Page 2 of Wicked Vengeance

“All clear,” Jasper says, going straight to Dax to check his wound.

“What happened?” Ronan asks.

“The one in the living room shot at me on sight. I slit his throat before the second one came out of the hallway. The fucker got me in the shoulder, but I got a headshot, so I win,” Dax grumbles, his stoic demeanor cracking just a little around his pained grin.

“Search the rest of the house. I’ll stay with Dax in case anyone else shows up,” Jasper says.

Ronan looks like he wants to protest, but he schools his features and leads the way down the narrow hall instead. My brothers and I follow behind him.

I don’t like not being in charge, but the decision for Ronan to lead this mission was the smartest move. I am too emotionally invested to make the decisions that must be made in this situation. I can’t let my pride jeopardize the importance of bringing Em home.

When we reach the first set of doors, he motions for us to search each room. There are two doors on each side. Ronan and I take the first room on the left while Maddox and Alek split off to search the right.

This room is a woman’s, with shades of purple adorning the bed and curtains. The bed is unmade– it’s clearly recently slept in. Ronan searches the closet as I enter the bathroom. Clothes litter the floor near the shower, and beads of water still cling to the glass.

“Someone else is here,” I tell him, walking back into the bedroom as he exits the closet.

“Could be whoever he has taking care of Em. We’ll find them.”

We move back out to the hallway, and Maddox and Alek exit the room on the right at the same time.

“All clear. Just a guest room that looks unused,” Alek says quietly.

“There’s a woman here. Keep your eyes open,” I tell them as we continue to the end of the hallway.

The door on the right is open, revealing a small guest bathroom. Maddox does a quick search before coming back, shaking his head.

The last door is closed. Dread swirls in the pit of my stomach, unsettling me for what we might find once we open the door. None of us speak as Ronan opens the door and pushes inside.

Taking a look at the room, hope spreads throughout my body when I spot a familiar little white horse lying on the floor. I gave her the plush animal before she disappeared.

“She’s he-here,” I whisper, my voice breaking under the emotion that threatens to swallow me as I fall to my knees and clutch the little horse to my chest. Alek and Maddox grab my shoulders, giving me just a moment before pulling me to my feet and meeting my eyes.

“Come on. Let’s find her,” Maddox says, clearing the emotion out of his own throat.

I reign my emotions back in and clear my throat as Ronan exits the bathroom. Fiery determination cloaks my body as I step over to him with my brothers. “Search every goddamn inch of this property. She’s here.”

Chapter 2

Raena

Black.

Inky-black darkness bleeds through my consciousness, distorting my mind until my stomach rolls and coils with nausea.

Where am I?

My eyes feel heavy– too heavy to even try to force them open to answer my own question. Dread pools in my stomach, swirling around with the bile that’s rising higher and higher with every slow thump of my heart.

Unlike my eyes, my body feels light as a feather– floating weightlessly somewhere between light and dark.

Life…and death.

Am I dead?

Is this what death feels like?

If this is death, it's quite uncomfortable if you ask me. I always imagined it to be more peaceful. On my darkest days, I envisioned it relieving me of the pain– the trauma and loss. The consequences of other people's actions smother me– like a boulder of decisions I didn’t make sitting heavy on my chest.

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