Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War

by Hardin, Michelle

  “Liar!”

  Carter tried to lunge for the man again. Nathan had to hold her even tighter for fear that they’d all turn their weapons on her. It seemed Carter had abandoned strategy and embraced insanity, but Nathan highly disagreed. Insanity never won over strategy. Insanity equaled death.

  “Carterina, baby, calm down,” Nathan snapped.

  Carter blatantly ignored him, and fought harder against his hold.

  “Truth,” she screamed at Shadow. “What kind of man would save the lives of abducted children without contacting the proper authorities to help said children be reunited with the families they were taken from? He was a filthy fucking—”

  “I said enough. Kill them both, now,” Shadow commanded the army.

  However, no man made a move, and Carter continued to scream until she was nearly foaming at the mouth.

  Nathan frowned, feeling that something had changed in the atmosphere. Wait a minute, there is something different.

  Carter fearlessly continued. “Dmitry was a sickening collector of children; a user, a rapist, a pedophile. That is who your father was. You, Shadow Walker, are a weak, pathetic man. You’ve wasted your entire life awaiting the perfect moment to avenge the death of an evil degenerate that preyed upon the innocence of children.”

  “Enough,” he bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth.

  Nathan’s brows rose in shock at the emotion he heard in Shadow’s voice.

  “He took children from hell and brought them into his sick, demented world. Fooled them, convinced them that they’d been saved, that he was their angel, the father they’d never gotten a chance to know, and then he snuck into their beds at night and raped them …”

  “Goddammit, I said kill her!”

  “I can’t be killed!”

  Her piercing scream made the words echo throughout the lobby. So striking, so powerful that even Nathan was struck still by them.

  “No man or woman would ever raise a gun to shoot me. None would dare raise a hand to strike me. None would dream of pulling a sword to end my life for fear of the hell they’d unleash on themselves. Have you been so blinded by your injudicious quest for revenge that you’ve forgotten whom it is you stand in front of? Did you once stop to really contemplate your actions; the slim to none chance you had at succeeding in your attempt to take my life, my husband’s life, the life of my brother, and my sons? Did you sincerely believe that you, Roe Steele, would be leaving this war that you have started the victor? Have you lost your mind? You will pay in the most brutal ways for every single second of this night that you have wasted with your flagrant attempts to harm what belongs to me. Those who follow you will pay just as harshly as the others have tonight. Not one of you motherfuckers will be leaving this building with life in your body. Each and every one of you will suffer the consequences of fucking with me.”

  And that was the moment Nathan knew what his wife was doing …

  “You have no authority, Roe, you have no power, and you are no fucking leader. You are a coward! A frightened little boy trapped inside the tortured soul of lost man. Leadership is not an entitlement. It is not inherited, blood will not afford it to you, and it will never—never—be handed to you by your dead pervert of a father. Leadership, authority, and power, are three of the four most sought after things in this world, and neither are just given, Shadow Walker. They are earned, fought for, taken!”

  Nathan released her at the exact same moment she shot forward. Every single man, including the incomparable Shadow Walker, took an involuntary step back.

  Nathan was floored … She’d fucking done it.

  He hadn’t even thought it was possible when he’d asked her to do it on the bridge, and she hadn’t seemed confident when she’d told him how tedious and ugly a task penetrating the mind of an army was, but she’d done it. She’d weakened their leader …

  Abruptly Carter clapped her hands. “And scene” she laughed, shaking her head. “You stupid motherfuckers …”

  Nathan was just about to ask her what the fuck she was doing when he saw what had made her laugh and bring her stalling to an end … Carter’s parents had arrived.

  ~*~

  After The Fight ….

  Nathan would never forget it for as long as he lived. It was that incredible, that fucking epic, and he was changed because of it. Because of what had just happened right in front of his eyes.

  It had been only about a minute and a half since Carter’s parents had arrived. The Salerno men and Nathan’s father had finally made it to the S.O. building, but now… there was just no point.

  Four people! Four fucking people. A mother, a father, a biological father, and their crazy-ass five foot four baby girl wiped out an entire fucking army consisting of around thirty-five to fifty armed men. Dead.

  Anastacia Stone and the eerily alike Steele brothers.

  The three made it very clear that neither of them fucked around when it came to their daughter.

  ~*~

  One-Minute and Thirty Second Earlier …

  It all happened in a matter of seconds … seconds.

  Abruptly Carter clapped her hands. “And scene!” she laughed, shaking her head. “You stupid motherfuckers …”

  Nathan frowned in confusion at the abrupt change in her tone right as he caught rapid movement out of the corner of his eye … Anastacia?

  Anastacia Stone had arrived, right along with her French army following behind her. The men spread out as their boss ran forward furiously, with only two large knives, one in each hand.

  What Nathan had expected was far from what happened. He’d expected and all-out war of gunfire to ensue between Anastacia’s and Shadow’s armies, but that didn’t happen. Anastacia’s men didn’t pull weapon. They just surrounded the group and stood there watching.

  What the fuck?

  Nathan took a step forward, fully prepared to go full-on murderer with Anastacia and Carter when he caught something else move even quicker out of the corner of his other eye.

