Chapter 33

Cronos

I help Meelz into the metal box and press the basement level. I push her into the corner near the front, making sure she is shielded and then hand her my spare mag. I look down and curse beneath my breath at the sight of the blood pooling between her legs. Without thinking I grip her face between my hands and kiss her. She melts into me instantly. I pull back and stare deep into her green eyes.

"No matter what happens, you stay the fuck alive, okay?" She nods. "I need the words."

"I'll stay alive," she whispers as I pull away and mimic her position on the other side, we have three floors to go. I shoot a quick text to Royal and Bishop telling them to get to the basement.

"When those doors open?—"

"I know what I'm doing, Nos. I may not have liked being a Murdoch, but it doesn't mean I don't know how to be one." Just as the ding sounds out announcing our arrival, she calls out, "I got left." Bullets whizz past us and pierce the back of the metal box. I press in closer to the wall and wait for them to reload, then shoot her a nod as we both step out and prepare to fire, but both freeze at the sight of King on his knees with Rook and Knight on either side of him. Colson stands behind King with a gun pressed to the back of his head. I look them over and wince at the sight of Rook clutching his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers. Knight looks just as bad as his twin with blood soaking through his shirt. King on the other hand, his lip, nose and brow are all split and bleeding.

"Drop the gun, Amelia, now." She cranes her neck to see Kim with the help of two of Colson's men lifting Kingsley and her plastic crib into the Ambulance that is parked behind that fucker. She takes too long to comply, so he shifts his gun and shoots King through the shoulder. He cries out and hunches forward. Amelia screams and tosses her gun forward so it rests in the middle of us and them. I do the same. Colson pulls King up by his hair, the poor fucker winces and grinds his teeth, putting on a brave face for his daughter.

"I'm gonna slit your fucking throat and fuck the wound for that, you cunt," Rook hisses.

"Rook, stop taunting the little man, I've told you about picking on weaker men!" Knight scolds his brother, who smirks through his pain. I'll never understand how these men can resort to humor whenever they are in situations like this.

"Shut the fuck up or the next one goes in her head!" Colson yells as he points his gun at my girl. On instinct, I leap in front of Amelia and become her shield. At my protective move he laughs. I use this moment to count the number of men he has down here. On a quick count I tally at least twenty. The bastard was smart. He kept most of his men with him and used the ones out front as a distraction while he moved everyone else down here to wait for Kingsley. Getting his sister to call me was smart, we never expected her to be working with him because she led us to believe she was helping Meelz at the risk of her own safety.

"Let my dad, uncles and Nos go and you can have me." I reach for Amelia when she darts out from behind me with her hands raised. When I try to shift to cover her again, she darts forward out of my reach.

"Why the fuck would I take a useless whore like you?" I grind my teeth in anger.

"Well, she must be a good whore if she has you doing all of this for her," Rook taunts. He gets pistol whipped by one of Colson's guys and flops forward—he's knocked out.

"Touch my brother again, you son of a bitch, and I'll have your mom and sister working my block," Knight grits out—he's lying but the threat sounds good.

"Amelia, don't?—"

Meelz cuts her dad off. "You want to destroy him and make him feel half the pain you do, then taking me is the answer. You killed his… wife, if you take me, he has nothing."

"You mean your mom?" The mirth in his voice pisses me off. My girl squares her shoulders and lifts her head.

"Allison Murdoch is my…" she drops her chin to meet her father's gaze, "… aunt, my mother died giving birth to me." King's eyes widen and his mouth pops open. "Take me, I'll never fight. You know I will be good." It makes me sick to hear her speaking about herself like this. "I will follow all your orders and keep you… satisfied." Colson and his men snicker and laugh at her innuendo, Knight and King both shudder at the image she is painting. I will die before I ever let her go back to that cocksucker. "Colson, take me. Do whatever you want to me but don't leave me behind while you take our… daughter." Pain vibrates inside my chest at her words.

"You lie," he snarls. She slowly inches forward, taking small steps and when she is a foot away from King, he cocks his gun forcing her to a stop. "You mean nothing to me."

"I know. You know I love you and I will do whatever you want if you just please take me with you. I swear it. I will be good and do whatever you ask but please let me come, our daughter needs her mother."

"Either kill the bitch or bring her with us, she's wasting time for the rest of them to get here!" Kim screams from inside the rig.

"I'm not, I swear." A reflection out of the corner of my eye snags my attention. I only move my eyes so I don't alert the rest of them. Taylan pops his head up from behind a car parked across the space and nods, then flicks his gaze to the other side. I shift my sight to see Gage behind a van. I need to cause a distraction so they can move in.

Please forgive me, angel!

