Page 208 of Darling Wildfire
“Who’s Quarry?”
“Middleman,” Deathwing answered. “Let me wrap up here and we’ll regroup at the house and plan next steps. My recovery and clean-up crew are already en route.”
He walked off, talking into his comms unit and directing his men. I walked over to Nyx and Atlas scanning them like I always did to make sure they werein one piece.
“We talked to a few of the girls,” Nyx added. “Your daughter is apparently just like you.”
When I looked at him with a question in my eyes he chuckled.
“Causing trouble, has an insane temper—killing people,” Nyx said dryly. “Yet at the same time there were a few of the little ones who said she’d tell them the story ofLittle Red Riding Hoodwhen they got scared.”
My breath stalled in my lungs and I blinked away the emotions threatening to spill over. I could just picture the chaos and destruction she’d been leaving in her wake. But I could also see her telling whatever version ofLittle Red Riding Hoodshe thought the little ones would resonate with. She always did like the different ways I’d tell it although she would let me tell it the traditional way whenever she knew Cole was having a difficult time. The traditional way had been his favorite.
I cleared my throat as I folded up her picture and carefully put it into a pocket.
“That sounds just like her,” I said finally. “Although I don’t know how I can say that after all this time. She was only a child—” I couldn’t continue.
I shook my head and walked away, needing to move and clear my head. Being this close and then still not having found her was torture.
104
THERON
After freeing my men, I’d sent Lachlan and Graham off to find Cal and Knight. I needed them to search for Albatron. I sent Tex, Sakari and Knox to sweep and secure the rest of the house and hopefully find Atlas in the process. I was concerned about him. Having Nyx get taken away from him now, so close to the end—I shoved those emotions down because I couldn’t think about how after all of this, he wouldn’t be there to see it. Listening to the chatter over comms, I knew Vetticus had Kaelin so that’s where I headed.
I limped my way towards the end of the hallway. As I neared the middle, I heard two guards come up behind me. I threw myself at them, just barely avoiding a gunshot to the face. The sound was deafening but I slammed the gun against the wall and turned my own handgun on the other. Two gunshots later, they were down.
After that, the guards kept coming.
Where I got the adrenaline from, I didn’t know. By the time I made it out of the hallway, I left a pile of corpses behind me and I was bleeding from more than Vetticus’ handywork. After the hallway, I found myself in a large hall. It was similar to the one Vetticus had held the party in. I could tell he hadn’t lived in this estate for quite some time. There was dust on everything and cobwebs decorated the corners and window sills. Nice of him to bring us back to where it all began.
I wiped blood out of my eyes in time to shoot a man who appeared in the far doorway, then dove out of the way to avoid the gunshots from his partner. I shot back as I hauled myself to my feet. Footsteps came up behind me and the bite of a bullet hit my side before I was moving again. My breath sounded ragged even to my own ears as I launched myself at two of the men. My momentum took us all to the ground where I rolled on top of one, crossing my gun with his and killing two at once.
I turned and dodged a knife to my neck, only to pull his arm forward and shove my gun under his chin. Blood sprayed across my face and I pushed the body to the ground. I used the nearby windowsill to pull myself to my feet and staggered towards the door.
I’d just made it into the next hallway when four men appeared. It was close quarters as they all tried to use their guns. Bullets thudded into the wall near my head. My gun went off three times, with three kill shots. The forth went wide as my arm was knocked aside and the man tackled me to the ground. A knife came for my throat and I dropped my gun just in time to shove my arms up to block it. The man ground his teeth, panting as he threw his weight forward, attempting to drive the knife home.
Somehow, I found the strength and with a shove, unbalanced him enough to daze him. I got to my knees and drove the knife towards his own throat. My chest heaved as I watched his life blood drain onto the floor between us.
This time when I tried to get to my feet, I stumbled and went down on one knee. My own blood mingled with the dead man’s and I was momentarily mesmerized by it.
We all bleed the same in the end.
Getting to my feet took more effort than the last time but I managed and moved on.
Towards Kaelin.
Towards Vetticus.
Towards the end.
FLASHBACK
THERON
ROME, ITALY
After the raid on the warehouse, we went back to the safe house.
