Page 29 of Rebellion of a Kingdom

I can’t do this, not anymore, not without him. He saved me and I failed him, he saved me, and I lost him, he saved me, and he fucking died. He’s dead. I feel my heart beating out of my chest, the only reminder that I am still alive. Alive, while my brother is dead. Alive thanks to him. How do I ever repay him when he is no longer here? How do I survive when I no longer have my hero here to guide me? I collapse into the chair by the table as tears start to coat my face. How can I ever go home? That wasn’t my home, it was our home, mine, and Zack’s and now he’s gone.

“Home, home to what?” I bite back and the echo tells me I’m on speaker phone. No doubt all of them are listening in. “My brother is dead, and my daughter might be too, for all I know. Fuck coming home. There is only one place I need to go now.”

The tears spilling down my face aren’t going to do anything for me. I let them fall but I won’t let them control me. The empty crater in my chest has burst wider than ever before. There is no going back now. I pick up my Glock and stalk back towards Brett with the phone in my other hand.

Even though I know they can all hear me I don’t speak directly to them. I can’t, “tell Marcus that I love him and Ash and the guys that I’m sorry.”

“No, Elle, stop.” Max starts but I cut him off.

“Thank you for everything Max. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you, without Zack.” My voice catches as I say his name and I can barely hold back my sob. “Truly, thank you. Goodbye.”

“Elle wait!” Marcus roars.

“Where are you?” Max shouts.

“Hells Bells!” Asher screams.

Everything has fallen apart around me. I have lost too much, and this has gone on for too long. I got to as many of them as I could, but time has run out. Now I have to take the next step, take out Elliot and Greg. Getting to them won’t be easy, but I will. Even if I have to become Elle fucking Donovan to do it.

The bang of my gun is the last thing they hear before my phone goes dead.

I shoot Brett three times. One in the head and two in the chest. One for me, one for Cassie and one for Zack. The brother I am never going to see again. I won’t ever see his smile or hear him call me sweetheart. We won’t shoot guns at the range or take that trip to Vegas that he promised me for my 21st birthday. He won’t get to walk me down the aisle, won’t get to find the love of his life, have kids of his own. Everything we talked about, everything he deserved, gone and all because he was my brother. A blessing and a curse. We already lost so much time together and now we can’t make it back. The bullet that took him from me is never going to stop impacting my life.

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Over and over again, just trying to calm myself and push through the pain. I have come too far to stop now. I owe it to Zack, and I owe it to myself. I meant what I said to Max, there is only one place I need to go now.

I stalk through the cabin grabbing my stuff as I go, I will send word to Oliver for clean up, but to be honest, I am beyond caring. Let someone find his body, let anyone find it. Because there isn’t going to be any hiding the fall out of my brother being murdered. They are going to need to a build a new fucking graveyard for all the bodies I plan on slaying.

Once in the car, I push down the accelerator until it hits the floor. Nothing is going to get in the way of what I need to do next. I don’t know exactly how I am going to play things when I get to the Donovan estate, but I do know one thing. They want me alive and that is the only ace I have to play. I could try to take out some of their men when I get there, but they would just be replaced with others.

Lord knows what they will do to me once they have me, but I can't think about that now, the only thing I can think about is seeing my daughter again, protecting her and avenging my brother. Greg wants a compliant wife, but he’s getting an avenging queen. I won’t be silenced again.

I drive so fast that it isn’t long before I approach the estate from the back. I dump my car there and waste no time grabbing my bag of weapons and moving towards the direction of the gates. I stop every few meters and stash weapons anywhere I can. Memorizing each stop for future reference, only keeping my Glock at my waistband and my knife at my thigh.

My thoughts are chaotic, and I struggle to stay in control, but I need to lock it down. My mind is the only weapon I will have once I enter their pits of hell. They will strip me of my weapons, my family, and my freedom, but that won’t stop me. Nothing will. The sight of Zack bleeding out in our home is the only thing in my mind. They did that to him, they murdered him in cold blood just to get to me. I can’t see the times he taught me to drive or the first time he took me to the gun range. I can’t see every time he made me breakfast, or all the times he sat through Disney marathons with me and Cassie.

