Page 2 of Bound By Her

Adria knew the stories. She had very little time before the loss of blood affected her motor functions and eventually killed her.

Not wanting to waste a moment, she turned to the pool.

“We are the fear; we are the darkness,” chanted behind her.

Taking in the biggest breath of her life, she jumped into the frigid waters. Her eyes glanced up, watching the last bit of cavern lights dance at the water’s surface before darkness took her vision.

Forty stories above the icy waters ran the streets of Rome and a towering high-rise office building. Half the lights were out, as most of the building’s occupants had long since gone home for the night.

Across the street, tucked just beyond the reach of a streetlamp, a man sat inside a parked car. Cloaked in shadow, his eyes never left the building’s entrance.

His phone vibrated.

Unknown Number: Has it started?

X: She went in about an hour ago.

Unknown Number: The initiation will start soon.

X shifted in his seat, his fingers tapping a restless rhythm on the steering wheel. He stared at the glowing screen for a long moment before finally typing the message he had dreaded, yet felt compelled to send.

X: I’ve been watching her for months. She’s barely seventeen. You need to be prepared. She might not make it.

…

The three dots blinked.

Paused.

Disappeared.

X wondered if he had overstepped.

Then, the response came:

Unknown Number: She won’t fail. She is a Federov.

So, he waited.

Minutes bled into hours. Across the street, the building loomed, silent and patient. In the pre-dawn stillness, X finally began to see movement.

They wouldn’t all leave at once. That would draw too much attention. No, the Nine were too careful for that.

One by one, he watched them file out.

The Cahill family.

The Red Scorpions.

Vollaros.

The Triads.

The Lovetts.

Winters.

The Zuma family.

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