Page 53 of Be My Sinner

“Trustmenow.Iwill never let them take you.” I stare into his bright emerald eyes that shine with the conviction of his words. He honestly thinks that he can protect me. That he can somehow save me from the retribution of the Brotherhood.Why does he even want to after everything that I have done?

“Dinah, I need you to run upstairs and dress like a Sacred Daughter. No fucking weapons, do you hear me? I need you to show them weakness and behave like a distraught, timid female. Cry, Dinah, cry a fucking lot. Show them what you have been all along, all these years that you have been trapped here. Show them that you are unstable. Can you do that for us?” His hands reach for either side of my face and hold me tightly. From my side, I can hear the growl that Sammy releases before a bunch of expletives leave his lips.

“Yes,” I answer him, even though I don’t trust him. Will he actually protect me against his own father? I guess I’m about to find out. With one last look back at Sammy, I race from the room and up the stairs. My head is a muddled space with so many confusing thoughts on a rollercoaster with no end in sight.

I briefly stop in our kitchen and look in on Abe, who hasn’t moved an inch despite the alarms sounding all around us. They’re so loud they hurt my ears, yet he doesn’t even twitch. He looks so damaged lying there. All because of me, because of my need for bloodshed. My need to avenge all the hurt this miserable world has caused me.

My hand reaches out before I can stop it and trails along his face’s thick, dark stubble. My fingers tremble as they meet his cooled skin, a shiver racing up my arm at the sensation. There’s blood caked to the side of his jaw, and just for a moment, I long to wipe it away. To try to wipe away the sins that I have committed.Get it together, Dinah; we need to survive.

“I’m sorry.” The words leave my lips in a whisper before I pull my hand back, and use it to clean the traitorous tears that are running down my face. My face that is battered and bloodied from a war with two men I should have left alone. Maybe then we wouldn’t be in this mess right now. Suddenly, the alarms cut off, serving as a reminder to go and do what Zeke asked of me.

How the bloody hell are we going to pull this off? They will take one look at all four of us and realize what happened here. How am I going to convince them that I am a weak Sacred Daughter, when I long to whip out a gun and murder each and every one of them. Removing them from this earth and cleansing the soil with their blood.You need to fucking try; our life depends on it. Sammy’s life, too.

I dart into my room and rip off all my remaining weapons, stashing them in hidden panels in the walls. This house is filled with them, and Sammy and I use them to our benefit. I grab the first hideous prim and proper black dress I can find from my closet and throw it on. It covers me from my neck, down to my wrists, sliding loosely and shapelessly over my body, and meeting my ankles.Fuck, this thing is ugly.

It doesn’t matter, though; if it saves me and Sammy, I’ll wear the fucking thing for the rest of my life.You might have to, my mind reminds me. I race back down the hallway just as Sammy re-engages the hidden wall panel. I meet them in the kitchen as they surround Abe’s unconscious form.

Zeke stares at me from the short distance between us and then bends down, grabbing the hem of my offending gown and tears it a bit until it looks ragged. He stands up, grabs the collar, and yanks, widening it and making the material rip with his force but still keeping my tattoos hidden. Then his hand reaches up to my face and smears some of the drying blood on my forehead, along my cheek and jawline, before meeting my throat.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I question with alarmed curiosity.

“Do you trust me, Snow?” A mischievous grin crawls across his face, reminding me of when we were younger, and he used to let me tag along when they caused trouble for all our fathers. He would sneak me into places no proper daughter had any business being in.

His hand is still at the base of my throat, and he moves his fingers so they stroke the delicate flesh there. My breath wants to hitch in my throat, and my eyes fill with the desire to close. To enjoy the sensation of his touch, but I refuse to bow to their whims.He’s dangerous, a liar. A traitor.

“Not even with your own life, Ezekiel Rothesay,” I reply, swallowing the lump that memories long past produce in my throat. His fingers tighten briefly, and my breath halts, causing my eyes to widen at the look on his face. Is that desire I see in the depths of his depraved green eyes?

