Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

GIANNI

"We need to split up," Reuben said before we unlocked the door leading into the house. "Hunter, Parker, Daze, you all go left, toward the kitchen. The rest of us will go right, around to the back of the living room. If we're careful, we can come up behind them. We'll try to surround them and take them all out."

Hunter raised his phone and pointed the light in the direction of a fuse box on the wall. "I'm ready to blow the lights."

"I'm ready with the knives." I squatted and opened a box that lay on the ground beside the door. Stored there for just this eventuality. It was full of blades and guns.

I handed out knives to anyone who didn't already have one. Mina, of course, was already armed with several. Could she get any hotter? She looked like some kind of angel, dressed in black and armed to the teeth. My kind of woman, through and through.

"No guns until you have to," Reuben added. "Once they know where we are, do whatever you have to do. Until then, be quiet. Let's not jump through the door and announce our presence."

I smiled.

I couldn't imagine Reuben jumping through the door and shouting out, "Heeeere's Reuben!" The twins, certainly, but not him.

"Got it, boss," I said. "Stealth mode. A trillion points to anyone who ends Kurt."

"Infinity points to anyone who helps us catch him alive," Mina said softly.

"What could we do with infinity points?" Hunter asked.

She gave him a bland look. "You can swap it for a Maserati."

"Fuck yeah." He offered Parker a fist bump. "I can't wait."

"You'll have to wait, that's my infinity points and my Maserati," I told them both.

I didn't give a shit about either of those things. What I really wanted was for us to get out of this alive. Preferably in one piece. A car, no matter how sexy, meant nothing in comparison.

I knew they agreed with that sentiment. They weren't shallow enough to really give a shit about an expensive vehicle. That wouldn't keep us from making jokes about it. Only our deaths would put a stop to that.

"Game on." Hunter grinned. "One Lasalle coming up."

Daze cleared her throat.

"One male Lasalle,” Hunter corrected. "Have you ever thought about changing your name?"

"Have you?" I asked him.

Being a Brantley came with a lot of responsibility. And a metric fuck ton of expectations, especially from Reuben. Although, they were lighter than the ones Reuben put on himself.

"Can we focus?" Damon snapped. His expression was tighter than I'd ever seen on him before. I couldn't say I blamed him. In spite of the banter, I was tense myself. A shit ton of things could go wrong. We just had to make sure they didn't.

Somehow.

Reuben nodded at Hunter. "Kill the lights."

Hunter opened the fuse box and turned one switch at the same moment Damon opened the door.

For a split second, the house was illuminated, before it fell into complete darkness.

The curtains were closed, blocking out any moonlight and most of the starlight. The only illumination was the flashing of various electrical devices, like the front of the microwave oven, and the keypad for the air-conditioning system.

I hadn't realised how bright they both were. Even from here, I could make out the one in the microwave.

Voices muttered in surprise as we slipped off in the directions Reuben ordered us to go.

I stayed beside Mina, close enough for our arms to touch as we moved through the darkness.

We had the advantage that we knew this place better than the enemy, but I had no illusion this was going to be easy.

At this point, it had already stopped being fun. Trust Kurt Lasalle to suck the joy out of the people around him. I added that to the ever-growing list of reasons to hate him.

Another factor in our favour was that we'd stood in near total darkness for about twenty minutes. Our eyes didn't need time to adjust.

The same couldn't be said for the first two of our enemies we snuck up behind and dispatched silently. A quick slash to the throat and we lowered them to the floor.

I pictured the expression on Reuben's face at the idea of blood on the hardwood, but it couldn't be helped. Better their's than ours, anyway.

A low grunt sounded from the direction of the kitchen. That was quickly followed by another.

Mina grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me to the side. Lucky she did, because I almost walked into another one of our enemies.

Instead, I grabbed them from behind, my hand over their mouth, my knife across their throat. They tried to cry out, but the sound was muted by my fingers and their quick death. Still, it was enough sound to inform others of our presence.

I lowered them to the ground and winced. I'd have to ask Reuben if we could put up speakers around the house. Music, when played loud enough, would mask anything and everything. We could have stomped through the house and never been heard.

That was an oversight. Something I hadn't considered before and I could kick myself for it now. In retrospect, it was obvious, but at least we could fix it later.

I hoped.

Light from a phone flashed out across the room in front of us. The living room.

"I know you're there, Mina," Kurt called out, taunting. "I know that you know I have your sister here. And Reuben's brother. And Damon's brother. How cosy all of this is. It's up to you whether they live or die."

I've always found it ironic when people said shit like that. The only one responsible for their deaths was him. It was past time he took responsibility for his own actions.

