30. ~Skylar~

Not the wakeup call I'd imagined.

As I slammed my opponent's face into the dresser, knocking the bastard out, I turned to see Bastian hurling a pair of scissors he'd snatched from the bathroom through the air toward another guy who'd just hurtled in through the now shattered window. The guy choked and Bastian spun into a brutal kick that sent the hostile careening through the open window, his choked screams sounding all the way down the long drop before being cut off with a sudden thud as he obviously hit the ground.

Bastian turned back to me, breathing heavily, as we both took in the carnage all around. The broken furniture, the mess on the bed, as well as a hostile bleeding out all over it. He'd been one of the first to smash his way in here through the window. Another was through the bathroom with the shower curtain half ripped off the bath and wrapped around his neck from Bastian strangling him with it. He wasn't dead, but unconscious. Bastian didn't kill and I hoped he hadn't broken that rule with the guy he'd thrown out the window.

Reading me so well as usual, he assured me, "He's alive. Still wide awake, just not able to move a fucking muscle. The scissors didn't hit his artery."

"Good," I breathed. "Good."

He brushed past me then, stroking my arm along the way, then ripped open the bottom door of one of Caleb's nightstands. There was a safe inside, which he hurriedly unlocked, then opened to reveal two guns inside. He handed one to me, then shut the safe and cocked the other.

"Wow," I said, doing the same.

"Fully loaded as always. Cal's security blankets." He approached the door. "This room isn't safe. We need to get to the sub-level. Power's out, but there's a manual lock on the inside. Once the door's sealed, the space is impenetrable. Cas keeps the computer system in Faraday Cages so it would've been protected from the hit that knocked out everything. Even if we can't get word out from there, he has military radios and shit down there too, so we can use those."

"We need to get my dad and your brother too."

"Your dad was shacked up with Riley tonight, so she'll get him to safety with that crazy skillset of hers."

"He… what?"

He winced. "Before I came in here for our sex marathon, I saw him sneaking into her room."

"Wow… all right… can't focus on that now. Later."

"And as for Damien, he's a beast in these sorts of adrenaline filled situations. Trust me, he's got this."

He went to reach for the door, but it flew open just before he made it, and another hostile barreled on through. The guy reacted fast, snagged Bastian's gun wielding wrist, then jerked him around and aimed it at me and mine pointed the fucker's way.

Another guy rushed in and took aim at Bastian's skull.

Shit.

"Drop it, pretty girl. Your boyfriend here isn't wanted by our bosses, so we've got authorization to put a bullet in his brain. Or you can lower that weapon and come with us. Wheeler wants some quality time with you."

I suppressed a shudder at his words, his reference to that now proven maniac, Jeremy.

Bastian shook his head at me.

"Is he here?" I asked.

"Sure is," the bigger guy responded with a sadistic smirk.

"Fine. Lower your gun," I told the one who had his trained on Bastian's skull. "I'll let you take me to him."

I saw Bastian's eyes flash with realization as he picked up on my strategy.

And he most definitely didn't like it, his disapproval all over his face.

But this was our chance.

Jeremy thought he could come here and overpower us, but he'd just walked into the lions' den. And he wouldn't make it back out.

"Together," I mouthed to Bastian.

The guy aiming at his head lowered his gun.

I saw a flash of movement out in the corridor.

Just as I went to lower mine, it became more than a flash as Damien filled the doorway a moment before he grabbed the guy lowering his gun, snatching it from him, then putting a bullet in his back.

I fired mine at the one who had Bastian trapped. He screamed as it plunged into his thigh, then Bastian twisted out of his hold and hauled him at Damien who caught him easily, then threw him over the banister.

"Nicely done," Bastian told Damien, who stood there in nothing but a pair of boxers, disheveled and barely dressed like the rest of us.

We moved out onto the landing, hearing the chaos reigning down below and I peered over to see Caspian's guys battling it out with so many of the invaders down the corridor, some battles taking place inside the now open doors of the various rooms off the space.

