Rebellion of a Kingdom by G.N. Wright
Chapter 34
ELLE
Considering how the week back at school started, the rest of it has been quiet in comparison. I haven’t seen Cherry since I delivered my less than obvious message on Monday, and I have no doubt the Donovan’s are aware of my return to school. I’m still awaiting their retaliation. Not for what I did to Cherry, I know they don’t give two fucks about her or her wellbeing, nobody does. She’s lucky she landed the role of spy and not ‘whore for sale’. No, I await retribution for all my other crimes. The ones I haven’t stopped committing against them ever since I got back to town.
I am simply waiting. I know they’ll be planning something, it’s not like they will have suddenly grown morals and decide to let me be. That was never going to happen. I know too much, have done too much. The price they will want me to pay is astronomical, which is why I have to fight harder than ever. If they get me again, I won’t survive.
I know they’ll be pissed that we got into the estate and got Cassie back. Well, at least Elliot will be. Greg probably got off on it. He thinks we are playing a game of cat and mouse, just toying with each other until I’m his again. That’s just how his sick, twisted mind works. But I’m not playing, not anymore. I want their deaths and nothing less, which is why, while they continue to hold back, I’m pushing on. Dr. Atkins was an unplanned but welcomed mission. Yes, he was a name on my list, but I hadn’t decided when or how to deal with him, not until he went after Taylor. I can’t help but worry about her, she spent most of Saturday at the house with me and the guys, even though I refused to answer most of her questions. It was nice to just have a friend, one that isn’t tainted by my crimes. I’ve had Owen, one of Max’s guys, keeping an eye on her all week, he hasn’t reported anything unusual.
We’re attempting to cover all our bases, but that still leaves Carter Fitzgerald as my biggest issue. As far as we know, he is still holding Rebecca O’Sullivan somewhere and we need to get her back. If we get her, then we get the Hallowed Crows on our side and the balance of power in our war against the Donovan’s, will tilt in our favor. I’m slowly taking their world apart piece by piece and I won’t stop until there is nothing left.
Max has Elijah tracking Carter’s every move. He spends his weekdays at the Mayoral offices and his weeknights at numerous restaurants across town. Saturdays are spent at the golf club, and Sundays at Church. Yet, it’s his evening weekend activities that interest me most. He spends every Friday night at the warehouse on the corner of Middleton and 5th. Lincoln and I followed my father there once, or we tried to, but were interrupted. We have since learned that it’s a very exclusive club called ‘Crimson’, whose members have, what you would call extremely specific tastes. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out what that means, when their members include the Donovan’s, Carter Fitzgerald, and my father.
We have managed to dig up enough information to know that there are three levels. First floor is a nightclub, where members can drink, and watch beautiful young men and women dance on poles and in cages. Top floor is a BDSM club, where members can explore the life of dominants and submissives, and then there is the basement. We don’t have any information on what happens down there, but I think we all can guess just how fucked up it will be.
Unsurprisingly, Mayor Fitzgerald is a remarkably busy man, constantly surrounded by people and yet, not once has anyone laid eyes on Rebecca, until now. I’m sitting on the back patio with Marcus, Linc, Jace, and Asher when Max and Elijah come out, with Zack not too far behind. As soon as I see their expressions, I know something is up. I’m immediately grateful that Cassie is already in bed.
“We got her. She’s on the move with Fitz, destination unknown at present.” Elijah starts and then he looks at Max, before concentrating on me, “but it’s Friday.” He doesn’t have to say anything for me to catch his meaning. We know where he spends his Fridays. Fucking Crimson.
“How do we know it’s her?” I ask them, concentrating on Max.
“Seb IDed her from her picture. It’s definitely Rebecca O’Sullivan.” he confirms and my stomach flips in excitement. She’s alive. For now.
“Well, come on, let’s go.” Ash stands without hesitating; he’s been so on edge about Rebecca. It’s easy to look past all the girls being hurt by his father and brother when they are lost in a sea of nameless faces, but when you can put a face and a name to it, it becomes real. He sees her as me, imprisoned against her will and probably being broken beyond repair.
My frown is instant, we haven’t yet been able to find a way into the club, short of becoming a member, so we don’t really have a plan. “How are we going to get in?”
Ash just smirks that deadly Donovan smile, “through the front door, they’ll let me in.” He’s that confident in his name, and in this town, I can’t say I blame him. He doesn’t wait for my response before he pushes past Max and heads inside. Max just shakes his head but follows after him anyway. Well, alright then, looks like we are going out.
It isn’t long before we are armed to the teeth and spread across two black Escalades as we speed toward Black Hallows. Seb has since confirmed that the club is where they headed, and they have been inside for around ten minutes. Already too long if you ask me, especially considering that even with the speed we are going we still aren’t close.