I made a note to tell him that later. Right before those actions led to his death.

"What do you want, Kurt?" Mina called back. Her fingers curled around my wrist, drawing me with her while she stepped forward. Reuben and Damon moved along slowly behind us.

"The same thing I've always wanted," Kurt said. "I want all the power and influence the Brantley family has, and I want you."

Reuben snorted softly. An articulate expression of 'fuck that' if I ever heard it. He always did have a way of quietly conveying what he was thinking.

"Why?" Mina asked. "From the look of things, you have plenty of power and influence. There are women out there who are attracted to things like that. I'm sure you could find someone more than willing to be a part of your life. Why do you want me?"

"Because you belong to me," he stated, like nothing could be simpler. "I own you. Every millimetre of you."

"Why me?" she pressed harder. "Of all the women in the world, why do you want me?"

"We're wasting time here, Mina. And I'm running out of patience." The light flashed again, presumably Kurt turning around in a circle, trying to figure out what direction we might jump out from. "I'm going to start killing in a minute. How many die, depends on you."

A short grunt of pain came from the direction of the kitchen. My heart thudded in my chest. It sounded like one of the twins.

"Parker!" Hunter's harsh whisper was like the crack of a whip through the darkness.

Fucking hell.

Fucking hell.

Mina's fingers trembled. Her intake of breath was sharp, horrified.

"One of them is dead," Kurt sounded amused. "How many more are you going to allow to die? Hunter is surrounded, as is your sister. All I need to do is say the word. Or, you can hand yourself over to me. Reuben can step aside and give me the keys to his empire. That's all it takes for the rest of the people you care about to walk away."

Mina swallowed audibly.

"You can't," Damon whispered. "We're not?—"

His words were interrupted by gunshots from outside the front of the house. Someone shouted and everything fell quiet again.

I pictured the scene outside in my mind, but couldn't draw any conclusions. Aidan and the Demons might be dead, or they might not.

I'd like to think they were more difficult to kill than that, but only time would tell. All I could do for them was to send good thoughts and hope like hell they made it through. The team needed them. The hockey team as well as us.

"What choice do I have?" she asked. "You can't all die for me."

"Enough of this bullshit," Kurt snapped. "Kill the other twin."

A shuffle sounded from the direction of the kitchen before silence fell once again.

Mina's breath was a soft sob. "I have to. It's the only way."

"I won't let you—" I started.

"You can't stop me," she said. "This is what I have to do. I need to do this for all of you. Forget about me."

There was conviction in her tone, but a heavy dose of fear. Yes, she would do this for us. She'd give up the rest of her life and spend it caged and chained so we wouldn't die, but the idea of going back to that life was the worst, most inconceivable nightmare possible. The fact she'd even consider subjecting herself to that again, just for us, made me love her even more.

She was, without a doubt, the most incredible woman I'd ever met.

I pulled her to me and brushed my lips over hers. "We will never forget you. Never." I held her tight like I might be able to change her mind if I held her for long enough.

"You have to let me go," she insisted.

"Who shall I kill next?" Kurt mused in a singsong voice. "I guess I could start with Angelina. She doesn't have any family here to stick up for her. Although…her death might be enough to convince you I'm serious."

Enzo let out a roar of protest from behind his duct tape.

"I think he's volunteering to go first," Kurt said. "How touching. Is that something Damon would do, too? Give up your life for the woman you think you love? Even while knowing she belongs to someone else? I bet Reuben would do the same thing, wouldn't you Reuben? And Gianni. So heroic for a bunch of criminals."

"Hey, everyone, I found the pot," I called out. "First of all, yes, we would die for Mina, because she belongs to us, not you. Secondly, you’re the kind of person who gives the word ‘criminal’ a bad name. And coward. And asshole. And…" I could have gone on for hours.

"Sticks and stones," Kurt sneered.

"Breaking your bones would be my pleasure," Damon growled.

"Ah, there's Damon," Kurt said. "I changed my mind, I think your brother can die next. Then maybe Reuben's other brother. It was Caleb who helped to spread the rumour I was really the Sparrow, wasn't it? Do you realise that made it difficult for people to trust me? Some of them even thought they might turn on me. Instead, all you did was force my hand tonight. But don’t worry. Before I came here, I put out word of who the real Sparrow is. Along with some damning evidence about something she once did. People were only too happy to believe the truth."

"I didn't kill her," Mina said softly.

"Yes, you did," Kurt contradicted. "The same way you just killed Hunter and Parker. The same way you're about to kill Enzo and Caleb if you don't hurry up and give yourself to me. I'm going to be generous and give you two more minutes. Then I'm done fucking around. Time starts… Right now."