by Maddie Wade
Pulling up a chair, he sat across from the man who had hurt so many of the people he loved, flipping a K-bar in his hand negligently as he did. First Roz, when they were young. The damage he had done to his sister burned Zin to his soul. Then his mother when he found them in the UK, and finally his beautiful, perfect Pixie.
Her face swam in front of his eyes, and he quickly pushed it away. He couldn’t do what was needed with her face in his head, so he thought of all the pain this man had caused instead.
A groan made him lift his head, and he saw the Surgeon was awake.
Showtime!
Crossing to stand in front of his target, Zin surveyed his empty canvas. He had no illusion that he would break easily, in fact, he prayed he didn’t. He had waited a long time to make this prick pay and sick bastard that he was, he was going to enjoy it. “Wake-up, Denisovich,” Zin said as he slapped the man around the face.
“Sosat' moy chlen,” he spat, and Zin punched him in the ribs, making him groan.
“Watch your mouth you piece of shit.” The Surgeon was being cocky, telling Zin to suck his dick, but Zin knew that would soon change.
A tyranny of abuse in Russian came out of the man’s mouth, so Zin hit him again. His plan was to start small and see what he could get from him. “Where are Smithy and Lizzie?” he asked as he circled the man he hated more than anything.
“Eat my cock,” The Surgeon spat back, full of bravado.
Oh, that would change, they all started like this, tough arrogant, but when the pain and fear started affecting them, they soon broke. “Wrong answer,” he said with a deadly calm and stabbed the K-bar into the Surgeons thigh, being careful to avoid an artery. A scream pierced the air before the man started to laugh.
“You do what you want, I won’t tell you a fucking thing!”
Zin nodded, calmly at his words. “We will see,” Zin replied and knew this could take some time, but he would get what he needed one way or another and give another piece of himself over to the darkness that was consuming his soul. “Settle in motherfucker, I’m gonna enjoy this,” Zin said a cold and deadly smile curved his face that was all Viper.
~~~
Pacing the kitchen, Celeste tried to take her mind off Zin, but nothing was working. Sitting at the huge oak table, she rested her head in her hands and tried not to let the tears that threatened spill over.
She knew he was strong and that he was good at what he did, but nobody seemed to realise that it was killing him, nobody but her. The snatches she had seen from his fleeting memories painted a picture of a sweet child, who had been moulded into the cold, efficient killer that he now was.
But as with everything, it had a price and that price was his self-worth and the self-hatred that he lived with every day. He tried to hide from her, but she saw it, and it broke her heart. What would happen to him if she died? Would he blame himself as she suspected? Would he let the darkness completely take him and turn him into the very thing he feared?
She couldn’t allow that to happen, she had to find a way out of this, but how? Celeste was so engrossed in her despairing thoughts she didn’t hear Lauren come in.
“Hey.”
“Oh, hi. How are the babies?” Celeste asked with a genuine need to know.
A big smile tipped Lauren’s lips. A look of pure unadulterated love crossed her face. “They’re perfect,” she said as she came to sit opposite her. “I’m just grabbing Dane and I some food and coffee, nine until midnight seems to be playtime as far as they are concerned. I need to get their days and nights switched up,” she laughed.
“Wow, I bet that’s tiring?” Celeste said.
“It is. But I wouldn’t change it for anything, and Dane is besotted. He’s up there now with them both, reading them the ‘Guess How Much I Love You’ books by Sam McBratney. I told him that they can’t understand, but he insists they like it and he may be right. Leah is a right daddies’ girl already.”
“It’s hard to imagine the in-control Dane Bennett reading kid’s books,” Celeste said and then blushed. “Not that I mean he would be bad…” She trailed off.
“I know what you mean,” Lauren laughed, “but he is a pussycat really. Enough about us. How are you?”
Celeste wondered how best to answer that and decided on honesty. “I’m okay. Worried, scared, happy, in love. A bit of everything really.”
Lauren nodded her face turning thoughtful. “Do you mind if I try something?” she asked hesitantly.
