“You come too or I’m not going anywhere,” I growled, planting my feet stubbornly even though Monroe looked half a second away from throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me out of here.
“Get your ass moving, Mr Rivers,” Monroe commanded, grabbing my hand again and tugging me toward the kitchen. “Or I’ll drag both of you out of here.”
“Dr Rivers,” Dad grunted, stalking towards us.
“You’ve got five seconds to come outside and face your fate, Donovan!” Mortez shouted. “You behave and I’ll let your daughter go. I can’t say fairer than that. Five – four-”
“Move,” Dad growled and we ran over to the kitchen, my pulse jack-hammering against my temples.
Gunfire tore through the house and my heart stammered as Monroe shoved me behind the kitchen isle and my dad dropped down beside us with his pistol in his grip. I took several frantic breaths as bullets sped overhead and a jug Jess had hand painted exploded into a thousand unsalvageable pieces.
Three men burst through the back door, kicking the whole thing down and my body launched into survival mode as they descended on us. My heart beat wildly as Dad opened fire and two of them fell back with screams of pain.
I dove at the last guy as he aimed his gun at Dad, not hesitating for even a second as a savage animal reared its head inside me. I knocked him off balance as my fist slammed into his face, his nose crunching sickeningly.
Monroe smacked the gun from his hand as he fired and my ears rang from the violent noise as the bullet went wide. I threw a hard kick into the man’s stomach and he lurched backwards, his back hitting the wall and I was upon him in an instant, throwing furious punches that coated my knuckles in blood. My heart beat like a ferocious creature in my chest that was desperate to get out of its cage.
“Bitch!” he spat and his fist got past my defences, smacking me across the face and sending me stumbling sideways from the force he used.
Monroe yelled like a wild man, grabbed the back of the man’s head and threw him into the kitchen isle. The guy braced himself at the last second, but Monroe fell on him, fisting his hand in his hair and ramming his face down into the counter. Then again. And again until blood spilled and the man collapsed to the floor unmoving.
My breaths came heavily as we shared a look that said we were going to have to fight our way out of here.
There was no chance to run.
The wolves were upon us.
And it was time to face their fury.
We’d parked up on the road beyond the edge of the dirt track and had been making our way silently through the trees, ready to sneak up on Tatum and Monroe as we approached their position on the GPS when the gunfire had started up.
For a moment, we’d all frozen, looking between each other in confusion and alarm but as a second shot was fired and a third, we’d broken into a run without question. Whatever the hell was happening in the trees up ahead, our girl was there, our brother too. And when we’d sworn an oath that bound us all together, we’d meant it. All in, come life or death.
We kept quiet as we ran and the combination of the fight taking place and the element of surprise let us burst from the trees behind the assembled group of thugs who were surrounding the wooden cabin that was nestled there.
I didn’t know what the fuck was going on, but I knew my girl was in there and these motherfuckers were aiming guns her way. That was more than enough information for me.
My baseball bat was clutched tight in my grip and I swung it at the back of the first guy’s head so fast that I had to wonder if he’d even known he was dying or if the lights just blinked right out. I had no intention of being so merciful to the rest of them.
Before his body hit the dirt at my feet, I swung for the guy standing at his side, Tatum’s scream from within the house lending fire to the ache in my blood and a brutal power to my muscles.
He got his gun aimed my way just as my bat slammed into his arm, breaking the bone with a crack which seemed almost as loud as the bang from the pistol in his grip. But his aim went wide as I shattered his elbow, the bullet tearing into the treetops to my right and the gun falling from his fingers as he screamed.
I kicked him solidly in the chest before he could do any more than howl in pain, sending him crashing into the two guys behind him who were scrambling to aim at me too and making them all stumble back.
I stooped down, grabbing the pistol and tossing it to Blake who had just tackled a guy to the ground and beaten him near unconscious while Saint stamped on his throat to finish him off.
Blake caught the gun, raised it and fired at the guys behind me as I hefted the bat high again and the element of surprise wore off.
