Page 101 of Depraved
“How are we going to know if Antonio got to the guard?” Carlo questions as he slows the car, turning off the headlights. The elaborate iron gates come into view, and I know my girl is behind them.
I’m coming, Billy.
My head pushes toward the window as we wait anxiously for a sign that Antonio’s done his job.
“Maybe he got caught?” Lou worries, but I shake my head, a cruel anticipation playing across my face as I watch the gates come to life, opening slowly.
We pull in covertly past the guard station, Antonio’s face coming into view as he unscrews his silencer. Behind him a man is lying at his feet with a single shot blackening his forehead.
“Go,” I bark out, and the car peels out, rushing the front entry. We barrel out, men pouring out from every ride. Before we give them too much time to prepare, I charge the front door, lifting my foot and kicking it the fuck in.
Melee erupts, clicks come from every direction. But I’m undeterred, knowing that for every one of his men, I have five.
“Bring me Declan,” I thunder, my voice echoing through the room as I walk to the middle of the vaulted entry flanked by staircases.
When nobody moves, I stalk over to the first motherfucker I see and pull my trigger, executing him where he stands. His body crumbles to the floor as I turn in a circle, my arms spread wide.
“Bring me Declan or everyone dies. Look around—you’re outnumbered,” I yell, enjoying the indecision and fear on the assholes’ faces.
His slimy fucking voice comes from behind me, and I spin, locking eyes with him.
“Don’t you mean Sarah?” Declan counters.
He walks toward me, stopping about three feet away, and tilts his head. “I have to give it to you—using her was a good distraction. It’s something I would have done. Maybe we’re more alike than we realize.”
Declan’s eyes scan the room, and I see his mind start spinning. He’s outnumbered.
“I’m here for my girl. Bring her out, and maybe I’ll let you die quickly,” I counter.
He takes a step backward with a smug look, as if he has the upper hand. “That’s a great idea. We should ask her…she would know how alike we are since she’s had both of us inside her.”
My finger taps against the trigger of my gun as I stare at him. “I told you I’d make you choke on every word. I’m here to do just that.”
Declan lifts his hand, snapping his fingers, and two men in suits come into view behind him, each tugging on one of her arms, shuffling her forward.
“Dante,” she breathes out, and my heart drops.
She’s battered. Barely recognizable. Covered in bruises and cuts. Her breathing is so shallow like it’s hard to inhale, probably because of broken ribs, and I feel as if I’m on fire. Like all the wounds on her body are on mine.
But it’s the dog leash around her neck that shifts something inside of me. Fracturing my reason and my logic.
No,no,no,no,no. He put her on a leash…on a goddamn leash.
My gun begins to tap against my temple as my chest heaves. Rage courses through me, giving life to each of my darkest thoughts. I’m gonna make him suffer. I’ll make them all fucking suffer.
I drop my gun back to my side, staring at her face, letting all the marks burn their way into my memory as Declan says what will be his last words.
“Now, maybe you’d like to negotiate. Be smart, or she gets to feel real pain.”
My eyes shift back to him, a calm possessing my body. I have one singular objective.
He dies.
I cut the head off the fucking snake and then chop up the body.
I rush toward him, my teeth gritting so hard they may break, and his eyes grow wide as I press the tip of my gun against his forehead. “I’m gonna gut you so slow for every goddamn mark you’ve put on her.”
I grab the back of his head and press the barrel harder into his skin until I hear her scream out in pain. My eyes shoot up as I throw Declan back to see one of the suits who’s holding her is biting her cheek as her face contorts in pain while she struggles.
