Page 33 of Snapped
Chapter 21 | Retribution
“Theresa, get your arse up here, and lead the way,” Cirian barked.
“I beg your pardon.” She shoved past the group of men blocking her way.
“Sorry,” Cirian apologized. “You and Taryn were the ones poring over the damned infernal map, so I thought you’d know the way.”
She stopped and scrutinized him for a second. “You’re forgiven, just this once. Now, if we…” She stopped, head jerking to the right.
“Wha…” A simple snap of her fingers silenced Cirian.
“Do you hear that?” Indeed, there was a faint tapping sound.
August pushed his way through the mass of bodies until he was standing beside Cirian. “It’s the same sound we heard earlier—what did your husband call it?” He turned to look for Tanis.
“It’s Rian, hurry!” Cirian shouted before Tanis could answer, sprinting down the dark hallway.
Someone behind them whistled softly and they all stopped, turning. “Seriously? Do you want that monster to hear us coming?” Aiyan was the voice of reason. They continued on through the maze of hallways, much quieter until they heard faint voices.
“How many people are down here?” Hector asked.
“Wait,” Thyago moved to the front of the pack. “That’s San.”
“And who is San, exactly?” Cirian asked, obviously frustrated.
“Alessandra, what is she doing down here?” Thyago looked as confused as the rest of them.
Cirian inhaled a deep breath and raised his sword. “Well, I’ve had about enough; I’m going to get my husband.”
Nothing could have prepared Cirian for what he’d see when they found Cillian, Rian, and Alessandra. Cillian and Alessandra were spinning and zipping around each other, daggers clanking, and Cirian was quite impressed. The woman was holding her own—and then some. The room was small with nothing more than a table, a dozen or so empty cabinets with doors along one wall, a couple of floor-to-ceiling beams to balance the room, and…“Rian!” Cirian called out, alerting his brother to his presence.
The big man lowered his dagger, shoving the woman forcefully away, her body slamming into the table across the room. Thyago moved quickly, helping his wife get to her feet, all but dragging her out of the room as she cussed and wailed in Spanish. “Repugnante cerdo de un hombre!” Thyago couldn’t help but laugh. Cillian definitely was a disgusting pig of a man—his wife had nailed that one.
Cirian’s eyes darted from his brother to his husband, who lay prone on the ground, handcuffed to one of the beams. His heart sank. Rian didn’t seem to be breathing; he lay there, lifeless and…oh God, his face was an intricate pattern of cuts and bruises, red, puffy, and swollen. Something deep down inside Cirian took over, a deep-seated anger from a place he wasn’t familiar with.
When he spoke, his voice was calm, even, frightening. “What have you done, brother?”
Cillian cackled. “Oh, that’s rich. Brother, my ass.” And then he saw August. “Augie, my man, I knew you didn’t have it in you.”
August tried to move closer, but Hector’s firm grip on his arm held August in place beside him. One eyebrow cocked, he turned to look at Hector. His lover simply shook his head, holding on to his arm a bit tighter. Gorilla Man laughed again, and August wondered how it was he hadn’t ripped the fucker’s vocal cords out before today. “Oh, this is precious.…You and one of them?” Cillian baited him.
“Enough!” Cirian barked. “This is between me and my brother. No one else is to get involved, am I clear?” When there was no response, Cirian turned and glared at them—and was taken aback by the look of anger on his son’s face as it morphed into confusion and then fear.
“Kaden?” Aiyan’s bow dropped to the floor at his feet as he tried to move through the bodies blocking his path to his husband. Cirian spun around in time to see his son-in-law come up behind his brother.
“Kaden, no!” Aiyan shouted. Seeing his husband not only in the same room with Cillian but close enough for Cillian to touch him awoke feelings that threatened Aiyan’s sanity. He could tear the big man apart with his hands and subject him to tortures only serial killers of old dared use.
But it was too late, far too late. Before Aiyan could take more than three steps into the room, Kaden’s sword was buried into Cillian’s back. The big man fell to his knees, a look of disbelief marring his normally hateful features. Kaden leaned on the sword, driving it deep enough that he could hear bones breaking under the weight of the blade. His gaze lifted, seeking out Aiyan as he spoke softly and deliberately to the man that was the cause of countless nightmares over the past year. “I know I promised you that day by the well my husband would find you, that he would kill you. I must break that promise to you now, and for that, I am not even the least bit sorry.” Eyes still trained on his husband, Kaden stood and twisted the sword with a jerk.
Cillian’s mouth opened as if to scream, but no sound came out. His body convulsed when Kaden righted his sword then jerked it violently from his flesh, a stream of blood littering Kaden’s clothing and the floor. The big man who had caused nothing but pain to everyone Kaden held dear fell forward, his last breath leaving his body in a rush. Before Kaden could wipe the foul blood from his sword, Aiyan was on him. He jerked the sword from Kaden’s hands, tossing it aside and wrapping his arms around Kaden tight. “You scared the ever-loving shit out of me, M’anam.” Leaning back and holding Kaden at arm’s length, Aiyan looked him over before he continued to rant. “Don’teverdo that again!”
Everyone in the small, dark room fell quiet as Cirian approached Rian. “My Love, please, stay with me,” he whispered, dropping to his knees beside his husband’s still body. Lifting a shaking hand, Cirian hesitated briefly before gently touching Rian’s neck to feel for a pulse. “Oh, thank God.”
“San, check that pile of shit’s pockets for a key.” Thyago kicked said pile of shit once for good measure, his face curling in disgust when he got blood on his boot, which he wiped off on the sleeve of the dead man’s shirt.
Key in hand, she crawled over to Rian and hands shaking, stuck it into the small lock. The clicking noise when she turned the key sounded like a goddamn kettledrum in the insanely quiet room. Cirian whimpered, which shocked the shit out of everyone almost as much as the way he gently removed the handcuffs from Rian’s arms. He still hadn’t woken and his pulse was weak, but Rian was alive, and for that Cirian was grateful. He slid over behind Rian and pulled him into his lap, wiping a strand of blood-soaked hair off his forehead before leaning in to kiss him. No one knew what the hell to do as the most powerful man in the world sat and wept while he held his husband in his arms.
First Taryn, then Thyago offered to carry Rian for Cirian but he wouldn’t have it, waved them off and growled. “I can carry me own damn husband!”