There were at least ten more men spread out surrounding the cabin and their attention was turning from the fight inside towards us.
Saint grabbed the dead guy’s gun and the two of them dove into the cover of the trees as the assholes we were facing opened fire.
I should have taken cover too, but as Tatum screamed inside the cabin again, a rage unlike anything I’d ever felt overwhelmed me and I dove into the fray instead, leaping at the three guys in front of me and swinging my bat with wild abandon.
My muscles flexed and burned with the force of my strikes and blood splattered me from head to toe as I roared Tatum’s name at the top of my lungs in the hopes that she would know I was here. That I’d come for her, that I’d always come for her.
The chaos of the gunfire and the yell of wounded men surrounded me until all of it just became this ringing in my ears which wouldn’t quit.
Pain seared along my side and I twisted away from it, swinging my bat in a wide arc as I spotted the gleam of a blade wet with my blood. But the asshole wielding it had barely scratched me and the moment my bat connected with his skull, he was done for.
My heart was pumping so fast that the beat of it was all I could hear, the red of the blood shining dimly in the faint starlight was all I could see.
I lost myself to the basest part of me. That fractured beast who was all instinct, violence, rage and an overwhelming sense of protectiveness for the girl who was stuck inside that cabin. My family might have forged me into this fucked up creature, but in that moment I couldn’t even hate them for it. All of the bars on the cage I’d constructed to keep myself in check crumbled and I just gave in to it. To the bloodlust and steely determination to destroy everyone who came against me.
I would tear through walls of iron and fire to get to her, to protect her and bring her safely into the comfort of my embrace once more. There wasn’t a thing in on this Earth that could stop me.
The taste of other men’s blood coated my tongue as I charged towards the next cluster of my enemies, not caring as they raised their guns my way. They stood between me and the girl I’d sworn myself to. She was mine and I was hers and I’d give everything it took to defend her from harm.
Blake and Saint shot at the assholes before me from the trees, some of them falling in sprays of red which made my veins hum with pleasure. I was a dark and dangerous beast at the best of times, but tonight, with Tatum’s screams ringing in my ears, I was far worse than a monster. I was the monster my grandfather had always known I could be. I was the creature in the dark, the one who dined on agony and bathed in endless blood. And right now, it was all I wanted to be.
Bullets tore the air apart around me, the sound deafening and hollow and nothing to me. A flash of pain ripped across the flesh of my thigh but it wasn’t enough to slow me, let alone stop me.
As I swung my bat at the next group, the power of my muscles was enough to shatter two skulls in a single strike.
I leapt on the third man, releasing my weapon for a second as I fell into the ecstasy of my flesh pounding on his, my fists burning and cracking and bleeding as my knuckles hummed with the raw and brutal power I loved so fucking much.
He was trying to fight back, but I was one big motherfucker and once I had an opponent beneath me, they never got up again.
Blake was shouting something behind me, firing his weapon as Saint drove a blade into another man’s gut. Blood splattered my cheeks as I obliterated my opponent, continuing to strike at him even after he’d fallen still.
Saint was calling Tatum’s name and I could hear her screaming again inside. There were still some men blocking our way to her, but I wouldn’t have cared if there were a thousand of them. I wouldn’t have faltered for a moment. Because they couldn’t stop me from getting to her. They couldn’t stop any of us. We were her Night Keepers and we were bound to her even tighter than she was bound to us. And there was nothing in this world or the next that could keep us apart.
She’s a fighter. A warrior. There’s no fucking way that she’ll die in this hellish place.
The only thoughts which permeated the bloodlust which was drowning me were those of her. The girl with the blue eyes which saw straight through my mask and knew me without trying. The girl I’d sworn to protect. The one I was willing to die for. The only one this monster answered to.
And if I had to give everything to save her from this fate then I’d do it without thought. Because she was the only light to my darkness and she was worth a thousand of my deaths and more.
I’m coming for you, baby. Just hold on a little longer.
