Page 61 of Reaper & Ruin
He was being shoved into the back of one of the cars, his hands tied, his head down, his shoulders hunched. A man with a gun was gripping his arm, dragging him toward the vehicle. Gio was resisting, but there were too many of them. At least a dozen armed men swarming around the cabin like vultures circling a carcass.
A surge of rage shot through me, blinding and hot. They were taking him. They were taking Gio.
Fuck no. Nobody touched my toys but me. Nobody tied them up with pretty ropes or manhandled them.
Nobody dared hurt them. Not unless they wanted to die.
And I wasverygood at death.
I didn’t even think. My foot slammed on the gas, and the truck lurched forward. I aimed straight for the two bastards closest to Gio, not giving a damn about what came next. They turned at the last second, eyes wide with panic, but it was too late. The front of the truck hit them with a sickening thud, and I felt the impact shudder through the vehicle.
I didn’t stop.
I skidded to a halt just a few feet away from the group, jumping out of the truck before the dust even settled. My gun was in my hand, the safety off, and my focus was razor-sharp. There was no time to think, no time to hesitate.
I just became the wraith I’d been for so many years, like a single day had not passed.
The first man rushed me, a knife glinting in his hand. He wasn’t fast enough. I squeezed the trigger; the shot rang out through the night as he dropped to the ground, blood pooling beneath him. I didn’t have time to check if he was dead, but I didn’t need to.
I never missed a kill.
Never made a mistake.
The second man came at me from the side, and I spun, bringing the butt of the gun down hard on his skull. He staggered, dazed but not down, so I followed up with a kick to his ribs that sent him sprawling. Then another bullet to another of my victims.
“Atlas!” Gio’s voice rang out, but I couldn’t look at him. Not yet. I had to focus. To remember what I knew and what I did best.
Another man was on me, swinging a fist. I ducked, feeling the air whoosh past my head. My body moved on autopilot, twisting, delivering a clean shot to his leg. He collapsed, screaming in pain, and I put him out of his misery with a shot to the head.
Everything was moving too fast. My heart pounded in my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins. I had to get to Gio. I had to—
“Do another thing and I’ll put a bullet in your boyfriend’s head.”
The voice was smooth, calm, and cold as ice. Every muscle in my body froze. Every ounce of fight stopped in an instant because I knew it was true. It was not an empty threat.
And I knew I couldn’t let it happen.
Slowly, I turned, my blood boiling beneath my skin. And there she was. The newest bane of my existence. The one I’d been wary of being nearby, and once again had ignored my own instincts and pretended not to care about.
Danika.
She stood a few feet away, her gun pressed against Gio’s temple. Her black hair hung in long, straight lines down her back, her dark eyes glittering with amusement. She hadn’t changed. Not in the slightest. She looked just as dead inside as she had since childhood.
She still held herself with the air of a woman who was no woman at all.
She was just a monster. A monster like me, only she had no Heaven. No Gio.
She had nothing but death as her friend.
Gio stood rigid, his hands tied, his jaw clenched. He didn’t dare move, and I could see the fear flickering in his eyes, though he tried to hide it. My heart hammered in my chest, the rage bubbling just beneath the surface.
“Dani,”I said, my voice a low growl as I switched to Russian.“Get the fuck away from him.”
She smirked, her grip tightening on the gun as she pressed it harder against Gio’s head.“It’s been a long time, Atlas.”
In The Company, bonds were thicker than blood. And once upon a time, we’d been close. Too close. We’d shared everything—missions, pain, survival. Now, that bond felt like a lifetime ago.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady.“What the hell are you doing here?”
