by Vic Tyler
“No, don’t put the gun down, Jura,” I shriek.
Please, please, someone hear.
Fingers snake around my throat and seize it, compressing my airways just tight enough that I have to gasp for air. His hand doesn’t relent no matter how much I clutch and scratch at it, choking in his grip.
“Shush, Adriana,” he scolds playfully. “There’ll be time for screaming later.”
There’s a soft ping like a cellphone text alert, but no one moves.
“I think that’s yours,” Kaden says cheerfully.
Except for the muscles in Jura’s jaw as he grinds his teeth together, he’s completely frozen still, all of his attention on Kaden.
“No?” Kaden shrugs. “Alright then. We’ll get back on point. Now, gun down, Spider.”
He digs the barrel of his gun into my temple until a broken cry yelps out of me.
Jura’s features twist slightly, and when his muscles give way, releasing the tension in his body, tears brim my eyes.
No, Jura! Don’t!
In a quick movement, Jura tosses his gun and sprints.
Kaden shoots, but the taller man’s too fast as he dives behind a pillar.
A blaring alarm rankles the air, and lights I’ve never noticed lining the walls flash neon red.
Familiar faces stream out of the rooms, halting when they see Kaden and me.
“I thought it was going to be something fun, but it’s just you,” Ubo says boredly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
Kitty slides down the stair bannister with a submachine gun in her hands, plopping onto her feet.
“If you had a death wish, all you had to do was ask,” she purrs.
Kaden chuckles, and I can’t believe how lighthearted and whimsical he sounds. This has to be a really bad joke. It has to. “Life would be too simple if you died because I asked. And where’s the fun in that?”
Stepping out from behind the pillar, Jura slides next to Kitty and reaches behind her, pulling out a handgun from her back.
For once, Kitty doesn’t tease or make any dirty remarks.
If it weren’t for the fact that I'm the one being held hostage, I’d feel weird about how everyone is looking over me like I’m invisible. Their eyes are glued to the man holding my throat.
“So whad’ya want?” Next to Ubo, Zeke pops his gum.
I feel Kaden shrug behind me. “Nothing.”
The answer lingers in the air for a brief second until Kaden adds, “Just waiting for my friends to arrive.”
Suddenly, the mood darkens, and everyone looks more serious than they did before.
The air turns cold and militant. I’ve never seen them with those looks on their faces. It’s so unrecognizable they’re almost like strangers.
Jura’s mouth sets into a grim line, and when he takes a step back, the unforgiving metal digs into my temple, making me yelp.
“Uh, uh. Stay put, Spidey.” He chuckles. “Man, getting you away from your roost was so much easier than I thought.”
Ubo motions to the iron–wrought fence surrounding the complex. “Just ‘cause your stooges surround us don’t mean shit.”
“You’re right, and when the gates open, all of you are going to bottleneck the entrance,” Kaden says cheerfully. “That’s why I’m here to give them a head start.”
“And how are you going to get the gates open? They’re reinforced titanium, and your men will get electrocuted if they touch it.”
“Wow, so cool,” Kaden drawls sarcastically. “But you forget the biggest and easiest factor.” I can hear the smile in his voice. His finger reaches up to stroke my jaw. “How did I get in?”
When someone starts running to the security guard house, Kaden moves his gun, and an explosive crack echoes in the foyer, along with a solitary ear–piercing shriek.
I’m the only one who reacted, jumping away, screaming.
The gun presses into my head again, and as I steady my feet, my entire body trembling with shock and fear, my shoe brushes over the cracked and splintered tile.
He clucks his tongue. “None of you are very good at following directions.”
All the other weapons in the room are pointed at Kaden.
“We’ll just have to give her a closed casket,” Ubo says flatly.
There isn’t a trace of his usual taunting expression on his face, and a sob breaks out of me.
I never realized how much I didn’t want to see Ubo look so serious.
