Oath Bound

by Rachel Vincent

  Through the window, on the edge of my vision, I saw Julia step into Kenley’s room. Lincoln stepped back to make room for her, and when Julia gave him an order I couldn’t hear, he pulled the blindfold from Kenni’s head.

  Her eyes widened when she saw him, and fear glistened like tears in her eyes.

  Mitch stood and stalked toward me with an arrogant swagger born of the fact that I was tied up, but he was free—an irony, if I’d ever seen one, considering that he was bound to Julia and I was, at least for the moment, in charge of my own decisions. “You’re still bleeding. I’m not going to pass up an opportunity like that.”

  In the other room, Julia was still talking. She held up the oath she’d drafted, and Kenley glanced at it, then shook her head. Julia gestured angrily at me through the glass, and Kenley responded with what could only be a Kori-inspired string of expletives.

  Mitch leaned closer, drawing my attention as he pulled a wadded-up tissue from his pocket. He leaned in to mop up the blood on my neck, and I lurched upright as hard and fast as I could, sacrificing balance for power. My forehead smashed into his and he stumbled backward stunned.

  I wobbled on my feet, still tied to the legs of the chair.

  The guard by the wall drew his gun as Mitch tripped over his own feet and hit the ground on his ass. “Don’t shoot! Julia wants him alive.”

  The guard hesitated, and I took advantage of that moment to throw my full weight at the ground, using Mitch to cushion my fall. I twisted at the last second, driving my shoulder into his torso. I felt something crack, and Mitch howled over at least two fractured ribs.

  When I looked up, the guard was almost on us, his gun in hand, but unaimed. I shoved my legs out straight as hard as I could, and was rewarded when the ties around my ankles slipped over the ends of the chair legs.

  Now free from the chair, my hands still tied at my back, I waited until the guard was almost on me, then rolled off of Mitch and twisted to the side. When the guard hesitated to shoot me a second time, I wrapped my feet around his left ankle and bent my knees, pulling as hard as I could. His leg slipped out from under him and he went down on his right hip on the concrete. Hard.

  The guard groaned, and I sat up, then spun on my ass. In position, I leaned back and brought both heels of my boots crashing down into his skull. Blood burst from his nose and his eyes closed. His hand went limp and his gun clattered onto the concrete. I slammed my heels into his throat, crushing his windpipe. He gurgled and choked, but did not regain consciousness.

  He’d be dead in minutes. I couldn’t afford to leave a trained fighter alive at my back.

  Mitch backed away from me on his ass, one arm pressed to his side, struggling to get to his feet. He seemed to have forgotten he had a gun, which supported my theory that he’d been a glorified taxi service for Jake Tower, rather than hired muscle. No one with any real training would have forgotten he was armed, even with a couple of broken ribs and a bruised ego.

  I couldn’t see the window from the floor, but the fact that Julia hadn’t sent in more guards said that she and Lincoln hadn’t yet noticed what was happening, and my stomach churned over the thought of what would be horrible enough to hold their attention for so long.

  My pulse whooshing in my ears, I rolled onto my knees, then stood—a challenge in equilibrium for sure. But the next part was an even bigger challenge. Balancing on one foot, I bent in half and tucked one leg to my chest, then slid my bound wrists beneath my own backside and slid that leg through the loop formed by my arms. I repeated with the other legs and my hands were in front of me, still bound, but now much easier to use.

  Bending, I snatched the dead guard’s gun and aimed at Mitch, who’d finally made it to his feet. “Lift your gun from your holster with two fingers and drop it on the ground.”

  “Fuck you.”

  I took aim at his chest, and he swallowed visibly, then reached for his gun.

  “Slowly.”

  Mitch lifted his gun from his holster with his thumb and forefinger, then bent to set it on the ground.

  “Kick it to me.”

  He did, and I bent to catch it with my foot. “Does Julia have a Jammer?”

  He answered without hesitation. “She did. You just kicked him in the face until he quit breathing.”

