The End (Deadly Captive Book 3)

by Bianca Sommerland

  But letting her go still felt like a mistake.

  The door opened. Daederich looked up and scowled as Jase sauntered into the room, a smug smile on his lips.

  “You’re still here?” Jase leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms over his chest, the leather of his long jacket wisping against the wall. “We have more swords in the armory that need to be sharpened if you want to make yourself useful.”

  Daederich stood, clenching his fists at his sides. “I wouldn’t be here if you’d simply tell me where my son is.”

  “Not happening.” Jase smirked. “Now ask me about Lydia again. I do so enjoy repeating myself.”

  “If she wanted me to know, she would have told me herself.”

  Jase cocked his head, looking amused. “She couldn’t very well tell you when she didn’t know where she’d be assigned.”

  Picking up his sword, Daederich eyed the hunter. “Assigned?”

  “Yes. And don’t bother threatening me. I may not be immortal, but I went through the same training as the others. You’ll be on your back before you take another step.” Laughter lightened Jase’s tone. “Though you do seem to like the position.”

  The hunter was trying to get under his skin. Daederich refused to take the bait. “If you came in here simply to goad me, don’t waste either of our time. I’ll stay until you bring me to my son. Then you’ll never have to see me again.”

  “Which I’m looking forward to, but let’s put your talents to better use than sulking in this room.”

  “Sharpening your swords?”

  “That. Or the team of disposable recruits we sent out could use backup.” Jase’s expression tightened. “She’ll be fine without you, I don’t doubt that for a fucking second. But she still has a lot to learn. She’s determined to continue Elah’s work and I admire her for it. I proposed she be allowed to continue her training here. The idea was rejected. The committee doesn’t take kindly to attacks on our own. They won’t turn down the offer of a skilled fighter joining in on missions though.” He met Daederich’s eyes. “They’ll use her. Until it kills her.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Daederich grabbed the scabbard that went with his sword and attached it to his belt. “You know our bond is too weak for me to find her. If you won’t tell me—”

  “I won’t tell you, so stop fucking whining about it.” Jase pushed away from the doorframe, a sneer twisting his lips. “You keep insisting your bond is too weak, but you haven’t even tried to use it. If you want to find her, you will.” He shook his head. “I like her spunk. I get what Elah saw in her. And it pisses me off that she’s out there, trying to save lives while no one’s got her back.”

  “I. Do.”

  “Then fucking prove it.” Jase reached into his jacket and pulled out a black and silver SPS Pantera. A decent gun, one Daederich had used in the past in a pinch.

  He wasn’t a fan of using borrowed weapons, but he didn’t have time to fetch his own. Even if he could find Lydia, it would take time.

  Time she might not have.

  “Thank you.” As much as it irked him to owe a man who’d shown him nothing but contempt, Daederich wouldn’t forget all he’d done. For both him and Lydia. “I will repay you.”

  “Yeah, well do that out there. With her. Kill some evil fuckers and we’ll call it even.” Jase sighed and pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. “Take this. Leave it with one of the men. You don’t have far to go.”

  Daederich arched a brow, wondering why the man didn’t just give him a damn location. But then he considered how Elah might have handled this situation. He wouldn’t even have given Daederich this much. Even now, Daederich could hear the three words Elah would have said.

  Figure it out.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The air was dry and gritty, wrapping around me like sandpaper as I crouched behind an abandoned minivan, listening to the bullets ping against the metal. This was the third night in a row that we’d been trying to encroach on the damn bar and so far, this was the closest we’d gotten.

  Out in the desert near El Paso, a biker bar with a few modified trailers around it housed about two dozen men and women who’d supplied Cyrus and the other elite monsters with their youngest victims. The gang had avoided detection for a long time, kidnapping children from different cities and covering their tracks well, but one of the girls the hunters had saved was able to give us directions to where she’d been held for weeks.

