Page 3 of Lethal

Cole

The plane grows closer as I make my mad dash to it, when suddenly, a bullet ricochets against the tarmac. Who the fuck would dare to shoot at me? They’re a dead man. I whip around, reaching for the gun I shoved in my pants after leaving the car, searching for my target. I wasn’t planning on leaving a trail of blood behind so early, but I’m not against it either.

My gaze zeros in on Raven, standing next to a car, her black tresses flowing behind her like a goddamn goddess come for her retribution. We come to a silent standoff, staring at each other. I can’t kill my reason for breathing…

A split second after I flick my eyes from her, a burning sensation streaks through my thigh. I haven’t even taken a step yet, but it makes me stumble. I throw my hands out, catching myself on the tarmac. I’ve already wasted too much time stopping, I can’t pause now to find out what the damage is. I shove to my feet, ignoring the added prickles of annoyance now warming my palms. My gait has a limp to it, but I remain focused on making it on the plane. Everything else can wait till I’m in the air.

No amount of pain will stop me right now. Not when I’m set on my mission to find Becca, my twin, my innocent little sister. She’s in danger, has been for years now, and I gave up on her. Wrote her off as dead. Now look what’s happened. I failed in every way to save her. That changes right the fuck now.

I might have lost my ability to process emotions, that part of myself having died long ago, but it’s been slowly waking up, as if the universe is against me. I blame my Raven. The small speck of brightness in my dull, colorless world. She’s the catalyst, the one who sparks these slight changes in me.

It’s as if the world I’ve carefully constructed for myself is caving in around me. I can’t live without Raven in my life, but I also can’t live with myself, knowing my sister has been suffering because of my shortcomings. I have to fix it.

A wave of lightheadedness passes over me as I reach the stairs, making me stumble once more. The sharp tang of fresh blood reaches me as my core tightens, working to keep me upright as I grasp the handrails, using them to hurtle me upward.

As I stagger up to the last step, a heavy weight slams into me from behind, propelling my body into the entryway of my jet. I faintly make out a grunt of surprise from the pilot, but I don’t pay it any mind, ignoring the throbbing in my leg and rolling over to shove the weight off.

Vander’s angry scowl greets me before his fist pounds into my face. My head rocks to the side with the force, and I throw a punch into his kidney, followed closely by a knee to his nuts. He works to power through the force of my hits, but I’m already jacked with so much adrenaline, he has nothing on me. I quickly palm my gun, and pistol whip him, aiming for the side of his head.

It connects, and Vander grunts before passing out on top of me. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Get us the fuck into the air,” I yell at the pilots. They’re lucky they weren’t standing around staring at us. That and the fact I don’t have time to replace them. I might have a lot of skills, but flying isn’t one of them.

Vander’s body makes a thump when I shove him off. The movement causes his leg to hit mine, sending a throb of pain through the limb. It must be bad if it’s able to affect me.

Glancing down, I find my leg slick with blood. With each second that passes, it becomes harder to push past the effects of the wound. The leg won’t hold my weight, so I crawl to the door, shutting it for takeoff. Before it closes, I catch a glimpse of my Raven. Her black hair blows in the wind, icy gaze narrowed on me, watching as the jet rolls toward the runway. Her lips pinch together, anger whipping around her.

A gun hangs at her side, tightly gripped in her palm, finger still on the trigger. That bitch shot me… and I couldn’t love her more. She shot me to keep me with her. Nothing says love louder than that.

I finally get the door closed, removing her from my field of vision. Doesn’t matter though. The image of her, my fierce killer, standing there with fury in her eyes is seared into my mind. The memory will fuel my spank bank for years to come. But first, I have to save my sister.

We round a corner and I know we’ll pick up speed any second now. I’ve never been more thankful for bribing the air traffic controller to ensure I can take off the moment I need to. It sure is coming in handy now.

Vander’s body blocks my way to the seats, which is just as well. I need to restrain him before he wakes up.

Black dots dance in my vision as I kneel, and I shake my head in a futile attempt to get rid of them. My movements seem sluggish, my fingers not wanting to do what I tell them, the zip-tie I reach for slipping through my hold.

It takes longer than it should for me to get the end through the hole and tighten it around his wrists behind his back. I’m right in time too because he rouses as my weight slumps to the side.

One glance at his hulking form and it’s clear that I won’t be able to move him. Not in the state I’m in now. Fuck. I need to take care of my leg. This isn’t ideal at all.

“What the fuck did you do? You’re a goddamn moron. I swear to fuck you’re the stupidest genius I’ve ever met,” Vander hisses, struggling with his bindings.

“Me?” I rasp, ready to strangle him with his prickish tone. “She shot me. I didn’t do a damn thing.”

“Wow. You’re certainly proving my point.” In all the time I’ve known the man, I’ve never seen him give me a dirtier look. Something about it says I’m worthless, not even worthy to lick the scum from the bottom of his shoe. “You left her.”

I can’t help but stare at him for a moment. And here he thought I was dumb. Raven has more than me to protect her. She’ll be fine while I’m gone. “I need to find my sister.”

“You don’t need to do it alone.” He moves to a sitting position and wipes the corner of his mouth with his shoulder, leaving behind a smear of blood.

I think about it for a moment, but it doesn’t change anything. “Fucking drop it before I make you.”

Vander seems to realize whatever he’s trying to get across isn’t working. He rolls his eyes. “You need to take care of that wound before you pass out from losing too much blood.”

With the mention of it, a warm, wet sensation registers. I glance at my leg where the initial burning sensation happened, and find a bullet wound in my upper thigh. It’s just shy of being a graze. Before I can lose more blood, I whip my belt off and fasten it above the hole to help stem the flow.

Once again, my leg gives out as I try to stand, not wanting to work in the least. Vander lets out another disgruntled sigh, then says, “If you release my hands, I’ll help you. Not that you deserve it, but I know it’s what Raven would want.”

My face twists with a sneer. I don’t need any fucking help. Shoving all my strength into my arms, I push against the ground, only to fall flat on my face again. Did she lace her bullets with goddamn poison?

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