Page 31 of Wicked Vengeance

“Do it,” I bluff.

Jackson starts thrashing around like a fish out of water. His mother is back home, safely in her bed, none the wiser of our presence in her home today. Helen called me after she brought her back and got her settled in. I’m not a complete monster. I don’t torture innocent old ladies with the memory of a goldfish. But I will let him think I will.

“No. No. No. Don’t you fucking touch her!” He half screams, half mumbles.

“No?” I ask as Dax pauses by the doorway, one foot outside. “If you want to protect your mother, then answer the fucking questions, Jackson. Where is King keeping her?”

“Fuck! Fine! His house. She’s at his fucking house,” he sputters in defeat. I’m a little disappointed he caved so easily– fucking pussy. I didn’t even really get to get my hands dirty– other than his piss, and I’m desperately trying to forget that ever happened in the first place.

Dax stares at me for silent confirmation before nodding and stepping outside.

“Wait! Where is he going?! Come back here! You said you wouldn’t hurt her if I told you.”

Turning back to him, I calmly flip my blade around in my hands. Cocking my head to the side, I stare into his eyes and try to steady myself.

Stay calm.

Don’t kill him.

Keep his innards inside him for now.

This is her kill.

“And I’ll keep my word if you keep yours. Keep talking. You’re going to tell me exactly how to get her out of there.”

Present

When I finally stepped out of the makeshift ‘playroom’ covered in blood and piss, I was so proud. I actually fucking did it. I didn’t lose my head. I somehow managed to stay calm and get the information we needed. Now we have everything to rescue our woman and kill our bastard ‘father’, once and for all.

I had taken the quickest shower of my life, then filled everyone in on everything I’d gotten out of Jackson. Now it was their turn to keep their emotions in check because the more I told them about where she was and what King and his men had done to her, the more they wanted to march right back outside to the shed and slit his throat for touching what was ours. For hurting her more than she’s already been. Thankfully, Snow was the voice of reason that calms everyone down.

Apparently, King has kept her in his private quarters of the mansion under lock and key. Jackson insinuated the kingsmen fucked with her, though we won’t know the truth or extent until we find her. They're all dead men anyway, but they just better hope we find her alive. If not, death will be the least of their worries.

Anxiety snakes through my entire body, injecting its crippling venom into my veins, but I flush it out. We don’t have time for fear or emotional baggage to cloud this mission. It’s too important.

She’s too important.

“Bound in blood,” Royal says, clasping mine and Alek’s forearms and pulling us to him to press our heads together.

“Bound in blood,” we whisper back, emotion thick and heavy before Royal turns and addresses everyone, Shadows and outsiders alike.

“The Shadows have been waiting for this moment for a long time. But I want you to remember, killing King is now the secondary mission. Finding Raena and getting her out is our number one priority…”

His speech to our people doesn’t last long. We’ve already strategized with everyone and we have a plan, thanks to Jackson’s ‘willingness’ to share his secrets with me. It’s finally time to get this show on the road.

Chapter 23

Royal

“You two, with me,” I tell my brothers when we get to the meeting point in the forest outside the mansion. “The rest of you, get in place. Move on my signal.”

King’s mansion sits just below us, a fortress built from the blood and lives of anyone who dared to stand in his way. The property is expansive and completely locked down. Thanks to Jackson, we know the weak spots of the patrol and exactly when to slip in without detection.

Maddox and Alek flank me as we slip through the forest and wait for the patrol to pass on their sweep of the west side of the property. We don’t have the cover of night to conceal us, but Jackson wasn’t lying when he said the guards left their post at this time for lunch. We use the thick forest for coverage until the guards slink away toward a door at the back of the house. The guards at the gate are still there, but that’s our job. Eliminate them first. Silently, if possible.

We need the element of surprise on our side if this is going to work. I know King and how he operates. He will wipe us out if he’s given the chance to properly prepare for an attack. It’s why we’ve been biding our time and haven’t killed him yet. He might be an evil bastard, but he’s not stupid. He doesn’t hesitate to respond with lethal violence if anyone challenges his position. It’s why he’s been in power for so long.

For as long as I can remember, King has held his seat as the ‘businessman’ that runs Shadow Forest. No one really knows what it is he actually does. He is very good at keeping his criminal dealings in the dark. Until recently, that is. I’m beginning to put the pieces together.

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