Page 33 of Deadly Little Hearts

Someone threatened my family today, my brothers, and this means war.My first priority is making sure Freya receives the best care, then it’s time to clean up this mess and find out who was brave enough to fuck with us.Brave enough to set fire to our town hall, to threaten The Brotherhood.

I squeeze Freya’s hand more forcefully before releasing it.

“Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”Lucas says, staring down at her.She looks so peaceful with her head in his lap, her hair falling around her like a halo.

“Yes.”Gage nods, placing his arm over Lucas’s shoulder.“You two need to sort your shit out, and this is the perfect reminder that tomorrow is not guaranteed.”

Lucas purses his lips as he considers Gage’s words before focusing back on Freya.Gage is right—they need to clear the air.It just sucks that this is what it’s taken to pull him out of the gutter.

Sirens ring through the chaos of the night, getting closer and closer.I stand, and Freya moves her hand over her stomach, her brows drawing together in discomfort before smoothing out.

I wave over two paramedics, and they start tending to Freya.Gage gets up, standing next to me, but Lucas doesn’t leave her side.

A thought strikes me.“Amirah wasn’t in there, was she?”

“Nah.”Gage shakes his head.“She’s at home.”

“Who the fuck would do this?”Gage asks, staring at the burning building.Fire trucks pull up, and firefighters start putting out the flames.People are lining up at the ambulances.A single raindrop hits the bridge of my nose before more follow.

“Someone who has a death warrant.”I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.

People are screaming, with nasty burns covering their skin.A few bodies line the footsteps of the building, and I look away, focusing back on Freya.She’s on a bed, and I move next to her, taking her hand in mine once more and pressing a kiss against the back of it before letting go.The paramedics push her into the back of the ambulance and Lucas jumps in alongside her.

“Keep us updated,” I yell, and the driver nods before the doors close and they drive off.My heart pounds against my rib cage.I should be with her.Fuck everything else.

A hand slaps me on the back.“She’s going to be okay.We’ve gotta deal with this and find out the damage.”Gage walks off ahead, and with a final heavy sigh, I roll back my shoulders and follow him.

Time disappears in a blur as the firefighters put out the fire, and black smoke lifts into the sky.My throat burns as though there’s a fire lit there, moving down into my belly.Gage passes me a black-and-red bandanna he got from who the fuck knows where, and I fasten it across my nose, attempting to block out the smoke, but it’s a bit late for that.My lungs are scorching.

We move toward the building.The closer we get, the more bodies litter the ground.

“Hey, you can’t go in there!”someone yells behind us, but I ignore them.We can do whatever the fuck we want.I need to see the damage, how many we’ve lost.

We reach the entrance, and anger boils up from within.Five members of The Brotherhood lie unmoving across the steps, mostly soldiers, but Samson’s among them, and I see red.Who the fuck would do this?

Samson was one of our most loyal men.He might have been a little skeptical when we took over, but he trusted us and had our backs.Now he’s gone.A light ache forms between my eyes, and I squeeze the bridge of my nose.I’m not even in the building yet, and I want to kill any motherfucker I see.

Is my father in there too?Fear grips my heart in an icy hold.I hate him, but I don’t want him dead.

Gage silently steps around the bodies and disappears through the half-destroyed door.Pressing the bandanna closer to my nose, I follow him in.The smoke rises into the air, and with each step I take, the more I want to step back.Bodies lie across every seat.Hundreds of people who came to the meeting to hear about the peace treaty are now dead.

“What a fucking mess,” Gage grumbles, kicking over one of the burned freestanding chairs.

“Whoever did this is going to pay with their life and the life of everyone they love,” I say, letting out a heavy breath.

The stench of burned bodies reminds me of being back in my shed, torturing informants for answers, fucking with their minds until they bitch out and give in.I usually love the smell, but now it’s different.I didn’t do this.Innocent lives have been compromised in someone’s fucked-up plan.

“You know if we weren’t late, we would have been in here?”Gage says, staring at something on the ground in front of him.I step up beside him, and my blood turns to ice.

A mother with a young baby in her arms, both their bodies burned.Her face is still half recognizable, but the baby is gone.Only their arms and legs are intact.

I have to get out of here.I stumble backward and practically run to the exit.I kick the last remaining piece of wood from the door, and it crumbles to pieces.Stepping around my soldiers’ bodies, I rip off the bandanna.The smoke-tainted air clings to my lungs, and I take several deep breaths.My hands shake at my sides, wanting to reach out and snap something, preferably a neck.To hear bones twist and break at my will.

Footsteps approach.Ronald appears with Zeke by his side, who looks as white as a ghost.

Zeke’s got a burn on his arm, but Ronald—he’s unmarked.How’d he escape without injury?

What if he knew?

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