  Taking them down shouldn’t have been difficult. Except the hunters had sent me with their most inexperienced recruits. The gang hadn’t been deemed worthy of a true show of force. It was almost as though the hunters who’d been chosen were expected to either succeed or die. A cruel way to weed out the weak.

  Screw them. Even though I didn’t know the people I was working with, I wasn’t about to watch them go down without a fight. We were outnumbered, four to one, but the baby hunters were eager. And reckless. I’d had to stop a few from rushing the building the first night, pointing out where the snipers were hiding and trying to formulate an efficient plan of attack. Which had gotten me promoted to unofficial leader of the group.

  Not a position I wanted, but there was no one else.

  I waved over our best shot, a young woman with flawless black skin, who had one green eye and one blue, named CJ. She had the sweetest Texan accent, a sharp mind, and managed to ace all her training. Which made it hard to understand why she’d been sent with me at all, but I was grateful to have her.

  She nodded to me from where she crouched behind a dark green pickup, waiting for the gunshots ripping through the air to pause as the gang reloaded from their seemingly endless supply. Then she dashed over.

  “We’re not getting anywhere like this. Someone needs to take out the guys on the roof.” I pointed to the barrels stacked up beside the bar. “Cover me. There’s two shooters on that side, which I can handle, but I’ll be in the open when I make a run for it.”

  She inclined her head. “Got it. But this would be a lot easier if we could just blow the whole thing up.”

  Laughing, I nodded. “It would. Got any grenades that I don’t know about? We’re running out of bullets and your wonderful teachers aren’t sending any more.”

  CJ’s lips slanted. “Because this is a test. And we’re failing.”

  “You’re still alive and this isn’t over.” I squeezed her shoulder. “We’ve got this.”

  Inhaling roughly, CJ positioned herself at the edge of the van. I waited until she engaged the snipers. The other hunters followed her lead. Shouts came from the bar and bullets rained down in response.

  I sprinted across the lot. Sharp pain tore through my side. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to keep moving. A man with a thick beard rushed out, gun raised. I threw myself on the ground while taking a shot and he cried out. Before I could rise, the second man fired. The bullet pierced my forearm.

  Closer to him now, I lunged forward, catching him off guard. I cracked him in the side of the head with the butt of my gun. Pulled out my dagger and drove it up under his chin, into his skull.

  Blood slicked my hands. I dried them in the sand, brushing my hands off on my leather pants before climbing onto the barrels. Rising up I could see six men and women on the roof. I might be able to take out one or two once I got up there, but CJ and the others weren’t in a good position to eliminate the others. They had to focus on the targets spread out around the building.

  It was up to me to give us the advantage of the elevated vantage point. I tightened my grip on the gun, keeping low. They still didn’t know I was here. If I could slow them down before climbing up on the roof I might have a chance to finish them off.

  Feeling ridiculous, I aimed for their feet.

  I hit three before they figured out where the shots were coming from.

  Then vaulted up to take them head-on.

  One took a bullet to the head. Another to the chest. The third still standing shot me in the shoulder. The blow
knocked me backward, off the roof. I landed on my back, groaning as I rolled against the side of the building, out of sight.

  Footsteps came toward me. I jumped as a shot was fired above my head.

  A body fell.

  I frowned, seeing the biker who’d knocked me off the roof laying beside me with a bullet hole in his head.

  Then I looked up.

  Daederich smirked as he held out his hand. “You’re a mess, my love.”

  “Ya think?” I frowned at him. “What are you doing here?”

  “The one thing I’m good at.” He helped me lean against the building, stepping out to shoot one of the bikers who ran at us from the back. “We promised to kill together. Or had you forgotten?”

  Damn him, how did he manage to make that sound so fucking sweet? If everything didn’t hurt I would hug him. I hated the idea of him showing up to save the day—night, whatever—but at this point my main focus was making sure the baby hunters survived this stupid test. With me alone, they might not.

  With me and Daederich?

  Hell, they’d graduate with honors. Become perfect little assassins.

  “I haven’t forgotten.” I gave him a tight smile. “So what’s the plan?”

