Arielle Immortal Struggle (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 7)

by Lilian Roberts

  “That’ll be all. Go back to work,” Nikola barked without looking up, dismissing Georgiana. His voice was harsh.

  Georgiana gaped at Nikola’s words, shocked by the tone of his voice, but he completely ignored her presence. She couldn’t mask her embarrassment and she bit back her anger. After a long moment, her gaze moved away from Nikola and settled on Rainer’s face. His eyes were a burning green, penetrating. Georgiana shivered and took another step closer.

  Sebastian moved his hand and the door sung shut behind him with a loud bang.

  Chapter 19

  RAINER’S INTENT GAZE moved away from her face and focused somewhere past her shoulder. Georgiana watched his strong jaw drop, his face paling and his expression darkening. She followed his eyes, turning around slowly, and immediately regretted it. She let out a muffled scream and her eyes went wide. What in the world? She shut them tightly, willing herself to believe that the stunningly beautiful man standing in front of her was nothing more than an illusion. For a long moment, she merely stood unmoved. She then forced her eyelids open and fell into the icy gaze of Sebastian’s mossy eyes. His expression was hard and angry emotions were flashing through those eyes. Her mouth felt dry like the desert and she found it hard to breathe.

  Rainer took a sharp breath, but he said nothing. His focus was intent on Sebastian’s face. He knew who he was from his photos and he had a gut feeling this was not going to be good. He had not shared those photos with Nikola, because Nikola had only asked to see a photo of Arielle.

  “Well! What are you waiting for?” Nikola shouted. He glanced up and blinked. His eyes widened beneath his furrowed brows. His gaze fell on Sebastian, and he gasped, completely shocked. He regarded him in silence for a long moment and recovered quickly. “Who the devil are you?” he shrieked. “How in the hell did you get in here?”

  At the sound of his words, Larue and Hahn’s heads shot up simultaneously. At the sight of Sebastian, they both leaped to their feet. They knew exactly who Sebastian was. They exchanged quick glances, and their gaze glided toward Rainer’s direction. Utter confusion was spread across their faces, but Rainer chose to ignore them.

  Sebastian shot them an icy look just before he moved farther into the room. His attention was focused on Nikola’s arrogant face. He could read the surprise and the confusion in Nikola’s mind, but strangely, there was no fear. He had no clue as to who Sebastian was or why he was there. But clearly, he was not there for a friendly visit. Sebastian sensed movement to his right, and his eyes quickly flew over Larue and Hahn. They had taken a step toward Sebastian, but Rainer’s hand was extended in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. Sebastian could practically feel the anxiety pumping off them in huge waves. He resisted the temptation to deal with them right off. He was going to kill them soon enough. They heaved a dry gasp and broke their stare, as if they could read Sebastian’s thoughts.

  Sebastian’s gaze lingered over them for a moment and then fell on Rainer’s face. He was pale, but there was a strange tranquility that emanated from him. It was more like relief. Sebastian eyebrows shot up as he read Rainer’s thoughts, now pouring out of him like lava from a volcano. Rainer was waiting for the day that he could finally put an end to his horrible life of crime and corruption. And he had a strong gut feeling that this was going to be the day of reckoning. He was only worried about Georgiana as he raked a hand through his hair.

  Georgiana gazed numbly at Sebastian, paralyzed from fear. Stony silence hung heavily in the room, the air full of the smell of cigar smoke. Everyone seemed to be lost for words.

  Suddenly Nikola’s voice bounced off the walls like a boomerang, snapping everyone from their deep thoughts, “Who the devil are you?”

  Sebastian’s face creased, and his gazed settled on Nikola. Fury flashed in his eyes; he seethed with rage. He stalked across the room to stand only a few feet in front of him. His lips curved slightly. “I’m Sebastian Gaulle.” His voice was calm but icy cold.

  Nikola’s mouth dropped opened, and he paled. His eyes grew wide, and disbelief spread across his face. He recovered quickly and coughed aloud, trying to clear his throat. He crossed his arms over his chest arrogantly and leveled his gaze on Sebastian. “Well? What do you want? Did you come to surrender the documents in person?” he asked with a deep chuckle.

