“What? What are you talking about?” He jerked the note out of her hand. Reading through it quickly. He raised his head, staring at her. “You have got to be fucking kidding me!” he shouted. “He’s going to get himself fucking killed!” he jumped to his feet, rounding the kitchen counter, pulling open a drawer.
Light suddenly flashed into the cabin.
Elena jerked her head up.
Just as the door to the cabin kicked in. Wood splintering everywhere.
“Luis!” She dived around the counter, landing at his feet. “They’re here!” she cried. “Where’d you put my gun?”
“Right here.” He whispered, handing it to her, just as the first shot fired.
“Where’s Tori?” Elena whispered, as he squatted next to her. Watching as he peered over the counter. Holding his gun steady.
“Sleeping in one of the bedrooms.” He whispered, pulling the trigger, a grunt sounding somewhere.
“Not anymore she’s not.”
Their heads jerked around.
Tori ran up behind them, hunkering down next to them. “What’s going on?”
“They found us.” Elena whispered. Flicking the safety off of the gun. Holding it steady in her hands. The feel of it too familiar, and peered around the counter, pulling the trigger.
The bullet got one of the men in the shoulder.
And she watched, as more men came into the cabin.
“There’s too many of them.” She whispered, shaking her head. “There’s no way we’ll be able to fight all of them off. We’re going to have to split up.”
“Split up?” Luis stared at her. “Elena, that’s crazy talk!”
“We don’t have a choice, Luis.” Elena whispered. Staring at him. “I don’t like it either, but what other choice do we have? If we don’t do something soon, they’re going to kill all of us. We can’t die, Luis! We have to find Kieran. I have to find him before he does something really, really stupid.” She swallowed. “I can’t let him die, Luis.”
Luis stared at her. “I know.” He whispered. He reached over, resting a hand on her shoulder. “Any suggestions?”
She stopped. Staring at the floor in front of her. Thinking.
And she faintly heard Tori’s voice.
Her head jerked up.
“I think I have an idea.” Tori whispered. She turned to Luis. “Do you have any vinegar and baking soda?” She reached up and grabbed the bottle that sat on top of the counter. Jerking her hand off the counter, just before a bullet zinged over the counter and over their heads.
“Tori!” Elena grabbed her sister’s hand. “Dammitt, be careful!”
“Elena, stop worrying!” Tori whispered, rolling her eyes. “I’m not a little kid.” Pouring the water out of the bottle.
“I will always worry.” Elena muttered. “You’re my sister.”
“You two are so related.” Luis muttered from next to them. Glaring at them. “You’re both fucking bullheaded.” He rolled his eyes. “Of course I have baking soda and vinegar.” He chuckled a little. “Who doesn’t have that stuff?” And turned the lazy Susan in front of him. Handing the items to Tori. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m going to make an explosive.” Tori whispered, filling the bottle about half full with vinegar. She set it aside. Then poured baking soda into a square around a napkin. Stuffing it inside so it was just inside the mouth of the bottle. Placing the cap on the bottle and shaking the bottle vigorously. “I saw it done once. A long time ago.” And she threw it across the room. “Here we go.”
The sound of the explosion echoed in their ears.
A scream sounded.
“Now!” Elena shouted, jumping to her feet.
She turned, and raced out the door. Not even waiting to see if Luis and Tori made it out behind her.
Her feet raced along the soft grass.
And she heard the explosion of the Cabin going up in flames behind her.
The heat hit her in the back.
She gasped, stumbling a little.
Bullets whizzed past her ear.
She ducked.
She saw men running after her.
Arms stretched out, trying to grab her.
She dodged them, her arms and legs pumping hard.
And she felt her feet hit the black top of the street.
She stopped. Her breath coming out hard. Bending over. Her hands resting on her knees. And slowly lifted her head. Staring at the remains of the cabin. Sadness rolling through her as she stared at it. Luis’s cabin was gone.
She watched as men raced towards her.
And another explosion hit the ground.
She gasped. Stumbling. Falling on the black top. Lifting her head. Staring at the fire that engulfed the area. Hearing the screams of the men around her, and watched as Luis and Tori reached the top of the hill on the other side of the Cabin. Luis turned to look at her. Waving at her. A detonator in his hand.
He’d saved her.
Elena rose to her feet. Lifting a hand. Waving at them. Blowing out a breath.
They were safe.
“Elena!” she heard Tori scream. Watching as she started to run towards her.
“No!” Luis grabbed her by the waist. “You can’t go with her, Tori.”
“But she’s my sister!” Tori screamed. “Elena!”
“I’ll be okay.” Elena screamed. “I promise Tori. Go with Luis. He’ll keep you safe. But I have to go. I have to go find Kieran.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed!”
“No I’m not!” Elena shouted. “I’m going to go find the man I love!”
And she stopped.
Suddenly realizing what she’d just said.
And a smile spread across her face.
She did love him, she thought to herself, as she watched Luis and Tori disappear out of sight. For someone, who had never known what love was. She knew that Kieran was more important to her than anything else in the world. She knew that she would do anything to protect him, and she knew, that she could never picture her life without him in it.
