I felt her nod her head against me. She was quiet and I opened one eye to peek at her. “What are you thinking?”
She didn’t answer for a while, her mind elsewhere as she ran the whole of her hand over my foot, her eyes watching as she spread the white lather over my skin.
“Were you with her?” Her quiet voice banged loudly on the ice that had formed around my soul. She felt me stiffen but she didn’t apologise for her question.
“Yes.” My own voice was quiet as hers had been but the ear-splitting roar of my heart beat was deafening. “Yes,” I repeated with a whisper.
She nodded slightly. “Was she in pain?”
“No.”
She paused then lowered my foot back into the water. “No?” I shook my head, knowing she would feel it. “But…”
“I helped her.” I closed my eyes, praying for her to understand. “Have you ever danced with the devil, Connie?”
She scoffed and inhaled heavily. “Many times.”
I nodded, not doubting it for a second. “I would dance with him again and again to make sure Mae went without a murmur of pain. I need you to understand that I know I’m not a good man, in fact I’m so far from good I know I will never meet Mae again, not in the next life anyway. But even if I had been a fucking angel, I will never regret… never regret killing your sister. I would sacrifice the promise of absolution to give her peace.”
She took my hand and ran her fingers over mine, her touch faint and slow. “Thank you.”
I blinked at her gratitude. I hadn’t expected it, I had been anticipating her wrath but I smiled at her understanding. “She deserved so much more from life. But you know, she never once gave up. She fought with so much spirit that I was in awe of her. Even in the darkest times, her smile lit me up. I was so cruel yet she still smiled, she still reached out and touched me. She still looked at me and saw something that no one, not even myself, had seen.” I sighed. “I don’t know, they say the closer to death you are, the more you see. Maybe she saw what was to come for me after this life and her pity gave her the need to comfort. Whatever it was, I will never understand how she found me beneath all the aggression.”
I watched her as she slipped around in the water to face me. A tear slid down her cheek and dropped off her chin onto her breast. Her sad eyes held me as she straddled my thighs and placed her palms over my cheeks. We remained still, looking at each other, saying so many things without words.
I shivered when she leaned forward and placed her mouth so gently over mine. Her lips were warm and soft, her tears tasting of salt on my tongue when she sobbed into me. I slid my hands around her back, holding her to me, giving her support as I kissed her back. Her gaze bore into me as her fingers journeyed up my face until she sank them into my hair and lowered herself onto my erection, her body tensing as I sank deeper inside her, the tight grip of her arching my back in pleasure.
Her lips parted as she moaned into me. I caught her bottom lip between my teeth, gently seizing hold of her as she started to move on me, her breasts squashed against my chest, her thighs clamped against mine and her pelvis rubbing tightly against mine.
She rocked on me so slowly the water didn’t even ripple. Her hot breaths into my mouth brought on my own soft groans, her piercing blue eyes talking to me as she moved above me.
I pushed my hands through her wet hair, cupping the back of her head to pull her against me. I kissed her then, kissed her until we couldn’t breathe, our eyes still locked on one another’s. I kissed her until her sobs subsided and her heavy breaths began to be vocal. I kissed her until she pressed down hard against me and came with a short, sharp gasp, her body trembling over mine as I spewed my own release into her.
Her choked sobs caused my chest to throb as she dropped her forehead to my shoulder and cried. She cried for Mae, she cried for her. She sobbed for what her life was, and maybe even what mine was. She wept for her past and what the future held. But I held her to me and took it from her. I soaked it up, dragging her desolation from her as she clung to me and allowed me to see the real Connie; not the Phantom, not the assassin, not even Mae’s sister, but Connie Swift, the lost girl who had been buried under all the hatred and regret.
HER SMILE WHEN I parked the car beside the van in the old abandoned picnic site half a mile from Daniel’s old home lifted my spirits. “Fuck, I missed you.” I laughed when she grumbled at me as I hugged her and spun her round.
“Likewise, my friend,” she whispered into my ear as I placed her feet back on the ground. Bullet was tiny. At four foot, eleven she was the smallest of the Phantoms, but her amazing shooting skills made up for her lack of physical power, although her ninja skills helped her along when she didn’t have her gun with her.