We barricaded ourselves in the bathroom, the door blocked by an overturned cabinet. There were too many of them, swarming into the house like ants and no matter how many we’d taken out, there always seemed to be more ready to replace them. So we’d had to retreat and now I feared how long we could hold out.
I tasted blood in my mouth and my throat was bruised from the imprint of a man’s hands. I’d fought for my life, and they’d fought for theirs. Somehow, I’d come out victorious again and again. I knew what it was like to be held at a man’s mercy, and I would not come so close to death ever again. Tonight, I was doing as Monroe had taught me and unleashing the wildest, most violent monster who lurked beneath my flesh upon my enemies. And they were going to wish they’d never stepped foot in this place.
I was kneeling behind the clawfoot bathtub between Monroe and Dad, all three of us now armed after we’d taken guns from the dead or injured. The door was being ripped to shit by our bullets and theirs. It wasn’t going to stay intact much longer and I was terrified of what was going to happen when they got in. Because they were going to get in. There was no doubt in my mind.
I shared a look with Monroe that broke my heart. I’d brought him here. It would be my fault if he died. And Dad…Mortez had tracked me here. If I hadn’t come, this would never have happened. But how could I have known?
Monroe grabbed my chin, his brows knitting tightly together. “This is not your last day on Earth,” he commanded like he was ordering it of fate itself.
I managed to nod, but it wasn’t me I was really worried about it. It was the two men either side of me who meant so much to me that I wouldn’t survive losing them. I couldn’t face it.
“Breathe, aim, shoot,” Dad told me, repeating the drill he’d spoken to me hundreds of time while practising. I took a breath, then aimed the pistol in my grip at the door.
The wood gave with a splintering crack as a foot slammed into it and the weight of two men forced the cabinet aside. I pulled the trigger and one of them launched backwards as the bullet slammed into his chest, knocking the other asshole down behind him as he went, blocking the door and stopping anyone else from getting in. But no one was even trying.
Is that it? Is it over?
It took me a long second to realise I’d just shot a man without a thought. Every bullet that had left my gun could have meant the end of someone’s life. But I wasn’t afraid of that, I didn’t feel anything but a steely coldness towards these people. There really was darkness in me after all. Would this all hit me when it was over? If I live that long.
Shouts rang out from somewhere outside and I looked to dad as he got to his feet.
“We have to go, now,” he hissed and I hurried to follow him as Monroe kept close on my left.
We forced the bodies aside and Monroe went ahead before I could stop him, my heart free falling in my chest as he shoved his way through the destroyed door.
He was still safe. For now.
Dad pulled me back, going next and I hurried after him. A dividing wall blocked the view into the central living space and my breathing quickened, a bead of sweat sliding down my spine. The three of us stood in the achingly quiet cabin, the sounds of gunshots sounding somewhere beyond the walls. But not in here. Where were they?
Monroe and Dad kept close to me as we crept into the front room.
We rounded into it and all three of us raised our guns at the same moment the four people standing there raised theirs. The guy in the middle drew my attention most; he had greased back black hair and dead eyes. I’d guess he was in his forties, his body athletic and his shoulders broad. He towered over six foot, dominating the room with his presence and making my skin prickle with unease.
“Now, let’s not do anything stupid,” he purred.
“Enough of this, Mortez,” Dad growled. “Let my daughter and her boyfriend go. They have nothing to do with this.”
Mortez sucked his teeth, considering Dad’s words as his eyes moved onto me and roamed over my body with intrigue. “Alright. Put your weapons down and maybe we can make a deal of sorts.”
None of us moved, our weapons still raised and I fought the tremor running through my limbs, stopping my hands from shaking. The barrel of my gun was directed right at Mortez’s head. One well-aimed bullet could destroy the man who hounded my father. Who had caused this entire mess. Who’d set him up, made the whole world think he was a monster.
“You make me sick,” I snarled, my finger resting on the trigger. But I couldn’t pull it. If I took the shot, we were all dead.