I caught sight of Caspian with those crazy combat skills of his out in full force as he took on three hostiles at once, absolutely destroying them in rapid-fire fashion, culminating with him shoving a badly beaten one through the living room and straight into the coffee table, which he then slammed his head into, shattering the glass all around the guy and knocking him out.

He spun back to the fight, but stopped and looked right up at us.

Relief and worry played across his features and he called up, "Sub-level!"

In his haste to get his message across, another hostile came at him from behind, brandishing a blade.

Damien reacted lightning fast and fired the gun he'd stolen from the other guy.

It hit right on target, blowing into this one's skull and dropping him instantly.

Caspian spun around and jolted, then looked up at Damien, giving him a chin lift.

As the three of us fired, picking off more of the hostiles, movement caught our attention, and we looked to see another half a dozen sprinting up the stairs and onto the landing coming right for us.

I sprang into action, dropping the closest one with a bullet through the gut, then storming into the fray and leaping up into a spinning kick that knocked another back into a guy behind him like a domino effect. As I wailed on them, moving rapid-fire and giving absolutely no quarter, two dropped around me and I saw Bastian's gun in firing position in my peripheral vision, making me smile at him having my back so perfectly.

Damien took the remaining one out by wrenching at the guy's hair and smashing his face into the wall repeatedly until he passed out.

The three of us made our way down the staircase and caught sight of Caleb through the kitchen with Luke battling another three hostiles.

The lobby itself was clear, the fight obviously having moved further into the manor.

As we made it to the corridor, I registered my dad further down, throwing an opponent over his shoulder. He winced and stumbled because he was still in recovery from his injury, but then Riley was there, driving her booted heel into the hostile's ribs. Another came at them and she leapt into a brutal kick that sent the guy careening through into the dining room and crashing into one of the dining chairs. And then she supported my dad's weight and headed toward the room that had the entrance to the sub-level. Relief sung through me. He'd be safe.

Just as they disappeared into the room, Dante barreled on out with a machine gun in hand, Rambo-style. Holy hell. That was where he'd been. He was packing a shitload of weapons.

"Motherfucker's come to play," Damien said, a moment before automatic fire rang out, tearing into the assailants. He had some major skill, avoiding all of us, and just taking out the enemy. Blood spattered, screams and roars filled the space, echoing all around.

Through the chaos, I didn't notice movement behind me until a hand wrapped around my mouth and I was suddenly jerked back.

Bastian noticed, but then he was set upon by two newcomers who must've come in through the destroyed entrance at the height of the chaos.

I didn't get to see anything else as I was dragged out into the courtyard.

"Long time, S. Too fucking long, don't you agree?" Jeremy's awful voice hissed at my ear.

He had me in a body lock and dragged me to a concealed corner where three of his men were waiting.

Then he released me roughly and kicked me to my knees.

I hit the grass with bone-rattling force, eating dirt in the process.

"You've lost your mind," I choked out.

I took in his three guys training their guns on me and surrounding me as he stalked around me in a manic fashion.

"This is done, Jeremy. You've been defeated."

"That in there was nothing. There's a lot more where that came from. Elijah's holding court with them back at our current base of operations. I'm here for you. I'm supposed to bring Caleb too because Elijah wants his pet back. King's supposed to come to give us control of his empire. But it looks like that won't happen tonight. I'll settle for you, though. After all, that's all I want."

"You've lost sight of reality." Even that was understating it. "If you leave now, you can survive this." For a short while, until we came for him, but he didn't need to know that.

He crouched down in front of me and grasped my chin in a harsh grip. "You're coming with me. Elijah taught me how to train you to my liking, just like he did with Caleb." His eyes flashed dangerously. "I can't fucking wait to have you all to myself." He dug his nails into my skin, making me hiss. "And you'll beg for it when I'm done with you."

"Never happening."

"But it will, S. It absolutely will. Like I said, Elijah has given me the tools now. You'll forget all about your boyfriends here. In fact, I'll erase them altogether. All you'll see is me. All you'll want is me. You should've seen what Elijah was able to do with Caleb in such a short time. He had him surrendering to him."

