by Amity Cross
“Did she…”
“She didn’t seem all that fazed considering I carved him open, but I know more was going on underneath the surface.”
Mercy didn’t reply straight away. I’m sure she didn’t sign up for live autopsies. I sure as hell didn’t.
“Was Hawkes with you?” she asked, once she’d gathered the courage to speak again.
“Yes. I made him wait outside. I suspect he would’ve picked Vaughn up and left.” And he wasn’t coming back.
“Oh…”
“We’re in this alone, Mercy,” I said, staring up at the ceiling. I could’ve cursed Hawkes out for leaving us behind, but I was the one who’d told Vaughn and Lorelei to go. They didn’t know that I’d be captured like a fucking fool.
We were alone with the devil that lived inside of me. Who the fuck knew what would happen when he surfaced again. Who knew how The Watchman would meet his end…if I could get that far.
“What do we do?” she asked.
I didn’t know how to answer her, so I just said, “We wait for our opportunity.”
“You don’t know, either,” she scoffed, seeing right through me.
“No, but answers rarely present themselves straight up.”
The lock clicked on the door, and I paused, my eyes meeting Mercy’s. I saw the fear in them and knew she was too weak to control her emotions. I couldn’t blame her after all she’d been through within these walls. It was up to me to protect her, and I’d already pledged everything I had to doing just that. I wouldn’t stop now.
I raised my head as the door began to open, expecting The Watchman to enter. It was time to begin the fight for our lives…
A sleek figure slipped through the opening, a gun aimed at the ready, and when my gaze met hers, I wasn’t sure what to do.
Mei.
“Thank fuck,” she breathed, closing the door softly behind her.
Mercy raised her head, a look of disbelief in her eyes as Mei crossed the room to her first. Past and future colliding.
“How did you find us?” I asked as she moved to undo Mercy’s restraints. If she was here, did that mean there were others? If MI6 were along for the ride, they’d get us out of here but take us into custody at the same time. One prison to another.
“They tasked a satellite to this location,” she explained. “I saw you go in, but you didn’t come out. They found out I let you go and suspended me. I’m sorry, Oliver. There was nothing else I could do.”
“So there’s no backup coming?”
She shook her head. “I’ve gone off book,” she replied as Mercy sat up, rubbing her wrists. “I’m probably going to be kicked out when I get back.”
“If they find out.”
She grimaced and moved to undo my restraints. “Here’s hoping.”
Once I was free, I crossed to Mercy and helped her up. Her face twisted in pain, giving away that they’d done a lot more to her than she’d let on. Once she was upright, she held out her hand, pushing me away. I didn’t take it as an insult, I knew her pride was talking.
“I had a man on the outside,” I said to Mei.
She shook her head, watching Mercy carefully. “He’s long gone.”
I grunted as she confirmed what I already suspected was the truth.
“C’mon,” Mei said. “We need to get moving.” She leaned against the wall and opened the door a crack, peering out into the hall.
Mercy stared at me, her eyes flickering back and forth between Mei and me.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s weird hearing someone call you that.”
I shook my throbbing head. “Trust me, I find it weird too.”
“There’s a lot of movement out there,” Mei whispered.
“They’re moving,” I declared. “Greggor is gone.”
“Gone?” Mei peered back at me, confused.
“I killed him.”
She looked me over and shrugged. “I’m not going to ask how.” Not waiting for an answer, she leaned back against the wall and checked the hallway again before waving us forward.
Stepping out of the room, Mei turned to the left, so I turned to the right. Her way was to safety. My way was right into the dragon’s lair.
“Don’t,” Mei hissed, holding her gun tightly. “We will come back for him. My priority is to get you two out and to safety.”
“If I let him go now, I’ll never find him again,” I snapped. “He’s weak, and his men are in disarray after I killed Greggor. It’s our only chance.”
“Oliver…” I didn’t like the look in her eyes, the one that said she’d already lost me once…twice wasn’t an option. Too bad, I wasn’t hers to lose.
“Go,” I said. “You don’t want to see this. Trust me.” I gestured for Mercy.
She stood her ground, looking utterly shattered, but her eyes were full of fire. “He hurt me, too.”
I shook my head. “Mercy…”
Her eyes pleaded, a hollowness I’d never seen in them before prevalent above all else. She needed this just as much as I did. Revenge and justice were walking fine line and so was my ability to say no to her.
“We’ll need to get out of here quickly,” I said to Mei, my arm winding around Mercy’s waist. Time to see whether Mei Akiyama really trusted Xavier Blood…or Oliver Cassel. “Can you help us with that?”
Mei glanced at Mercy with a frown. “I can do that.”
“I don’t know how long this will take,” I said.
“I’ll wait as long as I can.”
She held out her gun for me, but I shook my head. “You need that more than I do.”
Mei nodded and began to back away down the hall. “Good luck.”
I nodded sharply before turning to Mercy. “Do you remember the way?”
I didn’t need to explain to her that I meant The Watchman’s torture room because she nodded and pulled me along the hall. This nightmare was finally going to end…whatever it took.
