28. Wren

CHAPTER 28

Wren

I lashed out with the knife, catching the man nearest to me in the arm. He leapt back and fumbled for his gun, but it seemed to be stuck in his waistband. When I glanced behind me, Lola was gone. Hiding? I hoped she was hiding.

The burned man was writhing on the floor, and Scarface ran for Marianna, slamming her into the counter with a sickening crunch . But I couldn’t help because a fist was flying in my direction. I ducked, then slashed with the knife again, but this time I missed.

“Subdue them!” the blonde woman yelled.

Strangely, she seemed reluctant to wade into the fray, a talker not a doer. She’d thought this would be easy, hadn’t she? She’d figured we’d just meekly give in. Well, she figured wrong. I threw the fruit bowl at my attacker, and he shielded himself with his arms as apples and oranges bounced everywhere. A bullet whizzed past my ear. Shit! The woman had decided to get involved after all.

An almighty whoosh and a flash of heat made my heart seize. Flames flared as the oil from the churros ignited, and now there was a wall of fire between Marianna and her assailant, protecting her from his advance but a danger in itself. Sweat prickled at my skin as I looked around frantically.

Where was Lola?

I spotted her crouching on the far side of the table, but I couldn’t get to her. The man intent on snatching me lunged again, this time holding up a wooden chopping board like a shield.

I jumped back, but then there were two of them. Scarface had given up on Marianna, and now he was coming for me too. And it was me they wanted. I was Caria’s friend. I was the one with the secrets. But…but I’d told Blane, and Zion knew that, which meant he was in danger too. Everyone around me was in danger.

The second thug had managed to draw his gun, but before he could aim properly, I leapt at him. I was a dead woman anyway. Better to meet my maker on my own terms rather than through Laurent’s slow torture. I didn’t doubt that he’d draw out my pain as a punishment, not when I’d caused him so much trouble. The pistol fired as I clawed at the man’s arm, and a window behind me shattered, but I hung on, stabbing at the man’s thigh with the knife.

Were there arteries in a thigh? I was almost certain there were.

Maybe I’d get lucky?

Or maybe not.

Strong arms wrapped around my waist and tore me away, and all I could do was turn my head and sink my teeth into the flesh of my attacker’s shoulder. Scarface cursed, and I lost the knife as he wrestled me toward the blonde and the door.

“Hurry up,” she snapped.

“What about Todd and Louis? ”

“Leave them.”

Shit, shit, shit!

I struggled, but Scarface’s arms were like steel bands, and I could barely breathe. Half of the kitchen was on fire now, flames licking their way across the dining area, the placemats alight. The smoke thickened. I saw the outline of Marianna through the blaze, but where had Lola gone? If the two of them could get to the bedrooms, they stood a chance. There was a door to the terrace beside Blane’s bed, beside the bed we’d shared, the bed where he’d given me a glimpse of real happiness for the first time in my life.

Another screech, but this time it came from…the blonde woman? My captor spun at the noise, and I almost laughed as I saw Myrtle wrapped around her head, raking her face with needlelike claws.

Almost laughed.

But not quite, because she began firing wildly, and Scarface grunted as a bullet slammed into his shoulder.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” he cried, and his grip loosened.

A chance.

I had a chance.

I stomped on his foot, then froze as a blur whipped past me. Suddenly, the arms were gone.

I was free.

My assailant was flying across the room.

Literally flying.

He landed in the flames, and I shrank back as Vee dove at the next man, Todd or Louis, I wasn’t sure which. He’d finally managed to get his gun out of his pants, and he sneered as he fired at her once, twice, three times.

She laughed, a high-pitched giggle that sent a chill through me. The colour drained out of Todd-Louis’s face, and I didn’t know what he saw, but the terror in his eyes caused my heart to stutter.

The gun fell from his fingers as she wrapped a hand around his throat and lifted him clean off the floor.

What the hell?

Hell.

This was Hell.

I was dead, and this was Hell.

The click-click-click of stilettos on tile made me turn. The blonde was running for the elevator like the coward she was, and I saw red. Fire, blood, death. I ran after her, ready to scratch her freaking eyes out. The elevator doors were already opening. If I could just catch her before they closed…

She stopped in a hurry, backing up as Blane stepped out.

He was okay.

He was okay!

Joseph was with Blane, and he took one look at the situation and hurried past me. As for Blane, he flicked his gaze in my direction, but his expression didn’t change.

“You made a big mistake,” he told the blonde.

“The mistake was all yours,” she spat. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”

“Delphine, I presume?”

“Think of me as a representative of Laurent Enterprises.”

“Blane!”

For the first time ever, I heard something in Joseph’s voice that wasn’t arrogance or sarcasm. No, it was fear.

In a heartbeat, Blane was running past me.

Gloom fell over the room. I turned, and the flames were gone.

Just…gone.

Smoke curled in the air, but the fire was out. My mind struggled to process what was happening—it had to be a nightmare, didn’t it? Only my worst fears come to life could explain the charred kitchen and the bodies lying on the floor. Three men, two of them decidedly scorched, and Lola.

Lola!

Now I was running after Blane, the lump in my throat making every breath an effort. Marianna was on her knees beside her daughter, and I didn’t have to be a doctor to know the blood bubbling from the little girl’s chest was bad news. Her eyes were open, her sobs soft yet agonising.

“Mommy, it hurts.”

“I’ll call an ambulance,” I choked out. “I lost my phone. Does anyone have a phone?”

“An ambulance can’t fix that,” Joseph said. “It looks as if a bullet nicked her heart.”

Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell.

Blane was just staring, his face contorted into a mix of shock and misery. I knew how much he cared for Lola. The “special coffee,” the sweet gifts, the way he bought cakes from her mom every day to ensure she never went without.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

“We need a decision,” Joseph told him.

“I know.”

“Quickly.”

Vee approached, hauling a struggling Delphine.

“You should do it,” she said. “Maybe they’ll understand, and things will be okay. If you don’t act, the only certainty is that you’ll lose her again.”

“Understand what?” I whispered. “What’s happening?”

Blane didn’t answer. No, he just nodded once, and Marianna let out a wail as Lola took one last shallow breath and went still.

“No,” I whispered. This was my fault. This was all my fault. I should never have come here. I was the reason Blane’s apartment had been destroyed. I was the reason Marianna was slumped over the lifeless body of her daughter, sobbing as if she’d never stop.

“How does it feel to be on the losing team?” the blonde asked as Vee pushed her forward.

“Goodbye, Delphine. See you in the next life.”

Blane flicked his hand, and a shadow as black as night separated from her body and hovered beside us for a few moments before scattering. What the…? I froze, the breath turned to ice in my chest. Delphine began crumpling to the floor, but Vee caught her and held her still.

Now would be a real good time to wake up, Wren.

I couldn’t tear my gaze away as Blane’s hands moved again, and this time, a beautiful rainbow rose from Lola, lighting up the room. The rainbow disappeared into Delphine. What was I even witnessing?

Had someone slipped LSD into the churros?

“It’s okay,” Vee soothed, stroking the woman’s hair. “You’re okay.”

Her eyes flickered open, filled with confusion and the same horror I was experiencing.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Joseph muttered.

I turned to Blane for answers, to beg for reassurance that this was all a trick of my mind.

But he was gone.

He’d vanished into thin air.