Rebellion of a Kingdom: Black Hallows Book 3

by G N Wright

  He takes a deep breath as he launches into the explanation, “Taylor texted me last night, asking if I wanted to go to a party. I spoke to Max and he said I could go, but that I had to take Tyler.” He shrugs and I smile a little at the fact that this 6ft tattooed Rebel had to ask permission to go to a party, “she said to pick her up from her house, but when I got there, she stumbled out. I thought she was drunk.”

  “She wasn’t?” I ask to confirm, and he shakes his head.

  “When she came out, I saw a man I recognized, I couldn’t place him, but Taylor confirmed his name.”

  My spine straightens as I prepare for whatever name he’s about to say. “Who was it?”

  “Rolland Atkins.” He grits his name out in disgust and his earlier pacing now makes sense, he must have been stewing on this all night. He tells me what happened, what he saw and how he brought her here so Arthur could take a look at her. She is fine now, she was given something to make her pass out, but all her vitals are good.

  I huff out a long breath. I should have expected this. Dr. Atkins has been on my list from the beginning, and it seems my disposal of his friends hasn’t deterred him in any way. He needs dealing with and soon. I need to know how much Jace wants Taylor to know. She’s here, and when she wakes up, I’m sure she is going to have a lot of questions.

  I consider my words carefully before I ask, “are we bringing Taylor into the fold?” I have no idea what is going on between them, Jace has been so closed off so it’s hard to tell where the playboy Rebel starts and my soft and caring Jace ends.

  His shutdown is immediate. “No. She doesn’t deserve to be dragged into this, especially not by me.”

  I soften at that, “Jace,” I start, but he cuts me off.

  “No, Elle. I won’t put her life in danger. I only brought her here last night because I had nowhere else to take her. It won’t happen again.” His words are final, and I nod in agreement.

  “It’s fine, she’s my friend, don’t worry we will work something out.” I have no idea what we will do, but I know it has to be something. She already has a target on her back regardless of her association with me or Jace.

  “As long as she’s safe.” His tone breaks my heart a little. Such a beautiful, broken Rebel.

  I want to throw my arms around him and comfort him, tell him everything is going to be okay, but I don’t know that. I sigh and roll my eyes trying to break the serious tension in the air. It’s clear he likes her, but apparently, we aren’t admitting that today, so I just smile and say, “you’re insufferable.”

  “But you love me, right?” He smiles for the first time, throwing in his signature, flirty wink, making it impossible not to smile back.

  I don’t hesitate this time, rounding the counter and pulling him into a hug, “too much for my own good, pretty boy.” I whisper into his chest, as he hugs me back.

  “We need to take him out.” He whispers into my hair.

  “I know, but we need a plan,” I pull back and stare up at him, “we can’t just go after him without a plan.”

  He gives me a look as if to say he doesn’t believe me, “since when was that a rule?”

  “Since I won’t risk losing any of us again, we’ve had too many close calls and I don’t want anymore. We’re all in this together, right? Whatever it takes?”

  He nods, “Whatever it takes, Queenie.”

  I nod and move to leave, but he grips my arm, “I wanna be the one to do it, the one to kill him.”

  “Jace,” I start, wanting to tell him he doesn’t deserve that kind of stain on his soul, but we are interrupted.

  “Elle?” Both our heads snap to the entrance of the kitchen at the sound of Taylor’s confused voice.

  I look at Jace who is just staring at her and then turn back to her, “Hey Tay, how are you feeling?

  “Like a truck ran over my head repeatedly.” She says rubbing it slightly before looking at Jace, “what happened last night? Where am I?”

  I look at Jace again, unsure of how much to even tell her at this point. Jace said he doesn’t want to bring her in, but Rolland went after her which means Elliot went after her. That and the fact she is standing in our kitchen, how can we not bring her in?

  “You’re at our place.” I say and her frown deepens, which is understandable, it’s not like it’s been broadcast that the Rebels were burned out of their home, and I was bloodied out of mine. “Look there is a lot of stuff to tell you and a lot of stuff we can’t tell you, but I need to know that you won’t tell anyone anything that you learn.”

