“There’s no way in.” Caleb fired his gun. Bang! “No. Goddamn. Way. In.”
There wasn’t. I lifted my gaze, stared up at the shimmering walls, and cradled Ali against my chest. Tobias fired, Bang! And killed another of Hale’s men who skirted the corner of the warehouse and ran straight toward us.
Ali bucked and unleashed a wail. I spread my fingers over his face, tilting my face to kiss his cheek. “Shhh…it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
Tobias scanned the walls, then the grounds. I’d lost sight of Helene and Vivienne after the first attack and now…we were alone.
“I’m going to fucking destroy this place.” Tobias growled, turning to glance at us before focusing on something in the distance.
Nick and Caleb fired, downing as many men as they could. But Tobias left them both behind and strode past me. I turned, holding Ali with one hand as Tobias headed for a group of soldiers hired by London and his buddies.
They swung their weapons, taking out two more assholes from the other side of the building. I caught Tobias’ snarl, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“Princess.” Nick grunted, firing his gun. “Stay close now.”
I shifted closer but my attention was on Tobias as one of the soldiers opened his duffel bag and pulled something out and handed it to the man I loved. A short conversation and the soldier gave a nod, leaving Tobias to stride back toward us.
The closer he came, the more I realized what he had in his grip. It was a bomb.
“We can’t find a way inside, then I’ll make one.” He growled as he went past me and fixed the device waist high on the mirrored wall. “You might want to all step back here.”
Nick and Caleb jerked their gazes to their brother as he fixed the massive wad of C4 explosive to the wall. But I was already walking backwards before I turned and lunged toward the safety of the soldiers.
“T!” Nick roared as he grabbed me. “You are one crazy motherfucker!”
We made it to the safety of the trees, where Tobias and Caleb met us. I turned my back, cradled Ali tight against me, and covered his ears as Nick covered mine.
“Now!” Tobias barked.
One of the soldiers held a trigger, scanned the area, and pressed the button.
BOOM!
The explosion was deadening, even through Nick’s firm grip on the sides of my head. But Ali didn’t cry out, not this time. Nick’s hands slid free as he turned, then we all did, and stared at the gaping hole in the side of the building, one that’d lead us inside.
“Boom,” Tobias muttered as he lifted his weapon and moved closer.
“Stay here, baby,” Nick urged, leaving me behind.
Tobias, Nick, and Caleb neared the gaping hole. The sound of glass crunched under their boots before Tobias stepped through the massive hole to disappear inside. My pulse throbbed in my temples, growing louder before he returned. “It’s all clear.”
Wild horses couldn’t have held me back. I rushed forward, meeting Nick as Caleb stepped through. The two soldiers followed as I stepped over the jagged shards and into some kind of office. But we didn’t stay long.
“Let’s get this motherfucker.” Tobias led the way.
He was more savage than I’d seen him in a long time. A pure killing machine. One driven by the need to protect those he loved. My body still ached from his love, both he and Nick had been ravenous last night. I’d known it was different when Tobias pulled me into the shower with him, tracing the tattoo low down on my abdomen. I wanted to remove it, but he wouldn’t let me.
It’s not time yet, little mouse.
Now I knew what he meant by that.
He needed to see it one last time. To burn it into his mind, and use it as he charged into the hallway of this building. I held our son tight and followed them inside.
Crack!
Crack!
One of the soldiers fired behind us. I cried out, hurrying forward as Tobias turned right. The lights were bright above us, glaringly bright. The hum of the lights were so loud they sounded like cicadas. We turned again, moving away from that irritating sound and deeper into the belly of the place.
“You two head that way.” Tobias commanded. “I’m after the goddamn communications room, so I can tear this place to the ground.”
“Here.” One of them reached into his bag and pulled out another hunk of C4 explosive.
Fear pushed through me. I trusted Tobias, more than I trusted anyone. But the sight of that explosive around our child was enough to fill me with dread. He took it and nodded to them before they turned and left.
“The comms room?” Caleb said. “You think that’s a good idea?”
“Is it going to stop his escape or ruin his goddamn plans?”
“Maybe,” Caleb answered.
Tobias turned around and started walking. “That’s good enough for me.”
He swept his weapon around the corner and pushed on. Nick was behind him, scanning the other way as the hallway branched out.
Boom!
The sound ricocheted along the hallway, which only made Tobias push harder, until he was almost running. Nick went after him, leaving me to hurry with Ali…until I slowed, then stopped. Something nagged at me, worming its way through my mind. I turned around, and saw a lone figure standing at the end of the hallway. A figure I almost didn’t recognize…except for those eyes.
Washed out green.
Green like I saw every day when I looked in the mirror.
Only that man…he was a stranger.
He took a step forward, agony filling his eyes.
“No.” I shook my head. “NO!”
I closed my eyes.
“Ryth? Ryth!”” Caleb grabbed me to him, looking behind me. “What was it?”
But I shook my head and turned, staring at the same place he was…only my father was gone. Like he wasn’t there at all.
Only he was. He was there. I cradled my son and stepped away from Caleb, moving in the opposite direction.
