Crimson Highlander (Onyx Assassins 2)

“Lead the way,” Olivia said, and Avi nodded.

I stuck to the walls, drenching myself in the shadows that were only broken apart by the glowing moonlight slicing through the windows. My heart hammered against my chest, almost as if it could sense the threats all around us and was warning me against it. But I pushed through the panic, the terror of running into my brother, focusing solely on Daphne.

She was innocent, more so than me. She deserved to escape, even if it meant I had to take her place.

“Here,” I breathed the word, knowing Avi and Olivia’s heightened sense of hearing would pick up on it.

We turned a corner silently, and my breath tightened in my lungs. Daphne sat tucked in the corner of one of the sealed rooms, her head between her knees as she rocked back and forth. I could barely make out her shape through the small window in the door, and I nearly screamed at the sight of her.

I swallowed it all down and reached for the handle, almost crying when it clicked open. We shuffled into the room, and I sank to my knees before her.

“Daphne,” I whispered, reaching for her.

Her eyes snapped up to mine, and instantly her face crumbled. “I knew it would be you,” she cried, her whispers muffled as I hauled her into my arms. She shuddered against me, and I pushed her back just enough to examine her face.

“Are you injured?” I asked, knowing better than to ask if she was okay. Nothing about what had happened to her had been okay.

She shook her head, swiping back her long hair with her hands.

I glared at the diamond on her left ring finger.

“Not…injured,” she managed to whisper.

I nodded, then shifted to stand, keeping her hand in mine as she followed me. “This is Olivia and Avianna,” I said, not bothering to address Avi with her formal title. Later, there’d be time for proper titles and explanations. Right now, we had zero time. “They’re vampires, and you can trust them.”

Daphne’s eyes flashed wide, but she nodded—perhaps a little more excessively than she needed to, but it was an adjustment I was asking her to make on the fly. With how quickly she smiled at them—albeit a bit broken—I knew that she’d undergone some terrible shit while I was away. If she decided that her fate with vampires would be better than questioning me, then I couldn’t imagine what she’d suffered.

Anger flared red hot and searing through my blood, dousing whatever terror I had left and leaving nothing but rage.

Rage at my brother, at the Sons, at all of the hate that fueled their organization.

“Come on,” I said. “Stay quiet and stick to us.”

Daphne nodded, and I led the way out of the cell and back into the dark hallways. All was quiet, and with each step we made it closer to the main door, the more weight lifted from my chest. Maybe I’d been right and they’d expected the Order to show up guns blazing. Maybe they were waiting for a clear display of power and direct attack as opposed to a stealthier mission. Maybe this…betrayal of mine—chaining my mate to his bed, fuck he was going to murder me—would really save them all.

We turned down the last hallway, and I sighed at the sight of the door we’d come in at. I squeezed Daphne’s hand in mine, a silent show of relief.

We had her.

We were getting her out—

Lights burst and popped down the hallway, flooding us so quickly I had to squint to adjust to it.

“Found you,” Kyle’s cold voice rang down the hall.

Daphne squeaked behind me, and I stepped in front of her, trying to shield her entire body with mine.

Olivia’s demeanor shifted to appraising, almost innocent, while Avianna was nowhere to be seen.

“Smart of you to come without your army,” he said, stepping in front of the main door—blocking it like I was blocking Daphne. He tilted his head, nothing but icy hate in his eyes as he scanned the length of my body.

Tears stung the back of my eyes, but I swallowed them down.

“Ready to play a new game, little sister?”

“You won’t win this time, Kyle,” I spat, and he glared at me. He took calculated steps toward us, his gait eating up the hallway until only a breath of space separated us. Daphne trembled behind me, but I held onto her.

“Don’t I always?” he whispered, then shook his head.

“You—”

The back of his hand stole the words from my mouth and the breath from my lungs. Stars burst behind my eyes from the hit, my cheek throbbing.

“You didn’t honestly think I’d let you take her from the family, did you?” He sucked his teeth, folding his hands behind his back.

Over two dozen guards, all armed to the teeth, flooded in from the hallways on either side of us. Some positioned at our back, others behind my brother.