The Widow Maker (Dark Vows Duet 2)

I face Liberato with a shaky expression, holding on to his hand to keep my composure as I whisper a single word.

“Heath?”

He doesn’t reply fast enough, so I rip myself away and start checking the bodies on the ground like a madwoman. I don’t even hear Liberato shouting my name as I continue making my way through the people who’ve succumbed to their wounds. But none of them is Heath.

I make my way to the ground floor where it’s a fucking bloodbath of Serpent men and others I don’t recognize. That is until I come across a few familiar faces. It quickly becomes obvious this was Xavier’s work. I recognize some bodies on the floor as his men. Fear makes me feel woozy, and I lean against the wall to steady myself.

“Rain, please listen to me,” Liberato begs me. “We don’t know where he is. Once they attacked and killed most of the guards, they left pretty quickly.”

“They’re Xavier’s men,” I get out in a broken whisper. “I think he was coming to find me.”

“I don’t think so,” Liberato mutters. “I think they came for Heath.”

“What?” I turn to face him sharply. “Did they take him?”

Liberato’s expression is somber as he nods, “We think so.”

“You think?” I snarl, launching myself at him and pounding my fists against his chest. “You fucking think? You’re not even sure? Where is he? Where is Heath?”

Liberato doesn’t even try to stop me. It’s not like I can do any actual damage to a man twice my size anyway, but my heart is still pounding with fear. I remember my realization in the crawlspace beneath the floorboards. I’m pregnant. And now Heath may never find out.

“Xavier took him,” I whisper. “He’s going to fucking kill him, Liberato. We have to help him.”

“We will,” he nods. “We’ll go there soon, but Rain... look around you.”

I risk another look at the house. The walls are sprayed with blood. It’s a fucking massacre in here.

“How many people did we lose?” I whisper, afraid to meet Liberato’s gaze.

“Rain, I...” He clears his throat, running his hand over his shaved head. “The men weren’t here. Just security, Heath and me.”

“How many?” I repeat insistently.

He swallows before finally meeting my gaze. “Everyone.”

“Everyone?” I repeat in disbelief, letting out a choked laugh.

“They killed every man in here. Right now it’s just you, me and the maids. I’ve already called for backup, but Rain... We’re fucked. We’ve suffered so many losses over the past few weeks I don’t know how we’ll recover from this.”

I want to scream. Liberato hasn’t accused me of anything, but deep down, I know this is all my fault. If Heath hadn’t brought me back here, none of this would have happened. And now he’s been taken, stolen away from me by the man I hate most in this world.

“We need to go to Xavier.”

Liberato nods, swallowing thickly as he hands me a blood-sprayed envelope. “He left this.”

I tear through the paper and pull out a pristine card with Xavier’s scrawly handwriting.

Time to stop running, Rain. Meet me at the Casa tomorrow morning. You may bring one person with you. If you disobey, he’s as good as dead. -Xavier

I swallow thickly, staring at the note.

“I’ll come with you,” Liberato mutters. “We need to do everything in our power to save Heath.”

I nod, feeling more numb than ever. Inside me, hatred boils over, threatening to make me go insane with worry.

“We’ll leave early tomorrow,” Liberato goes on. “You need to stay strong right now, Rain. You need to stay strong for Heath.”

I nod, unable to say another word. I know what I’m supposed to do. But deep down, I’m wondering whether it will be enough to save the man I love.

Chapter fourteen

Chapter 21

HEATH

They have to restrain me to force me into the car. I don’t scream for Rain; I know better than that. The moment I expose that she’s still hidden somewhere inside the Palacio, I risk these men going back in there, finding her, and taking her with me. As long as I’m the only victim, though, I can get out of this, too.

My body has somehow recovered from the addiction that had rendered it useless for years. The weaning off the drugs has finally stopped and now, for the first time in a decade, I’m well-aware of my surroundings and painfully present in what’s happening around me.

I don’t know whether the men that collected me are Xander’s or Xavier’s. But when I forced to walk into the car waiting for me at gunpoint, I quickly realized this bloodbath wasn’t meant for Rain—it was meant for me.

I remain sullen and quiet in the back of the car. My men and I fought as hard as we could, but we were outnumbered by the people who attacked us. I know full-well it’s a goddamn bloodbath back at the Palacio. I saw the bodies with my own eyes, enough of them to know most of our men are dead.