Page 26 of Promise of Hellfire

“Are you sure that I don’t know how to use a gun?” I asked. It was a rhetorical question, but I was buying myself precious seconds, steeling myself for what I was about to do. My heart pounded in my ears, canceling every other noise in the room.

“Just do it!” Lexi screamed at me as I squeezed the trigger. The world tilted sideways and time sped up.

Several things happened at once. Lexi fell to the side, clutching her leg from where the bullet had grazed her skin. Bennett stumbled backward and dropped his weapon on the concrete floor as he fell into the metal bars behind him. Ethan lunged toward him, grabbing his throat between his hands, and I fell to my knees briefly.

“Don’t kill him,” I managed to choke out. “That’s for me.”

I stood up, my muscles shaking from the adrenaline coursing through my body, and spit in his direction. Fuck him for the part he played in destroying my life.

As I shoved my weapon back in the holster, I contemplated exactly what I wanted to do and how he should suffer in his last moments. He didn’t deserve a clean death, especially considering what the women huddled together near the stairs had endured.

“What do you want to do with him?” Ethan gritted out, squeezing his throat tighter. Bennett’s face grew redder and the vein on his forehead popped out as I thought.

I walked closer and put my hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Stand him up.”

Ethan’s grip loosened, and he shoved him against the iron bars, holding him there while I emptied his pockets. Stashing the keyring, I looked at Ethan. “Throw him inside. We’ll come back to deal with him after we get them out.”

Heavy footsteps pounded down the stairs and Dominic appeared, weapon drawn and eyes wild. Taking in the room, relief slowly washed over his features and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “Well, it looks like you’ve got this handled.”

“We need to get them into the van before I take care of him. Is the rest of the building cleared?” I asked.

He tucked the gun away in his jacket and held out his hand to me. “Let’s get everyone upstairs, sweetheart.” He leaned close to me and lowered his voice. “I thought maybe you would want the honor of lighting this place up.”

A smile spread across my cheeks. The only thing that would make me happier might be Ayers completely vanishing off the face of the Earth. I nodded to Lexi. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. There’s food and clean clothes at the safe house.”

Ethan unlocked the final two cages and Lexi whispered to the women surrounding her, reassuring them that everything was going to be okay. And it would be eventually.

I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that Wayne Ayers could never harm another person again.

Chapter sixteen

Rayne

Positionednearthedoorof the white cargo van, I peeked my head in, making sure that all the women were settled in. “Take care of them,” I told Oliver. Pesky emotions clogged my throat again, and I tried to ignore them. I still had things to do this morning. “Make sure that Nia looks at Lexi’s leg.”

Olly’s eyes shined in the early morning light and his voice sounded like gravel when he spoke. “You did good tonight, firebug. Really good.”

I looked over my shoulder at the group of men standing beside the Ruby Rose. “Ethan, go with them. Your shoulder–”

Ethan rolled his eyes and cut me off. “It’s fine for a few more minutes. We still have things to take care of.”

I took a deep breath in as Oliver chuckled. “He’ll be fine. We’ll get the girls settled in. By the time you get there, Nia will be ready to patch everyone up.”

I slid the door closed, ensuring it was secured, and strode towards the building. “Fine. Let’s go finish this.”

I pushed past the men standing at the back entrance and headed to the basement. The first thing on my list was guaranteeing that Bennett wouldn’t walk out of here alive. It wasn’t just for vengeance or retribution. We didn’t need him running back to Ayers and informing him of the events of the morning. He would find out soon enough.

I walked down the stairs a final time and took a long look around the space, ignoring the threats coming from Bennett’s mouth. Dominic and Hunter stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching me carefully.

Sound was muffled, almost as if I was swimming underwater and my body felt weightless. I wanted to burn the sights before me into my brain to fuel the coming week. This was no longer just about me. This was about justice for all the victims.

“How long had this been going on?” I asked the man standing behind me.

Hunter put his hand on my shoulder. “At least since last summer.”

I held my shoulders back and looked at him. “How many victims do you think…”

He frowned at me and kissed my forehead before lowering his voice. “Don’t do that right now. There’s no way to know.”

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