Rebellion of a Kingdom by G.N. Wright
Chapter 17
ELLE
Iam covered in sweat and blood. The guy in front of me is someone I have wanted to kill for an exceedingly long time. Brett Buckley. He is one of three men who held me down while Greg ruined me. I have never forgotten his face, his laugh or the feel of his fucking fingers digging into my skin. None of it. From the potent smell of cigars to the stench of his sweat. All of it has been engraved into my mind since that night. Greg might have been the only one to rape me, but that doesn’t mean the others aren’t just as guilty. They all deserve to bathe in the Devil’s flames for what they force girls to endure. I aim to cause them just as much pain in return.
I relish in the sound of my knuckle duster smashing into his cheek as he screams out in pain. The more time that slips by without Cassie, the more I am losing control. I could have just put a bullet in his head and moved on, but he needs more than that. I need more. That’s how we ended up here. In my torture cabin in the middle of butt fuck nowhere as I beat him bloody. I picked him up at his house, drugged him, threw him in the trunk and then dragged him in here.
For the last hour. I have taken my time in learning all about what makes him scream. Most guys would love the thought of me getting to know their bodies intimately, certainly sounds appealing. But not how I do it. First, I shattered his kneecap with a hammer, then I cut off all of his toes. When his cries got louder, I sliced open his forearms. There is blood everywhere. It’s fucking beautiful.
I punch him again and the burn of the exertion makes me feel fucking alive, reminds me why I’m here and what I’m fighting for.
“What’s the matter Buckley, not a fan of the screams when they're your own?” I taunt as I drag the blade in my other hand down his cheek. He cries out again. His face is a mixture of tears, sweat and blood. Something I know he has seen on countless victims, but he still thinks he can defend himself.
“I didn't even touch you. Greg wouldn't let us; you were too important to him.” Does he think that makes it better? Like, is he that fucked up, he thinks I would accept that as his defense?
His answer pisses me the fuck off and I stab my knife right into his hand. “So, whose fingerprints bruised my legs as they held me down, whose laughs haunted my nights? Did I just make all that up?” I scream at him as I fight back my own tears. I won’t allow him to bring out that weakness in me again.
“You’re scum. You think just because you didn’t penetrate me with your disgusting dick that it’s okay? How many times did you watch Greg take someone against their will? How many girls were given to you to keep you quiet and compliant.” I laugh in disbelief at his audacity. “There’s a special place in hell for men like you and it’s time you went there.”
My ringtone blares from my bag and I frown at being interrupted, but Max said he would only call me if it was an emergency. I’ve heard from him a few times by text. He’s sent me information, warnings, bullshit. This is the first time he is calling. I huff, but move to the table, drop my knife, wipe my hands on my pants and then pick up the phone.
“Yes.” I answer in a no-nonsense tone. This might be an emergency but I’m kind of fucking busy right now and in case he hasn’t noticed, I sort of have my own def con one kind of shit going on.
“Elle?” My name is barely a whisper, “it’s me.” Logan’s guarded voice filters down the line and it pulls me from the murderous edge I have been on for the last week. It’s so familiar and safe that I feel like it can’t be real. It feels as if I haven’t heard his voice in months.
I pull the phone from my ear and check the screen, I see Max’s number lit up and pull the phone back, “Logan?” I ask even though I know it’s him, “everything okay?”
He takes a deep breath, going silent. After a couple of seconds, I hear Marcus murmur next to him, “This is bullshit. Give me the phone.” Just a few words and they crack my already shattered heart. I miss him so much. I miss them all. Regret so many things between us, but I know he understands. I can tell from the stern tone he just used on Logan. He isn’t falling apart without me; he’s fighting for me.
Just like I knew he would. Just like I needed him too.
“Logan?” I push again as panic starts to creep through me, and he sighs again.
“It’s Zack...” He pauses like he is trying to think what to say before he adds, “he’s gone Elle, we lost him. You need to come home.”
I barely breathe, I grip the phone so tight it burns my fingers. Zack is dead. The words blow my already broken world apart. I’m too late. He didn’t make it. My brother is dead.
“Elle, we need you to come home.” It’s Max’s voice I hear this time, his serious and bossy tone gutting me further. I lost my brother; he lost a friend. We fucking lost.
I can’t do this, not anymore, not without him. He saved me and I failed him, he saved me, and I lost him, he saved me, and he fucking died. He’s dead. I feel my heart beating out of my chest, the only reminder that I am still alive. Alive, while my brother is dead. Alive thanks to him. How do I ever repay him when he is no longer here? How do I survive when I no longer have my hero here to guide me? I collapse into the chair by the table as tears start to coat my face. How can I ever go home? That wasn’t my home, it was our home, mine, and Zack’s and now he’s gone.
