Wicked Games by Jarica James
Killian
Ihad the feed going as Ky sped down the road toward the safe house. We would be late, but the entire family was converging on the location. I just hoped we made it in time to save her.
“Oh god,” I muttered as I watched Sana face the camera and blow us a kiss. She whispered something, and I knew what was coming, but couldn’t look away.
Watching her step off the counter fractured something in my soul. I didn't register that I was screaming out until my throat burned, vision clouding in tears. I’d fucking lost her once, and here Eros was, taking her from me, from us again.
Ky stepped on the gas and Keir slammed his fist into the window, somehow not shattering it. We were losing it, imploding on ourselves as we tried our best to save our girl. My gaze fell on the screen again and I choked out a cry as she kicked at the air, the elevator opening and none other than Eros coming in. In any other scenario his look would have been satisfying, but as he approached Sana, cut her down, and walked away with her, I was about to fucking lose it… worse than I already was.
“Eros has her. He’s there!” I shouted, relieved as Ky swerved around a corner, the building in the distance. I dropped the phone and got my assault rifle ready.
When he came to a stop out front, the garage door was wide open and completely empty. We rushed forward and took the elevator up, but as it rose, I knew what we’d find.
The doors opened to a silent and empty room. The rope angled there, sliced in half, the smell of whiskey permeating the air.
Sana was gone. And we had no idea if she lived through her attempt or not. Pain lanced through me, watching on as Keir slammed his fist into the counter, bits of wood chipping off as his rings dug into the surface. Ky was calling Joe, but from the screams of frustration he wasn’t able to spot them. They’d blended in with traffic before we could find them or knew the blindspots as well as we did. The downfall of being untraceable was that so were they.
Keir’s phone rang, all of us freezing since Joe wasn’t the one calling. He answered and put it on speaker, Eros’ gravelly condescending tone coming through, though even he seemed unhinged.
“She’s dead, though I’m sure you’ve seen the footage.”
“Where the fuck is she?!” I screamed, my veins popping out as I gripped the edge of the counter now, finally having rushed forward at the sound of his slimy voice.
“I’m taking her back where he belongs. You can visit her grave,” he taunted. “She’ll be buried next to her mother.”
“She’s alive,” Ky said confidently. Both Keir and I looked at him like he was nuts, he had no way of knowing that. “You’re far too calm. If she was truly dead, you’d be here shooting us up.”
“Incorrect. She is more important than making you more miserable than I already have,” he chuckled, then promptly ended the call.
“Joe?” Ky asked into his phone, putting it on speaker.
“He’s in the wind. I’m sorry. They knew the routes as well as I did apparently.” His voice was strong, but a slight waver hung under the surface. Sana meant something to the whole Family.
“Don’t give up. And put the message out. We need a Family meeting. Now. Estate. Go.” Ky’s words were minced and choppy.
If she was dead, I didn’t know how we would move on.
* * *
Standingin front of the entire Family, seeing our numbers en masse, was bolstering. Keir was waiting to speak, the last few of our numbers walking in. The estate was bursting at the seams and we would need every last one of them.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard the news, seen the footage. We’re operating under the assumption she’s alive and recovering, but in Eros’ compound. We’ve got Joe and his team on finding blueprints of their place, searching for real allies, the works. This is a top priority, all other production, distribution, and patrols are paused,” Keir explained.
Xander stood so we could see him over the crowd. “Do we leave tonight?” Every ounce of me wanted to shout yes, but it would be useless. We needed a prepared and united front. We couldn’t fuck this up or it could cost us our queen forever.
“No,” Keir sighed, voice painful. “We prepare. We get one shot at this and we will do it right. We leave tomorrow, be ready to take back our queen.”