Fearless

by Nicole Coverdale

  “Are you kidding? I’m fine with this!” Arianna cried, laughing a little. “I avoid fighting whenever I can. But you be careful.” She stepped forward, hugging Elena. “Come back to me, you hear me? Come back to me.”

  “Oh I plan on it.” Elena whispered. “We’re all coming back.”

  “Then let’s go.” Kieran whispered, watching as Torianna and Luis both descended the stairs. Then he lowered himself down. His feet touching the ground and he stopped, watching as Elena descended the stairs. Grasping her around the waist and helping her to the ground.

  “You know I could have done that, right?” Elena asked, as her feet hit the ground, staring up at him.

  “I know.” Kieran whispered.

  They turned.

  “Oh God.”

  An explosion rocked the ground.

  Elena cried out, falling back against the stairs.

  And watched, as the White house was suddenly engulfed in flames.

  “We’re too late.” She whispered. “They’re already here.”

  “It doesn’t mean we’re too late though.” Luis told her. “We’ve still got a shot of getting the president and everyone out of there safely. We just have to do it fast.”

  “How do you want to do it, Luis?” Kieran whispered.

  “We split up. You and Elena take the front, we’ll take the back. And whatever you do, don’t get yourself killed!”

  “We’ll do our best.” Kieran murmured, his hand grasping Elena’s. “You ready?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.” She whispered.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Bodies were strewn across the lawn.

  Elena took a step forward, stopping in front of one of the secret service agents, reaching down to check his pulse. Staring down at the large gash that ran across his throat, the blood that pooled around his body.

  “This is insane.” She whispered, rising to her feet and staring down at him. Tears rolling down her face. “He dedicated his life to protecting the president. To making sure this country is safe, and look at where it got him. Dead.”

  “He died serving his country.” Kieran whispered, stopping next to her. “Let’s just hope his death wasn’t for nothing.”

  They turned and walked through the garden.

  And normally, Elena would love the sight of it.

  Of the flowers blooming.

  Of the pebbled path she was walking along.

  But instead, she felt as if she was walking a death sentence.

  And a scream filled her ears.

  “No!”

  She sprinted ahead.

  “Elena!”

  She ignore Kieran’s shout, and raced through the door. Stopping next to a statue and peering around it. Watching as a young child was slammed against the wall.

  “Dammitt, would you just shut your mouth!” A woman yelled. Her hand wrapped around the boy’s neck. “Stupid, little boy.” She muttered, raising her gun.

  “No!”

  Elena lunged forward, grabbing the woman around the waist, and throwing her to the ground. Reaching for the boy and pulling him behind her.

  “Elena?” Irena’s eyes widened, rising to her feet. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

  Elena laughed. “Well, what can I say? I have the life of a cat. I have nine lives.”

  “That you certainly do. But this time, you are not going to survive.”

  She raised the gun.

  Elena lunged forward, her hand wrapping around Irena’s wrist. Slamming her against the wall.

  “You can’t win, Elena.” Irena whispered, staring into her sister’s eyes. “You’ll never win. They’ll always win. They are stronger then you.”

  “You’re wrong.” Elena whispered. “They will never win. They will never be strong than me. I’m strong than them, because I believe. I believe. And I believe in you. Come on, Irena. Show me you’re in there. Show me my sister is in there, somewhere!”

  “Your sister is dead.” Irena whispered. “I was dead the moment that guy laid hands on me years ago.”

  Elena gasped.

  “You remember?”

  “I remember everything.” Irena whispered. “I remember, and I now know, why the organization must live on. Because I believe in them. In what they’re doing.” She smiled. Raising her head. “And I’ll always remember what it was like to watch you die.” She whispered, butting her head forward.

  Her head smacked hard against Elena’s.

  Elena stumbled back.

  Her vision swam.

  She raised her head.

  Watching as Irena reached down, grabbing her gun, pulling the trigger.

