One Family

by Smyth, R. A

“They’re over here!” The guy shouts, alerting anyone else to our whereabouts. Good, bring on all the fucking assholes!

  Spinning on our heels, we race back down the hallway, the pounding of footsteps behind us like a drumbeat in my head.

  Ducking again as shots ring out over my head, I twist around, aiming behind me and firing back. Several other fuckers have joined the first one, all of them chasing after us as we round the corner into another hallway.

  Flying past an adjoining hallway, I notice five more men coming towards us, picking up speed as we run past them.

  More shots ring out, plaster from the wall beside me hitting my arm as a bullet lodges itself in the wood underneath.

  Catapulting ourselves around a corner, we enter the final hallway that leads to the kitchen, both of us panting heavily as we tear down the hall, our boots slapping against the wooden floorboards.

  Diving through the door into the kitchen, we make a beeline for the french doors and I quickly follow Preston outside, climbing over the wooden frame and pressing myself flat against the outer wall of the house as Kirk’s men storm into the kitchen.

  Leaning forward to peer through the glass, I watch as seven or eight men quickly glance around the room, looking to see where we are.

  “Now!” I shout to Preston. We’re already running away from the house, sprinting across the grass as Preston slams his finger down on the remote, pressing the button to activate the explosive.

  We’re several yards from the side of the house, but the force of the blast pushes us forward. I lose my footing as my upper body is propelled into the air.

  “Oof.” The air is driven out of my lungs as I hit the grass, lying motionless for a moment while every part of my body feels like it’s been hit by a semi.

  Slowly climbing to my feet, taking in the lacerations to the back of my arms, I look around for Preston, finding him getting to his feet not far from me, having also been thrown by the blast.

  “You alright?” I wheeze out, groaning as I stretch out my muscles, searching the ground until I find where my gun was thrown.

  “Yup,” he gasps, sounding as good as I feel. He’s got blood trickling down from a cut to his forehead and similar small wounds along his back and arms from shrapnel from the blast.

  Looking back towards the house, the entire outer wall of the kitchen has been blown to pieces. Smoke billows out through the hole, and I can see flames flickering from deep within.

  “Let’s go see if we got those fuckers,” Preston says, and we start to move towards the house.

  Stepping over the rubble, I have to peer through the smoke to make out any details. No one comes rushing towards us, which I take as a promising sign.

  Walking into the now dust-covered kitchen, dead bodies are littered across the floor. One guy groans as Preston walks past and he pauses, standing over him. Scanning his eyes over the guy, he assesses his injuries before lifting his gun, aiming it at the man's head and firing.

  The finality of the shot rings out across the room as the guy falls still, the two of us quickly moving on, stepping over the rest of the bodies as we traverse the room.

  As I pull open the door, a bullet whizzes past me. The swoosh of air has me snapping my head up to glare at the fucking asshole that nearly shot me. Without giving it a second thought, I press down on the trigger, releasing a bullet that lodges itself in the shoulder of his shooting arm.

  The guy cries out a string of curses, but I drown him out as, aiming again, I send another bullet flying straight into his skull. It feels like the whole thing happens in slow motion, but in reality it goes down in the space of a few seconds.

  I feel absolutely nothing as the guy goes crashing to the ground, dead before his head hits the floor. As the ringing in my ears subsides, I can hear the pounding footsteps of more men coming towards us.

  Preston shoves me out of the doorway, both of us hiding on either side of the entrance while we wait for the footsteps to come closer. The second they are within range, Preston and I jump out and start firing off shots. I barely register whether or not my shots land as I fire bullet after bullet at the approaching men.

  All in all, we manage to take down three of the five men before another blast goes off. The shaking of the walls and ground beneath our feet has all of us abandoning our fight, working to maintain our balance as the house creaks and cracks start to form in the ceiling above us, dislodging dust which floats in the area around us.

  Fuck, with all this damage to the outer structure, the house isn’t going to last much longer.

