by J Bree
Then a hand wraps around my mouth.
Chapter Thirty
There’s no point struggling.
He’s much bigger than me, like most guys are, and his arms are like iron bands around my waist. He wouldn’t hesitate to break my arm, smash my other leg and destroy my life, none of these things are even close to too far for this man.
So I wait.
He drags me into his vault, into the room Illi called hell, and I start to take note of everything. Avery isn’t here, thank fuck, but there’s blood everywhere. It’s not hers. I won’t believe it’s hers, not for a second, because grief only blinds you. I need to be wide awake to deal with this man.
My old friend.
If you could ever have called him that.
He slams me back into the only chair in the room. There’s straps and chains hanging off it, a dozen different ways to keep a man sitting still for all of the torture the Jackal wants to put him through, and I force my face to stay blank as he straps me in.
The things I’ve seen him do to men in this chair, well, let’s just say I’m not fucking happy sitting in it, even if it’s only going to last for a little while.
The Jackal smiles down at me, stroking my cheek and spreading the blood from my nose around like the image of me covered in my own blood is the best fucking thing he’s ever seen. “Did you like my little treasure hunt for you, Starbright? I left you clues in all your favorite places. All the places only you would know, all the things only you could do.”
I grimace at him, baring my bloodied teeth and wishing I could stick my knife through his throat. As if reading my mind, he slips it out of my pocket and throws it behind himself like it’s nothing.
“Me and Johnny. The best friend you betrayed because you’re not loyal or trustworthy or worthy of love. Johnny knows every last thing about you, and he’ll be here for you soon.”
He tsks at me. “They left you behind, Starbright. After I took you they just kept moving.”
His tone is coaxing, like he thinks he can sway me. That my mind is so weak willed I’ll crumble at his feet at knowing they stayed the course. He doesn’t get it, he doesn’t get me and my family at all. It doesn’t matter to me that they went after Avery, that’s exactly what I wanted them to do. They could leave here with her now and I’d be fucking thrilled about it.
I also know they won’t leave me.
He turns his back on me as he sets out his tools, confident the thin straps around my thighs will be enough to keep me secure without my knife to help me get free. He’s right; without my beloved Matriarch, the knife that had been with me for years and hundred of kills, it would be impossible to get out.
The razorblade in my sleeve will get me out.
Avery’s Matriarch in my boot will be perfectly adequate to kill him.
“I see it. I see you defying me, you think they love you. Ah, my Wolf, they don’t. They weren’t here for you, Starbright. They don’t know all of your secrets, they don’t know about the monster inside you. Only I can be that person for you, I need to remind you of that, so we can be together. You need to remember that you’re mine.” He’s still using that voice, the one he uses to fool women into thinking he’s human. The one he used on me as a child, to get me to follow him around in the group home, the one he used to teach me how to kill a man.
I don’t believe it anymore.
His mouth sets into a dark slash across his face, the fury and loathing seeping into every fiber of his being. He doesn’t like it when I say no. I never was allowed to say no to him.
He stares into my eyes as he slides his knife into my gut.
Sweat breaks out over my forehead but I don’t scream or cry or plead with him to stop.
“I’m picking all my favorite places, Starbright. All of the sections I can slide right into without hitting something vital. Should we do this all day? Should we spend the day like our good old times, finding all the ways I can make you scream?”
I will not scream.
I will not utter a fucking sound, even if it makes my death excruciating.
I let my head roll back on my shoulders and I stare up at the inky black ceiling. Countdown in French. The best way to deal with this is to breathe through it. Empty my mind, nothing, counting, don’t think, don’t think about-
He grabs a fistful of my hair and rips my head back down until I’m staring at him. “Don’t hide from me, you’ll take this and you’ll do what you’re told. I’ll keep going until my Wolf is back.”
There’s no holding it back. I laugh in his face, savage and wild and fuck him. Fuck him for being evil, for not being the guy I wanted him to be. Fuck him for being evil, manipulative, and not really giving a fuck about who I really am. I let every last one of these things show in my expression because I’m not afraid of him anymore.