  I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to shoot him so badly. But he was unarmed. That would be murder.

  Julia was a murderer, if by proxy. I was not.

  Instead, I crossed the space between us in four steps aiming at his heart. “You don’t have to—” he said when I got close enough to see the fear in his eyes, and I slammed the grip of his own gun into his right temple. Hard.

  Mitch crumpled to the ground, and I kicked him in the head for good measure. Then I dropped his gun into my holster and knelt to dig his phone from his pocket. I dialed Kori from memory, but my finger froze on the last number when I turned toward the window to find Kenley’s room empty.

  You can’t see the whole room, I reminded myself as I pressed that last button. She’s fine.

  I hadn’t fired the guard’s gun, so the chances of them having heard the fight were slim.

  I held Mitch’s phone to my ear, and Kori answered on the third ring. “Who the hell is this?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Kris!” Something scratched the phone, and her next words were muffled. “It’s Kris!” Then she was back. “Where are you? Where’s Kenley? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Julia’s around here somewhere, and I don’t know how many men she has, but I could use as many extra hands as you have. Kenley’s...in trouble. I’m going to find her. But I just killed the Jammer, so you should be able to track me.”

  “Cam’s already on it,” she said.

  “How’s Sera?” I jogged across the warehouse floor toward the panel of switches on one wall. “Is she okay?”

  “Scared. Pissed off. Armed and dangerous. She’s something else, Kris.”

  “I know. Tell her I’ll see her soon.” I hung up, shoved the phone into my pocket, then slammed my hand down on the bay of switches. The lights all went off at once, and the large room was now barely illuminated only by the light shining through the window into Kenley’s room. There was plenty of darkness through which Kori could bring in our allies, and just enough light to lead me to the door Julia had disappeared through.

  I opened the door and aimed down the short hallway, but it was empty. Three doors opened into the hallway, but they were all closed. The first had a square window cut into it, glowing with light from within.

  I peeked inside, and my heart stopped beating. Lincoln had my sister pinned to the wall, out of sight from the window.

  When I opened the door, I could hear her sobbing. Begging. I crossed the floor in three steps and pulled him off her by one shoulder. He was huge, but I’d caught him by surprise. One more shove, and I had him against the wall. He shouted something inarticulate and went for his gun, but I was faster. I put the barrel of my .40 against his forehead and pulled the trigger.

  Blood and brains flew everywhere. I let him go, and Lincoln’s body slid down the wall, then thumped to the floor.

  The first sound I heard, while the thunder of gunfire still echoed in my head, was my sister’s raspy, shocked breathing. Her shirt was torn open. Her hair was splattered with blood and gray matter. Her eyes were huge. Her face was bruised. But she was fine.

  Kenley launched herself at me, and I held my gun to one side while she hugged me, unable to return the gesture with my hands bound. “Are you okay?” I asked, right into her ear, to make sure she could hear me above the ringing in both our ears.

  She nodded, and her hair caught on my stubble. “I want to go home, Kris.”

  “I know. Cut me free, and let’s go.”

  She pulled a knife from Lincoln’s belt and cut thro
ugh my zip tie, then dropped the weapon as though it was on fire.

  I glanced into the hallway, and when I found it empty, I led her into the main warehouse, still dark from when I’d left it minutes earlier. I had her hand in mine, my eyes closed, and my focus already on the hall closet in our hideout house, when light flared to life all around us.

  “Drop your gun, or Kenley takes a bullet in the leg,” Julia said, and I froze, Kenni’s hand still trapped in my grip. Heels clicked on the concrete behind me, and a second later Julia stood in front of me, still coldly put-together in her dark suit and stilettos, while my sister and I were accessorized with Lincoln’s blood and brains.

  Four men fanned out around her, pointing guns at us, and the shuffle of shoes on concrete said there were at least two more at our backs. Shit! Where were Kori and Ian?

  “Drop it,” Julia repeated, and I clicked the safety on, then tossed my gun toward her. It landed almost halfway between us.