  Preston and I cover ourselves by ducking out of the doorway, using the wall between the kitchen and hall as a barrier while we attempt to stay on our feet.

  It’s not long until the shaking of the house eases. Before the ground beneath us has stabilized, Preston and I peer around the door frame, firing off more shots.

  In the narrow hallway, the men have no cover, nowhere to hide from our bullets, and after a few more shots, the last guy goes down.

  Not wanting to hang around any longer than we need to, we race up the hallway, jumping over the dead bodies.

  “Oliver, you good?” I speak into the earpiece as we make our way through the house, constantly keeping our eyes peeled for more of Kirk’s men. I’ve been mostly zoning out any noises coming over the Bluetooth, focusing on staying fucking alive.

  “All good,” he pants back. His heavy breaths continue over the earpiece, melding with our own as we all move hastily around the mansion. “Think I got a decent number of them.”

  “Same,” Preston says.

  “I haven’t seen the others,” Oliver informs us. His mention of Sophie immediately has me quickening my steps, wondering what hell she’s been through. Fury beats in my veins as I recall the picture of her on Aiden’s phone. He better have made whatever fucker did that to her pay.

  “Neither have we,” Preston growls, his own anger and concern for Sophie rising to the surface.

  “Meet me at the front of the house and we can go from there,” Oliver finishes.

  Not needing any encouragement, we continue to race towards the front of the house, barely slowing down to take out any fucker that steps in our way.

  We round a corner and slow when we see a man enter a room ahead of us. With our weapons raised, we creep up the hallway, hearing him talking to someone in the room.

  “You are no son of mine,” the guy growls.

  I share a quick glance with Preston when we hear Aiden’s voice responding. Fuck, this guy must be Aiden’s dad. He’s never told us much about him, but I know enough to understand his father is another in a long list of enemies.

  I try to peek into the room, but Aiden’s dad is standing in the doorway, blocking my line of sight, preventing me from being able to see if anyone other than Aiden is in there with him.

  I’m still trying to decide our best course of action when Aiden’s dad tightens his stance. The move has me instantly on alert, wondering what the hell is happening in that room. Why hasn’t Aiden killed this asshole already?

  In the next second, the sound of a gunshot going off rings out, blood quickly soaking into the back of the guy’s t-shirt from the wound.

  With wide eyes, I turn to gape at Preston.

  “Did you just—?”

  Before I can finish the sentence, Aiden’s dad drops to his knees, giving Preston and I an unobstructed view into the room. Aiden is staring in shock as his father bites the dust, landing in a heap on the floor beside Kirk’s body. Preston’s gun is still in his outstretched hand as Aiden’s wide eyes, filled with surprise, lift to meet his, understanding dawning as he takes us in.

  Preston just killed his father.

  Glancing away from him, I spot Sophie in Ty’s arms. I ignore everything else and rush towards her, feeling calm for the first time all day as I wrap my arms around her.

  “We need to go,” Preston states, roaming his eyes over Sophie, his lips pinching and his eyes narrowing in anger as he takes in her bea
ten form. “The house isn’t going to remain standing for much longer.”

  As if on cue, the walls around us creek ominously.

  Not wanting to hang around and see what happens when the foundations finally collapse, the four of us murmur our agreement as Ty and I support Sophie as she hobbles towards the door, Aiden following close behind us.

  Another quake rattles through the house. This one has nothing to do with another explosive going off. The whole mansion is unstable, unable to withstand the damage that’s been done to it.

  I hesitate beside Kirk’s body, trying to work out if he’s dead or not.

  “He’s as good as dead,” Ty says.

  There’s another sinister creek and cracks start to appear in the walls as the structure shifts around us. Adjusting my arm around Sophie’s back, I step away from Kirk, knowing Ty is right. This whole place is coming down. He’ll be entombed within it soon enough.

  Chapter 47

  Preston is several feet in front of us, leading the way while Aiden protects our backs and Ty and Barrett half carry me as we hurry down the hallway.