  Elena threw herself to the ground. The bullet flying over her head.

  She rolled towards her sister.

  Reaching a hand out and wrapping her fingers around Irena’s ankle.

  Irena screamed.

  She fell to the ground.

  Elena jumped to her feet.

  Her heel slammed down on Irena’s wrist.

  Irena screamed again.

  “My wrist!” she cried. “My wrist! You broke it!”

  “Be grateful that’s the only thing that I broke.” Elena whispered, squatting next to her sister. “You see, Irena, I’m not like you. I’m not like our father. I’m not like our mother. I’m not even like our aunt. They all have hearts as black as night. They don’t care about us, but I do. I care about us. I care about our family, and that’s why I won’t kill you. We’re going to get you help, Irena, and then you can see how wonderful this world really is. And you’ll finally see the organization and our father for what they truly are. Trust me. We’ll be a family again.” She withdrew her gun, and slammed the butt of it against Irena’s head.

  Irena gasped. Her head falling to the ground.

  “Elena!”

  She turned her head, watching as Kieran ran up behind her.

  “It’s okay. She’s not dead.” She whispered, rising to her feet. “I just knocked her out.”

  Kieran raised a brow at her.

  “Who are you people?”

  The little boy stepped up next to her, staring at her.

  Elena laughed, squatting down next to him. “We’re here to help.” She whispered. “What’s your name?”

  “Elliot.”

  “Elliot.” Elena smiled. “My name’s Elena. And that, is Kieran.”

  “Are you going to get those people away from my mom and dad?”

  “We’re going to try.” Elena whispered. “But first, Kieran here, is going to get you to safety.”

  “What?” Kieran shook his head. “No. Elena, I am not leaving you here alone.”

  “You have to, Kieran.” Elena whispered. “You have to. He needs to get out of here, and you need to get Irena back to the plane and tie her up before she wakes up. I can’t carry her, so you have to.”

  “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t have to like it.” Elena whispered, stepping up to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You just have to trust me.”

  “You’re going to get yourself killed.”

  “No I’m not.” Elena whispered. “I’ll be just fine. Now go!”

  Kieran stared at her, then he slowly turned away. Picking Irena up from where she was laying on the ground and hefted her over his shoulder. Then he started down the hallway. The young boy right on his heels, as they disappeared out of sight.

  “Be careful, Kieran.” She whispered, just as a gunshot echoed somewhere in the house.

  In her ear piece, she heard Luis talking. He’d cleared everyone out of the white house. Except for the president’s family.

  Looked like that was up to her.

  She turned.

  And someone grabbed her by the waist, throwing her across the room.

  She gasped, her body hitting the wall with a thud.

  She crumbled to the ground.

  She tried to rise to her feet.

  But she couldn’t.

  Her whole body was aching.


  She lifted her head.

  Watching as footsteps came towards her.

  “You should have stayed dead, little girl.” A voice whispered in her head, just before something hard hit her on the side of the head, and she was greeted by darkness.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Whispers filled her ears.

  Whimpers sounded nearby.

  Elena groaned. Slowly opening her eyes. Blinking into the dimness of the room.

  God, her head hurt, she thought to herself. Trying to raise a hand to touch the side of her head where it throbbed, but she couldn’t. Her hands were tied together.

  She turned her head. Staring at the chair she was sitting on. Her hands tied behind her. Her feet tied together below her.

  “Damn.” She muttered to herself. Raising her head. Staring across the room, over the countertop that lay in the kitchen, and stared at the three monsters that stood on the other side of the room.

  “We have to get rid of her, Abel.” Diana was saying. Flipping the knife in her hand. “She’s going to ruin everything for us. We can’t let her do that. We can’t let he ruin everything for you!”

  “I don’t think we have to kill her, Abel.” Kiana whispered. Turning her head. Staring over at her daughter. “I think she should watch. She should watch as we take over the world. As we ruin the very world she loves. As we take over the very world she is trying so hard to protect.”

