Page 21 of His Paradise

“I got three,” Luna pumps her fist excitedly. Jared rolls his eyes, keeping himself low to the ground.

“Don’t let your guard down, Lunatic. I’ll catch up with you.” He mutters. I ignore their banter as Alec nudges me with his elbow, tipping his head towards the captain’s area. I nod, leaning next to the door as I reach for the lever and slowly pull, unlatching the door. Once everyone is in place I twist and swing it inwards. Shots ring out, sparking as they bounce against metal and miss each of their targets.

“Where did they find their men, the freakin’ cabbage patch?” Luna shouts, her voice loud in the following silence.

“That doesn’t even make sense,” I grunt, lurching through the doorway. Luna picks up a piece of metal and flicks it, bouncing the piece off my forehead while I glare at her. “Quit screwing around.”

A man pokes his head out of the doorway, and Luna raises her hand. She pulls the trigger without blinking or looking away from me, grinning when his body slumps to the ground. I roll my eyes, but a small part of me sings its pride for my little sister and how far she’s come. The boat suddenly lurches, rocking all of us. Luna puts the back of her hand to her mouth, her cheeks paling. Jared wraps an arm around her protectively and I tip my head for him to drag her away, before she pukes everywhere.

Alec raises his brow, nodding to tell me he has my back. I dive through the doorway, and slam into a waiting wall of muscle. “Shit,” The massive man whips out his gun, but I snap a kick to his wrist and he drops it with a grunt. He yanks my wrist, twisting until agony ripples through my arm and my gun clatters to the ground. I catch sight of Alec wrestling on the ground with an enraged woman straddling his chest.

She is trying to force the serrated blade into his abdomen, putting all of her weight behind the hilt. Alec is holding his own even though she has the upper hand. I don’t have time to stare when the giant man grabs the front of my shirt and lifts me off my feet, tossing me as if I weigh nothing. My back hits the wall and I slide down, choking as the air is knocked from my lungs and I feel warmth drip down my chin.

The taste of copper is unmistakable, and he’s not done with me yet. I can hear voices below us, and as the boat shifts again, it knocks my opponent off balance. A gunshot rings out from a floor down and the next sound makes my blood turn cold as it rips through my entire soul.

I would recognize her voice anywhere. Nina’s scream cuts short and I slam my fists to the ground as if I could rip this metal apart with my bare hands. Leaping to my feet, I rush at the man and slam to his middle, knocking him backwards and tripping him over the dead body of the woman Alec was fighting.

When I land on top of him, I slam my fists into his face, again and again even as his massive hands slump to the floor.

My Nina. Her scream still reverberates in my head, each impact against my knuckles slowly drowns out the sounds around me.

Blood slicks across my hands, each punch slipping over his skin as I let my rage consume me. My anger comes out in snarls until a small hand slaps across my face and bright white hair falls into my vision.

Luna grabs my jaw in a pinching grip, forcing me to look at her as she frowns. “He’s dead, Aden. Let’s go.” She snaps. I rise to my feet slowly, staring at my hands as they shake. The skin is split and raw, covered with another man's blood and my own. Jared runs towards us, waving for us to follow him down a narrow staircase.

“There was a gunshot. We heard a woman scream.” Alec explains, and I can feel his eyes on the back of my head. “Nina. It was Nina’s scream.” I hiss, shoving past everyone to rush for the door.

“Your gun,” Alec says, grabbing my shoulder as he shoves it in front of me and I take it without stopping. The door swings open and I don’t stop. Even when I come face to face with David.

“Give her back!” I roar, pointing my gun at him. David grins, his hand pressed to the bleeding wound on his side. From the corner of my eye I see her. Nina is held by her throat, a gun pressed to her head while she dangles in somebody else's arms. Her beautiful hair is plastered to the side of her face and neck with a thick layer of blood. My eyes lock onto the droplet that falls from her chin down to the floor.

“I’m going to take you apart, David. One fucking piece at a time until you’re nothing more than a whimpering bitch, begging for mercy.” A cold calm has settled over me, finally seeing her again.

“Nina was on her knees, nothing more than a whimpering bitch. How ironic.” He mutters, his disgusting grin getting bigger. “He’s baiting you, Aden.” Alec says, his foot bumping mine as he steps closer. I know David is just trying to get under my skin, but it’s too late. He’s been tearing through my flesh from the moment he stole my wife.

The four men around the room are all positioned with their guns leveled at us, not including the one that is holding Nina and the man lying at their feet. Nina groans, the low sound coming from her as she slowly lifts her head. I watch her hand twitch, trying to reach for her head but the man holding her slaps it away.

“Don’t fucking touch her!” I roar, stepping towards them.

“He gets any closer, shoot her.” David says, watching me with a calculated eye.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, David. You won’t leave this room alive.” Alec tells him. David scoffs, blood dripping from his mouth as he shakes his head.

“Gray?” Nina says, staring at the body at her feet. She tries to lean down, reaching for him with a choked cry. “Grayson, wake up.” I can hear her voice breaking as she reaches for him.

“Your little whore really gets around.” David sneers, spitting on the motionless body. Nina finally looks up, tears staining her dirty face but I can see it. The bravery in her eyes that he hasn’t broken.

“You’re pathetic and I pray Aden snaps every bone in your body. I hope I get to watch him as he breaks you.” She cries, shaking her head.

“That’s my girl,” I say, my voice a whisper. Her eyes finally find mine, her lip quivering as a sob wracks her body and she tries to lunge for me. The man holding her slams the barrel of his gun to her head, and it takes every ounce of restraint I have to not kill him. Yet.

“Let her go and you can walk away from this, David. We have an entire fleet of men waiting just beyond these stairs. You kill us and it’s over for you no matter what.” Alec offers and I open my mouth to argue, but Jared grunts behind me and I snap my jaw shut. I’ll agree to anything if I get to hold Nina again, to take her away from this pain.

I can see David considering it, and when two of his men lower their guard to lean towards each other, the boat rocks and I leap into action. I slam into David, knocking him to the ground and wrapping my arm around his throat as he fights me off.

My arm tightens and when the barrel of my gun taps his temple, his entire body locks up and he holds his hands up to stop his men.

“If anything happens to Nina, if he plucks a hair from her head, I’m going to kill you. It’ll be slow, and agonizing for you, but I’ll enjoy every second. I wonder how long you’d live if I peeled your fucking flesh away from your bones and cover your body with acetone?” I mutter in his ear, tightening my hold until he struggles to breathe. None of us are expecting the man at Nina’s feet, Grayson, to leap from the ground.

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