  Just as Preston enters the foyer, shots ring out, sounding like they are coming from multiple gunmen. I freeze in the entranceway, but Ty and Aiden don’t even hesitate before jumping into the fray.

  Propping me against the wall, Barrett stares intensely into my eyes. “Don’t fucking move!” He growls. “Shoot any fucker that comes this way,” he demands in a dark voice I’ve never heard from him before as he pushes a gun into my hand. He waits for me to nod before taking off after the others, firing off shots as he joins the others in the fight.

  Scanning my eyes around the foyer, I count ten or twelve of my father’s men. Searching out my guys in the commotion, I find Preston not far from me, beating the shit out of some guy. He’s got blood running down his face, but it doesn’t seem to bother him at all. Barrett’s on the other side of the room, pulling a knife out of some guy’s neck. He doesn’t even hesitate as he yanks it out, barely glancing at the dead man before running off to take down someone else. For guys who haven’t grown up surrounded by this carnage, they are handling it remarkably well.

  I hear shots ringing down from the balcony above me. Instinctually, I press my back against the wall, trying to make myself as invisible as possible. Glancing up to see who’s shooting, I spot Ty lying on his stomach, the tip of a rifle sticking out between the railings. I didn’t even realize he had a rifle strapped to his back earlier. He’s shooting down on people from the landing above us, trying to pick enemies off before they can sneak up on any of us.

  Not knowing what to do, I remain in my spot by the entranceway leading to the back of the house. Given my current exhausted state, even with a gun and a knife, I don’t think I’d win against any of these Beasts.

  Instead, I take a cue from Ty’s book, and I lie in wait. As soon as I hear it, I ready myself. I squeeze my hand tightly around the handle of the gun, slowing my breathing as I hear the telltale pounding of footsteps against the floor, signaling the arrival of someone new. I might not be much help one-on-one with these men, but I can at least even the playing field.

  The man comes bursting through the doorway, not even noticing me as he heads straight for Aiden who is busy fighting off some brute of a guy. His back is to us and he wouldn’t know he’s outnumbered until it’s too late.

  Not about to let that happen, I raise my gun, pointing it at the back of the asshole’s head, and I shoot. The guy drops like a brick, dead before he hits the floor.

  The movement catches Aiden’s opponent’s attention, distracting him for a split second. It’s more than enough time for Aiden to get the upper hand and he smoothly glides his blade along the guy's neck, blood immediately spurting out everywhere as the guy turns ashen, collapsing to the floor as he claws at his neck.

  He jerks for a few more seconds before finally falling still. Aiden doesn’t even wait around for him to die. The minute he slashed the guy's neck, he was away, taking on the next person as he fights his way across the room to Preston and Barrett.

  A man comes barreling in from the doorway beside me. Shit, I didn’t even hear him coming. Reacting immediately, I lift my gun, but the guy turns to look at me before I can shoot him.

  “Oliver,” I breathe in relief, sagging back against the wall. He casts his eyes over me assessingly. I look like shit, but none of my injuries are life threatening. He must come to the same conclusion because his shoulders drop in relief.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nod frantically. “Please, help them!” I beg. My guys are doing well, but they’re outnumbered.

  Oliver gives a sharp nod of his head before making his way through the sea of bodies.

  None of the other Beasts tackle him or attempt to stop him, all of them assuming he’s on their side. It’s hilarious how easily he moves through the fighting couples, at least, it would be if there weren’t a dozen dead bodies on the ground, blood splattered across the walls, and my guys weren’t at risk of dying any second.

  Oliver moves first to Barrett, who is quickly losing his fight. Oliver is only halfway across the room when the guy takes Barrett to the ground, hovering over him with his gun pointed right at Barrett’s head.

  God, no. Please no.

  A strangled cry leaves my throat, my knees threatening to buckle as I watch the evil grin on the fuckhead's face. He says something to Barrett that I can’t make out, but Barrett, not showing the slightest bit of fear at the fact he’s about to die, scowls and volleys something back at him.