Celeste tilted her head but agreed readily. “Of course, go ahead.”
Lauren moved around the table and came to sit beside Celeste. She reached out gently and took her hands. “I’m going to run my hands over the back of your neck, you will feel some warmth but no pain.”
“Okay,” Celeste nodded, and Lauren ran her fingertips over the back of her neck where the chip was. Heat radiated from along her neck and down into her shoulders, but it wasn’t painful and felt comforting.
“I can feel it,” Lauren said. “The virus that is, but it doesn’t feel threatening to me. As you know, I can’t heal things like viruses and diseases, just injuries. I would like to try something though if you’ll let me.”
“Will it be dangerous for you?”
“No,” she said and shook her head in the negative.
“Okay,” Celeste replied completely absorbed by the calm that Lauren was emitting.
Gliding her hands back up onto Celeste’s neck she cupped her nape and immediately heat engulfed the area, more heat than before and then she felt a pulling feeling at the back of her neck. The intensity swamped her whole body and the heat almost burned. Then Lauren let go and started to cough.
Immediately Celeste grabbed her hands. “Are you alright? What did you do?”
Lauren coughed a little more and then stopped. “Yes, I’m fine, I just took a small amount of the virus into my body to see if I could, and it worked.”
Celeste jumped from the table in shock and started to pace. “Why did you do that? It could hurt you,” she whispered horrified.
“But it didn’t, I can already feel it dispersing. In fact, I feel great, strong.”
Celeste rounded on her. “But what if it hadn’t? You could have hurt yourself and then what would have happened?”
Lauren stood and came towards her, grabbing her arms in a tight grip. “Don’t you see, I had to try. I have a gift that might help. What would you have done?”
Celeste knew she would do the same, but Lauren was a mother now and had people depending on her. “I would have done the same, but I haven’t got anyone depending on me,” she whispered.
“Oh hunny, you do. Kanan adores you, and Zin treats you like you’re the air he needs to breathe.”
Tears pricked Celeste’s eyes. “He does?”
Lauren nodded. “He does, and now we have more options. If I can take the virus from you, then some of the threat is gone. Will can do the rest, I’m sure of it.”
“What did you do?” Dane growled from the doorway.
Both women turned to look. The sight that met them was a vision that would make women’s hearts melt. Standing in the doorway with two tiny babies in the crook of each arm, chest bare, faded jeans hung low on his trim hips, hair tousled, and a growl on his sexy face was Dane.
“Hey hunny,” Lauren said as she crossed to him and raised herself up to kiss him. His face softened for a second and then his frown came back.
“Don’t try and butter me up. Tell me what you did.”
“Now don’t go getting all grumpy,” she said as she took their son Aaron from his father and cradled him in her arms.
Dane walked to the table and sat, hitching his baby daughter over his shoulder and patting her back gently. Celeste didn’t think she had ever seen anything sweeter.
“I just wanted to try something with Celeste, and before you pitch a fit, it worked, and I’m fine.”
“Tell me!” he demanded, and Celeste moved around the other side of the table from them. She fe
lt bad suddenly for letting Lauren try.
“I just took some of the virus from the chip, to see if I could, and I could.”
“Are you out of your god damned mind women?” he asked.
Lauren rose and glared at him. “Don’t start, Dane. And don’t start making Celeste feel bad,” she shot at him.
Dane looked at her and Celeste gave him an apologetic smile. “I am not making her feel bad on purpose. I’m only asking,” he said through clenched teeth.
Lauren went to him then, and he looped his spare arm around his woman’s hips, pulling her close.
She stroked his face, with the back of her hand and his eyes closed. “I had to try,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said, and Celeste felt like she was intruding but had no way of escape. “I can’t lose you, Lauren,” he continued and dropped his head to her tummy.
“You won’t ever lose me, Dane. It worked. I could take the virus and disperse it harmlessly. In fact, I feel stronger.”
Dane looked at Celeste then and smiled. “She isn’t gonna let this go, you know.” Celeste returned his smile. “We need to call the others together, this could be big,” he said, and Lauren’s smile was beaming.
