Page 76 of Seduce & Destroy

In. Out. In. Out. Was that even Grant? It can’t be.

“Breathe, Laney.”

“I can’t– he just? Did you not see that?”

“Shhh.” He dropped his hand and moved it to the door handle.

“No!” I shout too loud. “No. You can’t go out there.”

He nodded, tilting his head to the side. “Stay safe, Lane.” And he opened the door and ran.

“Neenan, no! Neenan.” I hissed too late. The tears that dried on my cheeks were washed away by new ones. God, I hate crying. Why am I always crying? It’s so fucking annoying. I wiped my tears away aggressively.

This time I couldn’t just sit here and wait for others to sort out the problems of the family. If this was going to be my legacy, I needed to command it.

Dr Borley was doing chest compressions. I choked back the bile that tickled the back of my throat. I bowed my head, praying, pleading, wishing that I wasn’t so familiar with loss. His hand felt warm enough when I gripped it and leaned down to whisper in Father’s ear. “I’m going to fix this.”

“That’s not a good idea, Miss Ravencroft.” Dr Borley interrupted.

“Was it a question, doctor? Fuck off.”

This wasn’t me, but it was going to be. And with that, I opened the door. Neenan was already out of sight, but Grant spotted me immediately. Running toward me with arms outstretched. He wasn’t going to slow my momentum, though. If he wanted to fight, he would get it. He helped train me after all.

“Laney, run. Get anywhere away from here.”

I pulled the knives from my thigh. “Tell me the truth. Why did you do that?”

“It can’t be stopped, Laney, please. They’ll kill you.”

My eyes squinted and flitted down to his uniform. The raven emblem that usually sat on his arm was replaced by a pomegranate. Karstein.

I looked him in the eye. “Was it you this whole time?” Grant had been with us for longer than I had conscious memory. I thought he trusted me. “My whole life.”

He didn’t respond. I had my answer. “I wish you no harm.” He said, bowing his head, but it didn’t calm me. The guns were still in his hands.

“How many of you are there?”

“The only Ravencrofts left were the ones at the funeral and those that surrendered.” That wasn’t a number. “I can count the living on one hand.”

Christ.

I grabbed the emblem off his arm, the ripped material was scrunched in my hand as I turned on my heel and walked toward the house. The country home that held too many memories.

The door was open, and a pair of men were standing smoking. One of the men had a white substance, powdered on the back of his hand. Obviously, they thought the battle was over. How wrong they were. They looked at me suspiciously before taking another inhale of the powder with a laugh after he saw the material wrapped around my fist.

Too bad he didn’t see the knife held there too. I swiped my arm out and neatly sliced both of their throats.

Funny how a line can be lethal.

Party over.

The artwork that decorated my home, that celebrated my family, and me, was destroyed. Canvases torn, glass shattered and stained from the blood that was sprayed all over the floor. It blended with the maroon of the carpet, the smell no less pervading.

Numerous bodies were laid in different conditions and positions on the floor. Considering the smell, some had been here for hours. We only left for the funeral four hours ago, but it was as if the whole world had tilted on its axis and the Ravencrofts had been pushed off its surface before it was set back upright.

I moved through the house, looking around each corner but finding them empty. Well, empty of breathing bodies.

It’s funny. I didn’t have a major attachment to the house or the people in it but when something so familiar was tarnished, I couldn’t help but feel as if I were out of control. As if a chapter on my life was closed before I could finish reading the last sentence. This was meant to be mine. Not the Karstein’s.