The air inside is warm and the hallway ahead is dimly lit, the only light coming from the faint glow downstairs. I hold my axe tighter and move through the house with silent steps until I reach the top of the grand staircase, and when I look below, I see it’s a huge open study. The firelight flickers as I search the quiet aera until I spot him, sitting in a leather armchair with his back to me.
My jaw clenches as I straighten, then step forward. I glide across the marble floor, silent even against the crackling hiss ofthe fire. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, the glow from the study spills over me, but I don’t stop.
Both hands tighten around the axe handle as I move closer, quicker, my focus narrowing to the man seated in the chair.
“Ahhh, Ty Easton…” Ricco’s voice cuts through the room, smooth and mocking, and I freeze. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
He rises slowly, taking his time, and turns to face me. His eyes—icy, greedy, unfeeling—lock onto mine, and every drop of blood in my body rushes to my head. Wrath vibrates through me, coiling in my body, begging to explode.
He takes me in, lazily assessing, the cigar still smoking between his lips as his other hand remains calmly by his side.
“You haven’t changed a bit, kid. Sacred Heights did nothing for you, I see.”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” My roar tears through the room, raw and sharp, bouncing off the high ceilings like a physical force.
He doesn’t even move. Just stares at me, his callous gaze almost amused.
“Where the fuck is she? Where did you put her?”
“Penny?” His lips curl into a smirk, and the sound of her name on his tongue makes me see red.
I don’t answer. Words are beneath me now.
He gestures lazily to a door on the far left, his tone casual, uninterested. “Oh, she’s at the back.”
The air feels like it’s been sucked from the room. My brows knit together, my heart plummeting like a stone. I almost shake my head, denying his words, but the faint creak of a door opening snaps my attention.
My eyes dart to the sound, my blood turning cold as three massive men stride into the room. Their suits are pristine, everybutton waxed, their polished shoes clicking ominously against the marble floor.
My mind spins, calculating. Four of them. I’ll have to take down all four of them or die trying. My hold on my axe strengthens, my knuckles white against the leather of my gloves.
But none of it matters. None of them matter.
All I care about is Penny.
He clicks his fingers, a sharp sound that cuts through the tension like a knife. One of the suited men steps forward before he hands something to Ricco, and it takes a second for my brain to register what I’m looking at.
An urn.
“She’s right here,” he says with a smug, venomous smirk, holding it out like some fucked-up trophy.
My blood turns to ice, freezing and boiling at the same time. My chest squeezes, my lungs forgetting how to pull air. The world tilts, my vision narrowing to nothing but that urn and his sadistic grin.
Then it happens.
I don’t think. I don’t plan. I just move.
A roar tears from my throat, rough and painful, as I lunge forward, the axe high above my head. My boots thunder against the floor as I charge, every muscle in my body tightened with murderous intent.
The first man is on me in an instant, slamming into my side, but I don’t budge. The impact barely registers as I spin, swinging the axe with all the force I can summon. The blade slices clean through his throat, blood spraying out as he collapses, gurgling on the floor.
I don’t stop.
Another comes at me, but he’s too slow. My axe curves through the air, catching him across the stomach and the sharp blade digs deep, tearing through fabric, flesh, and bone. His scream echoes through the room as he drops to his knees, clutching at his spilling guts.
Suddenly, a deafening crack rings out.
Pain explodes in my leg, white-hot and searing, like a burning poker driven straight through the muscle. My knee buckles, and I crash to the floor with a hiss, my axe slipping from my grip as I clutch at my leg. Blood pools beneath me, thick and warm, spreading across the cold marble.