“The voltage on the gate has been disengaged. I hope this bastard knows what he’s doing, Nightstar. If this doesn’t work, we will have to fight our way out. The odds are over fifteen to two, so not good.” Sammy’s voice brings me out of the moment with Ezekiel. I see the concern on his face. He’s not only worried about the horde of Brotherhood men about to descend on us, but about the one before me who I am trusting with both of our lives.

Fuck, I need to get my shit together. This is not who I am. I am the Unholy Ghost, a brutal, remorseless killer.

Shouts can be heard outside the doors of our Victorian home. Car doors open and slam. Ezekiel pushes me towards the corner of the wall, below a small wooden console table. “Remember what I said, Snow. Behave like a weak Sacred Daughter. Let’s see those fucking tears sliding down that pretty face of yours.”

He pinches my arm harshly while his face slams forward, his teeth biting down on my bottom lip and making tears blur in my eyes. What the fuck! He pulls back and lets his tongue slide across his bloody teeth, a look of depraved satisfaction gracing his handsome face. I can already feel my lip swelling, and the taste of rich copper is in my mouth. “You taste delicious, Snow. I can’t wait to get another bite.”

Just as he stands back and moves into position in front of Abe brandishing a large blade, the door is blown in, and a swarm of men wearing the blue uniforms of the Brotherhood guards enter my home, and make their way into the kitchen area.

Sammy holds his arm straight in front of him with a gun pointed at the first man through the door. “Stop, or you’re a dead man!”

His voice is loud and menacing as it rings out across the space. The guard in the doorway comes to a halt, raising his arms as he takes in the room’s occupants. I let out a whimper and circle my arms around my knees, bringing them closer to my chest and making myself look utterly pitiful.Fuck, I don’t see how this shit is going to work, not unless Zeke has a damn miracle up his tight ass.

“They are in here, Sir!” The guard shouts behind him, but he doesn’t move a muscle before us. More men fill the entryway in their uniforms. Some of them point weapons at Sammy, and others race through our house, searching for other occupants. You can hear them clearing rooms one after the other. They won’t find anyone else here; all the monsters are in this one room together.

“Where is my son?” Noah Rothesay’s voice, filled with authority, can be heard loudly questioning from the entranceway before we hear his heavy steps echoing off the stone floors and approaching us. Their sound makes me think of death walking towards me, ready to take me back to hell.

I feel eyes on me from the various guards in the room; the sensation is like bugs crawling across my skin and making my hackles rise. I want to get up from here and murder them all. Instead, I listen to fucking Ezekiel and try to make myself even smaller, tucking my face into my knees and hiding my expression, while I silently seethe inside at all these cockroaches polluting my safe space. I bite hard on my tongue, forcing tears to fill my eyes and trail down my pathetic face. One day, Dinah. One day, you will murder them all, my mind reassures me, but the promise feels empty.

“By the good grace of the Lord, Ezekiel. Thank the angels who protect you that you are safe.” I watch from lowered lashes as Noah moves further into the room, ignoring Sammy’s raised gun, and grabs Zeke, pulling him into a harsh embrace that has my own body commiserating with how hard he’s slapping an injured Zeke’s back.

“Father…how did you find us? How did you know?” Ezekiel questions while stepping back from his father’s overzealous and crushing embrace.

“Shit, is that Abraham? John, get a medic in here, now!” Noah turns his gaze back to Zeke, running his eyes over his son’s frame, and no doubt taking in his battered condition.

“Son, you can lower your weapon. The good grace of our Lord and Savior be with you and honor you, for doing your duty to the Brotherhood.” Noah turns his body towards Sammy, who is still holding the guards at gunpoint. He lowers the gun, briefly glancing at Zeke for confirmation, and Zeke gives him a nod.

“It is right to give thanks to the Lord, my God, and to the Brotherhood which keeps its order.” The words leave Sammy’s lips robotically, and I watch as some of the tension leaves Zeke’s frame.

Did he really think that Sammy would risk me to kill some useless Brotherhood guards? Sammy will always put me first. Just like I will always put him first. We are two sides of the same heart, beating as one.What about Abe and Zeke?

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