Die for Me

by Nichole Severn

  And ran like hell.

  The explosion did exactly what he’d planned, drawing the guards away from the house and giving him a way in. He stashed the duffle in the bushes but kept his gun in hand. Throwing his elbow into the glass, Taigen checked the guard’s positions then disappeared inside.

  Silence greeted him. He’d broken into the basement but quickly made his way up the stairs, gun drawn, finger on the trigger, ready. Footsteps echoed down the hallways, quick paces letting him know they’d heard the explosion.

  He kept track of his route through the house in case they needed to make a fast escape, but that all depended on whether he’d be leaving the house at all. He passed expensive paintings, polished banisters, exquisite carpets and a purple bedroom he recognized with just a glance. Torrhent’s bedroom.

  The closed door at the end of the hall on the third floor became his target. He stopped directly outside of it, dropped his chin to his chest and smiled.

  There were two men at his back armed with SIG716s. NATO standard rifle cartridge, gas-operated with a short-stroke pushrod system. Just over nine pounds, easily used as a weapon without the bullets.

  “Hands on your head,” a voice said. “Now.”

  Taigen forced his hands above his head. “Taigen Banvard here to see Isaac Rutler.”

  A muffled scream came through the door and his body tensed automatically. That sound tore the wound in his chest all over again.

  Torrhent.

  “Did you search him for weapons?” the shorter man asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Not all of them. The study door opened and he was pushed inside.

  The escort at his back immediately aimed their weapons at Torrhent.

  Isaac Rutler, on his knees, had a gun pointed at his head.

  Taigen reached back for the knife he’d hidden along his spine, wrapping his hands around the hilt. In one quick motion, three men armed to the nines slumped to the floor. Keeping the blade in hand, he stepped into the study farther, but stopped when his vision got blurry. The effects of taking lives took hold faster than normal. His stomach rolled as he forced himself farther inside.

  “You’re not the girl you used to be, Torrhent,” Isaac said.

  Taigen watched as the man’s eyes pled with him to intervene. Looking at the scene, he couldn’t get past the fact Torrhent had overcome Isaac Rutler. “Torrhent, how—”

  “Does it look like I give a shit what you think?” She almost drilled the barrel of the gun into Isaac’s head. “She’s dead because of you. I went to prison because of you, and now you’re going to make it up to me or I’m going to blow your head off,” she spat. “Call them off.”

  The words came out through gritted teeth.

  From where Taigen stood, he saw the pain in her expression and the blood drenching her shirt. Adrenaline kept people going, made them do seemingly impossible things. He’d witnessed it firsthand, but something wasn’t right here.

  She was trying hard to keep the gun at Isaac’s head, but he couldn’t understand why the scarred blonde he assumed was Nicholas hadn’t already moved in. How had she been able to draw a weapon on them?

  “Nicholas, do something!” Isaac roared.

  Nicholas stood at attention, his shoulders relaxed and his face calm. “If I move, she’ll blow your head off. Is that what you want?”

  Isaac stared past Taigen and his skin prickled.

  Taigen twisted around to find the sister he hadn’t noticed.

  Adelaide’s green eyes shone as brilliantly as he remembered. He exhaled in victory. He’d traveled a long way to find her. His other half was alive and there was nothing to stop him from doing his duty.

  Except, he thought, that. “Adie,” he whispered in disappointment.

  Even from five feet away, Taigen saw the glassy, dazed film over her once fiery eyes. Strike one. She turned her gaze on him slowly. Strike two. His sister was a trained killer. She’d never reacted so lazily before. There was no evidence of recognition as her gaze locked with him. Eyes vacant, body relaxed, as if she wasn’t in complete control, Adelaide smiled. Strike three.

  Adelaide had never been in control of herself.

  “You’re not Adelaide.”

  “You look surprised to see me, brother mine.” Her petite form and white-blonde hair were exactly as he’d remembered them. The twin he’d grown to fear and love at the same time was within reach, but with just one look Taigen knew the woman in front of him wasn’t his sister.

  Shit. Rutler had let the monster out.

