Chapter 19

G etting that call from who I thought was Angel changed everything. I didn't think. I didn't even say goodbye to my kids. I just ran through the tunnels until Isabella's lackey could pick me up outside of the broken gate.

My dad's car really did a number on it, but I'm glad he made it to us so he could say goodbye. Gates can be mended, moments like that can't be replaced.

After getting drugged during the journey, I wasn't surprised to find myself chained and sore. Isabella had fun taking turns with her perverted partner… Well, he was her dead partner now. The way Patience took back her power and defeated her monster was enlightening.

I want that. I want to rid myself of my nightmares. I don't want to fear my stepmother anymore…

I still feel like I'm in a dream, or that the drugs are playing mind tricks on me. I knew the guys were here, taking down the compound, but I didn't think I would be found. Isabella has so many tricks up her sleeves.

Patience nods to Rooke, and he gives her a sweet kiss before leaving the room with Levi and Jacob.

I guess she wasn't kidding when she said this was Ladies' Night.

Apparently, all of these hidden cells are connected, so we drag Isabella into a new room, along with the cart full of torture tools. I'm usually not someone who wants to hurt others, but Isabella tried to destroy Jacob and Ash, and helped Draven—my very own rapist—take my Angel.

I still haven't seen any sign of her, which means the bitch lied to me. But the little girl on the phone sounded so much like her. She was still a baby when she was stolen from me, but… I'm her mother, I should know her voice.

There's a vindictive energy inside of me that craves revenge. I want my baby. She has been gone for too long. I want her to know her siblings, to have a loving family.

I help Tempest and Patience string Isabella up, so her arms are over her head, and her legs are tied down. Isabella can't kick, can't move, all she can do is scream, and suddenly, I find I want her to.

I want her to beg for mercy, like I did all those nights she kept me locked away. When I pleaded just to have five minutes out of my room. When I was sick and asked for just a brief moment of comfort.

She never cared, so why should I?

There's a sledgehammer on the rolling cart, and I find it's lighter than I expect it to be.

My eyes are on Isabella as people talk around me, but I'm not listening to them. I raise the weapon and slam the hammer into her side. The crunch of her bones makes me slightly nauseous, yet it's oddly therapeutic.

"Holy fuck," Kian grunts in surprise, and Levi shrugs.

I guess the guys couldn't stay away afterall. Then again, they deserve justice too, and I'd never be so greedy to take that from them.

"I guess we aren't moving fast enough for you, huh, Little Sinner?" Levi asks, looking amused. There's nothing I can do that would change the look of love that shines from his eyes. "By all means, Chas, let's get this over with so we can go home. Whale away on her."

"Tiny but vicious," Rooke says with a dark chuckle. "She's all yours, Ladies."

Tempest grins when she finds a nail gun, and Patience shrugs as she picks up an ax. Isabella is a sick person to have brought any of this in as part of her plans to hurt us.

You don't bring in a torture table unless you plan to use it. Sadly for her, it will now be used against her.

Isabella's fancy heels are thrown to the side as Tempest nails her toes to the floor, and Patience uses the handle of the ax to beat Isabella.

"Please! Fuck!" Isabella screams, but it falls on deaf ears.

While watching Nixen get burned and beaten turned my stomach, being in the thick of punishing the woman who made my life hell, doesn't bother me as much as I expect.

I'm not sure what that says about me, but I'll make my peace with God when it comes to it.

"You don't get mercy," I snarl, dropping my sledgehammer. My arms are getting tired. Levi hands me pincers with a smirk, and I realize it's connected to a car battery.

"Where did you find this?" I ask, breathing hard. I really need to get into the gym or something. This is a workout I didn't plan for.

"You three were busy, and didn't even notice when we returned. Hook her up to this and let her writhe," he says with a wink. "I think you'll enjoy it."

"Hook one up to her toe, and put the other on the bitch's nipple," Tempest suggests, moving to stand beside me.

Pay snorts as she rips Isabella's shirt open. "You girls know how to party," she replies. A pair of large shears are handed to her and I smirk, loving how helpful the guys are.

"What are you doing?! Wait!" Isabella begs as Patience cuts through her bra, so it gapes open.

