of place the compound is. What crimes are committed there. Elle already bears the scars from one night spent there. What scars will she have after she survives another?
If she survives.
That thought constantly burns through me, turning my insides to ash. I already know what it’s like to lose her and that’s when I knew she was out there living somewhere. I hated it. I won’t survive if I lose her for good. I don’t know if any of us are going to make it out of this alive, all I know is that if I lose my brother, lose my girl. The grief will fucking cripple me. We’re about to head into the biggest fight of our lives. We are going to be outgunned and outmanned, but none of that matters. I’ll do whatever I need to do to get them back to us.
After setting fire to the Donovan Estate, we returned to the Royton house. We didn’t see the point in going back to the safe house. When we got there, there was no trace of Taylor or Mason ever being there. The bodies were gone, and the blood cleaned. Like it never even happened. Max and the rest of his guys arrived a little later with Lincoln and Logan. Zack limped in behind them with a determined face while Max just grimaced at him. He is still recovering from Greg’s ambush, but I know there was no way he was staying behind.
Max was barely through the door before Ash jumped down his throat, “Cassie?” He asked, with his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might break.
“Secured in the bunker with Arthur, Helen and Lils. I left Alex and Seb locked down in the house with them and I have another back up team incoming, just in case.”
Asher didn’t respond, just stared at him until he exhaled and stormed away. I can’t imagine how he is feeling. I hate this. Hate the fact she’s in danger and I’ve only known about her for two months. That’s his little girl, his world. I saw what her kidnap did to him, what it did to Elle. If we make it o
ut of this, that girl is going to be fiercely guarded for the rest of her life.
While we waited for everyone else to arrive, a bleeding Owen marched into the house. He looked like shit and angry as fuck. He told us how he was jumped outside of Hallows Prep when Greg’s men turned up to get Taylor. He gave them the slip, trying to get to her, but he was too late. And when Greg’s guys gave chase, he took a bullet to the arm and slipped into the woods to escape. All of his comms and stuff left behind in his car. Zack was both furious and relieved, and I could see the regret on Owens’s face when he learned of Taylor’s fate. He was too injured to even think about joining us, but that didn’t stop him. He showered, had Logan patch him up and then tossed back a few painkillers and strapped himself with fresh weapons. Whatever it takes.
It wasn’t long before my boys from the South Side joined us, followed by the Crows. All of us packed across the den going over every bit of intel we had together. We discussed ideas for a number of situations and came up with as many backup plans as we could. Just anything we could think of that would prepare us for what we were about to do. It's war against the corrupted and it’s time for the elite to meet their end.
The drive across town is ghostly silent. Asher is driving, with Lincoln in the front and me in the back. The only sound comes from Lincoln tapping away on his keyboard as Asher directs us towards the compound. It’s another twenty minutes before we arrive, and he is pulling off the road. He continues a few hundred feet through the trees until he swings the car around so it's facing back in the direction of the road, and then kills the engine. We get out and I find myself looking around, thinking about the last time I was here. Remembering. Regretting. That day started with a double dog dare. This day is going to end with them dead at our feet.
I can’t see the compound, but I know it’s just through these trees. I can’t tear my eyes away as car after car pulls in behind us. Max and all of his guys are the first to get out of theirs. He stops at each of them, checking them over, making sure they’re sufficiently armed and protected. After what happened to Mason, I know he is taking extra precautions, he doesn’t want to lose anyone else. Zack leans against the hood of the car he arrived in, with Logan by his side. Both of them staring through the trees just like I was, like they think if they stare hard enough, they will see her.
Jack, Kai, and the rest of my crew are here too, the only people not meeting here with us are the Crows. They are heading straight for the path that leads into the middle of the compound. The perfect distraction. We have no idea if Carter Fitzgerald will have told Elliot about Rebecca's rescue and his loss of leverage against the HCMC, but it doesn’t matter. We are going in guns blazing, either way.
Asher and I move to hover around Lincoln's laptop as he shows us entry points, and we discuss our own strategy. Once we have a little instruction on what to do, we all make off through the trees towards the compound. We are going to come at it from different directions but need to get eyes on it first, so we know where to send more of our manpower. The only agreed instruction is whoever gets to Elle and Jace first, gets them out of there no matter what.
I push through the foliage with Asher and Lincoln by my side. All of us are in small teams of three and four, to ensure we all have backup. We are still dressed in our tactical gear and I have more weapons strapped to me than I could have ever imagined. I’m not going down without a fight. None of us are.
I look at Asher, who is silently brooding beside me as we walk, “I want to be the one to kill Elliot.” Lincoln swings his head to look at me, but Ash doesn’t respond, so I carry on. “He killed my father, took everything from me. I want to return the favor.” I wait for his refusal, for him to fight me on it. Elliot might be a sick son of a bitch, but it’s still his father. I don’t know what plans he has for him, but I don’t care.
He stares at me, like he is looking directly into my head until he just grunts, “Greg’s mine.”
