Page 12 of Tainted Essence

Warmth spreads through my chest at my brother’s concern. “Yeah, I’m good. Why the fuck are you coming to New York?”

“Because you got kidnapped you stupid fuck!” he shouts.

“Calm the fuck down, dick head, I was just asking.”

I can just picture him working his jaw side to side as he tugs on the strands of his hair. “You’re a real asshole, you know that, right?”

I chuckle. “Yeah I do. Can you do me a favor and add Wave to this call?”

He hesitates for a second before asking, “Why?”

“Kimber’s here and it’s not good,” I answer truthfully.

“How bad is it?”

I release a long exhale as I scrub a hand down my face and wince in pain. “The Russians that took us have her daughter.”

“Fuck! Hang on, I'll add her now.” I remain silent and wait for her to answer. Wave still doesn’t sleep much so I know she will be awake at this early hour of the morning.

“What?” she says in lieu of a hello.

“Wave, I have Taylan on the line as well, he has something to tell you.”

“Tay? You’re alive.”

“Yeah, Wave, I’m good but Kimber’s here.”

She’s silent for a second before she asks, “Why the fuck is she with you?”

“The Russians that took us blackmailed her, they have her daughter.”

“Mother-fucking-cunts!” she snarls. “I’ll handle it.”

“You need to get to my location now. Gage is nearly here and taking us back to Bishop. If they get their hands on her…” I let my sentence trail off, we all know the Murdochs won’t show her any mercy for her betrayal.

“I’m heading there now. I’ll send you the address. Meet us there, Wave, but you get Kimber and get the fuck out. We cannot go to war with this family, they are too fucking powerful.” I know that hurt Knox’s pride to say but he’s right, with his wife pregnant with Wave’s baby none of us are willing to put her in harm's way. Wave is a blood-thirsty bitch but even she won’t go to war and risk the safety of her best friend and child with her guys.

“Text it to me now,” she says before she drops out of the call.

“Taylan, make sure Kimber keeps her mouth shut and doesn’t utter a word until Wave gets her out.”

“Got it,” I say then end the call and head back inside to break the news to Kimber. She stands there with a guilty look on her face. I hate that she broke my trust but I hate myself more for understanding why she did it. “We’re being taken to the Murdochs, you keep your mouth shut and don’t utter a fucking word. Knox and Wave are meeting us there, the moment she gets there you leave with her without an argument, am I clear?” My tone leaves no room for argument.

“You're not going to kill me?” I hear the surprise in her voice.

“No.” Her shoulders sag in relief but I’m not done. “We are no longer friends, Kimber.” Her mouth opens to argue but I push on. “You broke my trust, you want to earn it back then prove to me you can be loyal. The only reason I didn’t kill you is because I know what finding your daughter means to you.”

Her eyes turn misty and I begin to think she may cry but to her credit, she doesn’t let her tears fall. “I understand.”

“Good, now go find some clothes while I try and convince the demon upstairs not to rat you out to her family.” She shoots me a look that says, good fucking luck. I have a feeling I’m going to need all the luck I can get to convince this hard-headed minx to keep her trap shut.

Destiny

I found some clothes in the dresser in the master bedroom, they are men's clothes but I’m not complaining. I drop them on the bed and head straight for the adjoining bathroom, I need to wash the fucking night away. I pull off Taylan’s shirt and toss my bra and panties to the side as I step under the spray of hot water. I let it cascade over me as I stand beneath it with my eyes closed.

The night's events flash like a movie on the backs of my closed lids, I see the faces of the men whose lives I took and cover my mouth with my hand to muffle the sob that tears out of me. Yes, I have been trained from a young age to fight and endure the worst forms of torture by my mother. I know how to stay alive but training and actually doing it are two totally different things. I took the lives of five men tonight and in the moment I didn’t hesitate, it was them or me and I chose me.

I’m a killer!

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