  She gives us both a questioning look, “anyone like who?” I think she is asking a genuine question, but when I go to answer, she goes on, “it’s not like I’m bursting at the seams with friends.”

  Her words hit me in the gut because I know what it’s like to feel alone and like you have no one, but I was never alone. I’ve always had someone. I can’t say that to her so instead I settle on, “This is life or death Tay. So, are you in or out?”

  I feel Jace’s glare piercing into the side of my head as I give her the ultimatum and Taylor looks between the two of us again, before she speaks at the same time another voice enters the kitchen.

  “In.”

  “Mommy!”

  Cassie bounces into the kitchen with Ash right on her heels, and his eyes flare wide as he notices Taylor. His gaze snaps to mine straight away. I catch Cassie as she leaps towards me pulling her into a hug, all the while watching the shock embed itself onto Taylor’s face. This was my biggest concern when Jace told me she was here. Not what almost happened to her or everything else she could find out, but this right here.

  “Morning, baby,” I brush her curls from her head as I kiss her cheek. Then gesture across the kitchen, “meet my friend, Taylor.” Cassie immediately turns her head and flashes her the cutest smile.

  “Wow she's so beautiful.” She gasps waving at her while Taylor still remains in shock.

  “Jace sure seems to think so.” I smile smugly and he groans at me, but of course it goes right over Cassie’s head.

  “Nice to meet you.” She isn’t fazed by Taylor’s silence and just turns back to me to proudly add, “Daddy is making me pancakes.”

  I slide her onto the counter, “oh is he now?” I say eyeing Ash as Taylor’s head snaps to him, and I think she goes into even more shock, if that’s even possible, “well Daddy better make some for Mommy too.”

  Ash is still glaring at Taylor, both of them locked in a stare off as he speaks, “like I would ever risk your wrath and not make you some, Hells Bells.” He says calmly, but I know he is probably plotting out every way this situation could turn out. Which is ridiculous, I have known Taylor almost my entire life, and Ash has known her since halfway through middle school. She isn’t some stranger, ready to sell our secrets to the highest bidder. She’s our friend.

  The tension thickens the longer she doesn’t speak, so I break it, “great, you boys do that while Taylor and I go have a girly catch up.” Hearing her name, she looks back towards me as I turn to Cassie, “stay with Daddy, okay? Mommy will be back for pancakes.”

  “Okay, Mommy.” Cassie smiles, completely oblivious to any of the tension surrounding her.

  I don’t wait before I grab Taylor by the arm and drag her from the kitchen. I hear Ash snap, “you fucked up.” and then Cassie shouts, “swear jar.” But I don’t stop, I just pull her down the hall. We pass Marcus on the way as his eyes widen. I reach out and give his arm a little squeeze as we pass, but I don’t stop until we get to my room. I pull her inside and over to the bed, until she slowly sinks down on the end of it.

  “I,” she starts, staring at the door like she can see all the way to the kitchen and then stops, “how,” she pauses again so I stop her.

  “What you have just discovered and what I am about to tell you is not only a secret, but it’s also dangerous, do you understand that?” She stares at me like I have grown two heads, before nodding slowly so I continue. “I have a daughter. H
er biological father is a very perverse and dangerous man who raped me. That’s the reason I left Black Hallows.”

  I expect the flinch that leaves her at the word rape, but then instead of pity in her eyes, I see confusion, “You weren’t at boarding school?” She asks and I shake my head slowly.

  “That was a lie to cover up what happened to me. God, forbid I soil the King name.” I roll my eyes in disgust, taking a seat on the bed next to her. “What happened led me to having Cassie. I didn’t want her to know her real father, so Ash became her dad.” It sounds so simple when I say it like that, so very black and white. If only.

  “You guys never?” She asks trailing off.

  My eyes widen, “Lord no. We’re close, but we have never been that close.” I say with a slight laugh.

  “I don’t even know what to say.” She admits, which is understandable. I’ve had over three years to adjust to my reality, I can’t expect her to digest it in one morning.