  “Kris...” Kenley was terrified. “I’m not going to bind you to her. I’m not going to. I don’t care what she does.”

  “Without a binding, your brother has no value to me. If you won’t bind him, I’ll have to kill him.” Julia gestured to the guard on her left, who raised a 9 mm pistol and pointed it at my chest.

  Gunfire exploded and I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain.

  The pain never came. I kept breathing. Something thumped heavily to the concrete.

  Kenley gasped.

  Julia shouted.

  I opened my eyes to find the man who’d been aiming at me now lying on the floor with a hole in his forehead. Before I could process that, people started shouting and guards raised their weapons.

  Kenley’s hands flew up to cover her ears. She dropped into a squat. I dropped with her and wrapped her in my arms, then turned my back to the gunfire.

  Three more shots rang out in rapid succession, echoing over one another, half-deafening me.

  Three more of Julia’s men hit the ground, without firing a shot.

  Julia backed away from us, her eyes wide and scared. I let go of Kenley and lurched for my gun, then turned in time to see Ian and Kori each fire one more time, standing just inside the door. Julia’s last two men hit the ground, and suddenly Kenni and I were surrounded by bodies.

  I stood, gaping at the scene around me, too shocked to truly process it, beyond the obvious blood spilled and lack of living opponents.

  Kori lowered her weapon and ran for Kenley, while Ian held Julia at gunpoint from across the room. My sisters embraced, both bawling, and my own eyes watered at the sight of them together again.

  Movement to the right drew my attention and I turned to see Olivia and Cam step in from the hall. “What, you didn’t leave any for us?” Liv pouted.

  “The rest of the building’s clean,” Cam said. “If she has any more, they’re not here.”

  I turned to Julia, aiming at her chest. “How many more are there?”

  Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

  “How many?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Another shot rang out from behind me, and Julia stumbled backward. Blood bloomed on her blouse, then spread to the jacket covering it. “They won’t be hers when she’s dead.”

  I turned so fast the room spun around me. Sera stood three feet behind me, still aiming at Julia. She lowered her gun and smiled at me, and for the first time since I’d met her, she looked happy.

  Three steps later, she was in my arms, and for the first time since I could remember, my world made sense. Before she could do more than hug me back, I whispered in her ear. “I will never let you go again.”

  Twenty-Two

  Sera

  The gun was warm in my hand and Kris was warm in my arms, and Julia Tower lay dying on the floor, fifteen feet away. But all I could think about was what he’d said.

  I will never let you go again.

  “So...you’re not mad that I shot your bad guy?”

  He pulled back so he could see me, and his blue-gray eyes were bluer than ever. “Are you kidding? I take partial credit for that kill. I taught you to shoot.”

  “Oh, please. It’s not like she hit a moving target from a quarter-mile away.” Kori rolled her eyes, but her tone was familiar. She was teasing me like she teased Kris. As if she might actually like me, beneath the criticism. “And anyway, she’s not dead yet.” Kori nudged Julia’s arm with one foot. “Any questions for the bitch, before I put her out of her misery?”

  “I have one.”

  Kori gave me a “be my guest” gesture, and I pulled Kris with me until we were staring down at Julia Tower, who lay gasping on the floor, blood still welling from the hole in her chest.

  “Why?” I demanded. Julia’s eyelids looked heavy, but she was still in there. For another minute or two, anyway. “Why did my family have to die, just so you could kill me? There must have been another way.”

  “I didn’t—” She coughed and gasped, but her eyes never lost focus. “I didn’t kill your family.”

  “Aren’t you supposed to confess your sins before you die?” Kris nudged her thigh with his foot. “Can’t you just admit it, and give her some closure?”

  “Fuck—” Julia choked again, then swallowed with obvious effort “—you.”

  Kori aimed and fired her silenced pistol before I even realized what she was doing. Julia shuddered, then went still, and her dead eyes seemed to stare right through me.

  I stumbled backward, gaping at Kori in shock. “Why did you do that?”