  Sebastian quickly glanced at his watch. It was now four-ten, and he had to move and finish the job. The realization that he was finally here, ready to end this miserable game, had amusement trickling through his veins, drowning the heave of fury. He suppressed his irritation, stoked his chin nonchalantly, and smiled. “No, that’s not the reason I’m here.”

  Nikola uncrossed his arms and cocked his head to the side. “I’m close to losing my patience,” he hissed. “What in the hell do you want? Speak quickly as your time here is limited.”

  Sebastian’s smile widened. He had not missed Nikola’s move earlier. He had pressed a button at the side of his desk. He knew that security was on the way up. “I’m here to kill you,” he replied calmly.

  Nikola’s eyes shot up in disbelief. “You and who else?” he said, glancing around the room for more assailants. A roar of laughter left him and he slapped the desk with his fist several times. “That is the funniest thing I’ve heard today.” He stopped laughing just as fast as he started. The tone of his voice turned arrogant. “You really are delusional if you think you can walk into my office, one man alone, and threaten me.”

  Fury coiled in Sebastian’s stomach. Before he could reply, the door burst open behind him, and three guards poured into the room.

  “It’s about time you got here!” Nikola shouted, his eyes darting to the door. He strode around his desk. “Take this fool out of my office,” he roared, pointing with his finger at Sebastian dismissively. His lips curled in a smirk. “Take care of him,” he added. The undertone in his voice made everyone in the room but Sebastian recoiled. They knew how Nikola took care of business.

  “Let’s go,” a voice called from behind Sebastian and a hand clamped around his upper arm.

  Sebastian turned slowly to face the guards. His eyes moved slowly over the guard’s hand on his arm and flitted upward to scan the hostile faces that were staring him down. Sebastian pinned them with an arctic look that shot a shudder through their bodies. The breath caught in their throats, and confusion spread across their faces. What in the world was happening to them? They struggled to rein in their wits.

  “What the hell are you waiting for?” Nikola bellowed, snapping them out of their haze.

  Their befuddled gaze flew to Nikola’s face. The guard holding Sebastian coughed, trying to clear his throat. He shifted from one leg to the other and tugged hard at Sebastian’s arm. “Move…you don’t want me to remove you; trust me on that,” he spat out, and with his head, he made a motion toward the open door.

  A slow smiled crept across Sebastian’s face. “Can you?” he asked with mockery.

  The guard’s eyes widened. “Can I what?”

  “Remove me,” Sebastian replied, his face impassive.

  They never saw him move. Sebastian’s hands clamped around the guard’s neck, and he squeezed effortlessly. The guard’s eyes rolled up in his head, and when Sebastian released him, he dropped onto the floor like a rock. The two guards stared at the lifeless body of their friend, utterly stunned. They bit back the bile that rose to their throats and took deep breaths to calm their heaving stomachs.

  Sebastian watched as they moved their hands from their gun belts and drew, taking a bold stand, ready to shoot. The next few moments were a blur. They watched in dismay as Sebastian took their guns in his hands and squeezed until the hard metal turned to scrap metal and slipped between his fingers, scattering all over the floor.

  Their eyes widened like huge saucers. “What the hell…” one of them shrieked. His eyes flickered up and down Sebastian’s body inquiringly. “What the hell are you?”

  “I’m your destiny,” Sebastian replied through clenched tee
th, and taking one step, he grabbed each guard by the throat and squeezed. They fought hard to free themselves, but Sebastian’s hands were like merciless steel vices. They wobbled on their feet and it wasn’t long before they took their last breath.

  A sob brought Sebastian around to face the others, dropping the lifeless bodies from his hands. His eyes swept the room and noticed that nobody had moved an inch. They all seemed lost for words, stunned by the sight of the three dead bodies. They all knew by now that there was something very special about this man.

  Nikola drew a sharp breath and stared Sebastian squarely in the eye. He knew that something was not right, but he had to push that aside and stand up to him. He had absolutely no idea how he found the last remnants of strength to mimic coolness, which he did not possess. “Make no mistake that I will personally kill you,” he spat out.