We stopped outside of a door and she nodded. He was inside. I ran my fingers over her lips and kissed her forehead. Now or never.
Pushing open the door, I paused. The Watchman was hunched over his workbench, packing his tools of horror into large plastic crates, his movements hasty. They were planning on setting up shop in a new location and taking us with them. There was no doubt in my mind his intentions were to re-enroll me in his army and condition Mercy to fight alongside his original monster. Like fuck I was letting that happen.
I stepped inside the room, and finally, he turned, his expression swiftly changing from surprise to calmness as he saw who was standing behind him. I held onto Mercy, edging in front of her.
“Xavier,” he murmured. “I’m not surprised that you got out.”
“Then you won’t be surprised when I send you to hell,” I hissed at him.
The Watchman smiled, the maliciousness in his expression chilling. “It’s time to come home, Xavier. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You won’t remember a thing…”
My eyes widened as I sucked in a sharp breath. It was like Weiss had said in my dream so long ago, the hint that I hadn’t quite got until right now. I’d failed to remember so many hits, so many faces, all because The Watchman had hardcoded a string of words into my mind that forced me to forget, and right now…he was going to hit my reset button.
I glanced at Mercy, and I made a choice. It was the only one I could make if she was going to get out of here alive.
I surrendered myself to the devil.
As The Watchman began to speak, I felt my mind slipping…it wasn’t going to be enough. The monster was failing me…
I stepped forward, my eyes flickering to the tray of instruments he’d been packing.
He spoke again, and something inside my mind snapped. Pain shot through my temples, turning my headache from dull to pounding. What the fuck was happening to me?
I fell to my knees, my mouth falling open.
“X!” It was a woman’s voice. She sounded familiar, yet she di
dn’t. She wound herself around me, her lithe body shaking against mine.
“Xavier…”
I glanced up at The Watchman, not understanding where I was. “What do you want me to do?”
“X,” the woman pleaded. “Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to get into your head to make you forget. You’re stronger than this. Come back to me.”
“This is really quite charming,” The Watchman said. “Though we don’t have time for this.”
The woman turned and kneeled before me, her back flush against my chest. “Keep your hands off him you piece of shit.”
Letting my head fall forward, I buried my nose against her neck. She didn’t smell so good, but neither did I. I was covered in dried blood. Who had I killed this time? It never mattered once it was done.
“Xavier.” I lifted my head as The Watchman spoke. “It’s time to go, but first…kill her. She’s not needed anymore.”
She twisted around once more, her blue eyes otherworldly against her dirty, burned face.
“Don’t,” she pleaded. “I love you, X.”
Love? I raised my hands and cupped her face, digging my thumb into the seared flesh on her left cheek. She cried out, her eyes sparkling, but she didn’t back down.
“It’s me,” she gasped. “Mercy. We’ve come so far, X. Don’t let him win now.”
How would I do it? I could just snap her delicate little neck, or I could choke her until the hue of her lips matched her eyes. Then she fell against me, her mouth meeting mine, and I gasped. Her tongue slid against mine, her fingers threading through my hair. She was a bold little thing.
She pulled away, her lips resting against mine. “I love you.”
My eyes opened, and I saw her. I saw everything she was, everything she had been, and everything she would be. Like a goddamned fucking fairy tale, she broke my curse with a fucking kiss. A motherfucking angel sat in my lap.
“Mercy…” I whispered against her mouth so only she could hear.
The moment she’d walked into my life and cracked the hard exterior of my conditioning, was the point of no return. Whatever The Watchman did to pull me into line, it would never be enough. It was her, it would always be her.
Her eyes filled with tears, and she fell away, giving me the chance to end this once and for all. With a roar, I pushed through the pain and rose to my feet, one thing and one thing only on my mind. Oceans of blood.
My fist collided with The Watchman’s face, and there was an explosion of blood as his nose cracked. He screamed as the bone splintered, falling backward and crashing into the chair. I strode forward, grasping at the table full of instruments. His eyes widened before he allowed himself to slip to the floor in an attempt to scramble away like a fucking rat.
I threw myself on top of him, pinning the asshole to the ground. “I’ll fucking kill you,” I hissed at him. “You’ll be the one wishing you were dead before I’m done with you.”
Fisting my hand into his hair, I pulled his head from the ground and smashed it into the concrete with all the force I could muster. Which wasn’t much, but I didn't have a problem with repeating the process. There was a smack of flesh and bone, the monster inside of me flaring brighter than I’d ever felt it before.
I’d show him, I’d show him the truth of what he created. The monster had turned against his master. He’d hunted him down and would show him how destructive pain could really be. It didn’t set me free…it chained me to darkness, and it was time to see the light.
The Watchman moaned, muttering words I couldn’t understand. All I wanted was the blissful silence of tearing flesh. I pulled his head from the ground and smashed it again. I kept going until the ground was red and his life coated my hands and face.
I smashed and smashed until the devil himself had the last laugh.
Thirty-One
Mercy
Color and beauty. Color and beauty…
I stared in horror as X tore The Watchman’s head clean from his shoulders. He stood, the man I loved more than my own life, holding it in his red hands like the devil incarnate. Slowly, he turned and moved toward me.
