I nodded, willing away the pangs of doubt burning my throat. “I choose you, Silas. I’ll always choose you first.”
“Leni, he said, smiling against his wounds. “You were born to be mine.”
I couldn’t afford to start blubbering now, but my heart was bursting. I said nothing but kissed him as if I’d never get another chance, then moved cautiously to the open door, paranoia still sending a chill down my spine as it was far too quiet. Almost too easy.
But no matter what happened, this would end today.
The dark hall was empty as I returned upstairs, greeted with another vacant corridor.
Where the fuck was Santino?
Fingers suddenly tangled into my hair, tugging me backward against a rigid body. “You know what, I like this game,” he whispered.
A game. Of course.
“Well, that’s a damn shame,” I said, as hot steel punctured, then sliced up his groin. Blood pooled on the floor beneath our feet. “You already lost.”
“Oh, you...”
“Yeah, that’s me.” His hold on me loosened as the light drained from his eyes. “That artery is a bleeder. Soon, you won’t feel a thing.” He slid down the wall. “But what’s the fun in that?” His eyes went wide when I landed the first punch, the cartilage in his nose shattering under the force of the brass. Without a moment of reprieve, my fist connected with his jaw. Another crack like music to my ears.
He spit out a tooth, bloody drool dripping from his broken mouth. “St-stop,” he begged.
I leaned close to his ear and whispered, “No.”
The blade plunged into his neck, and I had to squeeze my mouth closed as the spray of blood reached my face. Another stab had him stilling and slumping over.
Straightening, I spat on his lifeless body and turned only to find myself face to chest with the biggest fucking man I had ever seen.
He was easily close to seven feet. Arms as big as my chest. A large hand wrapped around my throat, cutting off my air supply and lifting me like a rag doll.
“Hellcat, you so much as scratch me, and I’ll pop this pretty little head off.”
He effortlessly dragged me down the hallway to the last door. Dizziness started to settle in when he suddenly slammed me on top of a wooden desk. The fumes of oxygen I had left in my lungs rushed out painfully upon impact, and I couldn’t help the groan that spilled from my lips. Clutching at my neck, I tried desperately to catch my breath and swallow the pain rolling through every muscle.
“My dear Helena, so nice of you to finally make it. I’ve truly enjoyed the show.” He motioned toward a split screen with various surveillance angles, including the cellar where Silas was held. I saw the figure of the man who’d become so important to me these last few weeks. He was doing exactly as I told him…At least, that’s what I wanted to believe. I hadn’t inspected him for more severe wounds, and I hoped beyond hope that he was okay.
But as my eyes found the ceiling, those last glimmers of faith faded. Or maybe, if what awaited him in the hands of Cillian was worse than death…
“When your father introduced you to me, you were just coming into a young woman. So beautiful.” His fingers trailed up my abdomen. “So brave and with a fire I wished my daughter possessed.” He cupped my breast, flicking my nipple with his thumb. “But I’m thankful you’re not my daughter.” His voice was thick with lust, and he had a hand on his dick.
“You’re a sick fuck.”
“That I am. And you don’t even know the half of it. Cristos might never forgive me for this, but as they say, what he doesn’t know won’t kill him.”
My breath caught in my throat. Cillian had no idea my father was dead. He’d surely torment me with that information had he known.
There, indeed, was another player.
“I had this a little game going—a bet, if you will. The first one to find you and bring you to me gets to have you as a prize.” Cillian squeezed my breast so hard I had to clench my teeth. “You’re a little messy, but I’m not picky. I get the first dibs while Johnny watches. Then it’s his turn.” Cillian was in my ear now. “Johnny likes to fuck his whores in the ass. But I’ll be more gentle…unless you try—”
I only had a split second to decide and act, and I hoped I was successful. I wrapped my fingers tightly around the hilt of my knife, unholstering it in the next second, searing through the back of Cillian’s neck and severing his spinal cord. Without missing a beat, I sat up and whirled toward fucking Johnny, throwing my knife as he prepared to fire. The bullets of his Desert Eagle exploded into the wall behind me as he dropped to his knees, the hilt of my knife sticking out of his left eye socket.
“Bitch!” He began shooting in a fit of rage, rounds hitting the desk, missing me by a hair.
I slid off next to Cillian’s limp body. He was twisted into an awkward angle, his mouth twitching, as I knelt by his face.
“That’s the problem with men like you and your soon-to-be-dead friend. Your dicks will always get you killed. I’ll let you think about your stupidity before you check out and meet your bastard children.”
