by S. K. Lessly
Emily didn’t reply. Instead, she stalked toward him slowly then leaned in close to his face. She caressed his bruised cheek with softness and care. She then leaned in close to place a small kiss to his lip but Josh leaned his face back. Anger filled her at his rejection and she gripped his chin tight in her slender fingers. Josh gritted through the pain but didn’t cry out.
Emily placed a hard kiss to his lips. When she pulled back she smiled, licked the blood from her lips and whispered, “We shall see who’ll be left standing real soon.”
Josh didn’t reply. She could see him staring at her through thin slits where his eyes should be.
Despite not being able to fully see them, she could sense the challenge in them. She stood, trying not to let him get to her, trying not to feed into him. She turned her back and said, “When I kill her, I’ll let you watch.”
“When you die, I’ll spit on your dead corpse,” returned Josh just before they both heard a large explosion that caused the house to shake.
Emily stood frozen in her steps. She turned to stare at the closed door separating her from the rest of the house. Automatic gunfire could be heard in the distance. She then looked over at Josh and saw the smile spreading on his face.
“She’s coming for you. I can’t fucking wait.” He grunted, shifted before he went on, “You should give up now. You’re losing control. You thought you killed my family. You didn’t. And you tried to take Misty out and failed too. I mean a whole team, gone. Why don’t you pack up and—”
“Shut up!” Emily barked, feeling her rage building. She wasn’t sure how Josh knew that the plot to kill his family didn’t work. Apparently, he wasn’t out of it as he had them believe.
He was right though. Her attempts at killing his family and Misty didn’t go as planned. The teams sent to kill his brothers were unsuccessful. The team sent to snatch Misty also failed. What stumped her was the attempt on his family. Her people confirmed that Josh’s wife and child were inside the house before it blew up. How did they escape the blast and no one saw them? There had to have been an exit that they didn’t know about.
Davies had informed her of the mishap when he stormed the DSO’s office looking for Shane, Josh’s other brother. He even tried to snatch her then, but he had been surprised to see her alive and couldn’t grab her before she trapped herself inside a makeshift panic room.
The failures didn’t sit well with her. No matter. She would get her revenge and it would start with this bitch tonight.
She heard Josh chuckle, bringing her out of her thoughts and into the present.
“Get out while you still can,” he said and she gritted her teeth, determination filling her. It was time to stop playing games and end this.
Emily shifted her gaze back to the door and stared at it, as if she was waiting for Misty to bust through. Suddenly, she snapped out of it and grabbed the walkie-talkie on the desk.
The door, leading to the security office behind her suddenly opened and Davies stepped inside the room.
“They’re here, inside the house. We need to move.”
“We aren’t going anywhere. We have an army of—”
“Are you blind and stupid?” Davies yelled. He pointed in the direction of the front of the house but kept raging brown eyes on Emily. “Your so-called army is being annihilated. Right now, they’re being outflanked. They’re fighting a group out front but they have no idea that a team has moved inside. I told you we needed more men.”
Emily turned to the screens and sure enough, a battle had ensued on the front lawn, her team losing exponentially.
“We’ve got to get out of here.” Davies said again, the panic in his voice evident.
Emily didn’t reply nor did she move her eyes from the security screens. Everything she had planned was being destroyed. This wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She had lured her here, her enemy. The bitch needed to die here. Now! No way could she…
“Hey, listen to me,” Davies ordered, gripping her by her arm and turning her to face him. He brought a hand to her cheek and gingerly tilted her face to meet his. “I know what you’re thinking. But your plan is shot. We don’t have the advantage anymore, they do. Its combat one-oh-one, live to fight another day. We have the capability to kill her anytime we want. Let’s get out of here while we still can. Live to fight another day, yeah?”
“Yeah, Em. You should listen to him. Run like the fucking coward you are. Don’t worry, you won’t have to find her, she’ll find you. And once she does—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Davies took two strides toward Josh and sent a quick jab to his mouth. Josh’s head snapped back violently and he slumped in his chair.
Just then the door in front of them was kicked inward. Emily jumped, startled and reached for the gun on the table.
“Don’t fucking move or I’ll blow your fucking head off.”
The voice made her pause and she turned just in time to meet Misty’s burning blue eyes before she stepped into the room.
Davies suddenly opened fire, sending rounds in Misty’s direction causing her to take cover. Panicked shit was turning for the worst; she grabbed her gun turned and ran through a door at the back of the room. She needed to even the playing field and she knew just how to do it.
21
Misty
She was close. I could smell her.
The rage inside me was so thick, it moved like molasses through my veins. I wasn’t sure how I wasn’t losing my shit yet. I was calm as I followed Shane through the house, checking every room, corner and doorway we came across.
That hadn’t been the case about twenty minutes or so ago. No earlier, I was wired, pissed and looking for a fight. Ever since those fuckers attacked me at the beach house, I had wanted to relieve myself of the hot oil rage I felt.
Before we received the okay for this mission, I worked to get my mind right. I spent hours in the gym, lifting, running on the treadmill, kickboxing. I even completed some fighting drills using my KA-Bar knives all the while mentally preparing for the darkness to come.
