Page 81 of Vengeful Rotten Casualties

Without hesitation, my fingers slide across the screen of my phone and I send a quick text to Avalon. I don’t know how far she got or if she’s now on the phone with her friend, but I hope she sees it before it’s too late. She wanted to be involved—well, shit, now I don’t have a choice, either. Not if Luc’s not here. And something, a sinister premonition of some kind, tells me he isn’t.

Carefully, as quietly as I can, I set the phone down on the foyer’s only table and continue moving further into the hallway.

Someone’s in the house. Not Luc, but someone unfamiliar to me. That’s what the smell is.

Adrenaline pours into my body as I move forward.

Whoever it is, they’re quiet. Professional. But there’s no hiding the stale smell of male sweat and the metallic tint of gunpowder. It gives me pause, but it doesn’t deter me. Instead of turning and bolting out of the door I just came in, I linger in the foyer.

Without flipping the light switch, I carefully shrug off my jacket and move towards the hallway closet. Opening it and hanging it on the inside hooks. All these weeks of hunting, of preying on the strong, and finally, my true target has found me.

My heartbeat is loud in my chest, resounding through my ears with a heaviness that I’ve never experienced before. My hands shake as I quietly shut the closet door and take a step up the hallway, towards the kitchen. I make it three feet or so before I hear the scrape of something behind me—a barely perceptible footstep.

I turn and duck as the handle of a gun comes down hard. It swings down, its owner expecting it to hit the back of my head. He’s so confident in his actions that when I’m suddenly not there, he’s thrown off. I don’t hesitate. I’ve been preparing for this moment.

As a woman, I know I’m at a distinct disadvantage. I’m by no means tiny, but I am smaller by nature which means that creativity and speed are my best friends. My fingers reach for the barrel of the gun and I grip it tight, and instead of punching the man in the face, I punch his wrist from the opposite direction, ripping the weapon from his hands in a split second.

Before he even knows what hit him, I’ve got it turned and aimed at him. I don’t even hesitate. There’s no room for that anymore. It’s him or me and in the end, I’ll always choose me. The way no one but Luc ever has.

I pull the trigger and he goes down, his skull cracking against the hall floor, louder than the actual bullet. There’s no deafening sound ringing in my ears, and I lift the gun. A silencer. Smart.

My arm lowers and I turn back towards the end of the hall. A new figure steps into view. It’s not Thomas. That much I know for sure. I’d been forced to stand in front of the bastard enough times—forced to bow before his naked body as he’d bent me to his will time and time again—that I’d know his figure without effort. This man is smaller, wiry. More muscular. All that muscle can’t stop my next bullet.

Did they really think I wouldn’t shoot to kill? I’ve come this far. They’re nothing to me. I move towards the mouth of the hallway and then out into the kitchen and living room area.

Thomas stands there, unbothered by the body I step over as he sips from one of Luc’s crystal glasses. A shiver steals up my spine. He’s got balls of steel, I have to admit. Gun in my hand, and knowing what he’s done to me—to my mother and sister and Luc—he doesn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. He simply downs the rest of his glass and sets it to the side.

He strides towards me and then lifts a brow at the man on the ground. “You surprise me, MiKayla,” he comments.

My eyes slide shut.His voice.I’d almost forgotten what he sounded like. Deep, baritone, with a hint of a rasp. As if he’s yelled far too often in his life and somehow along the way, damaged his vocal cords. I start to shake as I reopen my eyes.

I know what this man sounds like when he’s angry. When he’s smug. Worst of all, I know what this man sounds like in the throes of climax. With me.

“You saved me the trouble of coming to find you,” I state. “I should thank you for that, shouldn’t I?” The tremble of my voice can’t be hidden, but I damn well fucking try by taking a step forward, towards him. As if to show him that I’m not scared. That he can’t fucking hurt me. Not here. Not anymore.

“Oh, I’m not here for you, MiKayla,” Thomas says. “I’m here to teach my son a lesson. I thought I’d corrected his behavior by removing you from his life, but it appears the boy is still very much infatuated with you. To think you’d turn my own flesh and blood against me.”

“Your flesh and blood?” I scoff. “As if you give a damn about him.”

Thomas’ eyes fall to the floor behind me. “I see that you’ve developed some blood thirsty traits.”

“You have no one but yourself to thank for that,” I reply.

Even in the moonlight, I can see the irritated scowl that crosses his face. “You should be grateful for everything I gave you, MiKayla,” he snaps. “A girl like you should be spreading her legs in the sewers. I gave you a better chance than that. I found a man willing to marry a thing like you. Even your mother couldn’t accomplish that, not with a child attached at her hip. I ensured that would never be a problem for you.”

Rage pounds through me and I lift the gun. “You took away my choices,” I grit out.

He doesn’t even flinch as my finger hovers over the trigger. “You don’t need choices,” he replies. “You just need to do what you’re told and accept your role in the life of your betters.”

“You misogynistic pig,” I sneer. I could kill him. It’s right here. The chance. The opportunity.

Despite what I told Luc, I want to do it. Ridding the world of a disgusting man like him would be a blessing. It would be right. It would be justice. I’m shaking hard with the effort it takes to hold back the urge to do it.

It would be so fucking easy to just pull the trigger. It would all be over and I would have my revenge. There would be no more chances for him to run, to escape.

“What are you waiting for, MiKayla?” Thomas taunts me, tilting his head to the side. He grins. “Afraid to pull the trigger?”

“How can you ask that when I just killed your guards?” I snap back.

---