“Panther, get your arse over here.” I watched him roll his eyes in the back of the van before he smiled and jumped down, walking over to me and enveloping me in his strong hold.
“Looking good, girl.” He winked as he held me at arm’s length and studied me. Since the day he had witnessed my baby leave my body, Panther had taken on the role as big brother in my life. I knew he would protect me and Annie with his life, and my respect for his compassion as well as his ability to attack swiftly and stealthily, hence his name, had been the reason we had worked together ever since. “It’s been too long,” he said as he gestured for me to follow him into the back of the van. He turned to Daniel and narrowed his eyes. Panther was very protective and I could taste his hatred for Daniel. “I’m surprised you’ve kept him around as long as you have.”
I warned him off with a glare. He shrugged his shoulders and sighed before he curled his lip at Daniel. “You better come see this too.”
Daniel frowned then climbed into the van with us, his eyes widening at the equipment kitting out what appeared to be a normal van on the outside.
I frowned when Panther tapped one of the four screens, each displaying various angles in and around the house.
“Who is it?” I asked, bending towards the screen to study the extra body showing. Panther and Bullet had arrived early and set up the equipment that gave us an insight to people in and around the house. The technology we had acquired from the Chinese, for a hefty price, had been worth every damn penny.
“I’m not sure,” he said as he tapped his fingers on the keyboard, zooming the camera in further. It only allowed us to see silhouettes not actual images, more like thermal imaging but instead of red blurry figures in a vast of blackness, we saw everything from the layout of the house, the furniture around the house, to the outline of people and more importantly, weapons.
A small figure, definitely Annie, sat on the floor in the lounge playing with what I presumed to be two dolls. Helen was stood talking to a tall man in the kitchen. There were four more men outside, patrolling the grounds, as well as three more positioned around the house.
“Can you take the external ones?” I asked Bullet as I turned to her.
“Yep, no problem,” she confirmed as she started to check and load her rifle.
“I gather you want the two main ones, so I’ll take the interior guards,” Panther said as he pulled various knives from a briefcase and sited them in different places about him.
“Okay.” I nodded to them both as we each plugged our earpieces in, adjusting the tiny mic in front of our mouths and confirmed the plan.
“And me?” Daniel asked.
I frowned and turned to him. “You?”
“Where do you want me?”
“Here,” I ordered.
He narrowed his eyes and stared at me with incredulity. “What? No, I’m in there with you.”
“Uh-uh. You stay here. I will bring Annie to you.”
“No, I’m coming with you.”
Bullet and Panther eyed us then climbed from the van, giving us a moment when they sensed my anger.
“You will do as I say,” I spat. “You will stay here and wait. This is Annie I’m going in for, not some random target I have no regards for.”
“Yes! This is my daughter, and if you think I am going to sit back and put her life in yours and their hands then think again.”
I pulled in a fortifying breath and rolled my head around my shoulders, recoating my dry teeth with my tongue. He groaned when I swiftly straddled him where he sat in a chair, my feet wrapping around his ankles and securing his feet as my thighs pinned his arms by his side.
I pressed the heel of my hand into the dip of his throat, instantly restricting his air supply. “If you think I am allowing you to go in there and snatch Annie from under me whilst my friends and I do the dirty job, then you can think again.” He gasped and struggled beneath me but even with his strength he was no match for my fury. “I will not allow them to kill you, Daniel.” His eyes showed his confusion but I smiled coldly. “I told you at the beginning, your heart beat is mine. I will be the one to witness its final throb. I will be the one that will force your soul into hell, no one else.” I leaned further into him. “A Phantom never goes back on a contract. If you think the sex between us changes anything then you are mistaken. You are my original target, and you will be my final one.”
He blinked and coughed when I released him. “Your final one?”
I considered him for a moment before I moved off him and picked up the weapons Panther and Bullet had brought for me.
“After you, I’m retiring.”
“Why?” He eyed me sceptically.
“Because I have another job to do.” I turned my back on him and jumped out of the van. “I’ll be bringing up your daughter after your death.”