  “Honestly.” I blow out a breath, “that’s probably for the best. I wish I could tell you more but trust me when I say it’s safer this way.”

  She takes a deep breath, looking round the room. I can see her trying to digest what I just told her before she swings her head back to me, “what does all that have to do with me being here?”

  She was always smart, that hasn’t changed. “The man who raped me, works with a lot of sick men. He didn’t just want to hurt me, he wanted to sell me.” I can’t think of a better way to put it and I wait for the words to sink in.

  She shudders as they wash over her and she realizes what I mean, “they tried to take me?” She says panicking as her hands start to shake.

  I reach out and clasp her hand in mine, “I’m not sure, I think maybe they were planning on it, but Jace was there. You passed out and he brought you here.” I try to stay calm as I talk, but it’s hard. The rage I feel whenever I think about what fucking sick crimes those bastards commit could blow up the world.

  “Why can’t I remember anything?”

  “We think they put something in your drink, Arthur checked you over and said other than that you were fine.”

  “Who’s Arthur?”

  I huff a laugh, because what I have just told her is the tip of the iceberg, “not important, what is important is that you can’t tell anyone you know where I am, or who I’m with okay? I promise I will keep you safe, but I need you to do this for me.”

  She takes in the no doubt serious look on my face before she nods, “of course Smell, anything for you.” She smiles, squeezing my hand, which has remained in her grasp, this whole time.

  We spend the rest of the day catching up and she gets to know Cassie. We have tea parties, a movie marathon and just hang out like friends should. It’s a perfect day, reminding me exactly why we were so close as kids. Jace comes by a couple of times, trying not to linger, but the attraction between them is clear as day. I understand him wanting to keep her out of this, but I can’t see how we can. She’s here, she knows, that puts her in it whether we like it or not. Another innocent person caught up in this fucking war. We can’t wait anymore; we need to end this once and for all.

  Chapter 32

  ELLE

  We shouldn’t be here. Every other normal high school senior is preparing to go back to school tomorrow. Probably catching up on forgotten homework, texting friends to arrange catch ups and picking out the perfect back to school outfit. But not me, not the Rebels. No. Instead, we are spending our last free day before school starts, breaking and entering, stealing, and killing. So many fucking crimes I can barely keep up anymore. My moral high ground no longer exists, not when it comes to the Donovan’s and their band of sick little helpers.

  Right now, Dr. Rolland Atkins is sitting inside his mansion. A mansion he got because he made money off of people's suffering. His pharmaceutical company was miniscule, a blip on nobody's radar until he met Elliot Donovan. He created a drug named Atkaprazole. It is known for treating heart disease, but what people don’t talk about is the fact that when you inject it into the system the side effects include loss of consciousness and being unable to move. All it takes is the right dosage and you have yourself a docile little victim, ready to play with. It doesn’t matter if you inject too much and it kills them, because all that will show up on an autopsy is a heart attack, which when they find heart related drugs in your system doesn't seem unrealistic. Helpful, lethal, and completely profitable. By day he heals people of their heart problems and by night he knocks them out to pass over to Elliot Donovan and his son. When Arthur ran my blood work the night we met, he could never make sense of what he found. Not until we started digging up everything on Elliot and his men. That’s when things started to slot into place.

  All of that and more landed the esteemed Dr. Atkins a place on my revenge list. So here we sit, watching, waiting. Readying ourselves for the next step of revenge. Max and his team are getting ready to break into the building of Atkins Incorporated. They are going to burn it down until it’s nothing but ash. Elijah and Lincoln have already hacked into his accounts and rendered his insurance policies useless. Not that he is going to be alive to know any of this. The burner phone buzzes in my pocket and I know it’s showtime.

  I look to Marcus and nod and he does the same. We push up and over the wall, followed by Lincoln, Jace and Tyler. Asher is our distraction tonight, he, like the absolute fucking psycho he is, just drove through the front gates. When he told me his plan, I thought he was insane, but it’s actually kind of genius. It doesn’t matter what he has done, in this town he is still a Donovan. Royalty by name and nature, meaning when he knocks on Rolland Atkins’ door, he will swing it right open, giving us the chance to slip in the back, undetected.