  Just as I think I’m about to watch one of the men I love die, the Beast standing over him, topples forward, crashing down towards Barrett, who barely scurries out of the way in time.

  I don’t understand. What just happened?

  Barrett jumps to his feet, looking down at the dead guy in front of him. Seeing something I don’t, he then looks up to the balcony above me, giving a quick nod to Ty before picking up his gun again and running off.

  Ty. Ty saved him.

  By the time I focus back on the scene in front of me again, Oliver has taken down five of his men and is fighting side by side with Barrett. They’ve nearly reached Preston and Aiden isn’t far away either. There are only a handful of Beasts left.

  Holy fuck. We might actually win this!

  Another explosion goes off somewhere in the house, this time closer than the others. Fuck, we need to get out of here soon. The whole house must be unstable at this point.

  Sticking close to the outer wall, I slowly make my way around the room, occasionally stopping to shoot another fucker before he can sneak up on one of my men.

  Soon, the only ones left standing are each of my men, Oliver and the single Beast they are each fighting. Ty has come back down to join the fray, the four of them fighting one-on-one to take down the final members of my father’s gang.

  One by one, each of them wins their fight, their opponent dropping dead onto the floor, joining the sea of bodies already scattered throughout the room.

  As Ty takes down the final one, the four of them scan their eyes around the room, checking for other threats, before making their way over to me. I’m already halfway across the room, wrapping an arm each around Preston and Barrett, not giving a shit that the three of us are covered in blood.

  I feel Aiden and Ty press in behind me, the five of us soaking up this moment. It’s over. It’s finally fucking over. They’re all dead. We’re safe.

  “Sorry to break up this party, but we need to get the fuck out of here.”

  There’s an urgency in Oliver's tone that has me looking in his direction. I mean, yeah we can’t just hang around in a house full of dead bodies and the odd quaking of the walls confirms the foundations of the house are now unstable, so the whole thing is probably going to come down at some point, but the tone of his voice, and the way he’s checking his watch makes me think there’s something more going on. I don’t question it though. Whatever he has planned, it’s to protect us all. />
  ________

  “We should go now,” Ty presses, referring to The Citadel.

  We’re all back in the warehouse, trying to decide on our next move, but of course none of us can agree on what’s the best course of action.

  “It’s too risky,” Preston argues. “Anyone who’s left will be on high alert, and Oliver’s cover has been blown.”

  “Actually, maybe not,” Oliver says. “Kirk must have kept his suspicions to himself. No one today seemed surprised to see me at the mansion, and I wasn’t shot on sight. He mustn’t have had a chance to update his men before we stormed the place.”

  “Besides, we can’t just leave those girls there to suffer,” I add in agreement with Ty.

  “Maybe we can call the authorities and they can go investigate it?” Barrett interjects, trying to ease the quickly escalating tension in the room.

  “Stop it, all of you!” Oliver barks, cutting off whatever smart remark was going to come from one of them next. “The authorities won’t do anything. There’s no evidence. They wouldn’t even get past the front gate,” he begins, running his hand through his hair in frustration as he tries to think through all our options. “We have to help the girls. We can’t just leave them there. The Feral Beasts and one-percenters might no longer be an issue, but there’s always someone else like them, lurking in the dark, waiting for their opportunity to strike.” The room is silent, heavy with the truth of his words. “We took out most of The Feral Beasts today. There should only be a few men at The Citadel.”

  “So what do we do?” I ask, nerves swimming in my stomach. He’s right and I want to help those girls. They don’t deserve any of this, but we’re already battered and bruised and I’m terrified another fight right now will be too much for us to handle.

  “We go tonight,” Oliver states, all of us snapping our heads up to look at him. All of my guys have similar looks of shock to mine. “Before any of them have a chance to re-group—”

  “We haven’t had a chance to re-group,” Preston interrupts, snarling at Oliver. “We’d be going in with a half-cocked plan that will probably get us all killed.”