I dropped down over the metal fence, making sure to land on the balls of my feet for a more silent approach. I never took my eyes off him as I crouched and moved along the perimeter. Just as I was about to pull my knife out he dropped down to the ground, his body hitting with a heavy thud. I chuckled when his friend on the opposite corner did the same.
“Bloody hell, Bullet.” I laughed quietly into my mic. “Gimme a chance.”
“Well, look who’s late for the party,” she retorted humorously. “First come, first served, loser.”
“Well I had to fix my lippy first, you know how it goes for us pretty ones.”
“Fuck you! Why do you think Isaac named you Shadow? It wasn’t because you shadow his heart as he so sickeningly keeps saying, it’s because you belong in the shadows, my friend, with all the ugly nutters. Of course you had to slap more slap on. After all, your doe-eyed boyfriend wants you at your hottest.”
“What the fuck?” I moved further around the house, my eyes alert and sharp as I pushed my glasses up my nose. I hated wearing the things but I couldn’t see further than ten metres without them. Panther had smirked at me when I curled my lip at them before grumbling something profane under my breath.
“Oh, don’t what the fuck me,” she said as I moved into position at the back of the house, my eyes flicking to every dark corner. “I saw the way he looked at you. He’s smitten.”
“Bullet. He is not smitten. We fucked, that’s it.”
“Uh-uh. You are going to break his heart.” I rolled my eyes at her humour but couldn’t help the lift of a smile when she started to sing Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust in my ear.
“Will you two girlies shut the fuck up!” Panther barked at us, his loud growl in my ear deafening.
Bullet started laughing. “Aww, Panth, has Shadow stolen your man lollipop?”
My eyes widened as Panther huffed. “Go suck Shadow’s pussy, Bullet. We all know you have the hots for her. After all, there has to be a reason you don’t bang any men at the Phantom parties.”
I tensed, sucking on my lips at the banter that had turned into something personal. “Come on, guys. Let’s play nice.” I cringed when only Panther acknowledged me. “Bullet?”
“Bullet?” Panther blasted my earpiece when silence greeted us. “Bullet!”
“I’m here,” she replied. “Sorry, mic’s playing up.”
My heart hurt for my friend. Only I was aware of her feelings for Panther. He was oblivious, almost mocking her unintentionally every time he brought another slut back to his room, his nightly sessions loud and energetic. It didn’t help that Bullet’s room was next to his. Many nights she’d climbed into my bed with me, her frantic sobs over Panther’s latest fuck breaking my heart.
“We need to concentrate,” Bullet said stiffly.
“You, concentrate?” Panther laughed. “I didn’t think you were capable! They don’t call blondes airheads for nothing.”
“Oh, shut the fuck up you self-righteous, poncy twat!” Bullet hissed. I cringed and sighed.
“What the fuck climbed up your arse?”
“Well, it wasn’t you unfortunately!” I snapped then stopped dead when I realised what I had said. I squeezed my eyes closed, cursing my inability to filter what came out.
Silence descended. Utter silence. Shit!
“What did you say?” Panther asked eventually.
“Uhh….”
“Shadow?” Panther asked again. I gritted my teeth and prayed.
“You know what?” I hissed into the mic as I ran up to the patio doors. “I need two Phantoms that can fucking get on. Panther, when are you going see past the end of your fucking nose?” I slid the device into the lock and waited for the green light to flash before clicking open the door. “And Bullet, firm tits and seduction are female traits we were given to use, so fucking use them for once!”
Her gasp met with Panther’s silence. I rolled my eyes and quietly closed the door behind me. “Right I’m in.” I eyed the room, registering the furniture layout. “And if I make it out of here alive, I want you both rocking the back of that van so hard that the earth moves for me too.” I moved through the room towards the other door. “Got that?”
A grin twisted my mouth when Panther replied. “Yes, Ma’am. It would be a pleasure.” When Bullet didn’t answer, I smirked, imagining her passed out with her sniper rifle in her hands.
“Good boy. Now where are you?”
“Front of house. All clear.”
“You’ve cleared already?”
“Yep. It’s all yours. I’m off to find Bullet.”
I chuckled at his eagerness. “Have fun.”