  He arched a brow. “I was told you’re in charge.”

  “Because there was no one better.”

  “There still isn’t. You can do this, Lydia. Just tell me where you want me.”

  Licking my bottom lip, I looked him over, my mind in the gutter. What could I say, killing people got me all worked up.

  Chuckling, he tapped my chin with his knuckles. “Focus. God, I’ve never known a woman to get turned on while being shot at.”

  “You’re distracting.” I smirked as he shook his head, backing against the wall as more shots came at us. “Get on the roof, I’ll deal with the fuckers behind the bar. Then we can regroup and figure out how to get inside.”

  He inclined his head, his jaw tightening a bit as he watched the blood drip down the back of my hand. Then he heaved himself up on the barrel and onto the roof.

  CJ joined me as I snuck around the back of the bar, where we found three bikers reloading. Once they were dead, the night went quiet. I sent CJ to gather the others and sank down against the side of a rusty old car, wincing as I pulled off my jacket. The rush of the attack had dulled the pain, but now that things had calmed down, my muscles were seizing up in my arm and my side throbbed. I’d heal quickly with a bit of blood once the bullets were out, but we didn’t have time for that yet.

  Ripping the bottom of my t-shirt, I used my teeth to tie the material tight around the wound on my forearm. Daederich jumped off the roof, landing at my side, and ditched his jacket before removing his own shirt.

  Without a word, he bound the wounds on my shoulder and my side. The young hunters came over. Only five of them.

  I frowned and looked at CJ.

  She lowered her gaze. “Mark’s dead.”

  Damn it. I took a deep breath. “He was a good kid. We’ll mourn him once this is over. Tend to your wounds and let’s get this over with.”

  One of the boys, who looked like he’d spent a lot of time at the gym while he’d been alive, plunked down on the ground, a finger plugging a bullet hole in his neck. “If they sent him we’ve already proved we’re not good enough.”

  “They didn’t send me.” Daederich folded his arms over his chest. “But you’re right, they don’t think you’re good enough. I came expecting the very worst, but I’m pleasantly surprised.”

  “Because your woman managed to keep some of us alive?” Gym boy’s tone was bitter.

  “No, because you were smart enough to listen to her.” Daederich frowned at the boy. “She has more experience than any of you. The hunters don’t give a damn if any of you make it out of here. This was a suicide mission. Which means they were looking for an easy way to get rid of you.”

  CJ’s lips parted. “Jase told me I’m the best shooter they’ve had in a long time.”

  Daederich glanced over at her. “What else did he tell you?”

  Her expression darkened. “That I have to cut off my old life completely. I never asked for this. My parents have already lost one child. I won’t have them think I’m dead to keep some secret when I can spare them pain by just hiding how I’ve changed.”

  The only other woman in the group, Bao, a small Chinese girl who had some wicked skills with blades, nodded in agreement. “I was told the same thing. I’d already sent my daughter to live with her father when I got sick, but now they don’t even want me to call her.”

  My brow furrowed. I looked over at the guys. “Do you all have family you’re close to?”

  They nodded, their faces grim as they suddenly realized why they’d been sent here together. The hunters had decided they were expendable. No matter how successfully they trained or how valuable their skills, they all shared a flaw and would never truly belong. This wouldn’t be the last mission meant to eliminate them.

  Or me.

  Lovely.

  “If they want us dead, what’s the point?” Gym boy raked his fingers through his wavy blond hair. “I could think of better things to do then spend the rest of this fucked up life being shot at.”

  “Then why did you want to be a hunter in the first place?” I already knew the answer. They’d all give me the same one. But they needed to remind themselves their goals were more important than getting the damn hunters’ stamp of approval.

  I wasn’t surprised when CJ spoke up first. “The bastard that killed me… I had to make sure he couldn’t do this to anyone else. Once he was dead, I knew there were more out there, just as bad. I need my life to mean something now that the future I’d dreamed of is gone.”

  The others nodded again.