The clamp needs to be placed on a larger area of skin, so very clinically, Tempest and Patience squeeze and pull at her nipple until it's peaked enough, and the clamp can be placed correctly.

The other is easily placed on Isabella's toe, and smiling at our handiwork, I step back with the girls, nodding for Levi to flip the switch.

"I wish Ash was here to watch her dance," he whispers as he turns it on. I can't help but agree.

There are so many evils in the world. I never thought a woman could sexually violate a man, until I spoke to Ash about the horrors he endured.

Isabella's body is racked with electrical waves from the car battery, as the high-voltage slams through her.

She stiffens and writhes with each wave that hits her, her mouth falling open in a silent scream as the pain takes her voice from her. Patience, Tempest, and I hold each other's hands as we watch impassively, as if she were nothing more than an insect.

"I wonder how long it'll take for the electricity to make her heart stop?" I ask idly. "Patience, what else do you want to do before we let her die?"

Isabella is still bleeding from the flesh wound Patience gave her when she shot her. It's not enough to kill her yet, sadly.

"I want to hack her body into little pieces," she mutters. "Fuck, that was an intrusive thought."

"Eh, we're going to kill her anyway," I say as I shrug my shoulders, before handing her the ax. There'a a meat cleaver and a machete scattered along the table as well, making me smile.

"I think this is the perfect time to let those intrusive thoughts take over. The bitch won't tell me where my daughter is. Maybe this will help loosen her tongue."

Levi turns off the battery, making it safe enough for me to get in the bitch's face.

"Where's my baby, Isabella?" I ask her.

I doubt she heard what I said about the axes. With so much pain racking through her body, the rest of her faculties are less likely to work. I know from experience, unfortunately.

"In Hell!" she screams, gasping for air as her body continues to twitch. "You don't deserve to have children, not as a sinner. You're a whore! Are you fucking all of these people?"

Rolling my eyes, I shrug. "The people in this room? I'm married to the person I happen to be fucking, thank you very much," I remind her. "I'm not the one who was running a sex trafficking ring."

"It was a business!" Isabella snarls, trying to spit at me. Levi snaps the battery back on, watching as her body dances to the tune of the electricity.

Turning it off, he says, "Let's refrain from calling my wife a whore. I, for one, am ready to go home. Anyone else? I don't think she's going to tell you, Little Sinner. I can attempt to torture it out of her for you?"

Gazing at Isabella's eyes, I see the truth shining before me, despite her pain. No matter how much we torture her, I don't think she even knows. It was all a lie. Angel isn't with her, and probably hasn't been for a while.

"Did you sell my baby?" I ask, tears filling my eyes.

"You didn't deserve her, and Draven decided that he didn't want a brat when he got divorced," Isabella sneers, triumph shining in her eyes. "How does it feel to know that no matter what, you've lost?!"

It feels like shit.

Patience presses the handle of an ax into my hand, and I take a shaky gasp. Isabella is still hooked up to the car battery, but it doesn't matter.

I raise the ax, bringing it down hard where the clamps connected to her breast, slicing her nipple right off.

Tempest, Patience, and I scream as we hack away at her body. Isabella cries and yells, until finally, I swing wide and behead her completely, effectively silencing the bitch for good.

Breathing hard, the three of us lean on each other as we toss our weapons on top of the body parts littering the ground.

"I think it's time we go home," Levi says softly. "Patience, why don't you come with us while all of this is cleaned up? Take a shower, process, and then we'll go from there."

We're covered in blood splatter, looking like living, breathing creatures of vengeance. If anyone saw us right now, we'd definitely scare them, looking like something straight out of a Halloween movie.

"A shower sounds good," Patience groans, sighing. "Maybe a nap too."

"You three deserve it," Rooke says, pressing a kiss to her temple. The blood doesn't seem to bother him.

Jacob waits for me outside the door, but he peeks his head inside. His lips purse and he nods. "Just wanted to make sure she was gone. You did good, Little Sis. You all did. Let's get out of here and torch the place."

"Has everyone been evacuated? Did you find Ash?" Levi asks and Jacob sighs, following as Jacob leads them out.