  Robert Steele. And not one fucking weapon was in his hands.

  The sudden appearance of Silas shocked him the most, though. It was only alarming because it was like seeing Robert twice and Nathan hadn’t even seen the man enter.

  Robert made the first kill. Shadow’s men hadn’t even noticed that others had entered the lobby yet. They were all still looking at Carter when the agonized cry of a fellow soldier rang out.

  Robert moved quickly. He reached forward, hooked an arm around the man’s throat, and broke his neck. Before the man’s body fell to the ground Robert had his gun. He took out ten men in a matter of seconds then, with ease, moved on to his next victim.

  Silas killed men with his bare hands. Breaking necks, stomping on faces. Nathan had to wonder if the man had held back when they’d fought in Russia. Either that or Nathan had some serious skill. It was definitely the latter, Nathan thought.

  Anastacia seemed to prefer suffering, whereas Robert and Silas preferred quickness. Each and every one of her victims suffered screaming deaths. Necks pierced, throats slashed, hands cut off; the woman was everywhere at once.

  Carter had taken on the role as caretaker. Nathan had even had to lend her a hand. Shadow had lunged for her first when he’d realized that Anastacia and Robert were now present. Carter had dodged him just as Nathan shot forward, gripped him by the shirt, and tossed the fucker across the floor and away from his wife. Carter provided Nathan with a weapon to keep Shadow still, then turned to watch the backs of her parents using her flawless shooting skills. Nathan had never known a man could be killed by a bullet shot through the mouth of another man until he saw his wife do it. Every time a gun was lifted against her parents, Carter took out the shooter before the trigger was even pulled.

  Ninety seconds, and four people. That was all it had taken to eliminate an army. A deranged man with more power than sanity, a seasoned French Mafia boss, with an eerie obsession with knives, a resurrected, notorious hit-man, with well above excepti
onal skills in defense and taking the life of another, and the daughter they groomed to be a warrior, a survivor, and a leader among men.

  ~*~

  Only seconds later Angelo arrived. He ran through the doors with many of the Salerno soldiers following behind him.

  “Jesus Christ,” Angelo exclaimed, and jogged over to Nathan. “What the hell happened here?”

  Nathan knew one of his father’s hugs were coming, so he put down his weapon and signaled for two men to come over to ensure Shadow didn’t make a move.

  Once his father made it to him, he immediately caught him in a tight hug. “Son. What the fuck happened? I got a call from your cousin telling me they stopped an attack from getting to your estate. What happened? How did someone find your home?”

  Nathan patted his father’s back. “I’m just fine, Pop. I promise.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “I just watched four people kill nearly fifty men in about ninety seconds …”

  When his father gave him a confused look Nathan began to explain the long story.

  ~*~

  Anastacia ran through the maze of dead bodies to Carter.

  “Baby,” Anastacia cried, slipping effortlessly back into her motherly demeanor. “Are you all right, honey? I’m sorry it took us so long to get here.”

  In truth, it had only been five minutes since they’d arrived at S.O., but it felt like they’d been there all night. Carter wanted to cry. She missed her babies; she needed to hold them, make sure they were all right.

  Her mother squeezed the life out of her, and Carter just embraced her back while trying to assure her that she was fine.

  “I’m fine, Mom. I am, I promise …”

  Carter really wished she was home holding Maksim and Aleksandr. It was fucking painful. She could feel it in her heart. Her babies needed her. She knew they were scared, and she knew that they’d probably cried for her and Nathan. She hated not being there for them right now. It was extremely hard for her to focus. She almost hadn’t been able to stall the way she needed to. It was a miracle that she’d been able to do what she’d done before her parents arrived.

  Anastacia and Carter broke apart as her father came forward, and Anastacia ran over to Nathan.

  ~*~

  Anastacia pushed past Angelo in effort to get to Nathan.

  “Sweetheart!” She opened her arms to him. Nathan hugged her back. “I’m so sorry. Are you two all right?”

  “We’re fine, Anastacia,” Nathan chuckled. It had been a crazy night, but somehow Carter and Nathan had made it. “We’re just ready to get home to the twins. They tried to attack the house.”

  She nodded. “We know. We went over there and they told us what happened. Thankfully, the attack took place away from the house. Dante did say that the boys were frightened, but Gabriel is with them. They are in that basement you two had built, waiting for you two to come and get them out.”

  “Good,” he said, relieved that she had gone by to check on things. “Thank you, Anastacia …”

  ~*~

  Meanwhile, Carter got see her father face-to-face again after a year of separation.

  “Are you all right, baby girl?” Robert asked her.

  Carter nodded, and with a smile she lunged into her father’s arms. “Hi, Daddy … I missed you so much,” she whispered. Damn it felt so good to be in her father’s arms again after all of this time.

  “I missed you, too. I love you more than you know, baby girl…” He kissed her cheeks softly. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  No, she still wasn’t, so she decided she’d tell him the truth. “I’ll be fine as soon as I go home with my babies.”

  He nodded with understanding. “Soon. It’s over now, Carter,” her father whispered. “You’re all safe …”

  Since it was bothering her, and she still had no clue as to why her father would keep something like traveling with Silas from her, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me that Silas was with you?”