  “Good. You can still do that.” I rubbed my hands on my leather pants and picked up my gun. “With or without the hunters.”

  A couple of the guys looked uncertain. Once this was over, they’d likely return to the compound. Try to prove they belonged among the ranks of heartless assassins. Maybe they’d even give up enough to satisfy the fuckers. Or maybe they’d just die.

  The girls looked determined. I had a feeling they’d make it out all right.

  Gym boy seemed a bit lost.

  I was pretty heartless myself, because I didn’t care.

  Splitting the group in two, three following Daederich around the front, CJ and gym boy sticking with me, we rushed into the building, hoping the delay in our attack would catch the remaining members of the gang by surprise. They scrambled to return fire, spread out around the bar, hiding behind overturned tables and the flimsy wood counters.

  It was almost too easy.

  Pressing my hand to my side, I searched the bar once the bullets stopped flying. There were supposed to be kids here. The hunters might not really care if they survived, but saving them was important to my team. They needed to see they could actually do some good.

  Behind the bar I found a trapdoor. The silence had tiny shards of ice creeping down my spine. I dropped into the hole, swallowing hard when I spotted a doll, its pink face smeared with dirt, abandoned in the corner.

  “Anything?” CJ popped her head into the hole above me. “Shit… They’ve taken them. Those kids… They could be anywhere.”

  I walked deeper into the room. Those poor kids had been stuck down here, for who knows how long. I found juice boxes and granola bar wrappers. A tiny shoe. Further and there were scuff marks in the dirt. One of the kids had been struggling.

  At the end of the room, I found pieces of wood scattered on the floor. Beyond was a dirt tunnel, too wide for the kids to have dug it in a desperate attempt to escape.

  “Fuck! CJ, get everyone outside!” I darted for the trapdoor. “They had another way out!”

  By the time I was up and out, the sound of wheels screeching on the dirt road surrounded us. Four vans careened toward the highway.

  CJ chased them, Bao on her heels. Bao stopped abruptly, throwing two
knives in rapid succession. The wheels of one of the cars burst.

  Running, gun raised, I kept an eye on the front of the van as CJ and Bao opened the back. They started pulling the kids out, but I still couldn’t see the drivers. They’d gone around the other side.

  “Move!” I snarled as the girls tried to calm the children. There were seven of them, all under the age of ten. Terrified, but I couldn’t keep them safe and be all sweet at the same time.

  Gym boy rushed over, picking up two of the kids as CJ and Bao got the others to run toward the bar, avoiding the SUV Daederich had jumped in with the two remaining recruits. They took off after the vans driving out of sight. I returned my focus to the threat in front of me.

  One man came out, arms raised. “I’m not armed and the money’s not worth fucking dying for. Take the kids, let me go, and I won’t give you no trouble.”

  He was still moving toward me. I could hear his partner shuffling through the dirt. Lame trick, and it wasn’t going to work. With only two of them here, I wasn’t worried.

  Holding my gun steady, I eyed the skinny redneck. “How much?”

  “Huh?” He frowned at me. “You mean for the kids? ‘Bout a thousand bucks a head.”

  I shot him in the neck, kicking him backward once he dropped to his knees. “You’re getting screwed, pal.”

  “You stupid cunt!” The second man came at me. “I’ll—”

  Before I could even react a bullet took out the top of his head. My lips parted as I glanced over at CJ.

  She grinned at me, holding a huge shotgun braced against her shoulder. “Found some new toys!”

  Snickering, I shook my head. Bao had brought all the kids inside with gym boy—I really needed to get his name—while CJ had stayed outside, ransacking the remaining vehicles. There were enough weapons to stock a small army.

  “Let’s move these to the bigger vans.” I grabbed one of the rucksacks she’d pulled out of a dingy old Volkswagen. “Bao and the guy can bring the kids to safety while we try to catch up with Daederich.”

  “Works for me.” She quickly helped me load up the vehicles, then went to deliver my message to Bao.