Page 27 of Rebellion of a Kingdom

Marcus ignores her as he sighs and grabs the back of my neck, “Don’t fucking do this man, I’ve lost enough, we’ve lost enough. We can’t lose each other, not now. Not with so much on the fucking line. Lock it down, okay?” His voice is serious, but I can practically feel the pleading in his words, his desperation.

I want to answer him, to tell him I’m sorry and that it won’t happen again, but I can’t. I am many things, lost, broken, wild, but I’m not a liar. I don’t say anything.

I don’t need to look at Lincoln to know he is wearing that same impenetrable mask as always. Cold and ruthless through and through. If you didn’t know him well, you would think nothing affects him. But you’d be wrong. He looks at me and then to Taylor.

He sighs gesturing to the SUV, “Come on, Taylor. We will drive you home.”

I feel her look at me, as Marcus and I continue to burn our stares into one another. I know he’s right, but he also knows why I am in such a state. He finally shakes his head one last time and stalks back to the car, getting inside and slamming the door.

Taylor slips her hand in mine and I finally break my gaze and look down at her. “Come on, Conrad. Time to go.” She says it casually and with a small smile, but it feels like so much more. It feels like everything I needed to hear at this moment. That's the last thing I remember before I pass out.

Chapter 16

MARCUS

I’m fucked. I can’t keep doing this. I need Elle, my Ells. I need to see her, hug her, kiss her. Just fucking breathe her in and never let go of her again. Six months ago, she was a ghost of my past that I pretended didn’t exist. If someone had told me then that not only would she be back in my life now, but I’d be ready to fucking die for her. I would have laughed in their face. I didn’t let her walk back into my life, I fucking dragged her, kicking, and screaming. She wanted nothing to do with me and I pretended the same. God, I was fucking stupid. I wasted so much time. Time I would quite literally kill for.

I’m lying in her bed, it’s the only place I feel close to her. This isn’t even my home, but with her scent surrounding me I can pretend that everything's okay. Even if only for a few moments. I haven’t been to Cassie’s room. Here in the house, or even her other one in the guesthouse. I can’t bear it. Can’t stand to look at her tiny clothes, her toys, her books. All of it just a reminder of how small and innocent she is, and of where she is now. Is she okay? Does she understand? God, I hope not. I hope that her contact with the Donovan’s is minimal. I just keep praying for her, to what god I don’t fucking know. All I know is I feel helpless.

I think about Elle, what will happen if we don’t get Cassie back. She’s already lost too much, dealt with too much. Losing Cassie isn’t an option, we have to bring her home, no matter what. If we can’t, well then, I might as well put a bullet in my own fucking skull, because life without those two girls wouldn’t be worth living. And I know I’m not the only one who feels like that.

I have spent more time with Asher in the last nine days than I have since I met him. He’s become one of us in every sense of the word and I can’t imagine what this would be like if he weren’t here. We seek each other out more than either of us would care to admit, both of us spiraling without our center here to keep us grounded. He finds me when I fight back tears in the garden, and I grip his shoulders as he breathes through his panic attacks in the guest bathroom. Neither of us speak a word to each other, just offer that silent hand of friendship and brotherhood to one another.

I know exactly what it’s like to lose your family, your status, your wealth. I remember the bitter feelings I had about it when I first moved to the South Side, but I see none of that in Ash. He just wants to burn his whole family, fortune, fucking name, until there isn’t a shred of the Donovan legacy left. And I want to be right by his side to help him do it. I want us all to rise from the ashes and become who we were always meant to be, destined to be, a family.

As if my mind conjured him up, he appears. “Hey,” he says with a deep sigh. He barely enters her room, like he can’t bring himself to. He won't even look around it, his sole focus on me alone. I know he’s spent many nights in this house, in this room, sharing time and life with my girl. Looking out for her when I didn’t. I have always been the jealous type when it comes to Elle, yet seeing the love he has for her, what they all have for her, it brings warmth into my life. Now I am man enough and secure enough to understand the differing levels of love we all have for one girl. I have never appreciated them more.

I sit up and push myself forward until I am sitting on the end of the bed, “Hey man.”

Neither of us bother to ask if we are okay, we know we’re not. We are just in a constant state of nothingness while we hunt, make plans and then hunt some more. All of it pointless, until now.

“Is it time?” I ask, not missing the pleading tone in my voice.

He smiles for the first time since this all started, and I find myself smiling back. “It’s time.”

“Are you sure you are okay with this?” I know he isn’t because I’m not.

He huffs a little laugh which is completely humorless, “I’m not okay with any of this,” he replies solemnly, moving until he stands in front of me, offering me his hand. I take it and he pulls me up until we are face to face. “Whatever it takes.”

I offer him another grim smile and nod. “Whatever it takes.” I repeat back, before we both turn to leave the room. We won’t set foot in this room again until we have Cassie back.

We move in unison through the house until we reach the den. Lincoln and Jace are already here, as is Logan. They all offer us both grim smiles as we enter, and I see Max and his guys going over the map of the Donovan estate for the hundredth time today. We all know it down to every square inch, but it doesn’t stop us from going over and over it in case we missed anything.

This is about to be the riskiest thing we have ever done and if we can pull it off without getting caught, then Cassie will be back with us in just a few short hours. I know how desperate we all are for that reality. With Cassie comes Elle. If we can bring home, her daughter then it will help us in getting her back to us too. A lot has happened, more than she knows and as broken as she is going to be with everything, Cassie will keep her intact.

I look at everyone here, at the men who are going to save my girl’s life and I hope we all make it back here tonight. For once, we look like we belong together. We are all fitted out in black combat trousers, long black sleeve tees with Kevlar vests. Black combat boots and a weapons belt. Each of us have an array of weapons supplied to us by Max, along with lessons on each in preparation. We have been working on this plan for the last three days.

Max is pissed that Asher came up with it, but none of us care, we just want Cassie home and Elle back. When Asher remembered the abandoned tunnels underneath his house, we wasted no time in looking into them. Lincoln brought up historical blueprints for the mansion, Oliver came up with routes we could take to access them and then Max and Liam spent yesterday checking them all discretely to see if they were still viable. Once we had everything we needed, we had to come up with a plan. Which is pretty simple really, get in, get Cass, and get out.

We have all agreed that this needs to be as quiet and stealthy as possible. No matter how much we want to go in there guns blazing and slaughter every one of them. Our only priority is getting Cassie. That being said, we know we are also working under the shoot first, ask questions later policy. Anyone associated with Donovan can’t be trusted to not raise the alarm. Meaning anyone we come across needs to be killed or put to sleep. It doesn’t matter. As long as we get to Cassie without anyone alerting others to our presence.

“Okay does everyone remember what they’re doing?” Max’s voice booms around the den and we all nod our agreement.

“My inside contacts said to be there for 10pm. There is a guard shift change at nine, so it gives them a chance to swap, leave and get settled,” Asher replies, and I see the flex of his hand as he forces himself not to fidget. The loss of control for him is something he isn’t accustomed to.

“That’s good Ash, keep us posted if anything changes,” Max responds.

“Lincoln will take a bug to freeze the feeds as they pass them. I’ll run interference from the van and keep a look out for anyone on their tale.” Liam adds as he taps away on his laptop, and I see Lincoln nodding along as he reads whatever's on there over his shoulder.

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