We carefully crept out the back of the van, entering through the small hole Bull and Archer cut into the Artillery’s fencing.
“Damn, they’re good,” I mumbled as I ducked through the small opening. I was surprised they even fit through it. I had to squeeze my body through, and I was half their size.
“That’s for us, kid. Those two giants hopped the fence like it was nothing,” Cap informed me.
“It’s empty,” Bull whispered. “The place is a graveyard.”
“Are you sure?”
“Looks that way.”
We slowly made our way into the main room where the Artillery had held me prisoner. We weren’t even two feet in when the lights flicked on and Juliette waltzed into the room, flanked by the two deputies she could trust.
Scorpio’s bike was just sitting there in the middle of the room with a nice big red bow attached.
“It’s my bike,” Scorpio exclaimed, but there was a hesitation in his voice.
“Yeah, but where is the Artillery?”
“They’re gone,” Zodiac observed, stating the obvious. “How did they know we were coming?”
“If I had to guess, it was because of Dillon’s sister,” Juliette said, holding up a polaroid photograph. “Is this her?”
My heart sank when I saw the battered and bruised woman in the photo. Raw emotion filtered through me as my voice caught in my throat and I barely bit out, “No, that’s not her.” Relief washed over me, but at the same time, I was still wondering where my sister was.
Scorpio took the photo away from her and grimaced. “This is the woman I saved from the fire. Is she—is she dead?”
Juliette nodded. “Yeah, the photo was attached to her body. We found it along with this cell phone.” Her eyes migrated over to me. “You don’t want to see what’s on it, Dillon.”
Zodiac and Scorpio took the phone away from her, and the familiar voice of Beretta filled the room.
“Did you really think you could put one over on me, Star boy? Haven’t you realized yet that I’m always ten steps ahead of you? You see, I knew you were coming before you even decided to leave. I also knew that your VP has been fucking around with that bitch cop. Don’t worry, she’s next on my list. That stupid whore fucked everything up for me, and she’s going to get hers. That’s something I can guarantee. Just like I plan to eradicate every damn Star Boy in your pathetic little club. But before I do that, Zodiac, I want to show you that I’m a caring man and offer you a bit of a peace offering for the time being. I know the only reason you’re here is for your VP’s stupid, pathetic bike, and seeing as I had to leave in a bit of a hurry, I left it for you, even slapped a pretty red bow on it. You can have the bike, but the little rat that fed you the information… well, that bitch is fucking mine.”
I heard a familiar scream and pushed my way in between Zodiac and Scorpio.
“That’s Joey!”
My sister’s tear-stained face was right in the middle of the screen. Beretta had her gripped by the hair, yanking her down so that you could see the fear in her eyes.
“Do you know what we do with rats around here, Zodiac? We fucking exterminate them.” He pulled out a gun, holding it against Joey’s head. She was sobbing hysterically as she plead for her life.
“NO!” I yelled, even though I couldn’t do shit.
“Please, Beretta, I’m sorry,” Joey begged, her bottom lip quivering as she fought against his hold.
“Shut up, you stupid fucking bitch. You’ve already talked enough.” He yanked her head back, spitting in her face as the tears streamed down her cheeks like nervous rivers. “She’s lucky she sucks a mean cock, because that means we still have use for your little rat, Zodiac.”
He pushed her away from him, throwing her towards his men that were holed up in some room. “But even useful rats need to be taught a lesson.”
She started to scream, her clothes ripped away from her body as they tossed her onto a table and tied all her limbs to it. I couldn’t look away, but at the same time, my eyes kept closing, trying to protect myself from seeing the horrors my sister was being put through.
“Please, Shotgun! Don’t do this! I—I love you.”
Shotgun silenced her by hitting her with the butt of his gun. “Shut up, you stupid whore.” An instant black eye appeared on her face, and my whole body moved forward like I was ready to strangle him.
Archer took a step forward, meeting my hostile gaze as I fought to stay composed. “Calm yourself, Dillon. There’s nothing you can do.”
“I’m going to have fun ripping this bitch apart, Zodiac, but before I do that, I’m going to teach her a lesson about what happens when you cross the Hell’s Artillery.”
