24. Addison

Chapter twenty-four

Addison

T he sound I made was inhuman, clawing its way out of my throat as I lunged forward. Austin sank to the floor, a confused expression on his face as he clutched his chest. There was a dark stain spreading out across the front of his hoodie, and I pressed my hands on his chest to stop the bleeding. "No, no, no!" I murmured, frantically.

"Shh, I'll be fine…" Austin mumbled, his eyes drifting closed. There was too much blood, it was too much blood too quickly.

"Don't close your eyes!" I snapped, freezing when I felt something metal press against the back of my head.

"Come on now, Addy. Just come with me, and I won't have to shoot anyone else," Hannah insisted. I ignored her, looking around for something to staunch the bleeding. I reached over to grab a rag Wyatt had brought down for something. It was not the cleanest, but it would have to do. Grabbing his hands, I pressed the rag down on his chest and put his hands over it to hold it in place.

"It'll be okay, just stay awake," I told him softly, brushing my lips against his. He mumbled something, his eyelids fluttering as he fought to stay awake. I wouldn't cry, not now. I focused on my rage instead.

Standing swiftly, I charged at Hannah, and she raised the gun to stop me, her hands shaking. "Where are you taking me?" I snapped, and her face lifted in relief.

"It's not far. We can walk." She smiled, and I was tempted to rip it off her face. Risking one last glance at Austin, I stormed through the door, letting Hannah run after. I heard her scream, and she slammed into the door behind me, clutching her ankle. I smirked. Granddaddy still had it in him, I guess. "You have snakes in your house? What kind of freaks are you?!" she yelled, and I waited for her to stumble down the steps, the gun held tightly in her hand.

"You have no fucking idea," I muttered, and she waved me forward, shoving the gun into her pocket and pointing it at me like some sort of movie robber.

"I didn't want to shoot anyone," she told me blankly, limping beside me as we walked down the sidewalk. The same route Piper had taken the day he'd disappeared, I realized, bristling. "If you had just listened to me in the first place, we would have been fine."

I turned to her, vividly aware of the gun still in her hand. "If you knew what Jake had done to me, you'd understand why Austin reacted the way he did," I snapped, and she sighed.

"He said you might be difficult, but I don't understand how one little fight could make you so angry with him," she replied, shrugging. I blinked at her, my mouth opening in confusion.

"A little fight?" I repeated incredulously. "What did he- oh whatever. I don't give a fuck about the lies he told you. He could've told you I was an international spy, and you'd believe him," I muttered, rolling my eyes. She chose to ignore that comment, wincing as we continued to walk, turning the corner and heading down a street I'd never visited before. The buildings on this block were older, some of them worn down and condemned, judging from the signs on the doors. A couple were already in states of demolition, new condos being advertised on the nearby billboard. She stopped in front of one that looked ready to be torn down, but clearly they hadn't gotten to it yet. I raised an eyebrow, staring at the dilapidated entryway.

"Well, go!" she snapped, pulling out the gun and waving it at my face. Jesus, where was the fun little scientist who liked bugs? I stomped up the stairs, staring at the door that looked like it should've been locked. Hannah sighed like I was the problem here and limped past me, wrenching the door open and waiting for me to go inside. My skin prickled with nerves as I walked into what used to be an office of some kind. Faded blue carpeting and cracked gray tiles covered the floor, and there was a front desk that sat empty in the middle of the foyer, covered in dust and mouse crap.

"Move!" she demanded, limping toward a closed door at the far end of the abandoned room. I trailed along beside her, my heart hammering in my chest as I looked around, watching for movement. Hannah ushered me into a different room, shoving me in the back when I slowed in the doorway. I didn't like this place. Something about it was… wrong.

My breath caught in my throat when I noticed a figure off to one side, slumped over in a chair. His hair was matted with blood, and his shirt was in tatters on the floor around him, blood and cuts littering his chest. I couldn't see the man's face, but I would recognize the necklaces he was wearing anywhere. "You fucking bitch," I whispered, stumbling toward him, panic flooding my veins. He wasn't moving, was he breathing?! Please… please, let him be breathing .