  Sebastian could read his mind and knew that he was scared to death. He was desperately trying to stop his heartbeat from pounding painfully in his chest and to block the fear spreading slowly but steadily across every part of his body. Sebastian moved in his immortal speed and stood only inches from Nikola. The sharp intake of breath told Sebastian that Nikola’s fear increased by leaps and bounds. “You basta...” Nikola started to say, but he never finished. Sebastian moved again like lightning and grabbed a stunned Nikola by the neck. His balled fist came back and flew forward, landing hard in the middle of Nikola’s chest. The eerie sound of shattering bones bounced off the walls and settled like a death blanket over Larue, Hahn, Rainer, and Georgiana.

  Nikola’s body fell limp, ready to crumble, but Sebastian’s hand held him upright. The pain was unbearable and his breath came out in excruciating gasps. Sebastian gave him a hard push and let him go. Nikola stumbled backward, tripped over his chair, and landed onto the floor. He sat there unmoving for a long moment, sputtering and coughing blood. His face splattered with blood and he finally moved. He snarled something inaudible. He brushed the damp off of his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and grabbing the side of the chair, he struggled to rise to his feet. Filled with rage and vision blurred by fury, he screamed. “I’m going to fucking kill you. You…you son of a bitch.”

  Sebastian’s next punch came quickly and caught Nikola in the middle of his face, breaking bones and sending him flying across the room, screaming from pain. His body collided with the wall and he dropped to the floor. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, mixed with blood that was pouring out of his nose and mouth.

  Sebastian sauntered across the room, ignoring the others for the moment, and stood over Nikola. He was a bloody mess, trying to breathe, but he could only manage short gasps. There was no air flowing through his crushed lungs. He gasped and wheezed for another moment, and then he let out a long eerie, gurgling sound before he choked in his own blood and keeled over. Sebastian stared down at him for a short second and he then turned around to face the others. Larue and Hahn were frozen in place, while Rainer stood tense and confused.

  His arctic looks immobilized Larue and Hahn. Icy fingers crawled down their spines and their breath stilled as they struggled to slow the heaving in their chests. They shivered, sensing his intent deep into the marrow of their bones. They barely had a chance to blink and Sebastian was standing closer. They swallowed nervously the bitter bile climbing up and threatening to leave their bodies. Hahn gathered his wits first and leaped, lifted his leg in a roundhouse kick targeting Sebastian’s middle. Sebastian grabbed his foot in mid-air, pulled him forward, and knocked him off balance. With his foot still in his hand, Sebastian turned his wrist sharply to the right and broke Hahn’s femur in two. A curdling scream escaped Hahn’s lips and he tumbled to the ground, moaning in sheer pain.

  Larue stormed to his friend’s aid and ran into Sebastian with all the power he possessed. His body bounced back, sending him flying across the room and landing against the far wall to crumble to the floor with a painful groan. The pain was unbearable. What the hell? He couldn’t think a rational thought. He couldn’t explain any of it. When his body collided with Sebastian’s, he felt as if a speeding train hit him square in the chest.

  Sebastian’s gaze changed from irritated to furious. He glanced at Hahn on the floor and, leaning down, he picked him up by his throat and squeezed. His face contorted in a grimace of fury; it hardened, and slowly his muscles twitched. Blood dripped from the sides of his mouth as he tried to take a breath, but no air was getting through. His eyes widened and finally rolled back on his head, and he was gone. Sebastian let go of him, and he dropped to the floor lifeless.

  Larue flinched at the sound of Hahn’s body hitting the floor. He stared from across the room, eyes wild with fear of the unknown. He needed to do something; he couldn’t let this man kill him without putting up a fight. Sweat slid down his back, adding to his fear. What kind of a man was he? He was not a normal human being. There was something very peculiar about him. Larue pulled himself off the floor and pushed away from the wall. His eyes were spitting fire and his anger was overriding any reasonable thought he might have had left. “I’m going to kill you,” he spat out through gritted teeth. He ran across the floor full speed. He lifted his right hand, balled his fist, and landed a hard hit catching Sebastian square in the jaw. A loud scream left Larue’s lips, and horror filled his eyes as his hand connected with what felt like a concrete wall. Larue pulled back, clutching his arm and screaming in agony. His hand was completely shattered. Sebastian grimaced at the goon’s stupidity, and he stared at him, face hard, green eyes icy and level.