“Ryth, no.” Caleb called.
“Baby?” Nick was next.
“What the fuck was it?” Tobias pushed past me, heading further back into the hall until he stopped, then turned around.
“I…” I started. “I thought I saw—”
“Who?”
I met that implacable stare. “My father.”
I saw a flicker of fear as he froze. “Your what?”
I wanted to shake my head. I wanted to say it was a lie, just a figment of my imagination, a remnant of the deep scar he’d left on my heart. But it wasn’t a lie. I knew it wasn’t. “He’s here…there.” I stepped forward.
Tobias’ lips curled in a sneer. “Yeah? Then let’s find out where the sonofabitch has been all this time.”
He left us, striding forward, his gun raised. All I could see was my father’s death. I wanted that more than anything. To see him hurt, begging for his life. Begging forgiveness. That’s what I wanted.
Because he’d hurt me.
He’d betrayed me.
Just like Mom.
That old pain resurfaced as we headed along the hallway, turning right at the end. We moved, our steps thudding like the beating of my heart until we came to the end and two doors, one left and the other right.
“Which way, little mouse?” Tobias turned toward me.
I stared at them, then lifted my finger. Left.
“Right it is.” He yanked the handle and shoved, but the door was locked. The red light blinked. Tobias swore, then turned to the other door and smacked the handle.
Click.
The lock went green, causing Tobias to turn back, glance at us, and then open the door. My heart leaped as he stepped through. But Nick was there, stepping around me, touching Ali as he followed his brother inside.
Then Caleb went, leaving just me. Part of me wanted to turn away and just not know. But that haunting stare stayed with me, dragging the agony of betrayal back to the surface.
“Holy shit,” Tobias snarled.
I looked down at our son, at his perfect gray-green eyes, ones he carried from my bloodline, and stepped through that open door into a world of machines.
There were rows and rows of servers. I moved between the towering stacks, finding Caleb first, then Nick, and finally Tobias. He spun around, his eyes shining with excitement. “I say it’s the perfect place to put this.”
In his hand was that hunk of C4. One that would tear this place apart.
“We need to get you and Ali safe first.” He glanced at his son.
“I can help with that.”
I stiffened at the soft murmur. One I hadn’t heard in what felt like forever.
“You? You MOTHERFUCKER!” Tobias unleashed a roar.
Movement came all around me. I was grabbed and pushed to the side, spinning to see Tobias grab my father and drive him backwards until his head slammed against one of the rows of servers with a thud.
But my father didn’t fight back. Instead, he stood motionless as Nick rushed forward to search his jacket and his pockets. “He’s clear,” He called, staring my father in the eyes.
He didn’t look like my father.
Not the one I knew.
This man was gaunt and weak, sallow looking. He shifted that piercing stare to me once more, then slowly lowered it to my son. “Ryth.”
“No, you fucking don’t,” Tobias growled as he stepped to the side, blocking his view. “You don’t get to look at her. You don’t get to look at anyone but me.”
The pain I’d suffered at the hands of our family was nothing compared to Tobias’. His own father had not only sold me out, but then he’d tried to make amends, ultimately dying in Tobias’ arms. That hurt more than anything.
“I’m here to help,” my father said quietly. “Just let me help you, son.”
I winced at the word.
“Don’t you dare call me that. I’m not your son and that woman there isn’t your daughter. You lost that right when you fucking betrayed us.”
“I tried—”
“You sold your own fucking DAUGHTER TO A RAPIST!”
Ali unleashed a scream, kicking and thrashing in my arms. I stumbled backwards, clutching my son. I wanted to see pain in my father’s eyes. I wanted to see anything but utter helplessness.
“Are you going to deny it?” Tobias towered over him, his fists clenched like he wanted to beat my father to death with the fistful of explosives. He’d do it, too.
“How can I?” The words were almost a whisper. “It’s the truth.”
Tobias sneered. “You vile piece of shit. Nick…cuff this bastard to the server there. He needs to die along with the rest of this place.”
Nick glanced at me, then shook his head. “Not going to do that, T.”
Tobias’ rage was a beast of its own, making him wrench that hateful glare toward his brother, until he saw me. Then he stopped, his big chest heaving.
“It’s her dad,” Nick urged. “Regardless of what he’s done. I’m not going to watch her see him die, we know what that feels like, right?”
My beautiful tornado of pain flinched, that rage dying down to an inferno as he turned back to my father. “No, we’re not going to do that. She just won’t watch.”
“It won’t matter anyway,” My father said. “I’m dying.”
Tobias gave a huff.
“I have maybe a couple weeks left.”
Tobias froze.
That icy sensation grew along the back of my neck as I took a step forward, brushing past Caleb and Nick before I placed my hand on Tobias’ arm. His anger was a direct result of the love he felt for me. He’d destroy everyone and everything which hurt me. But this pain wasn’t something that could be destroyed…just completed, before I moved on.
I met my father’s familiar stare. “I hope you find the peace you’ve been looking for in your next life.”
“Ryth, baby.”
I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes. “Noooo. No, you don’t get to call me that. You don’t get to—”
“Dad?”