Twenty minutes later, we arrive. I exit the car with Asher, Marcus, Jace and Linc. Leaving Max and his guys to check out other entrances as we move towards the front door. It opens easily and when we step inside, we find an elegant lobby area. There is black satin covering the walls, a large black gloss desk and a plush rail of black material. We agreed on our way over that Ash would do the talking and I would act as if I were there as his party favor. Leaving Marcus and the guys to act as Asher’s security. The guard eyes us immediately.
“Members only.” He states before any of us even have a chance to speak. Not shocking considering we don’t exactly look like their usual clientele.
“Asher Donovan.” Ash responds and I see the recognition in the guard’s eyes at his name. He flicks his eyes down to his tablet and taps away before looking back to him.
“Sorry sir, but I only have two Donovan members registered and you aren’t one of them.” I hold in my eye roll. Just as his hand goes to his ear as if he is about to communicate with someone, something flashes past me. I don’t even get to recognize what it is before Lincoln has the guard unconscious on the floor.
Speechless, we all stare at him, but he just shrugs. “What? He clearly wasn’t going to let us in.” I mean what can we say, he’s right.
He picks up the guy’s tablet and taps away on it as Asher swipes some black cards from the desk. I look at the rail and realize that the black material that I thought made up the wall, is actually a row of cloaks. Fucking rich people shit, like this is just some kind of fucking rapist get together, complete with uniform. It disgusts me, but I’m not stupid, putting the guard down is bad enough, we need to blend in. I grab one for each of us, then pass them out to the guys who shrug them on without question.
Ash uses the black card to swipe us through the first set of double doors and as soon as they open, the pounding of music greets us. We enter right into the nightclub, the music is blaring, the lights are flashing and there are people dancing everywhere. There is a stage in the center of the room that has multiple cages on it, all filled with naked women dancing along to the music. To anyone else, it would look like they are having the time of their life, but the dead, vacant look in their eyes tells me otherwise. Fuck this is worse that I imagined, and I know this floor isn’t even the worst of it.
From the intel we gathered, I know we need to move to the back of the club. The entrance to the top floor is over to our left, but we won’t find what we need there. What we came for, I’m sure awaits us in the basement. We push through the gyrating bodies until we get to the other side, and Ash again uses the card to swipe us through. As the door opens, another guard appears and moves to grab me. He’s quick, but I’m quicker. I dart back from his arm at the same time as I kick out my leg, hitting him in the stomach. Another guard steps up to help, but I know the boys have my back.
Lincoln and Jace tackle the other guard, just as Marcus drags back the one on me before I can do anything. I huff, “I had him River.”
Marcus smiles, as his fist connects with his face, “I know baby, just let me, okay?”
I roll my eyes and he laughs. Once both the guards are down, we quietly make our way down the stairs. I expect to come across more guards, but it seems to be strangely quiet. Shivers dance up my spine when we reach the bottom, because this place is like a maze. There are a few doors in front of us, and then numerous hallways, leading only the lord knows where. We all exchange a look knowing that until Max and his guys find us, we need to split up.
Before I can even say anything, Lincoln hauls Jace to his side and nods, “we got this,” he says gesturing to one of the hallways, “you guys go.” He taps his ear and I nod, turning on my comms and watching as they take the first hallway, leaving one for us and another unmanned. I take a deep breath and pull my gun from my waist and Marcus does the same. Asher looks between the two of us and then heads to the third hallway.
“Ash, what the hell?”
“Don’t worry about me, Hells Bells, I’m the only one they won't kill on sight.” He gives me a sadistic smile before turning and heading out of sight. I would be worried, but I know we all have our earpieces in to alert anyone if something goes down.
Marcus and I move down the hallway, and when we reach the first door, he presses up right behind me, “don’t make me have to punish you again.” He whispers into my hair and I smile, even though he can’t see me.
“You wish, Riviera.” We kick open door after door, coming across empty rooms and men in the middle of acts I won’t wish to recall. When we get to the sixth door, I push it open and nearly choke on surprise, when the first eyes I meet are that of Rebecca O’Sullivan. She is slumped in a chair, wearing nothing but lingerie, and a silk nightgown that's open, showing off her tanned physique. She looks slightly out of it, but still her stare widens as she takes me in. A guy turns towards me, raising his gun just as Marcus shoots him right in the head. Carter moves quickly, grabbing Rebecca by the throat and dragging her body to cover him. Gun to her head.
When I see there is no one else in the room I focus on him. He’s handsome, brown hair that is tousled perfectly and brown eyes that are warm like chocolate. Even the smile he offers me now seems kind and friendly. That perfectly, polished, practiced face of a politician. Oh, he’s good. His three-piece suit is clearly designer and tailored to perfection, and his shoes look freshly shined. Always putting on a public show.