“Home, home to what?” I bite back and the echo tells me I’m on speaker phone. No doubt all of them are listening in. “My brother is dead, and my daughter might be too, for all I know. Fuck coming home. There is only one place I need to go now.”
The tears spilling down my face aren’t going to do anything for me. I let them fall but I won’t let them control me. The empty crater in my chest has burst wider than ever before. There is no going back now. I pick up my Glock and stalk back towards Brett with the phone in my other hand.
Even though I know they can all hear me I don’t speak directly to them. I can’t, “tell Marcus that I love him and Ash and the guys that I’m sorry.”
“No, Elle, stop.” Max starts but I cut him off.
“Thank you for everything Max. I wouldn’t be who I am today without you, without Zack.” My voice catches as I say his name and I can barely hold back my sob. “Truly, thank you. Goodbye.”
“Elle wait!” Marcus roars.
“Where are you?” Max shouts.
“Hells Bells!” Asher screams.
Everything has fallen apart around me. I have lost too much, and this has gone on for too long. I got to as many of them as I could, but time has run out. Now I have to take the next step, take out Elliot and Greg. Getting to them won’t be easy, but I will. Even if I have to become Elle fucking Donovan to do it.
The bang of my gun is the last thing they hear before my phone goes dead.
I shoot Brett three times. One in the head and two in the chest. One for me, one for Cassie and one for Zack. The brother I am never going to see again. I won’t ever see his smile or hear him call me sweetheart. We won’t shoot guns at the range or take that trip to Vegas that he promised me for my 21st birthday. He won’t get to walk me down the aisle, won’t get to find the love of his life, have kids of his own. Everything we talked about, everything he deserved, gone and all because he was my brother. A blessing and a curse. We already lost so much time together and now we can’t make it back. The bullet that took him from me is never going to stop impacting my life.
I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. Over and over again, just trying to calm myself and push through the pain. I have come too far to stop now. I owe it to Zack, and I owe it to myself. I meant what I said to Max, there is only one place I need to go now.
I stalk through the cabin grabbing my stuff as I go, I will send word to Oliver for clean up, but to be honest, I am beyond caring. Let someone find his body, let anyone find it. Because there isn’t going to be any hiding the fall out of my brother being murdered. They are going to need to a build a new fucking graveyard for all the bodies I plan on slaying.
Once in the car, I push down the accelerator until it hits the floor. Nothing is going to get in the way of what I need to do next. I don’t know exactly how I am going to play things when I get to the Donovan estate, but I do know one thing. They want me alive and that is the only ace I have to play. I could try to take out some of their men when I get there, but they would just be replaced with others.
Lord knows what they will do to me once they have me, but I can't think about that now, the only thing I can think about is seeing my daughter again, protecting her and avenging my brother. Greg wants a compliant wife, but he’s getting an avenging queen. I won’t be silenced again.
I drive so fast that it isn’t long before I approach the estate from the back. I dump my car there and waste no time grabbing my bag of weapons and moving towards the direction of the gates. I stop every few meters and stash weapons anywhere I can. Memorizing each stop for future reference, only keeping my Glock at my waistband and my knife at my thigh.
My thoughts are chaotic, and I struggle to stay in control, but I need to lock it down. My mind is the only weapon I will have once I enter their pits of hell. They will strip me of my weapons, my family, and my freedom, but that won’t stop me. Nothing will. The sight of Zack bleeding out in our home is the only thing in my mind. They did that to him, they murdered him in cold blood just to get to me. I can’t see the times he taught me to drive or the first time he took me to the gun range. I can’t see every time he made me breakfast, or all the times he sat through Disney marathons with me and Cassie.
No, all I can see is his blood, his panicked and desperate eyes as they locked with mine. I didn’t know then that it would be the last time I would ever see them, I didn’t let myself face that reality, I couldn’t. But now, as I make my way to the gates of hell, it’s all I see. That look I last saw on his face will haunt me forever, and that’s just one more thing the Donovan’s will pay for.
Once I clear the tree line it’s a short walk to the gravel path that leads towards the gates. As soon as I hit it, they will know I’m here and everything will change. I ignore every branch snapping beneath my feet and every rustle of leaves by my side. The cold December air bites into my skin and the hard thumping of my heart continues to beat against my rib cage. All I do is breathe and walk. Just in through the nose and out through the mouth. It’s time.
I step forward and aim my gun at the first guard before he even spots me. Yet before I can take the shot, I sense the presence behind me. The gun is knocked from my hand before I can even turn around and a gloved palm covers my mouth. I fight with everything I have got, but then another person joins the fray and when I feel the prick of a needle pierce into my neck, I know I’m done for. I continue to fight but my limbs become heavy and slow. I see a blur of movement surround me as I’m thrown around and carried away. The gates of the Donovan estate are the last thing I see opening before darkness claims me.