Page 94 of Reaper & Ruin
The fact I swore I could hear Missy cheering in the back of my mind only added to my motivation.
Silver pointed to the side of the house. “There’s a side entrance here through a window, likely less guarded. We can come from upstairs and hopefully find the guys. We just need to wait for Giorgio’s men to get out of our way.” She glanced at Mali. “Leave the dog for now. She can’t climb, and I don’t want to risk her getting shot.”
A sudden burst of gunfire hurried along our planning. My heart leaped into my throat as I whipped my head toward the house. Shouting erupted from inside, muffled but unmistakable. Figures darted past the open windows.
“Shit,” Silver hissed, her eyes narrowing as she grabbed her gun. “Let’s go.”
Without waiting for an answer, she opened her door and stepped out. I scrambled to follow, adrenaline surging through my veins as I tightened my borrowed mask on my face. Rowan moved more slowly, his usual swagger intact even as he checked his weapons.
As we approached the house, the front door slammed open. A figure strode out, anger marring her pretty face. A half dozen gangsters surrounded her, and I expected nothing but her death.
But she didn’t die. Not even a little. She just cut through the gangsters with a terrifying ferocity that stopped me in my tracks, even if I hurried to look away from all the blood.
“Danika!” Silver called the second the gangsters were dead.
Danika froze, her head snapping toward us when I looked over. For a moment, she stood there, staring back at the house with a look of pure fury as she yanked some guns out of an SUV. Her expression shifted from anger to surprise, then settled intosomething unreadable. She lowered the rifle in her hands; her gaze locking onto Silver as if she were trying to decide whether to shoot her or laugh.
“Silver,” she said flatly, her tone devoid of warmth. “Didn’t expect to see you here yet. But I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“Likewise,” Silver replied coolly, stepping closer. “What the hell’s going on?”
Danika shrugged, her posture casual despite the tension radiating from her. “Giorgio showed up early, ruined my fun. Now I’m cleaning up.”
“Fun?!” I snapped, stepping forward. “You kidnapped two people!”
She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into a smirk. “Calm down, Blue. I was never going to kill them. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t have let you have your hot girl summer.” She winked at me. “I got to watch you sunbathing in those tiny little bikinis, and those two losers got to breathe a little longer without knowing they were in danger. I was beingnice.” Her gaze shifted to Silver. “I was going to let them go once I got bored with leaving them hanging, but now things are… complicated. Giorgio found out I double-crossed him. Or he came here to do the same to me. Not entirely sure.”
“Complicated?” I echoed, my voice trembling with anger. “You call this complicated? There are a bunch of men with guns, and you’re standing here like this is normal.”
“It is normal,” Danika said, her smirk growing. “You’re so cute when you yell. I should have kept you in my dungeon longer. We could have had so much fun.”
I took another step forward, my fists clenched at her clear disregard of my anger. And the fact I was confused as shit about being in her dungeon. “Where are they?”
Danika’s eyes darkened, her expression hardening. “Upstairs. They were alive when I left them. They’re probably braiding each other’s hair like little girls or sucking dick.”
My eyes narrowed to slits. “That’s a big presumption to make just because they’re into each other.”
She snorted. “I’m not being insulting, sweetheart. I like womenandmen, and it was nothing like that.” She winked at me again. “I was just implying they were weak. Pathetic. Scrawny little cretins without brains.”
Silver stepped between us, her hand resting lightly on my arm. “Focus,” she whispered. “We get them out, then deal with everything else. Let’s go.”
I nodded stiffly, my anger barely contained. As much as I wanted to keep arguing, I knew she was right. We didn’t have time for this.
Danika sighed, rolling her shoulders as if the weight of the world was sitting there. “Follow me,” she said, her tone exasperated as I pulled out Atlas’s knife from my vest. “And try not to get yourself killed, Blue. It would be such a waste.”
We followed her toward the house, my chest tightening with every step as she took us to the same entrance Silver had planned, quickly climbing up and ordering us to do the same. Rowan went first, and Silver waited for me to go.
The trellis groaned softly beneath me as I climbed, my fingers gripping the cold, ivy-covered metal while Atlas’s knife pressed reassuringly against my palm. My heart thundered in my chest, a relentless drumbeat of adrenaline that made my hands tremble. Above me, Rowan had already reached the window, his lean frame disappearing inside with the grace of a predator slipping into shadows. Below, Danika’s impatient mutter drifted up, sharp and cold.
The wood creaked under my weight, a sound far too loud for my liking, and I prayed it wouldn’t give out before I reached thetop. My foot slipped once, and a bolt of panic shot through me, but I caught myself, gripping tighter until my knuckles ached.
Silver’s movements below were unnervingly quiet. She climbed like a ghost, her presence more a shadow than a person. She even managed to hold a gun in her hand and keep her eyes on the perimeter. I had no clue how.
As I reached the window, Rowan leaned down, his hand clasping mine in a firm grip. With a soft grunt, he pulled me up and over the ledge. “Up you come, Lucky,” he muttered as he helped me into the messy, small office room.
Silver slipped in behind me, her boots landing silently on the floor. Her dark eyes swept the room, taking in every corner with a coldness that made my stomach knot. She moved with the kind of control that came from years of knowing survival was earned, not given. Just like Atlas did.
Just like I wished I could. It was scary hot.