“Miss King, you just ruined my business meeting.” His voice is calm, controlled and completely lacking any fear. I sense the same relaxed nature in him that I get from Greg Donovan. Like they know they are completely untouchable. If the gun to her head scares Rebecca, she doesn’t show it. In fact, her hand curves around the grip he holds to her throat. Interesting.
“I’d apologize, but I don’t like to lie.” I toss back and his smile widens. I knew it. Just like Greg, they get off on defiant women, but only on their terms. They would never fully relinquish control. I know it, he knows it. He won’t let her go without a fight.
“Greg said you were exquisite,” he purrs, his grip pulls Rebecca further into his body, she doesn’t even react. Like this is completely normal behavior for him. He whispers into her ear loud enough for us to hear, “She’s beautiful, isn’t she, my little rose.” She flinches slightly on the word rose, but it’s gone so quick that I don’t know if I even saw it. “I wish we had time to play.” He says talking to me again now, “but seems like the fun is over.” His finger tightens on the trigger, Marcus mutters my name, but I ignore him, keeping my eye on Carter's hand.
“Hurt her and I will kill you.” My voice is calm and steady which is the exact opposite to how I am feeling right now.
He smiles the most genuine smile I’ve seen on him yet, dark, with a hint of evil. “I believe that, Miss King, you are your father’s daughter after all.”
The way he delivers those words sparks my interest. He wants to talk. Men like him always do and if I keep him talking, maybe I can distract him. “What do you know of my father?”
He smiles again, taking the bait, “I know he wanted a son, a son to be just like you.” His gaze travels over my body, up and down. He pauses on the knife at my thigh and groans, “he’d be so proud of everything you've done.” He takes his time dragging his eyes back to mine. “If it weren't for that cunt between your legs, that is. Jonathan King never knew how to treat a woman. Stick around in one of these rooms and I’m sure you’ll find out.”
My father’s here. That is the only thing that sticks in my mind, but I don’t want him to know how much his words are distracting me. Instead, I snort, “yeah and because of this cunt everyone presumes I'm a pussy.”
Just as my words echo into the room, the fire alarm begins to blare. It startles me, as sprinklers spray out immediately and, in a flash, Rebecca is thrown to the floor and Carter disappears. What the fuck? I rush towards where he was standing and find a slim line in the wall, indicating a secret entrance. I push against it, but nothing happens. Fuck.
I turn and see Marcus looking at me as he wraps Rebecca in his black cloak, before lifting her into his arms. Her face is still a blank mask, like she has perfected the art of no emotion. Two years with that sick fuck, I can’t imagine what she has had to endure. But there is no time to worry about that now. We need to get out of here and fast.
I ignore my drenched clothes as we leave the room. There are men in suits rushing past us, some alone and some dragging along half naked women. We follow them down the hall through the rain of the sprinklers, but just as we are passing the last door before the stairs someone grabs my arms. I whirl around raising my gun, but find Lincoln staring at me and I sigh in relief.
“Why is the fire alarm blaring?” I ask him, raising my voice slightly to be heard over the commotion.
Jace steps up beside me, completely wet and dripping, and shrugs his shoulders, “because there’s a fire.” He says it so casually that I almost want to laugh, almost.
I huff muttering, “of fucking course there is.” I shake my head slightly, and then look between the two of them, wondering where Ash is. “Now what?”
Lincoln smirks and it’s the biggest smile I have ever been gifted from him. “Now we do this quickly and get out of here before we burn.”
I frown, we already have Rebecca, what more can we do when Carter has already escaped. “Do what?”
He ignores me and instead looks to Marcus, “you and Jace get Rebecca out of here, we will join you in a few.” He eyes him with a serious look, knowing that Marcus will want to fight him, but before he can, Linc adds, “don’t worry brother, I got your girl.”
As my eyes meet River’s I let him see the plea in them. He has to go. He has to get Rebecca out of here before someone comes for us, “I’ll be fine.”
Instead of arguing, he maneuvers so he only has one hand holding Rebecca, and he uses his other hand to drag me by the neck so he can claim my lips in a quick, searing kiss. “Don’t make me come back for you Ells.” His tone is dark and filled with filthy promise, his lips curling into a sinful smile, making sure that I know just how serious he is. He looks to Lincoln then, “ten minutes.” is all he says before Linc nods. Jace and Marcus disappear into the crowd of people and we watch them go.
Turning back to Linc, I give him a playful glare. “What trouble are we getting into now, Superman?” I tease with a smile, and he laughs, shaking his head slightly to clear the water from his face.
“Only your favorite kind, you stabby, little King.” He ushers me inside the room he appeared from and when he closes the door and steps out of my eyesight I am greeted with a shocking turn of events.
Cherry Daniels is strapped to a table. Naked, beaten and bleeding. Asher is standing behind a chair in the middle of the room and tied to the chair is the one man who could have stopped it all. Jonathan King.