I open my mouth to scream, and suddenly snap up right in bed, sweat clinging to my skin, droplets rolling down my chest and between my breasts, seeping into the t-shirt I’d thrown on before I’d promptly collapsed on the mattress. The scream that had been rising in my throat quickly vanishes and I uncurl my fingers, hissing as I release my nails from the palms of my hands. Small beads of blood well from where I’d broken the skin.
Out of all the horrors I’d experienced, that moment, the moment when they took me, always seemed to haunt me the most.
Nausea makes my stomach roll. I wouldn’t ever be defenseless again, never be helpless, it was the first thing I made sure of when I’d finally been freed. Six years inside that place changed me. I was no longer that girl. I no longer had innocence or a thirst to live. The only thing I wanted, the only thing I cared about was my vengeance. And it was at my fingertips, finally.
It was still dark out, the moon suppressed by a thick layer of clouds and snow falls steadily, dusting the ground in white crystals. The hotel was quiet, the city around me sleeping, but I doubted he was. He was just a man but something more too. He wasn’t your average man, if I believed in such a thing, I would say he’d been sent straight from Hell.
But I hadn’t always thought that way about him, not when he had been the only thing to bring me comfort that last eighteen months trapped in the Syndicate’s claws.
I shake away the thought.
I’d done enough thinking about that time, about what he had meant to me, but the ending would remain the same regardless. He would die.
Untangling myself from the sheets, I climb from the bed, running a hand down my face as I pad to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. I don’t look at myself in the mirror, I don’t need to see the ghosts that sit within my eyes, or the dark circles around them. I know my skin will be pale and my hair in knots. I hadn’t had a full night sleep in years, a few hours every night and I’d grown accustomed to the constant state of fatigue.
I was holding out that this plan, that this revenge, would be the thing that cures me, be the thing I need to move on with my life.
And it was so close!
I splash water onto my face, rinsing the sweat from my skin and then run my fingers through my hair, wincing when I catch the tangles and tug them free.
I was awake, there wasn’t any point wasting time. Today could be the day I finally nail that last bit of information I needed to track Hunter down.
After a quick wash, I dress into my leather trousers, pairing it with a thick roll neck sweater, and glance at the pointed stiletto boots dangling from my open suitcase. A grin tugs at my lips, my favorite boots, and they were sexy as fuck, they seemed fitting to be the ones I was wearing when I finally came face to face with my past.
I grab them and slip my feet into them, stilettos, after all, weren’t just here to make you look good. With enough force, these bad boys could go through flesh quite easily, though eyes were the easiest, and personally, my preference. Plus, they made me taller, and I could use the extra inches.
Rolling my shoulders to release the last few dregs of tension the nightmare had left, I grab the second bag I had brought with me. Opening the zipper, I look down at the array of weapons. I slide the tip of my finger over a wicked looking dagger, the blade itself was a dark grey, straight and solid for the most part until you get to the tip that curves into a deadly point. It was a bit too big to carry concealed, so I pick out a thin, but no less sharp dagger, and slide it into my boot. I grab a gun and clip, and quickly load up before that gets tucked beneath my sweater and an extra clip stashed into the pocket of my oversized trucker coat. It didn’t seem like it was enough, but it had to be, I couldn’t carry more, and I’d worked too hard for this to stop me.
Quietly, I exit my hotel room, glancing both left and right to make sure I was alone. After what went down only a few weeks ago, I had to remain cautious. The Syndicate, a huge and incredibly dangerous organization, and the reason I had suffered for years, would likely be pissed for what my brother had done.
It had been our mission since I was reunited with him three years ago. To bring down the Syndicate for what they had done, and in turn give me the man that broke me in every way possible.
A pang of grief hits me in the chest as I remember Ace, a man who had been more family than friend to both me and my brother, Kingston. He’d died protecting my brother, and the last bit of this plan, it was also for him.
My steps are steady, unwavering, as I head to the elevator and take it down to the lobby. With a ding, the doors open to reveal a wide-open space, a tired looking receptionist taking up the space in the corner, half hidden behind the large wooden desk. “Good morning,” she stifles a yawn.
I glance at the clock, a little past four, “Good morning,” I nod and head towards the doors, ignoring her eyes on me. Once outside I let the chilled wind cleanse me, and tilt my head to the falling snow, letting the frozen crystals land against my heated skin. I had a plan, a clear goal and I waste no more minutes as I climb into my car and head to the address I’d managed to get hold of the day before.
I knew exactly who I was about to come face to face with, and knowing what I was going to do to this particular man, I couldn’t help but let the giddy smile lift my lips.