Rage takes over my vision. I scream as I stalk down the hall toward him, taking aim and then shooting. I hit right where I want, the fuckers knee cap.
"FUCK!" He screams as he crumples to the floor. I land on top of him and start beating him with the gun.
"You fucking piece of shit. You will regret the day you ever laid eyes on her." I continue the onslaught on his face.
Blood is spraying the walls. His face is a mess, and the sickening sounds of breaking bones ricochets off the walls. There’s blood covering my face, hands, and body. I can’t seem to get a grip on reality to stop hitting him. I feel like every trace of the man I once was disappearing with each strike. I hit him over. And over. And over. The feeling of his life draining from him at my hands is pure bliss.
"Lucian, stop!" I feel Jayme’s hand grab the gun, ripping it from my grasp. "He’s out. Don’t kill him yet." He places a hand on my shoulder to try to calm me, but I keep hitting Theo with my bare hands. “Stop, Lucian!” His scream snaps me out of the rage. "You did good. Breathe." He smiles down at me. I’m shaking. I want to keep hitting him.
"Boys, take him to the warehouse. We have to find Cassie." He orders.
Jayme takes my arm to help me stand. My legs are shaky, but I know I need to keep going. I turn to look into the room Theo came out of, and my entire world is obliterated in a mere second. Across the room, I can see a woman lying naked in a pool of blood. My woman.
65. Lucian
"No. No, no, no. CASSIE!" I scream as I rush to her side. There is blood everywhere, and her body looks pale and lifeless. Her neck is tilted and bruised. I go to lift her, but Jayme stops me.
"Wait. We don’t know the extent of her injuries. There’s too much blood everywhere to tell."
I let out a primal, agonizing scream and punch the ground. He checks her pulse.
“It’s weak, but she is still alive. Boys, get an ambulance here, stat!" Jayme screams.
I lean down closer to her. She’s barely breathing, and the little breath she does get in sounds like she is gargling blood. I can’t move. I’m too late. I failed her again. Her body looks so frail and broken. In a matter of a few days, she has lost weight, and her entire body looks covered in bruises and cuts. Her face is almost unrecognizable from all the swelling and cuts. I gently run my hands over her, trying to figure out where all this blood is coming from.
"It’s her head. She’s bleeding from the back of her head.” I glance at Jayme. Tears fill my eyes. He can’t meet my gaze, and I can tell right there that he doesn’t think she is going to make it. "No, we aren’t too late. She has to make it. Jayme, she has to. We got here in time. Please!" He grabs the sheet off the bed and drapes it over her chest and lower body. He sinks to his knees next to me.
"Lucian... I’m sorry. I don’t know..." he can’t finish the words. He puts his arm around my shoulder as I gently touch her hand. It feels all rigid, and the bones are bent at strange angles. God, what the fuck did he do to her. What could have happened to trigger this level of rage?
I don’t even realize there are tears falling from my eyes. I can’t help it. She has been my other half ever since we were children. She’s my best friend, the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Fuck, I can’t lose her. I lean onto Jayme, and he wraps his arm tighter around my shoulders, trying to keep me from losing it completely.
Jayme helps me stand as the paramedics arrive and usher us away. My body is drenched in a combination of Theo’s and now Cassie’s blood. I watch as they carefully load her lifeless-looking body onto the stretcher. They rush around, yelling medical jargon, but I catch a few things as they wheel her out. Possible collapsed lung. Massive internal bleeding. Traumatic brain injury. Brain dead. I watch as they wheel her away. My stomach churns, and I turn and throw up all over the bed. There’s blood there, too; it’s everywhere. God, there is so much blood.
"Lucian," Jayme says quietly. "Where do you want to go first? She’s going to be in surgery for a while. So do you want to go wait there, or do you want to go to the warehouse first? It’s your decision; just know I’ll be by your side no matter what." He puts his arm around my shoulder, and I turn to hug him. It catches him off guard, but he hugs me back. He understands.
"Let’s go end that fucker." I growl as I step away from him. "I want to be the one to end him with my own hands."
"You got it!" He says as he whips his phone out to call Tim. Theo Blackmore will die tonight.
When we get to the warehouse, the sun is setting. I called Cassie’s parents on the way and told them we had found her but that she was at the hospital in surgery. I didn’t tell them exactlythe condition we found her in, but I told them to be prepared because it was going to be a lot to take in. I told them I would be there soon. I feel bad I’m not there waiting for her to get out of surgery, but I need to do this. I need to rid the world of this vile human before he hurts anyone else.
"You ready to do this?" Jayme asks.
"Yup."
"Now, listen. I know you killed some guards, but torturing and taking a life with your own hands is different. Let me know if it becomes too much, and I’ll finish it. You still have a soul; I lost mine years ago to this world. I’m hoping you can hang onto a bit of yours."
"Thanks. I got this, though." And I do. I don’t just want to do this; I need to do this. I need to be the one to end him for Cassie. So she can be at ease knowing he is fully gone and not able to hurt her ever again. So that she knows when it comes to her, I will do anything.
We walk inside and lock the door. The doors, walls, and windows are all soundproofed, so loud noises won’t draw attention from anyone nearby. Theo’s screams are flooding the entire warehouse. He is naked and restrained to a chair in the middle of the room. Just a few beams of light illuminate the small space. His one eye is swollen shut and caked with blood. The rest of his face looks just as bad from the damage I did with the gun. He is missing teeth, too. Blood is dripping and pooling on the floor beneath him. He looks defeated, with his head hung against his chest. When he sees me, though, he gets that sickening grin again.
“So, did you find her? I’m assuming you did, judging by the pathetic look on your faces.” He spits a mouthful of blood and smiles. Each word was oozing sarcasm, and it is fueling my hatred. "Poor, poor Cassandra. You know, she could have lived. I would have given her the world. We were going to get marriedand have kids. All of that. But she just wouldn't love me back. She just wouldn’t let you go, even when she thought you were dead. Dumb bitch. Oh well, she was fun while it lasted." He tilts his head to the side and laughs at me, coughing up blood. Won’t be long now. He is as good as dead.
"Yeah, but now I’ll be the one to have that life with her." He looks stunned. "Oh yeah, you didn’t kill her. She’s still alive. You couldn't fucking break her. She is too damn strong. No one can destroy her. You may have tried, but you failed. Miserably. Now, you will pay for what you put her through."
"No, she can’t be alive." He stammers.
"Yep, they are taking care of her right now at the hospital. So, fuck you." With that, I walk up to the table lined with an assortment of tools, rods, knives, and other items. I can’t even begin to imagine what they are used for.