Fear claws itself into every fiber of my body and floods it with the nauseating nostalgia of how I felt when I first heard papa scream.
“I’m sure Damien will understand,” Kitty purrs, smiling coyly despite her sharp gaze.
Kaden’s husky chuckle sounds right by my ear, and a soft brush of his lips against it makes me shiver violently.
“Look how much they love you, Adriana.” My body shakes uncontrollably at the unfitting seductive tone to his voice. Like he’s turned on. “If we were in the eastern faction, you would’ve had more holes in you than a pegboard by now. In fact, idiots like you would’ve been killed the minute you let me in the gate. Even we’d never let one of the other faction’s members come in so easily. But then again, if you were in my territory, you would’ve never been brought back to headquarters alive.”
In the distance, the muted roar of motors steadily grows louder. And when everyone’s bodies tense and palpable uneasiness strains the air, I figure that the gate’s opening too.
When their gazes and attention turn to the gate behind us, Kaden clucks his tongue softly into my ear.
“Now, I’d say in the next twenty seconds,” he husks breathily, his voice a silky, smooth tone. “Ubo’s going to make a move. When that happens, I need you to kick these boxes away from my feet so I can run away. I won’t hurt anyone else if you do that, Adriana. Okay?” I register the boxes of cupcakes lying next to us, forgotten until now. When I don’t answer, he pinches my neck in his grip. “Okay?”
I nod, and even though my entire body is vibrating, I guess he can tell that I agreed because he loosens his hold and chuckles.
God, all because of these stupid fucking cupcakes.
And just like he said, Ubo launches forward so fast that I almost miss it.
My feet thrash helplessly at the boxes.
The sooner Kaden gets away, even if he takes me, the better. Everyone else needs to fight and survive.
My breath chokes as Kaden squeezes my throat and yanks me along with him as he dives outside the doors.
Just before we should slam into the ground, a loud boom of heat and fire blasts us farther away from the entrance.
My face is studded with gravel, and my muscles ache from crashing onto the driveway. I gasp for breath from the wind getting blown out of me, but my lungs strain when I see the scorched entrance.
From behind me, Kaden is laughing hysterically like someone told him the funniest joke he’s ever heard.
A swarm of people suddenly rush in around us, heading around and into the mansion.
People I’ve never seen before.
I spot a few familiar faces as they come out of the manor, looking disheveled and alert, but I have no idea what happened to everyone else.
Oh, my god.
What did I do?
“Take a good look, Adriana.” Kaden’s unrelenting hand pinches my arm as he yanks me to my feet. “Remember their faces because this is the last time you’ll see them alive.”
I fight to get out of his hold, but when a hard, sharp slap strikes my cheek and throws my head to the side, I falter and stumble.
“Time to run, Adriana,” Kaden says cheerfully as he drags me away from the war breaking out in front of my eyes. “We’re late.”
chapter thirty-seven
The four Cardinals sit equidistant from each other at the square table, and each of their Twelve stands behind them, flanking their faction leader.
The tension is high in the room, although you’d never guess that just from looki
ng around.
Even though it’s before nine — the official starting time — the Cardinals get on with the meeting since why the fuck not?
Business conducts as usual. It’s on a greater scale than what I’m normally used to since the four Cardinals discuss the happenstances occurring all over the continent. Or rather, the world.
Since I’ve been to the northern and eastern factions, I catch on quickly to the state of the organization as a whole.
Especially taking in South’s news and updates down in Mexico and Latin America, it’s easy to see exactly how much of a hold Venti has everywhere. I’m even a little surprised to hear the Cardinals mention their holds and affairs overseas in Eurasia, Oceania, and Africa.
Everywhere.
There’s a small reprieve when a couple of our deviants come in to drop off refreshments and supplies, right on time.
With these couple of minutes to spare, I slip my phone out and glance at it.
No new messages, no emails, no calls. Nothing.
Nothing.
My gut wrenches with panic.