The rest of the walk is silent and as we get towards the edge of the tree line that leads out into the grounds of the compound. We all slow down as Max, Elijah, and Oliver all step forward, binoculars in hand to assess what awaits us. I can see them whispering back and forth, trying to come up with the best way to approach with minimal sighting. They point things out to one another and when they seem satisfied, they gather us all around.
“Alright, we’ve got around twenty guards hanging around the front.” He nods to Owen and Josh, “you two set up for sniper cover and take out as many as you can. More guards will be drawn there when the Crows get here, so Me, Oliver and Liam will cover the front too.” He looks at Zack, “you stay by my side.” He warns him, before turning to me.
“Split your guys up into two teams to hit from both sides. Harry and Landon will help cover them.” The guy’s nod as they listen to his instructions and start splitting up into two groups.
“You, Asher, Logan and Lincoln are going to enter through the back with Tyler.” I nod at his final instruction and we all start pulling out our weapons, checking them, and getting ready.
We wait for the rumble of the bikes to come round the bend and as soon as they appear, Max gives the order. A smile spreads across my face as I raise my gun and run off into the trees. Hang tight baby, we’re coming. I ignore the branches that whip into my face and the bite of the bitter cold. None of it will stop me from getting where I need to be.
Asher and Lincoln move silently beside me and I hear Logan and Tyler somewhere close behind us. All of us have a gun in our hand and look around, wildly searching for our first target. Once we see the edge of the back buildings, we slow our pace, as we creep closer. There are a few guards lingering around and none of them look like they expect much action back here. That's their second mistake. The first was helping to take my girl.
We stop in the cover of a few trees and all lock eyes with a nod before we step out and start shooting. The five guards are dead within a minute and we are pushing over the fence and opening the gate in the next. Ash approaches the back building first, followed by Lincoln and then me. Tyler leads Logan towards another, as we split up to cover more ground. We move between what look like two derelict buildings before we come to one that’s manned by a lone guard. Lincoln fires a bullet in his head before Ash and I can even move. He cracks the door open and dips his head inside.
“Fucking hell.” He mutters, as he swings the door open and reveals two semi-naked girls. “Motherfuckers.” He shakes his head and raises his weapon to show he isn’t a threat as they bundle together in fear. “We aren’t here to hurt you.” He adds slowly.
“Two girls secured.” Ash snaps down his comms. He secures his gun to his waist as he slowly approaches them. “We’re here to get you out of here. We are here for our friend. She was taken too.” They stare at him wide-eyed with fear, “she escaped once before, a few years ago. We just want her back and we can help you too if you want.”
One of the girls slowly nods, before she whispers, “please help us.”
“Alright. Come on then we need to be quick.” He reaches out towards them and the one who didn’t speak flinches.
“No.” She cries and Asher freezes. “I’m not going. No. They’ll find me.”
“Come on, Kiera, this is our chance.” Her friend pleads.
“I can’t.” She stares at the floor visibly shaking in fear.
Her friend looks up to us, “Her sister,” she whispers, “her sister was here with us, she wouldn't stay quiet, so they shot her.”
I grimace as soon as she says the words, but Asher doesn’t falter, dropping to his knees before them. “I’m sorry about your sister, but she wouldn’t want this for you. I promise it’s going to be okay. We just need to get you out of here.”
She looks at him, studying him, like she is trying to work out if he is genuine or not. She eyes all our weapons and just as she is about to speak, gunfire breaks out in the distance and she almost jumps out of her skin,
“No. I can’t. They will shoot me.”
<
br /> “Here,” Asher opens his hoodie and then rips off his tactical vest.
“Asher.” I snap at him, he needs that fucking vest, but he ignores me.
“Put this on, no bullet is getting through that. It’s about a hundred feet to the back fence, where we have opened a gate. You run that way and head to the right, you’ll find all our cars. Hide there and wait for us.”
She stares at the vest in his outstretched hand as her friend begs her, “please, Kiera. We can’t stay here.”
Kiera looks at her friend and back to the vest before reaching out and taking it with a shaky hand. Her friend helps her stand, and she puts it on. They are both filthy and weak as they stagger behind us to the door where Lincoln has remained the whole time. He looks around and when he sees it is clear, he quickly runs them to the fence allowing them to slip out. Fuck, how many more girls like that are we going to find, it makes me sick to even think about it.
Once Lincoln comes back, we carry on moving silently through the compound, the gunfire continuing ahead of us. I’m about to step round a corner when Linc slams my body into the side of a building, covering me as bullets start to whizz towards us. He leans around to fire back with Ash crouched beside him doing the same. Another guy comes up behind us and I fire at him, hitting his arm and forcing his own gun to the ground. He doesn’t stop though, charging towards me as I fire another into his chest. He drops to the floor gurgling on his blood, and Ash reaches towards him and slams a knife into his throat, killing him instantly.
We continue to push forward and fight with every guard we come across. I’m bleeding and out of breath, as we move forward towards a building that the guards seem to be gravitating towards.