  We make it easily and quietly to his back porch, where he has conveniently left his patio doors wide open. Dare anyone have the audacity to try to break into his house. I note the cigar in the ashtray and the empty tumbler on the table. Like he was having a pleasant quiet evening that has just been interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Isn’t that nice? I love ruining someone’s night and their fucking life. We slip inside silently and hear Asher's voice filtering from the next room.

  “My father doesn’t know I’m here.”

  “I thought as much,” Rolland responds. “What can I do for you, my boy?” My lips curl in disgust at his tone. Patronizing fucker.

  “It’s what I can do for you actually,” Ash replies coolly.

  I follow their voices to Atkin’s office; the door is slightly ajar, giving me a clear sight of Asher. Sensing my presence his jaw tightens, and his hands clench into fists. He’s holding himself back, stopping himself from ending Atkins by his own hands. He knows I can do it, that I want to do it, but he still thinks I shouldn’t have to. He would take pleasure in taking out every one of my enemies without remorse and so would the guys beside me.

  “And what’s that?” Atkins asks and I can hear the smile in his voice, like the thought that Asher could possibly offer him anything, is laughable. We shall see who’s laughing soon.

  I push the door open, letting it bang against the wall, alerting him to my arrival. His head snaps around as I reach behind me and pull the tranq gun from my waistband. Watching his face fall from smug arrogance to recognition and fear thrills me. I lift the gun and shoot it directly into his thigh before he can even move. It’s got a small dose of his favorite drug, not enough to knock him out completely, but it will keep him compliant enough until we can get him tied up.

  The guys filter in behind me as Asher catches Rolland and lowers him into his chair. Lincoln moves to help him before he pushes past them to hack into his computer, no doubt downloading everything. Ash makes quick work of tying him up just as Marcus opens the plastic sheeting and spreads it across the floor. Jace and Tyler stand silently watching us work in unison. Once we have Atkins where we want him, we wait. Only a couple of minutes pass before he is pretty much fully lucid again.

  When his eyes collide with mine,
I offer him my most sinister smile. “Dr. Atkins, we’ve never officially been introduced, I’m Elle King.” His eyes track my movements and I note him taking in the wall of muscle behind me, He knows he’s fucked, but they always try anyway right?

  “What the fuck is this? Don’t you know who I am?” He slurs out and I laugh. It’s always the same. I pull my knife from my thigh and run my fingertips along it as I settle my other hand to lean against the gun on my side. His eyes flare wide and his bravado from a second ago begins slipping as I step up in front of him.

  “Anything you want, just take it.” He manages to stutter out and I can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of me again.

  “Is that your life motto Dr. Atkins? Anything you want you just take?” I spit out dragging my knife lightly down his shirt. Not enough pressure to do any damage, but enough to have him squirming in his seat.

  “I never meant...” He starts, but I hold my hand up to stop him.

  “You can save the excuses and the lies. I know everything. Every sordid little thing you’ve ever done. From the bad batches of drugs that killed people to the type of fucking porn you watch. So please don’t annoy me further by lying to me. This isn’t an interrogation.”

  “Then what is it?” He asks nervously again looking at the guys over my shoulder. I wish he would stop that. The real threat is standing right in front of him. The lack of respect pisses me off, so naturally, I stab him. “It's retribution,” I grit as my knife plunges into that spot I love so much in a man's thigh. He screams out in agony and it releases the tension in my shoulders. I really needed this.

  “This won’t be bloody, she said,” Tyler snorts from behind me and I flash him a grin.

  “Oops?” I say with a shrug and he just laughs. “You’re right though, we should get a move on.” We don’t have the luxury of time on our hands tonight. Once his building is set alight it won’t be long before someone comes looking for him. Not that they’ll find him, but still, it’s best to be quick. I pull the other tranq gun from my waist and don’t hesitate as I slam it into his other thigh. This dose a lot deadlier than the last.