*****
Annie was much better at banishing than me, and she nearly doubled my pace. Even with the both of us working though, it still took us fifteen minutes to release all of the spirits. When I banished the last spirit, I opened my eyes, and nearly fainted when I saw the bodies littering the ground outside the compound. There were more than just corpses that we released.
There were fighters of both sides lying in the mud, being soaked in the rain, while Andrew had left them to rot like trash. I was so busy staring at the dead bodies on the ground beneath us that I didn’t even hear the footsteps until they were already on the roof with us.
“Ronnie, get behind me,” Finn growled. He didn’t wait for me to respond, and instead yanked me behind him as he shielded me from view. I peeked around him and saw Andrew and Diego standing in the open doorway to the roof, and the two werewolves glared in hatred at one another.
“Now boys, there are more important things right now than banging your chests together in a display of testosterone. I have a girl to kidnap and a world to conquer. Remember? You’ll have your chance to kill each other soon. I promise,” Andrew said with a sick smile. “Ronnie, how are you?”
“Go fuck yourself,” I said, stepping out from behind Finn’s back. I felt unsafe and exposed, but I wasn’t going to let Annie and Finn fight while I stood back and watched. And besides, Andrew didn’t stand a chance against both me and Annie. If he was smart, he’d run away and try again some other time.
“You know, Ronnie, I had hoped you’d be a little smarter. But it appears you got your father’s intelligence, not your mothers.” He smiled almost fondly at the mention of my dead mother, and I sighed.
“He’s not my real father,” I said numbly. “You are. When my mother was pregnant with me, she fled, and married an old friend that had always been in love with her. She lied about my age, and he helped raise me because it meant she was in his life. When she died, he saw no reason to stick around. I’m your daughter, Andrew.” I took a deep breath. “And if there’s any shred of decency inside of you, you’ll leave right now and never come back.”
I’d been watching his face throughout my entire revelation. At first he seemed skeptical, then his skepticism changed to shock, and then to anger, to outright fury. His hands clenched tightly at his side and Diego frowned nervously.
“I could have had a family with Vivien, and she took it from me?”
“Andrew, I’m sorry that you’re alone. And I’m sorry that my mother left you, but you have to understand that she didn’t do it for herself. She did it for me. For her daughter. Your daughter. Do the right thing. Please. My mother is gone, but there’s still a part of her here in this world. Don’t change that.”
He sneered. “How do I know you’re even telling the truth? How do I know that you’re not just trying to get out of building a new race with me?” I shuddered at his sick and perverted words, and he frowned. “I’ve heard enough from you. You’re coming with me one way or another. But I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you the choice.
“Come with me willingly, and I’ll spare the wolf. But if you make me take you from here by force, I will let Diego tear him apart piece by piece while you listen to his agonized screams, until there is only silence. What will it be, Ronnie? Will you let others fight and die for you, or will you do the honorable thing, and surrender yourself to me?”
Finn answered before I could even fully register his offer. “Hell no she won’t go with you!”
I felt that Andrew’s sneer was directed at Finn, but I couldn’t be sure because his eyes never left mine. “This does not concern you, wolf.” He said the word like a normal person would say cancer, and he pulled a knife out of his pocket as he said it. “Come with me, Ronnie, and I’ll let the werewolf live. You have my word.”
I spat at the ground near his feet. “Your word means nothing to me. You’re a monster, and you’d probably kill him the second I left with you.”
His lips tilted up in a cruel smile. “You’re probably right.” He turned to Diego and his smile grew. “Have fun with your old friend. I’ll handle the girl myself.”
Diego launched himself at Finn, slamming into him before he even had a chance to defend himself. The force of their impact knocked Finn back, and they toppled over me, sending me crashing to the ground. Annie shouted my name, and I looked up just in time to see Andrew grab her by the hair and shove her off the roof. She had time for part of a scream before she hit the ground with a thud.
“Annie!”
Diego and Finn rolled away from me, engaging in a power struggle that I couldn’t have affected if I tried, so I set my sights on taking out Andrew. I wasn’t sure if I could actually kill someone, but if it was a choice between me and him leaving this roof alive, it would have to be me. No doubt about it.
Andrew and I circled each other cautiously. Right now, I couldn’t afford to worry about Annie. I had to worry more about keeping Andrew from getting what he wanted. And what he wanted was me, the one thing he could never get his hands on.
Dark Secrets (Dark Heritage #1) Page 46