"We did. He's in one of the ambulances headed back to the Academy. He's in rough shape, but I think he's going to be okay."

"He saved me," Tempest whispers, her eyes tired and filled with tears. "Isabella tried to assault me, and Ash took the brunt instead."

Patience sighs. "Your men all seem to do the whole knight-in-shining-armor thing, huh? Jonas almost took a bullet for me earlier."

My eyes widen, and I cover my mouth as I gasp. Patience waves her hand dismissively.

"He's totally fine. Bast, on the other hand, may have gotten knocked out," she mumbles, and my feet are moving before anyone can stop me. My ribs ache, but I don't care. I have to get outside, and I'll need a ride to the Academy straight away.

OTTO

Finding out that Chastity was missing was just the cherry on top of a shit-tastic day. Rome didn't sleep for most of the night, and then Jacob and I had a huge fight before he left to go running into a psychopath's lair, all guns blazing.

He's obsessed with thinking that Tempest and I have some secret thing going on. I have never, and will never, cheat on him.

Yes, I have feelings for her. That kind of thing happens when you spend every day together for almost two years, while sharing parenting responsibilities.

I love Tempest, but once again, I would never act on those feelings without telling Jacob first. So for him to then say that if anything happens to him, I should marry Tempest and have more babies… It was hurtful.

As if I could just forget about him and move on like that.

Ugh, I'm still fucking angry about it as I help Sister Anna change diapers. Rome and Eli's stomachs did not like the prune juice Grandma Cross gave them.

"Let me take these outside so they don't stink up the place," I suggest, and Sister Anna nods.

As I leave the ceremony room and reach the main floor, my phone is going off like crazy.

I know who it is, and I'm not ready to talk to them. I'm not ready to fuck up my life, but I know it's only a matter of time.

Phillipe James is back, so it's time for some secrets to be revealed.

I take my time returning to the tunnels. The place is empty, and it's eerie. The guys will be back soon, and then I'm going to have to leave.

I'm glad that everyone's okay, for the most part, including Chastity. She never should have taken off without telling anyone.

Footsteps echo through the tunnels, and I stop. No one should be in here. I wait for them to come closer, but they seem to have stopped at Jacob's office.

Quietly moving forward, I peek into the dimly lit room. There is a man digging through the files that I happen to know quite well.

"You're avoiding my calls," he says with a sigh, looking up as I enter the office.

Phillipe James. My boss, the man I have been on assignment for for the last five years. I may not be a part of The Locked Souls Society, but I do have an important job that people don't know about.

One that's going to have Jacob's head exploding through the roof.

"I've been quite busy. Your daughter has been making a mess of things lately, and trying to keep my cover, while moving from safe house to safe house, hasn't made things easier."

"Elias, all that sounds like to me is excuses. PJ is letting her wings fly. She's learning her rightful place in the underworld. Things will mellow out, but that's not why you're here and you know it. So give me a report before they return."

"Jacob and David are clean. They have been following orders and staying within the regulations… Pierce, on the other hand…"

"Ah yes, the elusive Panther, have we been able to find him?"

I shake my head and take the seat in front of Jacob's desk. I feel gross having this chat here in a place my boyfriend considers his safe haven.

I'm not betraying him per se. I'm just doing my job. I was tasked to go undercover to make sure that Holy Cross Academy and The Locked Souls Society aren't overexerting their authority.

I never planned to fall in love… twice, or become a father to an amazing little boy that I would not only die for, but kill for.

"That's concerning, considering his secret meetings with my father a few months ago. We will need to watch out for him, but for now, we need you to go to the compound and retrieve any data you can get off of Isabella's hard drive. As well as trash the whole place. Don't leave any information behind. We have a few people available to help, but we need our best hacker—you."

"Yeah, yeah I think after this you owe me a raise. Do you know how badly this is going to blow up in my face?" I complain and he laughs.

"Jacob will come around. We all have a role to play in life. If anyone understands that, it's him."

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to deal with his cold shoulder, silent treatment, and sulking," I mumble, then stand and leave his office as he laughs the whole place down.

He is so going to get me cock blocked. Fuck my life.