  “You both prove very good points.” Abel whispered.

  “Except, you’re all fucking idiots.” Elena muttered from where she was sitting. Raising her head. Staring at them. “Fucking idiots.”

  “What? What did you say?” Diana turned her head. Walking across the room. Stopping in front of Elena. Grabbing her by the hair and jerking her head back. “What was that you said, little girl?”

  “I said that you all are fucking idiots!” Elena cried. “And you will never get away with this. You’ll never get away with destroying the world. You’ll never get away with taking over the world. You’ll never get away with killing the president.” She turned her head. Staring into the corner where the president, his wife, and daughter all sat their hands and feet tied together.

  “Oh, but Elena, we already have.” Diana whispered. Leaning forward. Getting in Elena’s face. “And there’s nothing you can do about it, because I’m going to kill you.”

  “You’re going to kill me?” Elena laughed, turning her head, staring at Diana. “Oh, Diana. Do you really think that I’m afraid of dying? Do you really think that I’m afraid of you?” she laughed again. “Oh Diana, I’m not afraid of you. I mean how could I be? You’re just this pathetic, little girl who fell in love with the man your sister married, and you just couldn’t wait to get her out of the picture. You couldn’t wait to show Abel how strong you are. How much better you were. That he’d married the wrong sister, and you just couldn’t wait to tell him about your plan. About your plan to destroy the world that had been so cruel to you. You’re pathetic.” She stopped. “But you’re plan didn’t work, did it Diana? In fact it failed. It backfired on you, didn’t it? Instead of separating them, you made them stronger and now you have to share Abel, don’t you?” she laughed. “You get to share the man you fell in love with. All this talk about love and emotion being a weakness, you were talking about Abel, weren’t you?”

  “Shut up!” Diana screamed. Lunging forward. Wrapping her hands around Elena’s neck. “Shut the fuck up! You have no idea what you’re talking about! No idea! You don’t know anything about love. You don’t know anything about me. You know nothing!” she screamed the words. “And I am so going to enjoy killing you, you little bitch. So help me, I will kill you for the pain you are putting Abel through!”

  “Pathetic.” Elena whispered. Staring into Diana’s eyes. “Always wanting Abel’s approval. Just pathetic.”

  A growl escaped Diana’s throat.

  “Goodbye, Elena.” She whispered. Her hands tightening around Elena’s throat.

  “Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!” Kiana screamed from across the room.

  Diana’s head whipped around.

  “She’s my daughter!” And Kiana turned, raising the knife she held, turning and stabbing Abel in the side with it in one smooth motion.

  “Abel!” Diana screamed.

  “Kiana!” Abel screamed. Stumbling back. Holding a hand to his side. Lifting his head and staring at her. “Kiana, what are you doing?”

  “Doing what I should have done a long time ago.” She whispered. A smile spreading across her face. “I never wanted this, Abel. I never wanted any of this. I never wanted my daughters to grow up like monsters. I never wanted to take over the world. I never wanted to be with you!”

  “But…But you believe in the same things we do!”

  Kiana laughed. “Oh Abel. You are so gullible. You both are. When you finally found where Simon and I were staying I knew you were going to kill him. You’re just like your father. If you can’t have something, no one can have it, so you killed the man I loved. You took away the man who I fell in love with years ago. A man who had always treated me better than you did.”

  “I gave you everything.”

  “You treated me like shit!” Kiana shouted. Lunging forward, grabbing him by the throat, slamming him against the wall. “You didn’t allow me to teach my daughters how to cook. You slapped me around. You choked me. You fucking destroyed who I was, and I knew the only way to get my daughters back was to pretend like I believed in you. That I believed in a sister who I had always hated.” She turned, staring at Diana. “Oh, poor, sweet Diana. You always did want everything I had, didn’t you?” She shook her head. “God, you’re pathetic. Pining after the man I married. The family I had. Just so you could teach them how to kill. You’re sick! You’re both sick! So you know what I did? I pretended to like you. I pretended to love you, just so I could help my girls. I needed to help them. They were so small. They had no idea what was happening to them. So while you two were busy making all your plans, I snuck in and I fed them food. I gave them water. I gave them blankets. I even lessened the dose you gave Elena. So she could destroy you and the organization once and for all.”

