I’m going to fucking slaughter him. By the time I’m finished with fucking Hunter he’s going to wish he was never born. How could he!? Leaving without me, doing this on his own. This is mine.
The car tires skid as I bring it to an abrupt halt near where I can see Kingston, bleeding, bruised surrounded by his men, Lex and Wren close by.
I throw the door open and storm over to them, faltering a little when I see how badly Kingston is hurt.
“What happened?”
Kingston’s eyes widen, “Isobel, you need to go.”
I laugh, “Like fuck am I leaving, Kingston. What happened?”
“They know,” King says, “It’s too late. It’s over.”
Dread falls like a lead weight in my stomach, “Where’s Hunter?” Wren takes my hand, squeezing. When I look at her all I see is sympathy and sadness.
“Where is he!?”
“Isobel,” Kington sighs, reaching for me, “I’m sorry. He’s not coming back out.”
“What do you mean?” I feel myself cracking, this pain blooming followed by a worrying numbness that freezes everything it touches. “What do you mean, Kingston!?”
“He went after Clayton, he rigged the place to blow. He won’t be coming out.”
My knees shake, going weak, “No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
I start for the house only to be tugged back hard, arms coming around me, “You can’t go in there, Isobel.”
“Let me go, Kingston.”
“I can’t let you go in there,” Kingston hisses, “I can’t lose you again.”
“If I don’t go in there, Kingston, you’ve lost me anyway.”
“Isobel.”
“Let. Me. Go.”
“Please,” Kingston begs.
“No, I’m getting him out. You stay here.”
“Isobel.”
“Kingston.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Absolutely not,” I breathe, wanting to crumble, to scream, “Eleanor needs you.”
His arms loosen.
“I love you,” I tell him. “Thank you for everything you’ve done but I have to do this. I have to get him out.”
Kingston nods, “You come out, Isobel, do you understand me? You get out.”
I nod.
“I will come for you in ten minutes if you haven’t got out, okay?”
I nod again.
He finally lets me go and I don’t give him a chance to change his mind. I sprint to the house, slipping in through the open front door. It was carnage inside, people running, fighting, bodies littering the floor.
Not many take notice of me, but the ones who do, I end. I don’t miss with my shots, not waiting for the bodies to hit the floor as I sink further into this house of horrors. I turn corner after corner, trying to remember the map Hunter had shown us before. I needed to find that door, the one that would take us below. Clayton wouldn’t keep him above ground, no, he would make him pay using his tools below. The same tools he’d used on me and countless other girls.
Was I too late? Had he killed him already?
My heart pounds inside my chest, thudding like a hammer and my blood rushes in my ears. He can’t leave me. He can’t.
Not again.
I feel my anguish deep inside my chest, hear my whimper as the panic makes my legs pump.
Find him. Find him.
Hunter!
I finally find the door, it’s open and the dark stair well that leads down looms ahead. I can smell the blood, the piss and mold but I barrel down them. I almost trip a few times, and that crippling fear I usually feel when going down into places like this, is non-existent. All I could think, see and breathe was Hunter.
My footsteps are loud, echoing. What if he isn’t down here? How much time am I wasting?
I make it to the corridor, the same hall where so many nightmares had occurred only to find every single cell door open and each room empty. All the girls were out. Lex and Wren had been successful. The girls were free.
I check every room in the hall and about halfway down I hear a thud, like a fist hitting flesh followed by a grunt. I slow, steadying my breathing.
“Who else is involved!?” Clayton bellows, voice muffled by the walls. “Where are my girls!?”
Hunter laughs but the sound is gurgled and full of pain. “You lose.”
“I lose!?” Clayton laughs manically, “I don’t think so, Hunter, because I’ll just replace them. I’ll kidnap every fucking female in this city and sell them to the highest bidder. I am a fucking God!”
“You won’t get a chance,” Hunter says, “Because I will kill you.”
Thud. Thud.
Anger boils my blood.
I walk towards the room the sounds are coming from, steadying my breathing further as my grip on the gun tightens. The clip in this one would be empty soon, but I had a back up, I just hoped there were less men than bullets.
I peer around the corner, finding six of them and Clayton. Hunter is chained to the wall, his face a bloodied mess. Red drool drips from his swollen mouth and at his feet is a puddle of more blood. He’s been stripped to his boxers, his chest, arms and legs cut and burned.
But still he laughs.
Bruises litter his skin but there was so much blood. He would die soon. He knew that too, and yet he smiles wickedly at Clayton, teeth red and covered in blood, eyes swollen. He laughs, the sound wet as blood slips from his mouth.
I see Clayton withdraw a knife and move forward, ready to thrust it into his abdomen.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I warn, heart in my throat as I step into the room.
Hunter looks up, barely able to hold the weight of his head but it isn’t relief I see, it’s fear. Pure undiluted fear. “No.” He rasps, “No.”
“Who the fuck are you!?” Clayton snaps.
“I’m your worst fucking nightmare,” I growl, holding the gun level with his head. “Remove the chains.”
Clayton laughs, “Deal with her,” he instructs the guards.
“You move at me, I shoot.” I warn.
“Run, Isobel.” Hunter demands, “Run!” The chains rattle as he thrashes in them, “Get out!”
Clayton laughs, “This is the bitch you’ve been fucking?”
“I’m growing tired of this,” I say, firing the gun, the bullet slices through Clayton’s shoulder. He hits the wall, grunting.
The guards come at me, I fire once, twice, downing two of them. The other four surround me but I’m looking at Hunter, at Clayton rising with a hand against his wound and the blood pouring through his fingers. I hadn’t intended on missing.
I shoot again, downing another guard and the three converge on me, one takes me from behind, the other two go for the gun. I kick out, hitting one in the jaw.
“Kill her!”
“No!” Hunter bellows.
A loud bang echoes behind me and then the arms holding me let go abruptly. I hit the ground on my ass, the guy holding me from the front, falling with me. He slumps against me a second later when a bullet slices through the top of his head. Blood splatters against my face. The final guard dies a second later. I whip my head around, finding Kingston barrelling towards me. He throws the guy off me and helps me to my feet. He does a quick scan of me to ensure I was uninjured.
Clayton presses himself to the wall, eyes wide and fear leaking into his face.
“Care to do the honors?” Kingston growls, pressing his gun into my hand.
“I would love to,” I take slow, careful steps towards Clayton. “Open up.” I order.
He lunges for me but he’s weak and it’s more a stumble. Kingston comes up besides me, pushing him against the wall.
“The lady requested you to open your mouth,” King says in a deathly calm voice, “We will appease her.”
He grabs Clayton’s chin, squeezing and forcing his mouth to open.
I force the barrel into his mouth, resting the tip on his tongue.
“Are you scared, Clayton?”
His eyes are wide.
I lean in, my mouth close to his ear, “I’m going to kill you now, Clayton. This is for me.”
His muffled no is cut off as I pull the trigger, splattering his head up the wall.