Children of Vice (Children of Vice 1)

ETHAN

“Where is she?” I asked Donatella as she stepped down the church steps toward me.

“Who?” She pretended not to know. Pushing up off my car, I stood in front of her, which only made her roll her eyes. “She’s having a chat with Klarissa in the ladies’ room.”

God damn it, Klarissa. “She and her father are both the same,” I muttered to myself, moving to the stairs when she spoke again.

“Let her handle it, Ethan. She’s not a child. Besides, she’d already got a good punch in when I entered. I highly doubt she’s not dealt with worse—”

BOOM!

Instinctively, I grabbed Dona, pulling her toward me and down, covering her head with my arms.

“Oh my God!”

> “HELP!”

“FIRE!”

People screamed all around us, and for a brief second I felt a very familiar feeling, a moment of déjà vu as the chaos unfolded around us. Rising to my feet, I stared up at the flames coming out of the church, the bodies stumbling out, tripping over each other as they tried to escape, not caring as they pushed and trampled each other to save themselves.

“TOBY, GET HER HOME!” I hollered to the men behind me, pointing at Dona before pulling out my gun. I saw Greyson and three other men in the corner of my eye, nodding for them to go first. He pushed them out of the way, clearing a path for me to get through the rubble all over the cracked floors, the bodies just lying there, unmoving.

“Who came out?” I asked him, using my handkerchief to cover my mouth from the smoke. They stalled. “WHO THE FUCK IS IN HERE?”

“Ethan? Uugh.”

Spinning around and stumbling through the rubble, with only one shoe on, her hair a mess and blood coming out of her left ear, coughing…was Ivy. Rushing to her, I lifted her up, her arms wrapping around my neck.

“I’m…fine…” She tried to say.

“Don’t speak.” I dropped the handkerchief over her mouth, holding on to her tightly as we made it toward the exit. Luckily it wasn’t far. She gripped on tightly, turning her head from the sun once we made it outside. Rushing to one of the Range Rovers, I put her inside.

“ETHAN!” Dona, who should have been gone, struggled in Toby’s arms, screaming until he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. “NANA! ETHAN! NANA!”

The sheer horror in her eyes was only matched with mine as I turned back to the church…everyone had come out…except her. She always stayed back to speak with the deacon. Fuck! All the men were inside. Toby was already speeding out. There was no one else left I could trust to take her. FUCK!

“Go.” Ivy coughed, sitting up in the backseat. “Go…I’m fine.”

Clenching my teeth in rage, I slammed the door on her and moved toward the driver’s seat when thankfully, Greyson came holding on to…my…a woman who wore my grandmother’s clothes, but the burns on her arms…left me stunned. The paramedics came just as they made it within distance of me.

They rushed her inside the ambulance.

“She’s breathing!” Was the last thing I heard before the red and white doors closed on her.

“Sir!” Greyson rushed to me.

“Everyone’s out?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, sir.”

Greyson got into the front along with one of my men as I opened the door, sitting in the back with Ivy, whose eyes were glued to the burning church.

“I want fucking names!” I sneered. “Theirs, their families’. Everyone!”

“Already on it, sir.” Lex, who usually drove my grandmother, sat in the passenger seat.

Ivy turned to me, her face covered in dust and dried blood. She stared at me wide-eyed, in shock. “This was about you.”