"You lying bitch!" I roar, garnering the attention of everyone just like I hoped. King scowls and Meelz spins around, trying to implore me with her eyes to understand she doesn't mean what she says.

"Cronos—"

"No. You fucking lied to me, Amelia!" I force all the pain I can muster into my tone so Colson believes what I am saying. "You said you were over that piece of shit. I told you not to fuck with me if you were still hung up on him." Her face contorts and I try to communicate without words to play along. There's a slight glint in her eyes and I weep with joy internally.

"I just needed somewhere to lay low until he found me like I knew he would—" A shot rents the air when Colson fires his gun. My world stops spinning as a scream tears out of my angel. King and Knight both scream out as we all watch her fall to the ground. All hell breaks loose when Gage, Taylan and the others all start firing back. I move without thought as I dive for my gun and roll once I have it in my hand and aim at Colson, but the fucker jumps in the rig and it starts to drive away.

"Go after her!" King roars. I don't hesitate or even look at Amelia, knowing the sight of her laying there will cripple me and drag me back into that dark pit of nothingness. I push off the ground and run as fast as I fucking can, chasing that fucking rig like my life depends on it, and in a way I guess it does—inside that rig holds my hearts greatest desire that I was too afraid to hope for. When the driver breaks to round one of the pillars, I release a loud roar as I jump and pray I make it inside. A shot rings out, but I pay it no mind as I go straight for the guard at the end. I toss him out the open back doors and then move to Colson. He tries to lift his gun but I'm faster.

I hit him with a right hook, He shakes it off, then rams me back into the other side of the ambulance. Kim is screaming and trying to get a clear shot but she won't risk hitting her brother. I grunt when he lands a fucking good hit to my ribs. But unlike him, I have lived in a constant state of pain my whole life so it isn't something new to me if anything, it helps me focus better.

"Kill him!" that bitch yells. Kingsley is screaming her little head off and I hate that the first time she is seeing me is like this, but I will spend every day trying to erase this first memory she has of me from her mind. Colson is stronger than I expected, he is giving me a run for my money. I try to lift my gun but he bats it away as we slide sideways when the driver takes another turn. I can't let them get out of the parking lot—if they hit the main road, we could lose that little girl for good and I won't let that happen.

He wraps his hands around my throat and tries to crush my windpipe. My vision turns hazy when he bangs my head against the metal wall of the rig. I strike out and punch him in the ribs over and over again as I fight not to give into the blackness dotting my vision. When we round another turn the momentum from the turn propels me forward, knocking Colson off his feet. I use the moment his grip weakens to my advantage and slam him into the other side of the rig, he shouts out in pain but his cries only fuel the beast inside me. I want to draw this out and carve his skin from his bones and turn it into a rug so I can fuck Amelia on top of it, but Kingsley needs me.

"I'll be back for you," I shout right in his face as I use every bit of strength I have left to throw him out of the rig. The crunch of his bones cracking against the concrete has a shiver of pleasure rushing down my spine.

"Stop!" Kim screams to driver, who slams on the brakes. I drop to a crouch and brace for the kick back of the ambulance coming to a stop and scramble to find my gun, but the bitch is right there, pressing the barrel of her gun into the side of my head. Being on my knees isn't something new to me but she isn't the woman I want to be kneeling for. "Look at me," she screams. I slowly lift my arms and tilt my head back to stare up the deranged bitch. "You will pay for what you did to my brother." I take a shuddering breath as failure washes over me. I couldn't save Aida, I couldn't even save Amelia when I was given a chance and now, I will lose the little girl I have fallen in love with that I haven't even met. I'm doomed to always fail those that I love.

"Not before you watch him die!" The sound of London's voice has my eyes widening. Kim pales, then grabs the scruff of my shirt, forcing me to my feet. She spins me around so my back is to her. The sight of London, Royal, Chanel and Chaos standing there with Colson on his knees, bleeding and clutching his arm while blood trickles down the side of his head, is euphoric.

"Release him now or I kill this bastard." I gulp audibly when all emotion vanishes from London's face, even Royal looks worried at the sight of his daughter. I know what that look on her face means, someone is about to die and I just fucking hope it isn't me!

"You touch a hair on his head and I'll tear your brother limb from limb while you watch. I swear it," London promises. As if to taunt the unhinged woman before us, Kim presses her gun into my side and then ruffles my hair with her free hand. Before anyone can blink, pain explodes in my shoulder, the pressure of the gun pressed into my side vanishes as Colson's anguished screams penetrate the air when his sister falls to the ground behind me, crying out. "I told you not to touch his hair," London snarks as I spin around and kick her gun out of the rig. I ignore the bitch, knowing the others will deal with her as I rush to Kingsley's side.