Page 7 of Rebellion of a Kingdom

ELLE

He’s so far gone right now and I can’t blame him. I feel his emotions like they are my own. Heartbreak, anger, despair, pain, they all flow through my body with a crushing force. My heart bangs against my chest rapidly, like it could just rip right out, and even with the goosebumps coating my skin, sweat still gathers on the back of my neck. The sick feeling in my stomach is constantly churning.

The look on my best friend’s face is one I will never be able to unsee. Seeing him like this just reminds me of how our bond became so strong. How he was always there for me no matter what, and just how far we have come. Except I am not looking at my strong savior right now, instead he is the one breaking. He needs me, now more than ever and I have to show him we got this. That we are still in this together no matter what the odds are against us. I need to be strong for the both of us, for Cassie and for our family.

“Ash, look at me.” I move Marcus aside to get to him, gripping his cheeks and forcing his gaze to collide with mine. His sparkling blue eyes aren’t the ones I find, instead they are as dark as stone. He looks both like a murderous villain and a lost boy all at once, the mixture of the two jarring. “We prepared for this, Ash.” I push the words past the bile in my throat, because yes, we may have prepared for the direst situation imaginable. But, experiencing it, living it, I could never have been ready for this feeling.

“Prepared for this?” he spits. “You think I could have fucking prepared for this?” I watch the lone tear track down his cheek before he wipes it away bitterly.

“Elle, I could never have fucking prepared for this.” His admission hangs in the air as we all swallow his words. I watch his body succumb to his feelings as he stops fighting against the hold the boys have him in. I nod my head at them, and they release him. He slumps back against the wall as the weight of the situation we are now in takes hold.

Jace enters the hallway and I take in his blood covered appearance. He looks drained, which is exactly how I feel, and when I look back and take in the rest of the guys, they’re just as bad. Five strong, powerful, and fearless boys, all brought to their knees in one night. One shitty, chaotic, fucking hell of a night.

I need to break. I need to forget everything and let the blackness inside of my heart take control, but if I do that who will bring me back? Who will protect my family? Who will save my daughter? No, I can’t break, I just can’t.

I take a deep breath, pushing down the sickness in my throat. “Come on, let’s get you patched up and make a plan.” My words sound confident, but that’s not how I feel. What fucking plans do you make when a sick rapist cunt has kidnapped your daughter?

All the guys look at me and I wish it was just pain in their eyes, but I see the pity too. They feel sorry for me and it pisses me off. They all know me so well, yet clearly not well enough. I don’t care. About anything or anyone that isn’t my daughter right now. Arthur will look after Zack, I know that, so the only thing I have to worry about is who I am going to kill first. My list of targets is long, and I won’t stop until every fucking name is crossed off in their blood.

I don’t wait for the guys to respond before I turn and head back into the living area, knowing they will follow. Just as I enter, I see Zack is no longer on the floor and is instead lying on the huge dining table, he’s hooked up to an IV and Arthur is working meticulously over him with Helen by his side. I fucking hate this, hate that I have done this to them. If it weren’t for me, their son wouldn’t be lying bleeding right now. Why did I let so many people get close to me when I knew it would put a target on their back? I should have done this how I wanted to from the start. Alone.

A phone ringing breaks me from my inner turmoil, and I turn to see all the guys standing just inside the entrance still with the same glib expression on their faces. Nobody is paying any mind to the phone.

The ringing is incessant and annoying. “Whose phone is that?” I snap.

They all look between each other and then Lincoln stalks towards the coffee table near where I found Zack, and retrieves a burner phone, I don’t recognize from it. I’m by his side in an instant and snatching it from his hands. I accept the call, immediately putting it on speaker.

“Do I have your attention now, Miss King?” Elliot Donovan's sickly voice purrs down the line.

“If you touch one fucking hair on my daughter’s head, I swear I’ll--.” I start, barely controlling my rage, but he interrupts me.

“Oh, you mean my granddaughter. Why on earth would I hurt her? She’s family.” His tone is brimming with satisfaction. I wish I would have slit his throat in the graveyard when I had the chance.

I should have just stalked back into this town in the dead of night and ended them all at once. Why the fuck did I allow myself to get caught back up in anything else? I knew this would happen; knew I would paint targets on everyone I love. Did I try to minimize that damage? No. Instead, I added more names to the list of people I care for and increased Donovan's chance of causing me pain. Except they didn't need that list, they went straight for the one target that I will do anything to get back. My life is literally in their hands.

"You are nothing to my daughter," I spit back. "Bring her back, or you won't like the consequences."

"I think we’re a little past your petty threats and retaliations, Elle." My name in his mouth makes my skin crawl. He says it like we are old friends catching up. "From what I gather you are lucky to even be alive right now. I have the upper hand here."

I hate how right he is. “Where is she?" The words barely get past my gritted teeth.

I can practically feel his smile when he responds, "Why, she is with her father of course." I feel the tears slip down my cheeks before I even know I'm crying. Usually when you imagine a child with their father, you would feel content, happy. But not me. Opposite ends of the earth wouldn't be enough space between my daughter and Greg Donovan.

"The only father to my daughter is standing right next to me." My words are laced with rage. Ash comes to stand beside me, gripping my hand in his. I feel the tremble though our connected fingers. He is barely hanging on. We are dancing in this anguish together. Once again bonded in the most horrific common ground.

"Ah yes, the little traitor. What a disappointment he turned out to be."

Ash snatches the phone and spits his words into them slowly, deliberately. "Listen here, Father, and listen well. Touch one hair on my daughter’s head and you are going to wish I'd kill you quickly because when I get my hands on you, you will regret the day you were born."

His words don't deter Elliot in the slightest. "Well, I certainly regret the day you were born. You get your weakness from your mother." He sounds utterly bored as he brings up his ex-wife. I don’t know much about her, except she left before they came here.

"I'm going to harvest every fucking one of your organs and feed them to that sick piece of shit you call a son. You know, the one you are proud of." Ash responds darkly and I can see that his control is clawing its way back into his body. That edge he usually has that keeps him on top of his game. He thinks this is his fault, I can see it written all over his face, but he's wrong. This is all our fault. Thinking we could take them on and win, how stupid were we? That stupidity has cost me everything.

"Is that my traitor brother? I thought four guys would have been enough, what a shame." Greg's voice comes across the line and I can't control my flinch. I see the guys look at Ash and take in his injuries again, now knowing that it was four against one. Fucking spineless cunts.

"How's our girl?" Elliot asks, the smugness pouring from him.

"Settled in her room, where she belongs." That arrogant, charming, devilish tone burns in my ears.

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