  “Did you really think you’d gotten rid of me?” the monster asked. “Your affections were never strong enough to keep me locked away. But Isaac was nice enough to let me out. We’ve had a lot of fun.”

  Taigen stepped back, far enough to keep her at bay yet in his sights. “Rutler, you son of a bitch.”

  His chest grew hot. He clenched his teeth, trying to contain himself, but the bullet made it hard to breathe. All of the progress he’d made over the past seven years with Adelaide had vanished in a few weeks. A small hope he’d be able to save her again had planted itself in his mind, but now, he knew his sister was gone. Dead.

  But not physically. Not yet.

  Without thinking, Taigen lunged toward Rutler.

  Isaac’s eyes widened.

  Nothing else mattered in that moment. He didn’t care that Nicholas would intercept him, maybe even kill him, or that Torrhent happened to be in the way. Isaac would pay for killing his sister. The study disappeared in a thick haze, but Rutler remained in focus. The bullet in Taigen’s chest wasn’t a problem anymore. The pain didn’t matter. He would have his revenge.

  Someone intercepted him a split second before he would have collided with Rutler.

  They fell to the floor and suddenly his own knife was pressed to his throat, the monster occupying his twin’s body wielding it. She rose slowly, inviting him to follow by one swift movement of the blade.

  “I always hoped I would be the one to pay you back for what you did to Adelaide.” The voice was Adelaide’s, at least what he remembered of it.

  Breathing ragged, Taigen scanned her with his eyes first, his back against the floor.

  She waited, but not patiently. She stood as still as her tic would let her, and with Taigen so close, he caught the slight hint of the tic. Her head jerked to the right every few seconds, almost involuntarily.

  “I did what I had to.” He made no abrupt movements to set her off. Adelaide’s condition had grown worse than he’d feared. No sign of his sister remained. Adelaide had truly been consumed. The realization slammed directly into his gut and he knew that this time around he’d be able to finish the job. This monster in his sister’s body had destroyed lives. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people suffered because of her, and he wouldn’t let her bring that kind of pain to another single soul.

  She laughed, slight hints of hysteria pushing through. “You think injecting her with drugs would make me go away?”

  The smile on her face was serene, evidence that his sister had once existed. “That’s all right.”

  Adelaide lowered the knife, taking a step back and several closer to Rutler.

  Torrhent’s eyes widened, just as Isaac’s had a moment ago. The gun was still in her hand and it seemed only an afterthought that she aimed it at Adelaide when she drew near.

  “You pathetic little girl.” Adelaide stopped directly in front of the gun, pressing herself into it. “A gun won’t stop me from killing you.”

  She struck. Fast. She knocked the gun from Torrhent’s hand and wrapped her arm around her throat.

  “Don’t do this.” Taigen took an involuntary step forward.

  “If you move, I’ll break her neck.”

  Rutler got to his feet, victory plain on his face. He wiped imaginary dirt from his suit. “That’s enough, Adelaide. Mr. Banvard and I have business to discuss.”

  Bad move, Rutler. He tried to get Torrhent’s attention just as he’d done back at his apartment
with the Russian, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.

  Nicholas moved in from behind, collecting Torrhent’s gun from the floor.

  Adelaide turned her head slowly, a crooked smile corrupting her beautiful elfin features. “I’ll say when it’s enough.”

  Fear flashed across Isaac’s expression and he stepped back. “You gave me your loyalty.”

  “I have no loyalty.”

  “Tread carefully, Ms. Banvard.” He slid a hand into his jacket pocket, producing a small syringe. “I have other thoughts on how this meeting will go.”

  “Then why don’t you tell him the real reason he’s here.” Her singsong voice sent a chill down his spine. Adelaide let Torrhent go. “Tell him what you really want.”

  Torrhent dropped to her knees, coughing to breathe.

  “You let my sister kill dozens of people. That’s the only reason I’m here.”

  “Is it?”

  Confusion filled every fiber of his being. Taigen didn’t know what Rutler meant.

  Isaac stepped closer, ignoring Nicholas’s attempt to prevent it. “You never once considered this was all about you?”

