Page 50 of Fatal Vengeance

Creed groans weakly beside me, and I try to blink over at him, but my neck is screaming in pain and I’m only able to turn my head a few inches before my muscles protest entirely. I clear my throat, tasting blood on the back of my tongue. “Creed?” I croak, though I don’t know how loud I am, since all I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears.

He doesn’t respond, so I try to call out to him once more. My throat is tight, though, my eyes heavy suddenly, and I realize with an abject sense of horror that I’m about to pass the fuck out. I’m no help to myself or Creed in this state. I’m weak, and it’s my failure right now that might see both of us dead.

My eyes slip closed against my will, even as panic washes through me like a potent drug. But no matter how many times I scream stay awake! in my head, it doesn’t work.

My door is wrenched open a moment later, the metal groaning in protest. “Such pretty sacrifices,” a familiar feminine voice purrs as delicate fingers trace over my jaw. “The Elders will be so pleased to offer you two up. Traitors, defectors, failures. I can practically see the way they'll spill your blood already.”

“Heather,” Creed hisses weakly, and it’s the last thing I hear before I lose the fight to stay conscious.

31

Asher

I wake up from a text, my phone dinging quietly in the pitch black room. I carefully extract myself from Prudence, smiling down at her and feeling so right about having her in my arms. It’s been a rocky fucking road for us, and I still hate myself for the way I treated her, but if anything, I think it’ll only make us stronger as time goes on. She’s already seen me at my worst, and we both know she can handle me, give it right back to me. Everything from here on out will be smooth and easy and perfect, because I’ll make damn sure of it.

Reluctantly rolling away from her warm, sleeping body, I grab my phone from the nightstand, squinting at the bright light from it. “Finally, fuckers,” I mutter, rubbing a hand down my face, rereading the text from Griffin, who took Genevieve’s cell to keep in contact with my burner.

We're gonna find some place to sleep for the night and get on the road early tomorrow. I can't wait to be back with you guys. How’s Prudence?

She’s okay. Sleeping finally. How is Creed doing? Was the doc worth all that cash I had to part with?

I send the text off and stare at my screen as I wait for his reply. Minutes tick by without one, and a sick feeling swirls in my stomach, but I blow out a slow breath, trying to shake my nerves. They’re just fine. They’ll be back. I don’t like them being away for so long, but the not-so-legal doctor I contacted to sort Creed out was five hours from us. My father and The Celestials aren’t the only resourceful ones. I have my own contacts, people I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while just in case there was ever a day we needed it. This doctor. The security guy. Someone who could make us fake IDs for a pretty fucking penny, who I also think could get us the weapons we need… I'm counting on it, anyway. Unfortunately, I don’t have a contact who could take out our problem for us. A mercenary would have been nice. A whole group of them.

Unfortunately, we’re all on our own, and I hate it so fucking much. Canada is starting to sound better and better, honestly. Or hell, Mexico.

Setting my phone back down, I stand up and stretch my arms above my head, shooting Prudence one more look to make sure she’s sound asleep. She’s gorgeous and peaceful in her slumber, and I can’t help but smile softly at the sight. My strong, fierce, wicked little pet.

She’ll be the death of me, but I’m okay with it.

I leave the bedroom quietly, needing a glass of water and a piss. Once I’m in the kitchen, I fill a glass from the sink and down it, my mind lost in my worries for Griffin and Creed. I put on a brave face around the girls, more so for Prudence because I knew she was out of her mind with worry without me making it worse. The kneeling, the flirting, the joking. It was all for her, to distract her from her useless staring out the window. But on the inside, I was just as jittery and on edge, and now that she’s fast asleep, the feeling is bursting out of me.

I’m so lost in my head that it takes me a moment too long to realize I’m hearing… footsteps? For a second, I think Prudence woke up and wandered out to find me. But no, those heavy thuds of boots on the wood are certainly not coming from Prudence or even Genevieve.

My body locks up, my senses going on high alert before my brain has even caught up. Dread settles in my gut, threatening to send up all the water I just drank. I just barely keep the contents of my stomach locked down, only because I remind myself very fucking sternly that I can’t fight and protect the two sleeping women in this cabin if I’m letting my fear overwhelm me.

That’s my only priority right now. Keep Prudence and Genevieve alive and safe. And preferably dealing with the intruder without even alerting the girls.

I turn around slowly, clutching the empty glass that I’d drank from tightly in my hand. It’s not a great weapon, but you know what, beggars can’t be choosers. It’s all I’ve got right now.

The moment I face the guy, I know I’m fucking screwed. Not only is he massive, like bigger than Griffin, but he’s decked out in professional gear, looking straight at me as he attempted to sneak up on me at the sink. He’s not a Celestial member, that much is clear. Probably a nameless, faceless idiot with muscles that they paid for or threatened to come do their bidding. Maybe I can work with that.

I raise my hands up in front of me placatingly, one still holding the cup, and say in a low voice, “You don’t want to do this. There are innocent women in this cabin. Whatever they’re paying you isn’t worth it.”

The dickhead snorts, the sound muffled by the ski mask he’s wearing. All I can see are his eyes, which are cold, empty, and dead. “Nice try, kid. On your knees, hands behind your head. I don’t have to kill you if you let me take the girl,” he rumbles, his voice sending chills down my spine. There’s nothing human there.

Instead of doing as I’m told — because I’m fucking done with following orders mindlessly — my lips curl into a sneer. “How many of you are there?” I taunt, making a show of looking past his broad shoulders. With a shrug, I cut him a scathing look. “Looks to me like you’re all alone. Leave, now. Otherwise, this’ll end real fucking bloody for you.”

This time, he releases a full, booming laugh, which rattles my very bones. “I don’t need backup. I’m good at my job.” He lifts the pistol in his hand, that I hadn’t even fucking noticed, and points it directly at me, poising his finger over the trigger. “Anything you want me to pass along to your daddy?” he jeers.

I stare him down, chest puffing with each labored breath while images of all the ways this could go wrong flick through my head. I could die tonight. Prudence could. Her sister, who took us in without having to and brought all this bullshit to her door.

Panic swirls and claws at my insides, but I lock that shit down and keep the asshole smirk on my lips. If all I can do is be a distraction, then… I have to try. I’ve messed up a lot in my life, so if dying to protect those women is the way I go out, then I’ll consider it my fucking karma.

Quicker than this dick can track, I throw the glass at his fucking face and shout, “Prudence, run!”

The cup shatters against the side of the guy’s head, a shot ringing out in the quiet cabin along with his snarl, but luck is on my side, because the bullet goes wide. I don’t waste another second, ducking low and charging at him while he fires off two more rounds. The first one flies over my head, the second imbedding in my bicep. Jesus fuck, that burns. Ignoring the searing pain, I ram my shoulder into his gut, taking us both to the floor with a grunt. His gun goes skittering across the wood, far enough away that neither of us can reach, which really doesn’t help me right now.

This dude is trained well, that’s for sure. We’re not on the floor for more than a second before he’s taken the upper hand, rolling us and pinning me down with one meaty hand on my throat, the other cocking back in a fist to lay into my face. But what he doesn't know is I spent months winning bare-knuckle fights in the woods beyond campus, and I'm not afraid to fight dirty.

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