He grabs my face, squeezing until my cheeks and my bleeding nose scream at me, my head going a little fuzzy. “You know better, Wolf. I taught you better than this.”
He lets my face go, his fingernails dragging down my cheeks, to turn away from me again. He grabs the blowtorch, one of those little ones that chefs use, and fuck no, I’m not getting burned today. That’s not fucking happening.
I flex my wrist until my sleeve rides up, something Illi taught me to do, and the razor blade is easy enough to slice through the leather. The fucker should have used the chains but, as he keeps on pointing out, I know him so fucking well.
He likes the indents the leather leaves in skin when his victims struggle.
I move quickly while his back is still turned. He’s an arrogant fuck, and he’s so fixated as he lifts the brand up to the blowtorch flame. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving here with his insignia burned into my skin.
No fucking way.
The straps are sliced and off my thighs, Avery’s knife clutched in my hands as he turns and I stab him in the side, right where one of his kidneys is. Fuck, I hope I’ve hit it.
He grunts and shoves me away, grabbing Avery’s knife out and getting a hand around my throat. I kick a leg out and hit the torch, still burning away on the ground where he’s dropped it and his grip loosens off a little as the flame hits his ankle, a vicious stream of cursing streaming from him.
He slams my head back against the wall and I feel as though my brain rattles around in my skull, stars bursting across my eyes. While my vision is still patchy, he slams Avery’s knife into my stomach again, pressing in close to whisper in my ear. “That was very stupid, Starbright. Now you don’t have any chances to get away from me.”
My voice comes out all gurgling and slurred. “I don’t need to get away from you. I need to keep you focused on me.”
He chuckles, his breath fanning down my neck until I want to peel the skin off just to get any trace of him off of my body. “You need to stop thinking about them, my little Wolf. They won’t get here in time. I timed everything perfectly, so I could have you here and keep them out until I made you mine. You think I had all of my men out there dealing with that cock Crow? No, I have them here. Keeping us safe and away from those arrogant, entitled soon-to-be-dead boys you gave yourself away to.”
I snarl at him and he strokes my face again, petting me like I’m someone important to him. “Shh, it’s okay. You’ll be on the end of my cock by the time they get through all of my men, as much as I'm enjoying this foreplay. One look at you and they’ll leave you behind.”
My blood coats the inside of my mouth and dribbles out of the corner as I reply, “They’ll be here. Even if your pathetic little army holds them off and you manage to rape me, it makes no difference. They’ll kill you and I’ll still go home with them.”
He laughs at me, brushing my hair away from my face as he twists the blade slowly. The sadistic fuck, my vision whites out a little but, fuck me, I hold onto reality by a thread.
“You’re a toy to them, something fun and cheap to play with for now. The second they see I’ve had you they won’t want you anymore and then all I’ll ha
ve to do is show them the door and you’ll be mine. Oh, I’ll kill them. I would never let them live for touching what’s mine, but they won’t try to fight for you, Starbright. You’ll be used-up slum pussy; broken and worthless.”
I open my mouth to answer him but the words get caught in my throat. I shut my eyes so the Jackal doesn’t see it reflected it them, the relief and fucking love, and turn around.
Whether it was watching Illi and I or something his fucking father taught him, Ash Beaumont makes zero sound as he walks into the Jackal’s vault.
He remembered.
He remembered the story I’d told him, all of the details and the combination, and how to find this place. He remembered the plans Illi and I had drummed into them all, of where things are kept, of where the Jackal like to work. Every last second of training that Illi had done with him has been leading to this.
Most importantly, if he’s able to creep in here like this without the rage taking over… Avery must be alive.
“Given up, Wolf? I’ll have to tell your little friends that you caved to me so fucking fast, you’ve been gagging for me,” the Jackal says, his tone cruel and smug.