“Come on now, you hardly know me, darlin’,” Mortez said innocently, his voice holding a southern twang. “I can be real nice.”
“Get your filthy fucking eyes off of her,” Monroe warned, his muscles bunching as he pointed his gun at him too.
“And you must be the boyfriend,” Mortez moved his attention to him and a fierce protectiveness filled me.
“He has nothing to do with this,” I snarled.
“His eyes says he wants me dead, darlin’, so I can’t say I believe you,” Mortez said with a mock pitying expression. “But I’m willing to give ya’ll a free pass if you hand over Daddy dearest.”
“No,” I snapped as Dad tensed beside me.
“You’ll let them go before we talk,” Dad said evenly, ignoring me, the tension in the air making my ears ring.
There were more shouts outside and my brain ping-ponged at the sound of pained cries. What’s happening out there?
“Your little friends are causing us quite the ordeal,” Mortez explained, his chin jerking towards the window.
“What friends?” I breathed, but I knew in the depths of my heart who it had to be. The only people who would come chasing after me in the middle of the night, who would hunt me to the ends of the earth. But if the Night Keepers were here, that meant there was a chance. I’d seen the way they’d fought the looters and hope blossomed in my chest as another pained wail sounded outside which definitely didn’t belong to any of my men.
“Don’t play dumb with me, sweet thing,” Mortez warned, a real threat in his voice. “Call them off.”
“I could more easily harness the wind,” I said, a hollow smirk on my face.
“Who’s he talking about?” Dad muttered.
“My tribe is here,” I said, my eyes never leaving Mortez’s face.
The window suddenly exploded in a shower of bullets and two of Mortez’s men fell under the onslaught. Chaos descended as we dove for cover, my heart leaping into my throat. Monroe pressed me down as we hit the floor beside the king sized bed but I pushed him back, desperate to get to my dad.
I aimed my gun over the bed as he shifted aside and Monroe did the same, firing at our en
emies as I spotted Dad fighting Mortez hand to hand. They were evenly matched, meeting each other blow for blow, the two of them struggling to get the advantage.
“Dad!” I screamed, trying to get up, but the bullets kept flying this way and Monroe yanked me back.
“You can’t,” Monroe snapped and my heart juddered. I had to get to Dad. I had to help.
I aimed my gun at Mortez, but he and Dad were fighting so closely, throwing punches and wrestling with one another, I couldn’t risk shooting my father by accident.
A blur of movement to my right said someone else had joined the fight and as I whirled towards them in a panic, their fist slammed into my face. My gun went skittering under the bed as I fell backwards, pain splintering up my cheek and my head spinning.
Monroe released a roar of rage, bringing up his gun and shooting again and again until it rang empty, sending blood spraying as the man crashed to the ground. Monroe leapt past me as another man sped into the room, grabbing his wrist as he tried to wrestle the gun from his grip.
Someone caught a fistful of my hair, yanking me across the bed and I screamed, twisting around and kicking them with all my might. They didn’t let go and I hit the ground on the other side of the bed, fighting for my life as they tried to wrestle me into submission.
I heard Monroe fighting close by, trying to get to me as my assailant pressed his weight down on my body. But I wasn’t going to panic this time. I knew what to do.
I bit into his arm until I tasted blood then reared up and threw my fist into the side of his head. He fell sideways with a grunt of pain and I rolled, pressing my advantage as I threw my fists into his face over and over with a shriek of defiance. I was a wild creature, lost to the need to survive and blood spattered me as he fell prey to my attack, finally falling still beneath my heavy punches. My knuckles were bruised and sore, my mind sharpening as I tasted the metallic tang of blood in my mouth.
A heavy weight slammed to the floor beside me and I gasped as I realised it was Dad, his face bloody as he looked to me, his eyes full of fear, loss, love. He reared up, pushing me aside and a gunshot split the air apart. Dad’s head smacked back against the floorboards as a bullet carved a hole between his eyes.
Kings of Lockdown: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 2) Page 62