And that, she realized, was exactly what love was.
“I’m coming, Kieran.” She whispered. Turning and walking away from the cabin. From Tori. From Luis, and praying to God that she wouldn’t be too late. That Abel and the organization didn’t kill him before she got a chance to tell him just how much she loved him.
Chapter Thirty-Three
This was his home.
It had once been a place he had loved.
His sanctuary.
His paradise.
Now it was tainted.
And everything he’d worked so hard for, was gone.
Kieran felt tears prick at his eyes.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
His foot pressed down on the accelerator.
And he felt the car jerk forward, changing lanes as he passed countless cars, before taking the ramp. Whipping past the sign that greeted him to Serenity, North Carolina, and drove into the town he had spent the last several years of his life in.
He watched, as people walked down the sidewalk. Totally oblivious to the danger that surrounded them. He caught sight of a couple walking down the street. Hand in hand, as they walked towards the ice cream parlor that sat just a few feet away.
And he felt his heart clench, as he thought of Elena. As he thought of the way he had left her, and he wondered, just what must she be feeling? Did she hate him for what he had done? He had taken one of the most precious things from her. He had treated her with kindness. He had shown her something no one else ever had, and then he’d left, with nothing more than a note saying goodbye.
What kind of person was he?
What kind of person told someone they loved them, and then left?
“Someone who’s trying to protect her.” Kieran muttered to himself. He knew what he was doing. He was protecting the people he cared about, and if that meant that Elena hated him for the rest of her life, well he was okay wi
th that.
He passed through downtown Serenity, navigating the car along the curvy, countryside roads. Watching as a herd of deer lifted their heads. Watching as he drove past.
Miles of bright green grass crowded all around him.
Silence surrounded him.
And in front of him, he watched, as the sun peeked out from the dark clouds.
An owl hooted somewhere nearby.
An eagle soared through the sky.
And he felt a smile spread over his face.
This was his home. It had been his home ever since he had left the organization. Ever since he had watched, as Dominic was handcuffed and sentenced to life in prison. Ever since he had become an FBI agent.
It amazed him at how much his life had turned around, since he’d been that ten year old boy abandoned by his own father, and he remembered all too well how he had felt when he’d finally been free of Dominic and the organization.
He’d been free of all the death. Of all the violence.
No one had been there to tell him what to do.
To fill him with empty promises.
He’d been in control.
He’d been the one making the decisions.
He’d taken control of his life.
And he’d vowed, with every fiber of his being, to never let anyone control him ever again.
Yet here he was. Ready to give his life away, without a seconds thought.
He swallowed.
Thinking back to those years after the organization. Thinking of the fear he’d felt. How untrusting he had been to everyone around him. So sure that Dominic would find a way to break out of prison. So sure that he would come for him and Luis. To make them pay for betraying him, and start the organization up all over again.
Except Dominic hadn’t broken out of prison.
Except Dominic hadn’t come after him.
He hadn’t started the organization up again.
Abel had.
Kieran felt a rage he hadn’t felt in a long time fill him.
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
The man was destroying his life, and he didn’t even know him. He was threatening everything he had tried so hard to build for himself. He had destroyed his world, but most of all, he had sucked him into a world he had never wanted to go back to. Back to a world he had vowed to himself he would never be a part of. And he had forced him to give up the woman he loved.
The man was a bastard.
He had to pay for all he had done.
And even though he’d told Elena that revenge was a dangerous path to go on, he knew that he was the one who had to do it. He had to finish this once and for all.
He turned the wheel. Driving up the familiar driveway, and braking the car to a stop. He stepped out into the brightness of the early morning and squinted. The sound of the car door slamming shut behind him echoing in his ears.
And he stared ahead of him. At the rubbish of what had once been his home.
He took a step forward. His footsteps feeling heavy, as he walked towards the mess. Staring around him at the years of hard work that surrounded him.
The house he had built from the ground up.
The little things he had collected throughout the years.
Books. Movies. Music.
Everything was gone.
He stopped. Staring down at the ground. A metal plate lying next to his feet.
This is your life. Your time. Your destiny. No one else has the power to make your own future. You do. This is your time. Don’t let fear overwhelm you. This is your home.
He blinked. Remembering the hours he and Luis had spent here, building this house.
And he felt a lump form in his throat.
Luis.
He was going to be so pissed at him, Kieran thought to himself. A chuckle rising up in his throat. He would never understand why he was doing this and because of that he would be furious at him for a long time. He would never forgive him for what he was doing. For walking away from him.
Kieran lifted his head.
He could handle Luis’s anger. He could accept the hate. But the thing he feared most of all, was that Luis would never recover from losing him. It had been the two of them for so long. Luis didn’t trust many people in this world, and he just feared that Luis would never let anyone in ever again. That he would live his life completely alone, and that was not what he wanted for his friend.
His throat tightened, and he squatted down next to the rubbish. His hand grazing over the mess, and stopped. His hand resting on the cover of a book that had been destroyed in the blast.