“The only person gagging is me over your fucking egotistical dribble. Honestly, who the fuck would be desperate for you? Isn’t that why you built this empire, so you could tempt pussy into your bed willingly? Pathetic,” Ash drawls, and I open my eyes again to see the Jackal’s eyes widen a fraction as the barrel of a gun is pressed to the base of his spine.
He really did think an entire fortress of men could stop my guys from finding me.
“If you pull the trigger, the bullet will go straight through,” he snaps, and Ash chuckles at him.
“Good thing I’m angling the bullet so it’ll go straight into that petty brain of yours then, isn’t it? The real question is, do you want to die now by bullet, or do you want to step away from the Wolf and have a chance at fighting me and getting out of here alive? I’ve been dreaming about tearing you apart for a long time. I’d rather do it properly, with my hands.”
I frown, but I keep my eyes on the Jackal. Ash should just shoot him and get this over with.
The Jackal drops his hands away from the handle of the knife right as the door to the vault opens, this time loud enough for us all to hear. I stiffen, ready to have to fight off the Jackal’s men if I have to, but Harley and Illi walk through, bloody and covered in gore. Blaise steps through after them, his eyes blank until they spot me and then he’s full of heartbreak. Fuck, I must look bad.
“Fuck. Is that a knife in her gut? You miserable fucking cunt,” Harley snarls, and I stagger away from the wall towards him. I don’t know whether I’m trying to calm him down or get help from him but I’m happy enough to leave Ash with the Jackal’s death at the moment which kind of tells me the blood loss is getting bad. Fuck, I stumble and the pain is unreal. I’m so woozy from the wounds, this is not good.
“I heard you were so fucking pathetic at finding us and taking us out that you went to my father for help, is that true?” Ash says, moving the Jackal until he’s sitting in the chair he’d strapped me to.
“Interesting man. He’s got a whole fucking collection of pigs in his pocket, how are you going to deal with him when you walk out of this building? You know I’ve called him, right? I never start a fight without a Plan B,” the Jackal says, his voice mocking and I give a hacking chuckle at him.
Harley and Blaise start to quietly snark at each other on how best to deal with my knife situation and I ignore them both as I stare down at the man I once thought of as my friend. A long ass time ago.
“You’re blind, Matteo. You think Senior is the danger and, yeah, he’s fucking psycho, but he’s not the only person with connections.”
He laughs and spits at Ash’s feet, spraying his shoes. I make a conscious decision not to look down to see which ridiculously expensive shoes have just been ruined because it’s an irrelevant thing I should not care about and yet here I am, giving a shit. Ash doesn’t flinch, he just stares down at the Jackal like he’s nothing.
Fuck.
Ash could give his father a run for his money, the dark void of his eyes pulling you in until you’re empty too. I don’t find it terrifying, I feel safe and fucking adored when I see him like that because he only gets like that for family.
Illi hands me my knife from where he’s snagged it on the Jackal’s workbench, pulling his shirt off to stabilize the knife and staunch the wound at once. This ain’t his first rodeo with knives in guts so I guess it’ll be staying in there until we find a doctor. Ash’s eyes glance down at the knife still clearly inside me and then back to my knife in my hand.
I give it to him.
If he’s doing it for me, and the woozy feeling in my head tells me it isn’t going to be me doing it, then it needs to be my knife.
“Oh, D’Ardo, I’ve been counting down the days for this,” Illi crows, unstrapping one of his cleavers and rolling his shoulders back.
The Jackal shrugs, a smirk on his face like he’s not afraid to die. “If you think I’m going to beg you, you’ve got another thing coming. I would never beg some pussy-whipped thug, you became pathetic the day you left with her.”
Illi slides away from me, leaving me with Harley and Blaise, and turning to where Ash has the Jackal. “Your men are all dead. Your empire is gone. We’ve got both of our girls back. You’re a dead man, Matteo, and worse than that… you’re a forgotten man too.”