Three rapid-fire consecutive shots rang out, making me jolt.

Jeremy pulled from me as his guys fell, dead to the world.

I looked over my shoulder to see Caleb standing there, gun aimed at the psycho.

"It was a very convincing surrender. Not reality, though," Caleb told him.

Jeremy held his hands out to the sides. "What are you talking about? I saw—"

"You saw what I needed you both to see."

"How—"

"Mental tricks, disassociation, a little acting thrown in too." Caleb stepped closer and grasped my arm, helping me to my feet while keeping his aim on Jeremy. "Either way, I'm living proof that the tricks Elijah has apparently taught you won't actually work. Your plan on taking Sky for yourself is severely flawed. Accept that and stand down, then you become our informant and don't lose your life here tonight."

Jeremy sneered. "You'll just kill me after I tell you how to find Elijah again."

A shot rang out, startling me. And Caleb, because it wasn't from him.

I spun to see none other than my dad staggering out to us, glaring at Jeremy.

"You won't give them the intel they need. If would all be lies. Isn't that right?"

Jeremy had one hand clutching his wounded arm from my dad's bullet and he held up the other, real fear all over him as he took in my dad. "Frank, listen, I—"

My dad fired again and Jeremy screamed as a bullet tore through his kneecap. He collapsed onto the grass, hissing in pain.

Caleb pulled from me and drew closer, his gun at the ready, covering my dad, recognizing that he was nowhere near at his best. It was clearly just his rage driving him.

I watched my dad fist his hand in Jeremy's hair and seethe, "I trusted you with the most precious thing in my life. My baby girl. And you abused every ounce of that trust. You betrayed me, betrayed her. And now you've betrayed all of us."

"She's… I love her."

I screwed up my face. "It's not love, it's twisted obsession."

My dad told me over his shoulder. "Go, Sky. This isn't going to be pretty." He eyed Caleb. "You too."

Caleb shook his head. "I need to see this. After what he put me through with Elijah. After what he did to our woman."

"Dad, no—"

"You've see enough darkness. You've ventured too deep as it is. Go, Sky."

"Beautiful."

I spun at the sound of Bastian's voice. There he was standing with Caspian. Actually, supporting his weight. Off my look, he told me, "He's not badly hurt, it's painkillers."

Thank God.

I took a look back at my dad and Caleb closing in around a fallen Jeremy.

And then I sucked in a breath and took Bastian's hand, walking away with him and Caspian.

Shrill screams sounded when we were a few feet away and Bastian tightened his hand in mine. "It needed to be done."

"Lethal justice," Caspian rasped.

Before I could fully process that, Riley came running out. "Where the hell is he? He slipped past me while I was trying to get the systems up and running again."

"Dealing with Wheeler," Bastian told her.

She grimaced, then headed over there.

"Caspian!" Dante cried, coming running out of the manor entrance.

"It's painkillers," Bastian told him quickly as he reached us.

"Here, I'll take him. You two sit down, rest."

Bastian nodded and handed Caspian carefully over to Dante.

"It's over, son. It's over."

Bastian and I exchanged a look at him calling Caspian that, obviously in the heat of the moment with a shit-ton of adrenaline still coursing through his system.

But Caspian didn't call him on it. In fact, he sank into him, making Dante smile.

"For now," he spoke as we approached the manor.

"We survived tonight, they didn't," Dante told him. "We'll end it. We'll take Elijah out, army be damned."

Caspian nodded and said resolutely, his conviction rolling through all of us, "Absolutely."

Bastian gave me a squeeze and smiled at me. "Then we can finally get back to our lives."

I took his words in.

Or tried to.

It had been so long, more than two years, since I'd had a life to speak of.

To have that back, to be free of all the rest, it was a heavy thing.

A wonderful hope.

A haunting gunshot rang out, jolting me, and Jeremy's screams abruptly ceased.

I shuddered.

So much death.

So much pain.

So much heartache.

And so much fucking darkness.

Soon it would all be over.

Even with us all bearing the scars of it.

Being with the men I loved soothed that, though.

It made it bearable.

It made it all worth it.