  Taigen didn’t answer as Rutler circled around. He kept his attention on Rutler’s movements, but his gaze stayed on Torrhent.

  Her breathing was even but strained from his sister’s attack. No tears. No pleas for her life. Her expression was utterly void of emotion.

  Whispers of Isaac’s breath slithered across his skin as he spoke. “Or were you too distracted by my lovely stepdaughter to realize I wanted you here all along?”

  The tissue around the bullet in Taigen’s chest went numb, his shoulders sagging. His breathing accelerated. Images of his and Torrhent’s time together over the past two weeks flashed before his eyes. His head slowly struggled back into the game.

  He raised his eyes and cleared the lump from his throat. He didn’t have the time for this shit. “You have me here now. What do you want?”

  “I want you to work for me,” Isaac said simply.

  Taigen scoffed. “All of this for a job offer?”

  “I’ve always wanted the sociopathic Banvard twins by my side, it seems one is not functional without the other. So yes, all of this for a job offer.” Isaac gave him a closed-lipped smile that put dimples into his cheeks as he circled around to the front. “You cannot function properly without her and, as you can see, she cannot function without your help. And you do want to help your sister, don’t you, Mr. Banvard?”

  “With all due respect”—Taigen motioned to his sister—“she’s the sociopath.”

  Isaac slapped a hand down on Taigen’s shoulder. “Then we have an arrangement?”

  “I don’t particularly like killing people.” He glanced down to the hand on his shoulder and back to Isaac’s face as a warning. “But I’m good at it.”

  Rutler removed the hand, his voice turning to steel. “Do we have a deal?”

  Taigen stared at Torrhent until she met his gaze.

  “Do you know how my wife died?” Rutler asked, seemingly sensing Taigen’s hesitation.

  Snapshots of the crime scene photos flashed across his mind.

  “The organization I’d dedicated my life to betrayed me.” Isaac’s attention moved to his stepdaughter, but Torrhent had shut down. Either she’d gone into shock or had become an impressive actor. “Nicholas fought valiantly to fend off Charlie’s attackers, but in the end . . . I guess bringing you here is Torrhent’s way of making me pay. But fate seems to have other ideas, and my framing Torrhent paid off better than I planned.”

  He turned back to Taigen, his face expressionless. He was only inches away, taller than Taigen and more intimidating than the hit men Isaac had sent to retrieve Torrhent. Isaac had the movements of a fighter. Maybe in his younger days. “Work for me, control your sister, or”—Isaac motioned toward Nicholas—“say good-bye to Torrhent.”

  Torrhent flinched as Nicholas pressed a gun into her back. She turned back to him, pleading in her eyes. “Do what you came to do, Taigen. Please. End this.”

  Nicholas wrapped a hand over her mouth and pulled her into his chest. The bodyguard whispered something into her ear and she closed her eyes, tears sliding over his hand.

  “It’s simple, Mr. Banvard.” Isaac stepped away, giving Taigen room to breathe. “I would think this was an easy choice.”

  Taigen’s eyes slid to Adelaide, the woman he’d risked his life for over and over again, his twin, the only family he had left. But that sister was gone now. The monster inhabiting her body twitched repeatedly, its fingers clenching and unclenching in random spurts. Her eyes were unfocused, her body relaxed in a way Adelaide never would have shown.

  “Only you can help her, Mr. Banvard,” Isaac reminded. “Work for me.”

  With one last glance toward Torrhent, Taigen noticed she was just as eager for his answer as her stepfather. He needed to buy time to figure out how to save Torrhent. “I have some conditions.”

  “You get two,” Isaac said, a smile spreading across his face as he stepped in closer.

  “Adelaide’s job will be to protect you,” Taigen said. “That’s it. The dirty work will be left to me.”

  From the corner of his eye he saw Torrhent struggling against Nicholas’s hold. In an effort to keep his eyes off her, he focused on Adelaide’s twitching fingers.

  “And the second?”

  “You will never contact or go near Torrhent again. That includes sending me, Adelaide, or any others you employ to find her.”

  It didn’t take Rutler long to consider. “Done. Now, here are my conditions.”

  Taigen caught movement a millisecond before Nicholas’s gun discharged.