Kneeling, he deposited the head of my enemy at my feet, his gaze cast down. This was a declaration of love from the monster, not the man.
This wasn’t X. This wasn’t him…it was the monster they’d created. I sobbed as I realized what he’d done for me… X had given himself over to the monster he’d been fighting inside of him to save me.
Kneeling in front of him, I placed my palms on either side of his face. His eyes were empty, his breathing ragged, the blood that stained his skin making him look even more demonic that he should.
“X, you’re free,” I murmured. “You’re finished. You can let go now.”
He blinked once.
“You can come back.”
Thirty-Two
X
Mercy was staring at me, her blue eyes full of fire.
You’re free… You can let go…
I blinked, the world coming alive with color. Color and beauty. That’s what Mercy had wanted all along and she’d given it to me. Now, it was time to give it to her.
“I love you,” I whispered, giving her the words she’d wanted all along. The words I should have told her from the start.
Her lips curved into a wide smile. “I love you.”
She was the only person alive who knew the words that had been programmed into me to make me forget, but she never needed them to bring me back. All she needed was her love. Ironic, right? Mercy Reid held all the power. She better not fucking milk it.
“We need to get out of here.”
I glanced up, and for the first time, I realized Mei was in the room watching our exchange. After everything she’d been through…I felt regret simmer in my gut.
She shook her head, giving away that she knew exactly what I was thinking. “I have to call this in,” she went on. “It’s best you’re both away from here before the tactical team drops on by.”
“You—”
“Were meant to wait outside?” she asked. “Yeah, fat chance. I got outside, things didn’t feel right, so I doubled back. I never was one for taking orders from you.”
“C’mon,” Mercy murmured. “Let’s get out of here while the goings good, huh?”
I pushed up onto my feet and held her against me, determined never to let her go again.
As we emerged out of the warehouse and into the daylight, Mercy blinked furiously before burying her face against my shirt. Knowing they would’ve kept her in darkness the whole time, I led her across the yard, trusting Mei to forge a path to safety.
It was past time that we went home.
We stood on the side of the road, the wind whipping through Mercy’s hair as I held her against my chest. I knew she was in pain, but she didn’t show it, she just clutched me, her arms tight around my waist.
Mei had left us some time ago, disappearing into the distance.
A car rounded the corner ahead, and I tensed slightly, but as it approached, I realized it was the car Mei had driven me out of the MI6 field office with before letting me out on the outskirts of town. I stroked a hand through Mercy’s hair to reassure her as it pulled up beside us.
Mei slipped out and rounded the front. Holding out the keys, she said, “It’s untraceable. The plates are fake, and the engine number doesn’t exist. I disabled the GPS tracker myself.”
Reaching out, I grasped the keys in my bloodstained palm.
“They wanted me to bring you in.” She glanced at Mercy. “Both of you.”
I held the keys tightly. “But you’re not.”
She shook her head. “I’m already in a lot of trouble, one more indiscretion won’t hurt. I gathered…I owed you after all that shit back at the field office.”
Mercy tightened her grip on me, and the two women smiled at one another.
“Royal Blood?” I asked.
“Now that Greggor is gone, word will spread quickly. MI6 has the opportunity to mop up th
e remains before another can step up and claim them, thanks to you.”
I didn’t want accolades. “Good.”
“If you have a place, go there. I’d lay low for a while before trying to leave the country.” She hesitated before reaching into her pocket and holding out a card.
I didn’t move, but Mercy reached out with shaking fingers and took it from her.
“If you ever need anything, you can contact me here,” Mei said. “It would be an honor if you decided to come back, Oliver.” She glanced at Mercy. “And that goes for you too, Mercy.”
“What’s the catch?” I asked as Mercy shoved the card inside her pants pocket.
“No catch,” Mei replied, tucking her windblown hair behind her ear. “Just a whole lotta fun catching bad guys. Off book. I know a guy who knows a guy who pays pretty well for that kind of thing.”
Black ops… I had to say I was at least a little interested, but I didn’t let it show in my features.
She began backing away. “Good luck to you, Agent Cassel.”
We stood and watched Mei as she walked away, her form becoming smaller until she disappeared into the distance, swallowed up by the industrial outskirts of Bristol. She’d find her way back, I had no doubt about it.
“You want to go home?” I asked, focusing my gaze on Mercy’s bright, blue eyes.
She nodded, her lips pulling into a tiny smile. “Take me home.”
Thirty-Three
Mercy
The first thing X did when we finally got back to the cottage was to draw me a bath.
When he pulled off my clothes, he didn’t say a word about the marks that covered my torso, he just set me in the water that came up to my hip and proceeded to dab me with a cloth, a look of absolute concentration on his face. Remembering the first bath we’d taken together, I couldn’t help but smile. A bath with a hitman was a strange notion, but now, here was one bathing me. The fact that I could smile at all after the horror I’d suffered at the hands of The Watchman was miracle enough.
The soap and water stung like a bitch, but I knew he had to do it, or I’d risk getting an infection. After this, I’d curl up in bed with him and sleep for a week.