There are no signal bars showing up in the corner of my phone.
Someone’s jamming the signal here.
Shit.
I can’t just whip my gun out. Fuck, there are four fucking Cardinals and seven other members of the Twelve. I might be able to handle one Cardinal or even half of the Twelve already present, but all of them?
It’s a fucking death wish.
As I shove my phone back into my pocket, my mind whirs, contemplating what to do.
Goddammit.
There’s nothing I can do right now without West, even as much as I fucking hate it.
But more importantly, if something’s happening at the mansion, then Adriana might be in trouble, and I’ll put up with him if it means that she’ll be okay.
As North and South sip from the glasses of water placed on the table, I duck down to quietly inform West of what I just discovered.
His expression doesn’t change in the slightest, and he thoughtfully rubs his jowls.
West turns his gaze to East. “Should we be expecting Kaden to make an appearance soon?”
Immediately, everyone’s eyes turn to him, and he simply smirks.
Waving his hand dismissively, East breezes, “Oh, don’t bother with the fanfare and fireworks. I’m sure he’ll simply be happy to see all your faces.”
The minute Giorgio’s body swells with tension and shifts towards East, Luciano swiftly swipes out his gun and shoots him square in the forehead.
The large man crumples to the ground, and North doesn’t blink an eye, keeping hers solidly on the other Cardinal.
Luciano directs his gun at her, and her lips curl disdainfully. “Point that thing somewhere else, boy, if you don’t want to spend the next hour with your limbs knotted and sewn together tighter than a father does to his virgin daughter’s cunt to preserve her chastity.”
The slightest downturn of his exposes his grimace at North’s all–too–vivid threat, and only when East flicks his fingers does Luciano drop his weapon.
“Well, you’ve killed one of mine, so I guess it’s only fair that I kill one of yours,” North says calmly.
Before she even finishes speaking, Phan whips out his gun to shoot weaponless Shiva square in the chest.
She has her deviants so well–trained that they’re attuned to her commands without needing her to finish her sentence.
By now, everyone’s pulled their firearms out, and all of them are pointed at East.
Next to him, Luciano visibly looks uncomfortable, but he hasn’t raised his again.
Jesus. What the fuck is East thinking?
“Why so tense?” he asks with mock–cheer. “Come now. We’ve leveled the playing field. How about we call it even?”
I grit my teeth.
Goddammit, West. Give the fucking call. One trigger pull away, and he’d be down. He might escape briefly, but it’s eight–versus–two. There’s no way he’s leaving here alive.
“Oh, wait, but we do have you two.” East’s gaze locks with mine.
My eyebrows twitch together the tiniest bit when my ears split with a thundering crack.
I turn to see Turan sway, and his huge hand clamps down on the table to steady himself.
He swings his arm to the other side where South is sitting, and two more shots ring in succession, and Turan drops to his knees, struggling to maintain upright before he collapses.
The back of my throat knots.
Fuck.
Without another thought, I shoot South’s remaining man, the other one already in a bloody, motionless heap on the ground.
In the commotion, Luciano arms himself again with a gun in each hand, aimed at both Phan and me.
South doesn’t look perturbed at all as he leans back in his chair.
Shit. Shit, shit, shit. What the fuck is going on?
North sighs with loud exasperation. “Really, Southwick?”
He shrugs. “There’s more to be gained on his side.”
She grunts as she cracks her neck and stands.
And immediately falters, her knees buckling under her.
Phan startles but freezes when she laughs wryly, clutching her chest.
“Poison?” she snarls, whipping the back of her hand on the glass of water and sending it flying towards East. “You coward.”
He smirks. “Seems fitting for a woman.” He watches as she falls back into her chair, sweating and visibly weakening by the second. “Now, now, don’t move so much, North. It’ll only spread the toxins faster.” His menacing smile widens. “And we wouldn’t want that, would we?”
The slightest indication of Phan narrowing his eyes precedes the chaos that follows.