Ash’s eyes flick to Harley. “You got her?”
Harley cradles my face in his big palms. “Always.”
Ash smirks and lowers the gun. I see the little gleam in the Jackal’s eyes, like he thinks this is his chance, only Ash doesn’t give him the chance to do a goddamn thing.
He shoots him in the knee.
A scream rips out of the Jackal’s chest, and he collapses onto the floor. I see the blowtorch at the same time Illi does and he swoops down to grab it.
Ash ignores us all, his eyes locked onto the Jackal. “I read her file, you know. I read every last thing you did to her while you were trying to break her into something you could say was yours. I know every last thing you did and you are going to feel them all. Every last one of them.”
Ash drops the gun and pounces on Matteo, snapping his leg with the heel of his boot. I watch on as he slowly, meticulously, tears him apart, piece by blood-soaked piece. Every last scar on my body now a wound on his and when finally I think he’s dead, Illi hacks his head off just to be sure.
He gives me a look, his words making their way into my brain even as I start to finally pass out in Harley’s arms. “We’ll all sleep better knowing there’s no way he could survive it.”
Chapter Thirty-One
I come to when Harley carries me out of the vaults.
There’s blood and gore everywhere, Illi and Ash are covered in it, and the smell is fucking foul. I groan and try to wiggle out but he snarls at me, “The knife is still in you just stay fucking still.”
I stay fucking still.
Right up until we hit the cold early morning air. The sun hasn’t quite risen yet but there’s that cold, fresh, new feeling in the air that promises the sun is on its way. Every inch of my body hurts, from my broken nose to the raw skin on my hands to the fucking knife still in my gut. It all hurts but nothing hurts more than my freaking chest when I see the dark halo of curls, waiting with Luca and the Crow, tears streaming down her face as she reams them both a new asshole.
“Well, where the fuck are they then? If the entire place is clear then they should be here, I’m not fucking leaving until I see them.”
Ash looks down at his arms and grimaces, there’s no hiding what he’s done. I don’t think he should worry so much, Avery will not care.
As if I said her name her head snaps up and she sees me.
“Lips!” She screeches and rips herself out of the Crow’s hands. I notice her bare feet, fucking weird, but then she’s wrapped awkwardly around me and Harley as she
trembles.
I refuse to tell her to stop, even if it does hurt like hell, but my guys aren’t so forgiving.
“Do you not see the blood and the wounds and the fucking knife, Floss? I need to get her to the car, we can hug and shit at the hospital.” Harley snaps, and I elbow him weakly.
Avery looks down and a shrill noise comes out of her that I’ve never heard before. “What the fuck happened?”
Ash hovers away from her, probably desperate to hug her and comfort her but he won’t touch her while he’s covered in blood, no matter how well she seems to be taking all of this. “She had her showdown with the Jackal. He got a few hits in before he got what he deserved.”
Avery finally notices the blood. “That’s his?”
When Ash nods her mouth curves into a little smirk. “Perfect, and Blaise? What happened to you?” She says, and I quickly look over to where he’s bleeding from a gunshot wound to his arm. When I scowl at him and the sight of his blood he shrugs me off, scowling fiercely.
“It’s a graze, doesn’t even hurt.”
What the fuck? “Who the hell shot you? They had better be dead.”
Illi outright fucking roars with laughter at me. “Really, kid? And you wonder why you have admirers everywhere. How about you let your boys take you in and get the stomach dealt with, then we can start hunting for the dickhead who dared to scratch your singer.”
I roll my eyes at him and turn back to Avery. “What happened to you? Are you okay? Where the hell is Diarmuid, who killed the fucker?”
Her lip wobbles but she holds it in, crossing her arms and glancing around us at the Crow’s men still milling around. “I was stupid. I opened the door when I saw it was him to tell him you weren’t here and he should call ahead. I didn’t have my knife close and he grabbed me so quick I couldn’t call out for Ash. He dropped me off and left, no one has seen him.”