Page 106 of Bound By Blood and Lies

“Movement,” Victor says quietly.

I follow his gaze. Six men step out of the church like nothing is wrong. They are wearing all black and have bulletproof vests on. I recognise three of them and I’m surprised my teeth don’t crack with how hard I grind them.

He’s here.

What the fuck is Fae doing?

I turn to Felix and I see the same level of rage I feel reflected back.

“Let’s take one each,” Felix starts. “Roman, take two. You move quicker and have better training in weapons. Atlas?—”

“I’m good,” Atlas barks. “I have trained in combat as well, you know.”

Felix nods as a heaviness settles over us. We’ve been chasing my father for months and tonight it ends. I look at each of my friends and a wave of gratitude flows through me. I know they love my mum and Fae like their own, but they didn’t even question it. I check the time. It took us fifteen minutes to get here, which is a record for everyone.

“No guns,” I say. “We don’t need witnesses.”

Riggs cracks his neck. “My favourite kind of party.”

Victor chuckles under his breath as I roll my own neck, letting the tension sitting there snap and shift before we push the doors open in near unison. The sound feels sharp against my ears, but it disappears almost instantly into the hum of distant traffic and the low chorus of birds settling into the trees for the night.

We move without speaking.

All of our skills that are trained into us take over as we spread out across the gravel, and the headstones break up our path in uneven rows. Some are tall enough to shield, others worn low with age, but every one of them becomes cover as we use the space to our advantage. I spot a guard drifting toward thefar edge of the church grounds, and I move toward him. I cut across the grass, ducking beneath low branches. He’s distracted, his head is tipped down, the glow of his phone lights up his face whilst his thumb scrolls lazily across the screen.

Idiot.

I’m on him before he even realises. My hand clamps over his mouth, dragging him back hard against me as his body jolts in surprise; the phone slips from his grip and hits the ground with a dull crack. He tries to react, tries to twist, but I’m already moving. My arm snakes around his neck, locking tight, and I shift my weight just enough…

There’s a sharp, sickening snap. It sounds like a twig breaking underneath our feet. Every muscle in his body twitches before going rigid and the tension drains out of him instantly. I lower him carefully to the ground as his head starts lolling at an unnatural angle. I inhale deeply, hold it for ten, then let it out slowly as I scan the grounds.

Felix is already moving up ahead, stalking two guards along the edge of the church. My feet move, cutting across the graveyard toward him and keeping low as I slip between headstones and broken patches of earth. He catches me in his peripheral and stills before he dips his chin and gestures toward one of the guards. I nod once and shift direction, angling toward the guard on the left and closing the distance with careful, measured steps. Each step is placed to avoid sound, but the ground is more uneven here. It’s damp and scattered with debris, and just as I reach him, my foot catches a loose branch. It snaps beneath me, cutting clean through the quiet.

His head turns instantly.

For half a second, there’s confusion on his face and then instinct takes over. His hand drops toward his waist, and I move at the same time, lunging forward. My hand comes up to clamp over his mouth before he can shout, but he’s quicker than Ianticipated. His elbow drives back hard into my ribs, knocking the air from my lungs in a rough burst as he twists out of my grip.

The guard’s body turns with trained precision and a blade flashes in his hand. I barely get my arm up in time before it slices across my side. The fabric of my top gives first before my skin splits open and a sharp line of heat tears through me. The pain barely lands before I’m moving again. I grab his wrist and lock it tight. The knife hovers too close to my throat for comfort as his strength pushes against mine. The guard tries to force it forward, but I step into him instead, driving him hard into the nearest headstone.

The impact cracks through the air.

I lunge on him, using his disorientation against him as I grab his face with my hand through gritted teeth and twist his arm down until I feel it pop. His knife slips from his fingers as a strangled sound pushes past my hand. I catch the blade before it hits the ground, flipping it in my grip and shove him back again, pinning him between me and the stone and leaving him nowhere to go.

Then I drive it in.

His body spasms as I feel the warmth of his blood pour out across my hand. I pull the knife out and plunge again, this time feeling the skin separate under the blade. Using the grip I have on his face, I pull his neck taut and slice against his carotid artery until the tension drains from his body. Blood splashes against my mouth and I recoil at the bitter taste of it. My breath heaves out in exhaustion as I take in stabilising gulps.

I look up to see all the guys have been successful in their kills and I breathe a sigh of relief as I take off toward the front of the church. My neck feels tight under the tension, and I check my gun as the others follow me. Without a word, they create aformation behind me and we move as one. My hand hovers near the door as I push it open just enough to slip inside.

“…should have worked.”

I freeze.

Every muscle in my body locks as I hear my dad’s voice for the first time in ages. His words carry through the church, clear, sharp and unmistakable. I shake it off and tiptoe slowly into the church. The scene in front of me causes me to stop dead. My dad is aiming a gun at my unborn child and rage burns as I spot my mum take a step toward Fae.

“Everything we did, everything Fisher and I did, it should have worked.”

Fae is frozen, her hands hovering uselessly at her sides, her body angled just enough that I can see the rise of her stomach, and my mum… My mum steps forward.