Peter Pan.
“Oh God.” He stared down at the book, suddenly thrown back in time. To a time when his mother had still been alive.
He could still vaguely remember the woman who had given birth to him.
Her light, ginger colored hair. Kind green eyes. And a laugh that had always sounded like music to his ears. And he remembered every night when she tucked him into bed she would read him this very book. It had been his favorite, and he had vowed to find it after he got out of the organization.
He rose to his feet. The cover falling from his hand, and he reached for his cell phone. Dialing a number that was all too familiar to him.
“It’s Randolph.” He whispered into the phone. “I know you must have a lot of questions, but something’s happened. Something big has happened and it all has to do with Victor. It’s started again.”
“Kieran?” the director of the FBI’s voice came across the phone. “Kieran, what’s going on? What are you talking about?”
“They’re here. And everyone is in danger. They—“
“Put the phone down.” Something cold suddenly pressed into his neck. “Put the phone down now, Kieran.”
Kieran froze, the phone falling from his hand.
“That’s a good boy.” Diana whispered in his ear.
“Kieran? Kieran! Are you there?” he heard the director screaming through the phone.
Diana laughed. “Fool.” She whispered, aiming the gun at the phone, and pulling the trigger.
The phone shattered into a million pieces.
And Kieran gulped. He was all alone.
“You’re a fool for coming back here, Kieran.” Diana whispered, walking around him and pointing the gun straight at him. “Though I shouldn’t be surprised now, should I? After all you are a fool aren’t you, Kieran?”
Kieran laughed. Watching as she walked around him, stopping only when she was finally standing right in front of him. “I’m not a fool, Diana. I knew you’d be here. I knew you’d be waiting. And I knew it was my only chance to do what I need to do.”
“And what is that, Kieran?” Diana walked closer to him. And nudged him in the side.
Kieran gasped. Pain rolling through his body.
“Hmm. You look like you’ve healed nicely.” Diana whispered. “But not quite, huh? You’re still in a lot of pain, Kieran. Tell me, why shouldn’t I just kill you right here and right now?”
“Because I have a proposition.”
“What could I possibly want from you?”
Kieran laughed again. “Oh Diana. I don’t want to talk to you. I want to talk to Abel.”
“No one talks to Abel.”
“But he’s going to want to hear this.” Kieran whispered.
“What could you possibly have to say that would make Abel want to talk to you?”
“Because I’m willing to give up my life, in order to serve him.”
“And just why would you want to work for Abel?” Diana whispered. “What do you want in return?”
“I want you to leave Elena and Luis alone.” Kieran whispered. “Let them live their lives in peace. Away from the violence. Away from the shadow of the organization. Let them be free, Diana. Let them be.”
A laugh escaped Diana’s throat.
She lifted her head.
Staring at him. “You fool.” She whispered. “You’re giving your entire life up,
for what? For her! And for what reason? Because you fell in love with her?”
“It’s the strongest thing in the world today, Diana.”
“Liar!” Diana screamed. “Don’t you get it? Don’t you fucking get it! There is no such thing as love in the world anymore, Kieran! There is no such thing as love at first sight. There is no such thing as love’s first kiss. Fairy tales are not real! True love does not exist! It’s what everyone in this world wants so desperately to believe in. Human emotion.” She scoffed. “It makes everyone weak and pathetic.” She let out a chuckle, withdrawing her phone. “But I will call him. I will tell him what you said.”
“That’s all I ask for.” Kieran whispered.
“You’re still a fool.” Diana whispered. She lifted the phone to her ear. “Abel.” she cocked her head, talking into the phone. “I have something to tell you. There’s a man here. Kieran Randolph and he has a proposition for you. He says, that he will work for you. Become part of the organization if you do one thing for him. You leave Elena and Luis alone.”
She paused, listening, and a smile crossed her face. “Of course. I’ll see you soon.”
She slid the phone back in her pocket, and turned to Kieran. “He says he does want to see you.” She whispered. “But only because Elena will come for you.”
“What!” Kieran lunged forward.
Hands grabbed him from behind, jerking him back.
Diana stepped forward, stopping just in front of him, lifting a hand to his cheek. “Abel wants Elena, Kieran. She destroyed everything for him, and he wants her head on a platter, but the only way he’s going to be able to get her is if we have you. You see, she thinks she loves you. She thinks she cares about you. And that will be her ultimate undoing.” She lifted a gun from behind her, and aimed it at his leg.
A needle slung out of the barrel, burying in his lower leg.
Kieran yelled, struggling against the men who held him.
“Congratulations, Kieran.” Diana whispered. “You’re finally going home.”
She turned and walked away.
And Kieran felt a blackness start to surround him.
His muscles lost all of their control.
And he felt his body fall to the ground.
His body hit the ground with a loud thump.
And he raised his head. Through blurry eyes, watching as Diana walked away from him. Thinking that all he’d wanted to do was keep Elena safe. Keep her alive. But now, because of him, she was going to die.
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