The call was deep, wounded. I spun around, finally heeding the thud of footsteps, and found Helene standing in the doorway. Her gaze went from me…to our father.
“You?” Riven pushed past her, those killer eyes fixed on our father. “You fucking bastard!”
There was no stopping him as he lunged across the room faster than anyone expected, shoving Tobias and me aside to get his hands on our father.
“I’m going to FUCKING KILL YOU!”
Tobias grabbed me and steadied both of us before he turned, shoving Riven hard. “Hey! You fucking asshole!”
“Riven,” Helene called, making the vengeful male turn around and face her.
She strode closer, easing him aside. But she didn’t give our father her attention. No, not at first. Instead, she focused on me, moving closer to hug me and brush her fingers across Ali’s cheek. “You okay?”
I gave a nod, my heart swelling with her love. She might not’ve been the sister I’d wanted throughout my childhood. Hell, she wasn’t even a normal sister now as an adult. But there was a love between all three of us. One that had been etched by blood and pain. One stronger than I’d ever realized until that moment as she turned to our father.
“I’d ask you why you’re here, but I realized I really don’t care.” He opened his mouth to speak, until she cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Don’t bother. Your diagnosis means little to us now. All I want from you is closure. So, say what you need to say to us, then leave. We can’t wait to forget you ever existed.”
Agony roared across his eyes. He reached into his pocket, making Riven grab his wrist.
“Easy.” He warned.
But our father didn’t carry a weapon, not one we could see, at any rate. He pulled out a small black thumb drive. “This…this is worth everything.”
Helene stared at the drive in his hand.
“The files in the Vault were corrupted. We didn’t know that at the time, but I had my man try to crack the codes to release the information. He couldn’t and in the end, I realized there was no way for you to survive this without more. There are more Hales involved in this. More than you could ever know. They hide behind badges and plaques. They hide behind the greatest house we know. There’re no laws that can touch them, no amount of money that can force them from the dark where they hide. There is no winning this war without this.” He lifted the device, his voice cracking. “And there was no getting this unless you were on the inside. He had to think I was part of all this. I had to find some way to earn his trust.”
“So you just fed your daughters to those men to do it?” Riven spat. “You fucking disgust me.”
“Yes.” Our father answered as tears filled his eyes. “I did and if I had to do it again, even if it caused me this, I’d do it again.”
“You really are a bastard.” Tobias shook his head.
But our father just looked at us, desperately holding out that goddamn drive. Helene stared at it, then turned and gave him her back.
“Please.” He begged. “You wanted an ending, right? You wanted closure from me, this…this is your closure.”
She turned, her eyes shimmering. My throat thickened at the sight. I reached out and brushed her arm. She’d suffered so much for us. Too much. I dropped my hand and stepped forward, taking the drive from his hand.
“Thank you, Ryth. Thank you, I—”
Crack!
The blast was deafening, making me cry out and stumble backwards, cradling Ali as I gripped the drive. In the blink of an eye, our father dropped to the floor where he lay with a gunshot wound in his skull.
Roars followed. I stumbled backwards and clutched Ali even closer. Helene was there, lunging in front of me as the server room filled with men…and one woman.
A woman I’d seen before.
Riven’s sister.
“You-” CRACK! “Fucking bitch!”
Crack!
Crack!
CRACK!
The roar of gunfire was all I could hear. Helene fired her gun, taking down one of the men as they skirted the servers and came for us. Tobias and Nick disappeared, leaving Caleb to stand guard alongside my sister.
Choked sounds of death and roars of rage filled the room.
“You bitch!” Riven bellowed. Crack! “You fucking die, you goddamn bitch.”
I trembled with rage as I lowered my head and kissed my son’s cheek. This is all there was for us…this is all—
Until suddenly there was silence.
Cold, empty silence.
I lifted my head, to find Caleb and Helene standing side by side, watching for movement.
“Is it over?” I asked.
Footsteps sounded, heavy and hard. They were followed by another and another…until Tobias rounded the towering metal shelves. There was blood all over him. Blood that splattered over his face and ran down his hands. Nick was the same…as was Riven and his brothers who followed closely behind them.
“Baby,” Riven croaked, but Helene was already moving, lunging into his arms.
Tobias wrapped his around me, pulling me close. “It’s over,” he said, his face buried against my neck. “It’s over.”
I hugged him back, sobs tearing free as I shifted my gaze to our father. “He’s gone.”
There was pain in Tobias’ eyes as he met mine. “Yes.”
Still, I needed to see. I let him go and stepped around him, making my way to where my father lay. His wide eyes were fixed and empty. Whoever he was or had hoped to be was no more. So many questions remained unanswered, but I guess there wasn’t an answer to them. I could ask why forever and still feel pain.
My fingers clenched around the device. I opened it and turned, finding the slew of bodies between us and the door. The soldiers had paid well…and so had Riven’s sister, lying with her arms open, on top of the men she’d used.
But none of them were Hale.
He was still out there.
Until he was dead, this wouldn’t be done.
“We need to find him,” I whispered. “And kill the sonofabitch.”