“Does this mean you’re going to let me help Celeste out?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her then. “Can I stop you?” he asked.
“No, not really.”
“Well then, let’s get a meeting sorted for the morning. Then I can at least have some input,” he said as he stood. “Now, can we please get some food? I’m starving,” he grinned and kissed his wife.
“Do you want a sandwich?” Dane asked Celeste as he passed Leah to Lauren. “I make a mean BLT,” he said and came to Celeste dropping an arm around her shoulders in a brotherly fashion.
Celeste felt acceptance flood her and the despair she felt earlier eased. “I’d love a BLT,” she smiled.
Chapter Sixteen
24 hours later
“You had enough motherfucker? You gonna tell me where they are?” Zin asked as the Surgeon groaned and whispered something, as saliva and blood oozed from his mouth. “What’s that?”
"Stadium.” He laughed then, and Zin stood and hauled him to his feet,
“Not enough,” he said waking to the table and grabbing the jump leads and a car battery. Did he mean the Olympic Stadium?
“You know, this could have been so different,” Dorokhin Denisovich said.
“Yeah? How’s that asshole?” Zin spat as he hooked up the battery and attached the jump leads to his scrotum. The Surgeon tried to move away, and fear shadowed his face.
“If you had not been such a pussy, mummies boy and listened to your father, you could have had it all.”
Zin ground his teeth and tried to ignore the other man. Dorokhin Denisovich had always hero-worshipped Zin’s father. His own father had been the one to inflict the damage to Dorokhin’s face when he had set a fire for his then wife who had been cheating on him. Dorokhin had been in the house and had been lucky to survive. The burns to his body and face were extensive and had only made him meaner if that was possible.
“Tell me where they are?” Zin said with an exterior calm that he did not feel.
“They are as good as dead,” Dorokhin spat.
With calm brutality, Zin connected the car battery and watched as the electricity lit up his enemy, making him scream in agony. He felt nothing but impatience that it was taking so long. “Tell me where they are?” he asked again.
“Okay, okay, I will tell you. They are keeping them in a small flat outside the main city. It’s about fifty-five kilometres south of Sofia,” he panted.
“And?”
“That’s all I know.”
Zin shook his head and turned to re-attach the battery.
“No, please!” he begged.
“Tell me!” Zin roared.
“It’s a town called Somakov. That’s all I know, I promise. Winslow is suspicious of everyone now, thanks to you.” He hissed, and Zin saw the hatred in his eyes. He went silent then, his head hung in defeat.
Walking to the corner, Zin took out his phone and called Lucy. She picked on the first ring. Without preamble, he spoke. “Tell Eidolon to concentrate on the ton of Somakov, it’s about fifty-five kilometres south of Sofia. Also, watch the stadium for signs of Smithy and Lizzie.”
“Roger that!” Lucy replied and hung up.
Zin walked back towards the man he had spent a lifetime hating. He looked so pathetic now. His thoughts turned to his Pixie for the first time, and he wondered what she would think of him now. His instinct told him to kill the Surgeon, and he wondered what Celeste would think of that. Would she condemn him for cold-blooded murder, or would she understand? He honestly didn’t know.
Zin slit the zip ties free from around the Surgeon’s hands and gave him some water. “Here.” He shoved a bottle of water at him. Dorokhin sat there in stunned silence for a second. Zin wondered if he could be redeemed.
“He was a good man you know!” the Surgeon said, and Zin’s shoulders tensed.
“He was a monster who sold his daughter to paedophiles,” Zin retorted and felt his calm slipping as he swivelled to face the man on the ground.
“She was magnificent.” The Surgeon grinned through split bloody lips before continuing, “She screamed as I fucked her in every hole she has, and she loved it.”
Zin felt like his head would explode as the man talked about raping his sister repeatedly. His vision clouded, and a red mist descended.
“I bet that little Bourdain bitch is a screamer, isn’t she? Don’t answer that. I’ll find out soon enough. I’ll fuck her bloody before we blow her into a million tiny pieces,” he laughed maniacally.