His shot renders North still in an instant, and her body slumps lifelessly onto the wooden surface.
Whipping his gun around, Phan shoots East, who snarls as the bullet lodges itself into his shoulder — his aim deterred by Luciano shooting at him.
Bullets fly through the air momentarily before Luciano tackles Phan to the ground, and they wrestle out of my sight.
As soon as East is out of his chair, West shoves off his, bolting for the injured man at a stunning speed.
Indignation and dismay flood through me when South watches everything unfold, looking bored with the destructive disorder.
His attention sharpens when I shoot, and his perceptive duck is what saves him from sure–fire death two inches from where he’d originally been lounging.
Narrowing his eyes, South dives onto the ground, and no matter how many times I pull the trigger, the bullets lodge into the wooden table that shields him.
I jump on top and dart to the other side, but he’s not there.
Fuck.
I quickly side–step, and in an instant, splinters of wood fly up where I’d just been standing.
Flipping off the table, I see South lying underneath as soon as I land.
He doesn’t hesitate turning his weapon towards me, and I raise mine.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Luciano turning my way and inwardly curse.
Of course, he’d be the one to survive all of this, and pairing him with South is going to be a fucking pain in the ass.
I dodge as South shoots, and the crack echoes through the hall.
When I’m steady on my feet again, Luciano’s already got me in his line of fire.
“Give it up, kid,” he says dryly.
“Shoot, Luc,” I grit. “If you’ve got the balls to.”
“Eh.” He sighs. “Only on a need–to basis.”
Out of everyone in the eastern Twelve, Luciano is the most practical, which is why he’s unfailingly East’s right–hand man and the worst person that could’ve survived.
He lowers his gun. “East doesn’t want you dead yet. But don’t test me ‘cause I’ll kill you if I have to.”
My teeth clench down, especially when South rises to his feet, dusting his clothes off.
; The Cardinal glares at me but addresses Luciano, “If you’ve got a handle on him, I’m leaving. My part’s done.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
And then the worst thing I could’ve imagined happens.
A gunshot rings.
And West falls.
chapter thirty-eight
After throwing me into the passenger seat of a car and cuffing me to the grab handle — his motorcycle left behind — Kaden has been driving for the past ten minutes, swerving and speeding through the streets.
I have no idea where we’re going, and I can’t even ask since he duct–taped my mouth a few minutes after we left the complex, getting annoyed of my desperate screaming and thrashing.
The tiniest bit of hope flickers through all the fear when I see that we’re still deep within familiar area. I recognize the streets, the shops, the park, the schools. It doesn’t look like we’re heading out of town.
“Want to know what’s going to happen to you now?”
My head slams into the window when Kaden makes a sharp turn, and he laughs.
I’m starting to really hate the sound of his voice.
I growl through the tape, and he smirks when he glances at me. “Don’t worry. You’re not going to die anytime soon.” He pauses. “Maybe you should worry. Because you’re not going to die anytime soon.” He chuckles.
I jerk in my seat when his hand slides up my thigh, toying with the hem of my dress. My skin prickles with goosebumps.
“I can’t wait to scar every inch of this beautifully smooth skin.” His nails dig into the soft flesh hard enough to sting and leave white streaks. “Reds and blues and purples. You won’t even have time to let it go yellow and green. It’ll be a pretty sight. Kind of like a rainbow.”
I try to squirm away from his touch, but when I do, Kaden takes another sharp turn, and my hands scramble to tighten around the handle so I don’t crash into anything.
“Maybe I’ll even add some clean white to the mix when I break each of your bones. Makes it nice and easy to keep you still. I won’t need any chains or ropes. Not to tie you down anyway.”
I lift my leg to try and kick him away. God, I wish my hands were free.
His hand wraps around my ankle and pulls hard so I slide across the seat. My muffled yelp turns into a cry when I can’t keep my balance, and the metal cuffs dig into my wrists.