That’s how I did it. It’s how I survived this life, how I killed at will, and didn’t lose sleep. I had to prepare myself mentally, physically and emotionally. If I didn’t, my soul would be consumed by darkness.
Ah hello darkness, my old friend.
It lived in me. It was a part of me. She had a name, my darkness. I called her Lucy. Lucy was that alter ego I allowed to take over when I needed to crawl around in the filth of evil. No one knew she existed, no one alive to tell of her deeds. I keep her hidden from the world, from my family and friends, locked away never to be unleashed unless it was absolutely necessary. Once we got the go ahead to go get Josh, it became very necessary.
I needed her. There were things I needed to do that Misty, the civilized one, wouldn’t be able to live with. I had to do more than just kill, I had to annihilate, rip apart everything and everyone until we found Josh. I couldn’t concern myself with what others thought or felt. My primary concern, to make everyone pay for taking Josh, shooting Malcolm and most importantly for trying to kill me. Namely, I was going to kill Emily.
Shane couldn’t do it. It had to be me. Emily was mine. She was going to pay for every transgression she had ever done and she would pay severely.
Once the op was approved, I began the transformation from Misty to Lucy. I stayed to myself on the Gulfstream, as we headed to Brazil, sharpening my Ka-Bar knives and cleaning my M27 IAR with suppressor and a kick ass thermal optic scope. I ignored everyone around me, including the come-fuck-me eyes Shane was throwing my way.
I felt his need for me, felt his turmoil too, which was why I ignored him. He wanted to fuck. Admittedly, I did too, but what would happen after we released our aggression. Would we go back to ignoring each other? I didn’t think I could handle that. No. I didn’t think, I knew.
Subsequently, everything changed once we landed in Brazil. I had all intentions of staying clear away from Shane. I even stepped away from the entire
team so I could focus and get my mind right.
Before I plunged completely into my world, I checked on my parents. It was something that I did often, before a mission. I pulled out my cell phone, used an app Junior created that ensured my call or text would be secure, and texted my father to tell him I loved him. He replied as he always did, “I will only love you if you bring your crazy ass home.”
I chuckled and was about to reply, when he texted me about Malcolm. “He’s out of surgery but barely clinging to life. We almost lost him twice. Pray.”
I read his text twice, making sure I read it correctly. I couldn’t believe it. We almost lost Malcolm? That wasn’t an option. No way would we lose him, no fucking way.
I wanted to scream my frustrations to the universe or curl into a ball and cry my eyes out. However, I didn’t do either of those things. I didn’t have the luxury. Instead, I allowed all of the rage and frustration build inside of me. Hearing what this bitch had caused definitely sealed her fate. I would make it as painful as I could. She would regret the day she ever decided to fuck with us.
I had texted back a thanks for letting me know and I will pray. I also told him I would let Shane know that he was out of surgery and you were optimistic.
What I wouldn’t do was tell him the rest, that his brother was fighting for his life and almost lost that battle at least twice. Shane didn’t need that right now either. However, what my father texted back had my heart breaking and my legs moving.
He already knows!
I found Shane inside an office towards the back of the hanger. The door was locked and I thought about leaving him be, that was until I heard him banging his fists against some innocent object. I quickly picked the lock on the door and opened it.
Standing before me was a raging bull, eyes menacing, full of pain and anger. His body was taut, muscles tense and ready to strike out at anyone in his way. Unfortunately, that “anyone” was me.
“Get out!” he rumbled, no more like growled.
I ignored him and stayed where I was, studying him. At first, I thought about giving him his space, you know let him work out his shit on his own. After two seconds of contemplation, I decided against it.
I knew what he needed. He needed a distraction. He needed to get out of his head and maybe into something or someone else. He needed me.
I braced myself for his wrath. I could see it in his eyes, he wanted to lash out at me. I could take whatever he could dish out. I wasn’t afraid of the big bad wolf. Except, I didn’t want to fight, not this time. I only wanted one thing from him, his pain.
With that in mind, I stepped further into the room and closed and locked the door. I gripped the sides of my black polo shirt and pulled it up and over my head. I tossed it on the dirty ass ground and waited. I waited for Shane to reject me and throw me out of the room. It had been a very long time since I was unsure about anything. As I stood in front of the man that owned me, I prayed he didn’t reject me.
It didn’t take long for Shane’s mood to change from murderous to carnal, which was a relief. He even tried to warn me that us fucking wouldn’t mean anything. In that moment, I knew that was a lie. It would mean everything. And it did.
We had already given ourselves to each other, so it wasn’t that; it was so much more. More intimate, more earth-shattering, more heart stopping, just more. We have never leaned on each other to get us through difficult shit. Sure he helped me with Simon the first night we hooked up, but I had never truly been there for him until now. It was the most fulfilling experience of my life.
The emotions and love in his eyes were overwhelming, deep, penetrating and I made sure to show him just how much he meant to me, how much I loved him. I made sure to throw down any barriers or walls between us and I gave him all of me. And even though he was wrapped up in his pain, he worshiped my body in the only way he could.
His touch was soothing yet rough and demanding, and his thrusts, holy shit. They were forceful and delicious and all consuming. He consumed every part of my body and left me craving for more.