No, all I can see is his blood, his panicked and desperate eyes as they locked with mine. I didn’t know then that it would be the last time I would ever see them, I didn’t let myself face that reality, I couldn’t. But now, as I make my way to the gates of hell, it’s all I see. That look I last saw on his face will haunt me forever, and that’s just one more thing the Donovan’s will pay for.

Once I clear the tree line it’s a short walk to the gravel path that leads towards the gates. As soon as I hit it, they will know I’m here and everything will change. I ignore every branch snapping beneath my feet and every rustle of leaves by my side. The cold December air bites into my skin and the hard thumping of my heart continues to beat against my rib cage. All I do is breathe and walk. Just in through the nose and out through the mouth. It’s time.

I step forward and aim my gun at the first guard before he even spots me. Yet before I can take the shot, I sense the presence behind me. The gun is knocked from my hand before I can even turn around and a gloved palm covers my mouth. I fight with everything I have got, but then another person joins the fray and when I feel the prick of a needle pierce into my neck, I know I’m done for. I continue to fight but my limbs become heavy and slow. I see a blur of movement surround me as I’m thrown around and carried away. The gates of the Donovan estate are the last thing I see opening before darkness claims me.

Chapter 18

MARCUS

The adrenaline is pulsing through me like a drug. My breaths are coming in quick but steady pants as we move quickly through the tunnels underneath the Donovan estate. It’s dark down here and extremely dusty, but that isn’t what’s causing my short breaths. No, that’s the anxiety flooding through my veins. I’m filled with apprehension about what we are about to do. Over how we might get caught, how many people might get in our way, and what state we might find Cassie in. All of it causes the blood in my body to feel as cold as ice as it pumps through my body at a rapid pace.

We’ve split into two small teams of four, but also picked a partner to stay with and cover. Jace is with Max, Logan is with Elijah and Mason is with Oliver. Liam is back in the van running the tech alongside Ash who is at a safe house doing the same. He wasn’t happy about being left behind, but the last thing we need is any of his father’s men catching sight of him.

I’m with Lincoln, and we are tasked with going straight to where we believe Cass to be, while the rest of the guys keep our route clear. I’m scared, I think we all are, but I’m not afraid to die. No, I’m scared of what we might find when we get to Cassie. I know exactly what Elliot Donovan and his sick twisted son are capable of, and I just hope that sickness doesn’t extend to hurting their own flesh and blood. It’s the main reason I didn’t want Asher here with us, he would have been an asset for sure, but he also would have been a liability. I dread to think what his father or brother would do to him for betraying the family legacy. He didn’t give a fuck about that of course, but he knew deep down he was needed more on the outside of this.

It’s just me, Linc, Max and Jace in this tunnel, Logan, Elijah, Mason, and Oliver are entering through one further round the side of the estate. We want to cover as much ground as possible and as quickly as possible. Ash’s contact, one of the maids who has worked for them since he moved here, told him Cassie is being cared for by another one of the maids and is being kept in an east wing bedroom. Which is right above where we are entering the house, so it should be simple to get to her. I just hope the information is correct and we aren’t walking into the biggest trap of our lives.

We slow our pace as an old rusty gate comes into view. From the information Asher gave us, I know the entrance into the house is just round the corner. Max signals for us to stop, while he moves forward and checks the gate. Once he’s happy there is nobody here, he makes quick work of picking the lock and opening it so we can all get through.

“We’re approaching the door,” Max says quietly.

Ash’s voice follows in all our ears, “Okay you are all clear to enter, swapping to fake feeds in 3 2 1.” We hear the tapping of keys as Lincoln steps forward to stand by Max with the camera device in one hand and his gun in the other. Donovan's security was unable to be hacked, but Liam gave him some tech that will allow us to freeze the cameras as we come into range with them. Asher has entered Greg’s passwords into the system, so it won’t raise an alarm. At least, we hope not.

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