Page 4 of Wicked Vengeance

Alek is quiet. He’s not like me or Maddox. Whereas I bottle my emotions up until they explode, and Maddox wears his like a badge of honor for the whole world to experience– Alek keeps his emotions level. He doesn’t suppress them or flaunt them, but rather, he keeps them right at the surface.

I wish I could be like that. I think I can be, especially with Raena’s help. When she let me unleash myself on her, a sense of peace settled over me in a way that’s never happened before. With time, I think my Angel can help me channel my control issues into something more…pleasurable.

Even now, thinking of her has helped quell the storm that’s raging in my mind on this walk. I feel more at peace than when we walked out of the house. My breathing is more even, and my heart’s not pounding quite as hard. But I know I won’t feel completely at peace until we find Em.

“You’re learning, Royal,” Alek says as we walk in step with each other.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re learning to let yourself feel things and not let them control you.”

I didn’t know he was watching me so closely, but I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s just how he is. Always the observer– making sure everyone else is okay. When I don’t respond, he continues.

“She’s helping you. I can see it. Before her, you would have never let someone come in and take control of this mission. You would have insisted on being in charge.”

“I know,” I admit, feeling lighter about that decision with his acknowledgment of it.

“I’m proud of you.”

Warmth spreads through my chest at his praise, surprising me. I’m not used to the feeling. It doesn't feel bad, though. Just different. Like I want to do more, just to feel it again. “It’s her.”

“I know. She is changing us for the better–” he starts, but Ronan stopping in front of us cuts his response short.

“There,” Ronan says, pointing through the dense trees to a round stone structure.

It looks like an old folly tower, standing a little taller than the trees surrounding it. Vines have grown up the side, giving it a medieval, castle-like appearance. With a hollow stone archway revealing an entry door in the front, it appears to have only one window at the very top, at least from this side.

“Where the fuck did this come from?” Maddox asks, sounding as confused as all of us look.

“No fucking idea, but I don’t see any guards,” Alek says, scanning the area for any potential threats.

“Let’s move. Keep your eyes open,” Ronan commands, and we trail behind him in formation, weapons raised and on alert. We make it to the archway without a single sight of anyone else. “This is going to be a tight space. We won’t be able to get out quickly or get to cover if we run into any problems,” he says when he opens the wooden door without any issue.

For a moment, we stare into the dark, winding staircase that seems to circle the outer edge of the tower structure.

“Shoot first, ask questions later,” I tell him, giving him a sharp nod. We each understand the fact that we could die here today, but that doesn't change anything. We will turn this property inside out before I go home to my Angel and tell her we couldn’t find her daughter.

He understands. I can tell just by the brief interaction I’ve seen between him and his girl that he would lay down and die for her, too. He gives us a commanding nod before turning to the doorway and crosses the threshold.

As we wind around the tower, the light from the open door at the bottom fades away, cloaking the narrow stairwell– and us– in darkness. We move almost silently, listening for any threat that might pop out of the stonework, but it's eerily silent all the way to the top.

When we get to the last bit of stairs, the floor opens up into a loft. Ronan stops just before his head peeks over the ledge, looking back at us with silent commands. Spread out and stay alert.

We move in a flash, spreading out into the narrow room.

“Clear,” I say, almost in unison with the others.

A silence falls over the room once more as defeat blankets each of us. There’s no one here. Alek walks over, resting his hand on the back of my neck as my head drops between my shoulders. Then I hear it. The faintest little whimper.

“Did you hear that?” I ask, frantically spinning in a circle, searching for the sound as Maddox and Ronan step over next to us.

“What is it?” Ronan asks, his eyes scanning the dark crevices of the room as well.

“I heard someone– Em. It’s got to be her,” I say hastily, stepping away from them and moving towards the bed that’s sitting across the room.

“Em?” I call out, stepping into the darkness that the light from the window doesn’t reach. Silence greets me, but I don’t stop. I know what I heard.

“Royal, I don’t think she’s he–” Alek says sympathetically, but he stops short, his eyes widening with hope when a restrained whimper sounds louder through the room, and everyone freezes.

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