Despite all that happened between us, I knew our situation had shifted. I wasn’t quite sure how it had shifted, but after we got Josh, I would find out.
We went our separate ways after he finally found his release—and I came like a gazillion times—and surprisingly it didn’t feel weird. The moment we shared in the office meant everything to us both but we had to refocus on the reason we were here. Josh.
There was small chatter coming from the comms unit in my ear as we checked the rooms, closets and crevices on the main floor. A battle was raging on the front lawn of this place. I was halfway disappointed I was in here instead of out there. Only halfway though.
Anyway, on the helicopter ride to the estate, I had felt his eyes on me. I didn’t react nor did I flinch from his hard stare. He fell into his zone and I fell into mine. However, in the darkness we both felt taking over, our souls still connected. I still felt him, felt his need for me, felt his love. He couldn’t hide it from me no matter how hard he tried.
It was hot as hell. He was hot as hell; all that aggression and rage rolling off him. Not to mention the battle he was fighting to keep his feelings from me. From the look on his beautiful bearded face, I could tell he thought he was succeeding. Little did he know, after what happened in the office, I could see everything through his eyes.
I didn’t let him know that I knew he was eye fucking me on the down low. I gave him the same indifference look he gave me but deep down I wanted him too. My body came alive for him. It vibrated with the need to be taken, controlled, dominated by this man. Soon. Soon we would end this mission, kill everyone, and pick up where we left off. Right now, we had a job to do. Rather, I had a job to do; kill Emily and feast on her dead corpse.
That sounds gross, doesn’t it? Deranged even. Yeah, I know. But fuck it.
As long as there were sick, twisted fucks like Dennis Simon, Alfred Davies, Emily Parsons and fucking Perchenko, there would be people like me willing to do any and everything to take them down. It was the way of the world; good vs evil, the villain vs the hero. It didn’t matter that I was more of the anti-hero in this scenario. There was no room for the good in this fight. You have to fight evil with evil and evil was my middle name.
Shane and I cleared the first floor of the house and were moving to the second level. Shane relayed our positions to the teams as we climbed the steps.
It was quiet upstairs.
Shane and I took turns checking the rooms, confirming they were empty. He would take one room; clear it. I’d advance and take the next. We did this seamlessly, clearing rooms quickly and efficiently.
Shane took the next room to our left and disappeared. I moved swiftly to a door facing us. Gunfire erupted from the room Shane stepped into and I was about turn back to assist him, when I heard voices behind the door in front of me. An explosion suddenly rocked the house—Echo team making their presence known—and I took that moment to kick in my door.
With my rifle up I stepped inside the room to a sight that had my heart in my throat and my blood boiling. I clocked Emily off to my left, her eyes wide and hands empty but reaching for a gun. Davies was to my right. Josh was tied to a chair, his head sagging forward.
“Don’t fucking move or I’ll blow your fucking head off.”
Emily froze and looked at me. She slowly did as she was told, straightening and placing cold eyes on me.
Davies suddenly fired his handgun forcing me to back out of the room to take cover.
“Shit!” I yelled back trying to fire back but couldn’t. I had no idea where he was in the room. For all I knew he could be standing right behind Josh. The moment I heard the click of his gun I charged back into the room to find Emily gone.
“Fuck,” I screamed and aimed my sights on a smug looking Davies. He was standing behind Josh, a knife to Josh’s throat, a grip in his hair.
“Disappointing, isn’t it.” He taunted and I was about to shoot him in the face when I
felt Shane at my back.
“I got him,” Shane announced to the room. “Go.”
I looked back at him, but his murderous eyes were trained on Davies.
“Go!” he ordered and I didn’t hesitate. I proceeded toward the door Emily escaped through. This would end tonight. She would die by my hand so help me.
Before I disappeared, I glanced over my shoulder at Davies. He met my eyes and I gave him the biggest smile. The fucker had no idea what he was in for. He would have been better off taking a bullet from me. Shane looked as if he was about to lose his shit. Too bad I would miss it.
22
Shane
Misty disappeared through the door across the room leaving me, my unconscious brother and Davies. I kept the fucker in my sights and stepped further into the room. Davies’ grip on my brother’s hair tightened and he yanked his head back, pressing the knife harder to his neck.
“Come any closer and your brother is dead.”
I didn’t respond to his threat. I kept him in my sights, while watching the exits for anyone else sneaking up on me. I doubted anyone would. Misty and I cleared this floor already. My team had downstairs on lockdown. So, unless there was some hidden room on this floor it was just me, him and my brother.
Speaking of my brother, I took this time to get a good look at him. He was sitting in a chair, his wrists zip-tied to the arms of the chair. He looked a mess. His shirt was ripped. Dried blood stained the front of his shirt and pants. His face was bruised and bloody, his eyes were swollen shut, and his lips were swollen and split. He looked unconscious. Bloody drool hung from the side of his mouth.
I brought my eyes back to the fucker holding him and watched the pride fill his eyes.
“Yeah, me and your brother had a nice chat earlier. Why don’t you drop that weapon so you and I can talk.”