  “Oh, you stupid, bitch.” Abel whispered. “You should never have said that.” And he grabbed her by the throat, spinning her around. Slamming her against the wall. His grip tightening around her throat. “I knew you were up to something.” He whispered, staring at her. “I knew it. You were never happy with me. You never loved me for who I was. You never understood my family. The way my father worked. You never wanted to. And that day, I found you in bed with another man. In my bed! It was the worst day of my life. But I also saw the way you looked at him. You’d never looked at me that way, and I knew the only way to get you back was to kill him, but suddenly you changed. You wanted to be with me. You wanted to be part of the world I was building. No one changes their minds that fast. No one goes against their beliefs that fast. Kiana, you have always loved this world and there was no way you would ever destroy it. But I went along with you. I watched you, and I waited. I knew you would eventually slip up. That you would eventually show me who you really are. And here you are for the person you really are.” He leaned close. “You ruined everything.” He whispered. “You ruined everything for me! And you turned Elena against me, when she should be helping me! That… That I will never, ever forgive you for!”

  “You really think I want your forgiveness, Abel?” Kiana whispered. “What I want is for you to go straight to hell!” she screamed, shoving him back.

  “What? You want me to go to hell?” Abel whispered. His hand grabbing Kiana by the arms. Slamming her back against the wall. “I’m not going to hell, Kiana. You are.” He leaned forward. His lips just inches from hers. “You see, Kiana, I never loved you. Your sister was always far more interesting then you were, the only thing you will ever be to me is a piece of ass.” He whispered, leaning forward another inch. “And you are mine. You will always be mine. And I have no proble
m showing you that you will never be free of me.” And he leaned forward, kissing her.

  Kiana jerked way from him.

  “You bastard!” she screamed. “I will never be yours ever again.” And she raised her knee. Striking him right in the groin.

  He gasped. Dropping to his knees. Lifting his head, staring at her.

  “You’re not the woman I once knew.” He whispered.

  “You’re right.” Kiana whispered. “I’m not the woman you once knew. I’m stronger than I have ever been before.” She smiled, raising the knife she held in her hand again. “And I am going to kill you for everything you have done. For everything you have taken for me. For what you have made my daughters into.”

  “Kiana, stop!”

  Diana grabbed Elena by the neck, holding a knife to her throat. “You kill him, and I kill your lovely daughter.”

  Kiana froze. Turning, staring across the room at Diana.

  “No.” she whispered.

  “Mom, just do it.” Elena whispered. Staring at her mother. “I’m dead anyways.”

  “No, Elena. I can’t let you die. Not this way.” Kiana whispered. “You deserve so much better than that.”

  She lowered the knife.

  Diana lowered her knife.

  And Elena sprung forward. Her body yanking against the ropes, and butted Diana right in the stomach with her head.

  Diana gasped. Falling to the ground. Holding a hand to her stomach. The knife slipping from her hand. Sliding across the floor.

  Elena gasped, the chair tumbling over, and she yelped as her whole body hit the concrete floor with a yelp.

  And her hand touched the knife next to her.

  She raised her head.

  Grasping it in her hand, and started gnawing away at the rope that held her hands together. The knife slipped, nicking her wrist.

  She winced. But continued cutting away at the rope. And a second later she felt it give away.

  She turned her head.

  Just as Diana lunged towards her.

  “No!” she rolled over, dodging Diana. Holding the chair over her face, and smacking Diana with it.

  “Dammitt, you bitch! I’m going to make you pay for that!” Diana screamed. Pulling the gun out from the small of her back. Aiming it at Elena.