"What, no hello for me?" I froze halfway across the room as men materialized from the shadows all around me. All of them had expressionless faces and guns, much to my dismay. They stood like sentries around the room, staring at nothing, like robots. The source of the gravelly voice emerged last, the dramatic fucking prick. I was happy to see that, despite not being dead like he was supposed to be, he was at least as fucked up on the outside as he was on the inside.

Cain's fire had done a number on him, and honestly, I wasn't sure how he'd survived at all. Still-healing burns covered a large portion of his body, and his hair and eyebrows appeared to have burnt off. One of his eyes was cloudy, and his leg dragged as he walked, clearly causing him a lot of pain. Despite the fear churning in my gut, I couldn't help but smile. He met my gaze, his face twisting into what I assume was a scowl, but it wasn't easy to tell with the burns. "Jake, looking well," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Still have a mouth on you, even now that you're a married woman? My little brother needs to learn how to train his bitches to behave." Ugh, his vocal chords must've been damaged, because every sound he made was like nails on a chalkboard to my ears.

"And that's why you weren't invited to the wedding," I replied drily, my eyes flicking back to Piper. I needed something, anything, just to know he was alive. He looked so… broken. I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my skin.

"Did you get your present? I thought it was funny, the nut job wears a ring and your husba-"

"Don't fucking talk about him," I snapped, and Jake's jaw clenched, clearly not used to being interrupted.

"Little Spider… making friends… are we?"

Oh, thank god ! I jerked like I'd been slapped, watching Piper's head tilt up, clearly alive, although how, I wasn't sure. His face was minced meat, and I couldn't even tell if he was meeting my gaze, his eyes swollen and bruised.

"You're the people person, not me, love." I smiled, and he coughed out a dry laugh, blood dripping down his lip. I was going to kill Jake for what he'd done to him.

"I'm glad you got here in time. I was just about to put your dreamboat out of his misery. You know how I hate to witness suffering, don't you?" Jake rasped out a chuckle, and I shifted closer to Piper, biting back a snarl.

"You won't touch him again," I told him coolly.

"No, I won't. But one of my friends will," he mused, gesturing around the room. "See, even though you ruined some of my appeal, I can still make friends anywhere. And they are much better equipped than your friends, as you can see."

"Are they? They seem pretty human to me," I replied, glancing at Hannah. Her face was ashen, and she was leaning against the wall, unable to put weight on her bad leg anymore. He followed my gaze and scowled.

"Sorry Jakey, did I break your favorite toy?" I bit out, inching closer to Piper. His head had dropped back down against his chest, and his breathing was too shallow for my liking. Jake was too busy studying Hannah to notice me, so I gently slid my hand over Piper's, hating how cold and clammy it felt against my skin. He inhaled sharply, and his fingers flexed under mine. "I'm going to get you out of here," I murmured.

"Where're the others?" he whispered, flinching as Jake started yelling at Hannah, who was slumping to the floor.

"He…" a lump formed in my throat. "They aren't coming. It's just us," I whispered back, giving his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Mhmm, I heard Austin," he frowned, "he's calling you. Answer, Lil' Spider." His head sagged forward, and I whimpered, squeezing his hand again.

"No, stay with me, please! Not you, too," I gasped, tears burning in my eyes. "Come back to me, Piper!" I grabbed his shoulder and shook him gently, but I couldn't see his chest rising anymore.

A thud made me jump, and I spun around to see Hannah slumped over on the floor, Jake grimacing over her. "I liked her," he sighed. "She was so responsive." Turning back to me, I noticed a bloody knife in his hand. My blood froze in my veins, seeing the same knife from my nightmares.

Not again. He would not take that from me again. Rage that would have made Cain proud boiled up inside my chest, and I squeezed Piper's hand so tightly I worried I might crush his fingers. With every ounce of my soul, I took that pain that was crushing my heart and tugged.