Vengeance

FLINT KNEW HE WAS FUCKED the moment he saw Dantes start to twitch. The man was high as shit, and everyone who had experience dealing with junkies knew there was no reasoning with them in this state.

Rage simmered in his blood at the sight of Elizabeth on her knees, but he knew he’d only get them killed if he acted reckless—-

No!

It was as if something had taken over him the moment he saw Dantes grabbing a fistful of Elizabeth’s hair. Flint blacked out, violence taking over his soul, and it was only when he was in chains, watching Dantes strike Elizabeth across the face, that he snapped back to reality.

His angel was bleeding .

No, fuck, no .

And there was nothing he could do about it.

Nothing .

Except...

Help me, God .

All these years, Flint had deliberately turned his back on the promise of divine justice. He had been too proud, too hard, and too bitter. All these years, he had claimed it as his right to avenge his brother’s death.

Until now.

Because of her.

My angel .

lost its hold on him, and he could feel himself whitening as he heard Dantes ask Elizabeth to choose between them. The question made zero fucking sense, but because Dantes was stoned out of his skull, it also made perfect sense.

“The clock is ticking, sweet Beth.”

Flint willed Elizabeth to look at him. But it was as if her mind was completely lost in the shadows, her gaze haunted, her face pale.

“Don’t keep me waiting.”

Agonizing guilt ripped through Flint at the realization that all of this could’ve been prevented if he had simply let justice, through the force of law, run its course.

Help me, God .

His mind told him it was too late. That there was no way for him to save Elizabeth from the consequences of his own mistakes.

Help me .

But it was as if his soul saw and heard things that defied logic.

Please.

And when Flint saw her lips start to move—

I’m begging you, God .

—he heard Elizabeth say the worst thing she could say.

“C-Culo...”

Ah, fuck .

Shit .

Damn .

I’m sorry, God.

This is going to take some time.

I promise I’ll come clean and tell Elizabeth what that means .

But for now...

Please, God .

Because Dantes was getting ready to strike the face of his beloved angel again.

Please .

And that was when His wisdom settled in his soul, and Flint heard himself say, “You win.”

Dantes’ arm lowered, and relief blazed through Flint as the other man whirled to face him, his face contorted with confusion and rage.

Thank You .

Because Flint knew this time that it was God, not him, who had saved Elizabeth from being hurt.

“Why the fuck do you have to say what’s obvious?” Dantes snarled, his words slurred and uneven. His bloodshot eyes struggled to focus, darting wildly between Flint and Elizabeth. His hands trembled, and he kept blinking rapidly as if trying to clear the fog of drugs clouding his mind.

Flint’s gaze shifted to Elizabeth. Her face was streaked with tears, her gray eyes wide and pleading. She looked so small, so fragile, kneeling there with blood trickling from her split lip. Their eyes met, and the world seemed to stop.

He could see the fear in her gaze, but also something else—trust. She was trusting him to get them out of this, even when he felt like he was failing her.

“You said it yourself,” Flint said, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. “I don’t give up. So do you truly believe I didn’t take steps to have someone kill you if you manage to kill me first?”

Dantes whitened. "Damn you." He turned away from Flint, his movements violently erratic. One moment he was facing the windows. Another moment, he had his back to all of them. It was as if he was desperately searching for a way out...even though it was Flint and Elizabeth who were his prisoners.

“Are you familiar with the name STRAKH?"

Dantes swayed at Flint's question, and his hand slammed against the van's steel-plated wall for balance.

STRAKH was a powerful organization of vigilantes, and the way his angel jerked at hearing their name spoke volumes. There was only one thing the whole world knew about them, and it was that they were not to be messed with.

"Why the fuck are we talking about them?" Dantes sneered with false bravado. "They have nothing to do—"

"I just want to ask if you trust them."

“You think I’m crazy enough to answer ‘no’?" Dantes was sweating now, his face pale despite the drugs coursing through his veins. "You think I don’t know this is a fucking trap—”

“Call them,” Flint said calmly.

“Why the fuck would I do that?”

“Because I want to make a deal with you—”

Dantes started biting his nails.

“And STRAKH will strike down whichever of us breaks it.”

“ Fuck you, Har —”

“I’ll quit my job at the bureau.”

Dantes’ words died at Flint’s declaration.

“You also have my word that I won’t go after you—”

“And the people you asked to kill me if you’re dead?”

“They'll still get their paycheck, STRAKH will confirm to you that my orders have been canceled, and everyone goes home happy."

Dantes looked at him suspiciously, his eyes narrowing. “This sounds too fucking good to be true.”

“All I want in return is that you let Elizabeth and Sunlight go. Unharmed. I’ll forget you ever existed, and you’ll do the same.”

Tension filled the air as Dantes visibly struggled to make a decision. His hands trembled, and he kept glancing at Elizabeth, then back at Flint, as if weighing his options. The drugs were clearly making it hard for him to think clearly, but the fear of STRAKH was cutting through the haze.

Flint knew people would think him an idiot to take such a crazy gamble.

But he didn’t give a damn.

This was His wisdom, and Flint had never felt more certain in his entire life.

“I know you took my phone,” Flint said. “I have them in my Contacts. Just type six spaces, and their number will show up. Ask them anything to prove who they are to you.”

“I swear, if this is a fucking trap—”

“You won ,” Flint stressed. “That’s all there is to this.”

“And you’re doing it for her, is that it?”

Flint met Dantes’ contemptuous gaze unflinchingly. “Yes.”

The other man glanced at Elizabeth, then back at Flint, his expression torn between rage and fear.

“You’ll be on the run for the rest of your life if you kill me now,” Flint said quietly. “This is the only chance for both of us to end it.”

Dantes stared at him for what felt like an eternity, his chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. Finally, he reached for the phone, his fingers fumbling as he unlocked it.

“You better fucking be telling the truth...”