  “Because he’s only been with me for a week, Carter. I knew he left his old life, but he and I didn’t meet up until the day after I last talked to you. I didn’t think it’d last, so I didn’t tell you.”

  “Oh ye of little faith, brother.”

  Both Carter and Robert looked over when Silas’s voice sounded.

  Silas came forward with a smile on his face. “Hello, daughter.”

  Unconsciously, Carter moved closer to her father. “Silas,” she said with a nod. She was not used to this at all. Seeing Silas and her father together was very scary. The only distinction was the scar on her father’s neck. She had so many questions to ask him, but she didn’t know how to talk to him like that … yet. Plus, she was pretty sure she blamed him for the events that had taken place tonight. “I’m sure you’ve heard about what your men have done.”

  He nodded. “Those men were not my men, dear daughter. They were cast outs. Upset because I didn’t leave them what they felt they deserved.”

  “Well they nearly killed me and my family because of it,” Carter snapped. “Tonight could have been avoided had you just given them what they asked for.”

  He frowned. “They asked for far too much … land, money, my castle—”

  Carter cut him off with an angry swipe of her hand. “Excuse me, Silas, but I—your biological daughter—just said they nearly killed my family because of this. My family. This includes your son, Gabriel, and your two nineteen-month-old grandsons. Or have you forgotten?”

  His jaw tightened and his eyes darkened with the anger he held back. “I have not, daughter …”

  “Then I’m sure you understand why I don’t give a fuck what they asked you for. Money, that fucking castle, your land, we should be more important to you than all of it!” Carter punched Silas in his chest as her voice began to shake with emotion. “If you want your family to love and appreciate you, then do something actually deserving of it. Be a man, stop being so goddamn selfish, and for once put your family first! ”

  Robert chose that moment to step in. “Okay, that’s enough for now. It’s been stressful evening, and you haven’t gotten any rest, baby girl. You and Silas aren’t to the point where you two can have a discussion yet. You may not be ready, and that’s fine—”

  “Robbie, please,” Silas said softly. “I wish to hear her speak. She is deserving of this chance to say whatever she wants to me.”

  Carter shook her head. “I am deserving of far more than that, but talking to you will suffice for now. If you have chosen to finally be good to your family, you need to realize that every decision you make affects us as well. There was a moment tonight when I thought my sons had been taken, or worse killed …” The tears the suddenly appeared in her eyes were ones she had no control over. She hated to think about the moment Ryan had told them the house had been under attack. Just the memory of how she’d felt was devastating. “I just want you to imagine for one minute that you truly loved Gabriel and me with everything in your heart. Imagine that he and I were your world, just like my sons are my world; imagine that we were your everything. Then imagine someone telling you that we were gone … For that one second my entire world shattered completely. My children, my husband, my brother. They mean everything to me, so could you at least pretend that you give a fuck.”

  “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here, daughter.”

  “You just being here isn’t enough,” Carter yelled, drawing everyone’s attention to them. “You said you were trying. That’s what you told me on the phone, Silas. That’s why I trusted you enough to give you a chance despite my better judgment.”

  “I assure you, I have never put forth more effort to balance myself in my life. This moment should prove that to you. Never have I let a man or woman talk to me the way you are now. You, my daughter, can see the change in me yet you are still so angry. I love you, child. … I care about your pain, and I’m sorry for causing it. My intention was not to make you cry. You must believe me.”

  She d
id, but she was still so damn angry at him. She knew it wasn’t fair of her to not even acknowledge the obvious change in the man, but she felt as if she had no control of her emotions. She was too furious.

  “That’s what you should have started with, Silas. An apology, not an excuse. How am I supposed to believe that you care?”

  “I do care, I promise you this. Roe will pay for this, and over time I will prove to you and your brother that my words are true. I love Gabriel. I love you ... I love Aleksandr and Maksim as well. I’m an evil man, but I am no liar. I am trying to be a good father—”

  “Then just … try harder,” Carter whispered bitterly as she turned to go to her husband. “I’ll call you later, Dad.” She didn’t wait around for her father to reply.

  “Carterina, please wait,” Silas called.

  She hadn’t wanted to stop, but she’d been surprised that he’d come for her after she had walked away. Cautiously, Carter stopped and turned to face Silas.

  He frowned as if he were battling with himself over something before his expression suddenly became neutral. “Please consider having a cordial lunch with me at an establishment of your choosing. Ask your brother, too. I would like to have a real talk with both of you. One not under…” he cleared his throat “… stressful circumstances.” A small smile appeared on his lips. “See, I asked you. Robbie informed me that asking is the better method of getting you and your brother to talk to me.”

  Carter looked back at her father, silently pleading with him to tell her how to answer Silas’s request. She wasn’t completely in her right mind at the moment. Such a decision needed to be considered over time. Silas was still … Silas. Her mother and Gabriel had warned her about his manipulative ways. When her father gave her an ‘It’s your decision Carter’ look, she decided to take time to talk to her husband and her brother about it.

  “I’ll think about it,” she replied softly.

  “That is all I’m asking for, dear daughter. That is all.”

  Carter nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “I need to go.”