  She holstered her gun and met my gaze. “Because she wasn’t going to give you what you want, and I can live with killing her, but I’m not sure you could. I don’t want you to have to.”

  “You don’t...” I didn’t understand until Kori pulled me away from Kris and wrapped me in a hug that felt like equal parts vise and embrace.

  “Consider it a gift. Welcome to the family, Sera.” My eyes watered, but before the tears could fall, her grip tightened, and she added. “If you hurt my brother, I will hunt you down and cut your heart out.”

  “She’s kidding.” Kris pulled his sister off me. “Tell her you’re kidding, Kor.”

  Kori just gave me a creepy half smile, then walked away to help Ian, Van and Kenley with the bodies.

  “She’s not kidding.” I drew him into a hug and whispered into his ear, “But she’ll never have a reason to go after my heart. I’m not going anywhere, Kris. And I would never hurt you.”

  But the words were hardly out of my mouth when he stepped away, holding me at arm’s length, and the look in his eyes scared me.

  “You can’t know that—” He shook his head and started over, and that unease inside me grew. “I have to tell you something.”

  “Now?” I glanced around at everyone else, cleaning up without us. We should help.

  “Yes, now.” He blinked, and his eyes filled with pain. “It’s my fault, Sera. What happened to your family. What happened to you...” He reached down and laid a hand on my stomach, over my clothes. “I was supposed to stop it. It was in the notebook, but I couldn’t figure it out.” He frowned. “No, I stopped trying to figure it out. If I’d tried harder—if I’d kept trying—I could have stopped it. They would still be alive. You’d still be whole. You’d be a mother.”

  “No,” I said, and when his eyes shone with tears, my own started to burn. “No, Kris, that had nothing to do with you. I don’t care what Noelle said, and I don’t care what you wrote in that damned notebook. It wasn’t your fault for not understanding any more than it was my fault for going off to college and leaving them vulnerable. And I’m not going to let you steal blame from Julia. Let credit go where it’s due. Julia Tower did this. And now she’s paid for it.”

  “But—”

  “No. It’s over. She’s dea
d. I’m ready to remember my family the way they lived, Kris. Not the way they died. And if you can’t let this go, I won’t be able to.”

  He stared at me like he didn’t believe me. Like he wanted to, but couldn’t.

  “I want to tell you about them. I want to show you the pictures. I want you to know them, but that won’t work if you feel guilty for something you didn’t do. Let it go, okay? We both have to let it go. Starting now. With her.” Julia.

  With Kris’s hand in mine, I stared down at Julia’s body, trying to decide what I should be feeling. I’d shot an unarmed woman. I hadn’t even hesitated. If Kori’s bullet hadn’t killed her, mine would have.

  What did that say about me? That I was more like the Towers than even Julia had known? That I’d just put an end to their reign of brutality?

  Was it even possible to end violence with violence?

  “Hey.” Kris took my chin and stared into my eyes. “Are you okay?” he said after less than a second. “She deserved much worse, Sera. Kori would have let her suffer first, if she hadn’t wanted to take the death off your hands. Do not feel guilty for this.”

  “I don’t.” And that was part of the problem.

  “You saved a lot of people today. Everyone Julia would have gone on to hurt owes you a thank-you.”

  “I know.” And I did know. Julia had to die. Someone had to kill her. Someone had to step up and do what needed to be done. The part that bothered me was that I didn’t feel guilty. I felt...nothing.

  Nothing but disappointment. I’d wanted a confession. Without one, her death felt...empty.

  “Is it over?” Kenley asked, and I turned to see her staring at Julia with one arm around Vanessa’s waist, her free hand holding her torn, blood-splattered shirt closed.

  “Almost.” I held my hand out, and she let go of Van to take it. “I’m Sera, by the way.” She was a slightly shorter, slightly curvier version of Kori, without the obvious hard edges. Except for the fresh bruise on her cheek.

  “Kenley.” She shook my hand, then shot a questioning glance at her brother.