He didn’t know how he got there, but Zin found himself straddling the Surgeon as he ploughed his fist into his face until he was dripping with blood and breathing hard. He felt bone crack under his fists and brain matter splatter as he beat the man who had hurt so many people he loved, to death. He looked down as he started to come out of his trance and shame engulfed him as he slid off the now dead man and lay on the floor, catching his breath.
Standing slowly, he looked down at his hands, covered in blood and then at the bloody pulp that no longer resembled a man and wondered how he would ever be able to touch his Pixie with those hands without tainting her with his evil.
Chapter Seventeen
“I don’t like it,” Celeste said quietly. “Dane has a point. What if the side-effects don’t show yet?” The entire team were sitting in the conference room at Fortis. Zack had called a meeting as soon as Dane had told him what had happened with Lauren.
“You don’t understand,” said Lauren, who was nursing her son on the sofa in the corner. “I would feel it if there was any residual virus. I can’t explain it. I’ve never been able to heal illnesses or disease, but I can feel them. With this one, I could pull it through and disperse it, which isn’t the same.”
Celeste hated this feeling, she felt responsible for having everyone at odds. She wished Zin were here. Just to feel him close, the touch of his hand, the brush of his leg against hers as he sat close. Even his scent made her feel calmer and more controlled.
She hadn’t slept a wink the night before wondering if he was okay. Every sound had made her hold her breath wondering if it was him. After what had happened with Lauren she had wanted to talk to him and find out what he thought if he thought it was a risk worth taking for Lauren.
“I’ve cloned the chip easily enough. In fact, it was beautifully simple in design, but not like anything I’ve seen before,” Will said.
“Can you disable it?” Jace asked.
Will nodded confidently. “Yes, I can. If that’s what Celeste wants, I can do it now,” he said looking at Celeste. Everyone looked at her and her face heated at the scrutiny. Ringing her hands, she stood and started to pace. Swivelling she faced everyone. “Of course, I want this damn chip turned off. I don’t want to die. I love my life. Perhaps for the f
irst time ever, I feel accepted. But I won’t do it if it will put Lizzie or the babies at risk.” She looked at Dane, who had his arm around Lauren and the babies. He looked up and caught her gaze, emotion flooding his face. Celeste knew then that she was making the right decision.
Looking around she saw that everyone had someone in the room. She knew she had Zin and Kanan, but she was new to them both, and they would get over it if something happened to her. Dane would not recover if he lost his sister and his babies.
“No. I don’t accept that anyone is more important than anyone else in this scenario,” Daniel said from his place leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He stood upright and came towards her, standing beside her. “I love Lizzie like a sister, and those babies are my godchildren. Dane knows I would lay down my life for any one of them, but you are important to us too.”
“Agreed,” said Zack and Jace together.
“I agree as well,” Dane said. “So, if you want to try removing the virus a tiny bit at a time and in a controlled environment then I won’t stand in your way.” He turned to Lauren and dropped a kiss on her head.
Celeste could feel tears prick her eyes and without thought crossed to Dane and put her arms around him, in a tight but brief hug. What she saw in his thoughts, was fear, but also respect and a love for Lauren so deep she thought she may drown in it. He was a good man, and he cared about people deeply.
“Thank you,” she said gruffly, her voice thick with tears.
“Okay, that is settled. Lauren and Celeste can start tomorrow, here at Fortis,” Zack commanded. “Will, how long will it take to disable the chip?”
“Thirty seconds,” he replied with a shrug.
“Okay, so when we locate Lizzie and Smithy we can have Celeste free quickly.”
Will played with his tongue ring as he nodded, and she thought that in any other circumstances he would be exactly her type. Tattoos from neck to feet, tongue ring, lip ring, dark hair, and sexy come-to-bed eyes. Yet even as she thought it, he morphed into Zin. All she could see was a tall, muscular body, short blonde hair with ice blue eyes, scruff on his sexy face, and an air about him that screamed sex.