“Oh, I intend to. I’ve been waiting to fuck the bitch for years.” I laughed harder when Bullet’s gasp echoed in my ear.
I loved my friends. They made me happy. And when their giggles resonated in my ear ten minutes later, I unclipped my earpiece and walked into hell… and my past.
“Hello, Connie,” he said softly.
My heart felt like it was going to rip from my chest and slap on the floor at my feet. I couldn’t seem to comprehend anything, my mind chaotic and my brain numb, the clash making me faint and breathless. My head shook from side to side, my eyes blinking rapidly as though he was just an apparition that would vanish when my brain caught up with my eyes.
My hand came to my mouth, my palm pressing against my lips in an attempt to stop the vomit from exploding everywhere.
I was so shocked that I allowed my hands to be locked behind me in cuffs, my body hauled across the room and tossed into a chair as my stare refused me to recognise anything else happening around me.
Franco tied my ankles to the chair as my eyes tied me to the past.
“How could I have missed this?” My voice was quiet but I knew he heard me.
He shrugged as he walked towards me. I looked up at him as he bent towards me and tenderly placed a kiss on my cheek. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as his hand stroked over my hair. “You’ve done me and your mother proud.”
It didn’t make sense. None of it made sense. How was he alive? Here? Alive? I blinked numerous times, expecting him to fade out as reality sunk in, but the more my eyes focussed, the clearer he became.
As my brain caught up with my vision, I closed my eyes, everything becoming clear. “You!” I looked up at him with sadness. “You set it up. You arranged Mae’s kidnapping. Not Franco.” He
stared at me, allowing me to finally see. “You finally got what you wanted.”
He pulled in a breath and dragged out a chair from the table, placing it in front of me. “You always were the stupid one.” He shook his head with mock laughter. “I knew when you found out and the Phantoms took you that you would one day be strong enough to take me on. Fair play to you, my dear, your plan nearly worked.” He leaned forwards, placing his elbows on his knees. “Well, it would have done if your mother wasn’t having an affair.”
I gulped back the bile. “She wasn’t supposed to have taken your car that night. Why, why did she?”
I wanted answers to what had gone wrong that night, and finally before I died, I was going to get them.
SHE SHOULD HAVE been out by now. Something was wrong. Panther was blasting his mic, shouting her, calling her. Bullet was pacing, the air around her shimmering with the heated anger she spewed out.
“Shit,” I heard Panther hiss out.
Bullet and I jumped into the van. My world rocked beneath me, my heart stuttering when I stared at the screen. A woman’s silhouette sat in a chair. Two men were in the room with her. Another woman I presumed to be Helen was sitting in the lounge with Annie, playing on the floor.
Panther hit a red button on the console with the palm of his hand then grabbed Bullet’s wrist when she picked up her sniper rifle. “That’s not gonna work, you can’t get a clear aim from here. We need to go in.”
I stared wide-eyed when he passed her two shotguns. Walking over to me, he shoved two guns with suppressors attached into my hands. “You ever shot someone, Daniel?”
“Yep.” I nodded, checking the ammo slot and getting a feel for each piece.
“Bullet!” Panther shouted as Bullet jumped out of the van and took off at speed towards the house. He caught up with her, tackling her to the ground. “Drag it in!” he growled as she grappled with him. “You know better than this. Calm down or you’ll get her killed.” She stared up at him, both fury and despair on her face. He tipped his head and cupped her cheek, his eyes slowly tracing every contour on her face. “I won’t survive your death, never mind Shadow’s.” Her eyes widened on him, her lips parting as she sucked in a breath. “I’ve loved you for years, Elle, since the moment Frederik brought you back. Every single woman I have ever fucked was you, every face beneath me was yours. I hated you because I thought you were in love with Shadow. I thought you were fucking gay! I wanted you so damn much, with every single breath I took. You taunted me, made my cock so hard I was constantly in pain. But not just there, here,” he snarled as he grabbed her hand and slapped it against his chest. “And now, now I finally understand and get what I have waited so fucking long for, you’re hell bent on killing yourself. Don’t make me lose my shit right now.”
The Salvation of Daniel (The Blue Butterfly Book 2) Page 15