  “What the hell are you?” Larue cried out, staggering back, trying to reach the wall to steady himself. His legs gave in and he crumpled to the floor.

  Sebastian moved quickly, bent down, and picked Larue up by his shirt like a rag doll. Larue lifted his left hand to hit Sebastian in the face. Sebastian moved his head out of the way and Larue’s hand went flying by, plunging into the thin air. He never saw Sebastian’s hand move, but he felt the hard blow in the middle of his chest. The blow was so strong that his feet left the floor. He flew back, crashing on his back against the same wall with a loud thud, and he groaned in pain. The sound of crushing bones drove sheer terror into his body. Before he had a chance to recover, Sebastian pulled him up once again this time by the throat and squeezed until his eyes rolled back and he stopped breathing. Sebastian let go and his lifeless body hit the floor with a loud thump, landing only a few inches away from Hahn’s corpse.

  A loud gasp behind Sebastian made him swivel and he came face to face with a trembling Georgiana. Her hand was pressed over her mouth, holding back a scream. Her eyes were wide, filled with horror, and extreme fear registered clearly on her features. When she met Sebastian’s gaze, her knees nearly gave out. She took a few shaky steps backward until her back came in contact with Rainer’s hard body. His arm came about her and held her firmly, preventing her from dropping to the floor. Georgiana let out a breathless whimper as a wave of nausea rolled over her. Unable to watch any longer, she turned and buried her face into Rainer’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and held her close.

  They were both trying to breathe, but nothing was coming through. Their lungs were locked. Sebastian could read their thoughts. Georgiana was shivering, afraid for herself and for Rainer. She loved him deeply. She was ready to give her life to save his. Rainer was full of guilt for bringing her into this situation and putting her life on the line. For Rainer, Georgiana was love at first sight. He had spent sleepless nights thinking about what if? What if he had not chosen to take this dark path in his life? What if he had been free to make his own decisions, to love whomever he wanted to love and go wherever he wanted to go without any attachments to the Mafia? He couldn’t change a thing about his life, so Georgiana would have to remain just a wonderful dream, a dream that would never become a reality. The pain of it all was excruciating, so Sebastian’s appearance was a welcome event.

  Something had clicked in his head the moment Sebastian stepped inside that room. F
ear consumed him at first, but suddenly, everything became crystal clear. He knew what was about to happen and relief spread across his brain. He had no illusions about Sebastian. He knew that the intruder was there for revenge and he was ready to be on the receiving side. The casual effort, the speed, and strength with which he killed seven people was almost unnerving. Strangely enough, the fear he originally felt was gone, and a peaceful wave spread across his body. He was glad that he was next, and Sebastian would put an end to his miserable life. He didn’t want to do this any longer. The only way out was the morgue. Nikola had said that phrase over and over again. How ironic? Here he was facing the end of his miserable life. He only had one regret. He wished he could have had a chance with Georgian.

  “I’m sorry, Georgiana,” he whispered. “If I knew, I would have never asked you to come here.”

  “It’s okay. I want to be with you,” she sobbed and moved even closer.

  Rainer closed his eyes and opened them again, hoping that all this was just a hallucination. He knew that one day he would meet Sebastian and yet, somehow, he had never imagined anything tenuous like this. Sebastian eyes widened as he watched Rainer push Georgiana softly behind him, shielding her body protectively. Something tugged deep in Sebastian’s chest that made his anger slip away slowly.

  He held Georgiana’s gaze for a short moment and then his eyes turn to Rainer, who had not moved an inch. He was still standing with his arm around his back, holding Georgiana close to his body. Sebastian wanted to understand the man that was providing such a confusing profile. He stood there watching him carefully. He could read his mind, and he saw no fear, just relief.

  “Please do not hurt her. She is innocent,” Rainer said quietly.

  “You know who I am?” Sebastian asked.