  Torrhent slumped to the floor.

  “No!” From where he’d stood it looked like a killing shot, straight through her chest. Without a second thought, Taigen lunged for the bodyguard. He dodged the second bullet. Ripping the gun from Nicholas’s hand, he jabbed his elbow into the man’s face, knocking him unconscious. Nicholas dropped to the floor as Taigen pivoted around.

  The next bullet to leave the gun would end this.

  A shudder ran down his spine as he held the gun steady on his sister. One squeeze of the trigger. That’s all it’d take. Adelaide met his gaze head-on, her shoulders rising and falling slowly. Calm. Collected. The exact opposite of the storm raging inside him. “I have to finish this.”

  “But do you think you can?” Adelaide tilted her head to the side, studying him. “We’ve been through this before, brother. You couldn’t do it then and you can’t do it now. Even if you kill me, you can’t rid yourself of the guilt.”

  “Shut up.” Taigen’s hand shook from the effort of holding the gun up.

  “You have just as much blood on your hands as we do and it won’t go away when you kill me.”

  Tears blurred his vision as hatred rumbled in his gut. Hatred for himself. For the men who’d kidnapped her and turned his twin into the sociopath before him. For Isaac Rutler and men just like him. “I promised to protect you no matter what. I failed, Adie, and I’m sorry. But I can’t let you hurt anyone else. I can’t have their blood on my hands for the rest of my life.”

  Adelaide’s expression hardened, reminding him yet again the demon inside had consumed the woman he’d known. She jolted forward, hands outstretched. Taigen fired and she slumped to the floor.

  Taigen released the pressure on the trigger. Closing his eyes, he refused to let the grief overcome him as he dropped the gun. When he opened them, he exhaled in relief. It was done. He’d defeated the monster.

  “Taigen.”

  Torrhent’s whisper brought him back to reality. He ran for her, crashing to his knees beside her. Pulling her into his lap, Taigen assessed the damage in her chest. The bullet had gone in one side and out the other, leaving nothing but flesh, bones and blood for him to hold on to. In the back of his mind, he kept tabs on Rutler as the man slunk to the floor and surveyed the carnage around his study.

  Taigen kept his
voice calm, but quick. “Torrhent, come on. Stay with me.”

  She stared up at him, her lips parting. An exhale caressed his face as she smiled. She was warm and light in his grasp, but too soon became heavy as he tried to hold her upright. “I’m sorry.”

  The gurgle in her words disappeared with a cough. The bullet had most likely punctured a lung, but she shed no tears, her expression serene. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

  Taigen imagined the pain she was in and loved her even more for trying to hide it. He didn’t know how much longer they had before the FBI showed up, but prayed to God Agent Trullio was smart enough to bring the EMT with her. Leaning down, he pressed his lips against Torrhent’s, her flush skin cold against his mouth. “I know. I’m sorry, too. I should have realized what you were trying to tell me back there.”

  Her breathing grew shallow as Torrhent closed her eyes.

  “Stay with me, sweetheart. Come on. Stay with me.”

  Torrhent did as she was told, her gray eyes trying to focus on him. “I . . . love you.”

  A sad smile pulled at his lips. “I love you, too.”

  She closed her eyes once again.

  “Torrhent.” Taigen shook her slightly.

  No response.

  “Torrhent.”

  Lowering his ear to her mouth, he listened for a single breath. “Come on. Come on.”

  A lump rose in his throat, making its way into his mouth as blood seeped into his jeans from the floor. He set her completely on the floor, positioning himself above her. “Breathe, damnit.”

  Another round of tears blinded him. The bullet in his chest felt like it spun in circles. He imagined it tearing bits and pieces of flesh from the inside out, grinding him down to nothing. His heartbeat sped, his breathing accelerating.

  “Torrhent. Torrhent, stay with me! You’re the only thing I have left.” He shook her again. Her head collapsed to the side from the movement. “Torrhent!”

  The study door burst open, but Taigen refused to tear his gaze from her.

  “Freeze! FBI!” a woman yelled just as a gasp filled his ears.

  Chapter 17

  One month later