Page 39 of Always A Villain (Revenge Duet #2)

T he hum of power dies, drowning the villa in darkness. I exhale slowly, watching my team vanish into the shadows, weapons raised. My pulse pounds hard, a brutal countdown ticking in my ears.

Creed led us right to her. The sneaky bastard didn’t realize the Range Rover cameras caught everything—him luring Rory to his car.

Thought he could play games. That ends tonight.

He’s about to learn what real terror feels like.

Spencer and I are finally aligned—hate locked on the same target.

He wants Creed dead just as much as I do.

Almost makes the intitled fuck tolerable.

The DeLuca compound sits on the outskirts of Naples, a fortress of arrogance and money. DeLuca thought his security, his tech, his army of mercs would protect him. Nothing’s stopping me tonight. I’ll leave a trail of bodies from here to hell.

The skull mask is tight against my face, my breath hot against the fabric. Kane shifts beside me, coiled tight, lethal. He knows. He can smell it—blood is coming.

Guards swarm the property, armed to the teeth, nerves twitching. They know something’s coming—just not what. I feel my lips curl, finger resting on the trigger. This is my playground tonight. Anyone who gets in my way dies.

“Griff,” I mutter into the comm. “Light it up.”

A beat of silence. Then, Griffen’s voice: “Fire in the hole.”

The east side of the villa erupts. A shock wave rips through the night, fire swallowing the sky. I don’t wait for the dust to settle.

“Move!”

I charge forward, my team on my heels. Bullets rip through the air, bodies drop fast. My finger pulls the trigger, each shot clean, precise—throats blown out, heads snapping back, blood painting the walls.

Gunpowder and scorched flesh choke the air. Kane’s snarl cuts through, a warning, before he rips into a guard’s throat. The gurgling is brief. Kane yanks back, blood dripping from his fangs.

Good boy.

This is what I do. Unleash hell. Make nightmares real. Every life snuffed out is a message—I’m coming for her.

“We’ve got company!” Arsen shouts, his rifle spitting fire as more of DeLuca’s men spill out.

“Keep ’em busy,” I order. “I’m getting Rory.”

“Go!” Arsen barks back. “We’ll cover you!”

I sprint. Kane’s at my side, growling, ready to kill. My mask is smeared with blood, sweat slicks my skin. Gunfire roars, bullets slicing past as I tear up the stairs. The villa shakes from the chaos, screams bouncing off marble walls.

Reaching the door, I kick it in. Wood splinters, the impact rattling through my bones.

A guard stares, wide-eyed, gun lifting. Too slow. Kane lunges, teeth sinking deep. The man shrieks and thrashes. Kane rips. A wet, crunching snap.

I don’t stop to watch him die.

Another guard rounds the corner, weapon raised. Kane moves first. Faster. He slams into him, jaws locking onto his throat. A second shot never comes. Crunch. Blood sprays the walls.

I don’t slow. I’ve memorized every inch of this place. My boots slam against marble, gun raised. I’m ready to tear this entire damn villa apart until she’s in my hands.

Ahead, double doors burst open. Guards flood through. I hit the floor, roll, fire. The first two drop, skulls splitting open. The next takes a shot to the throat, gurgling as he crumples. Blood paints the walls, pooling under shattered glass. I push forward, scanning, searching.

Rory, where the fuck are you?

A bullet sears past, grazing my shoulder. White-hot pain. I don’t flinch. Kane moves before I do, jaws locking around a guard’s throat. The bastard doesn’t even get a scream out before he’s done.

And then I see him—Antonio DeLuca. He’s standing at the far end of the room, sneering. My blood fucking boils.

“Where is she?” I growl from behind the mask.

“You’ll never find her.” He grins with a fucking punchable face.

My gun answers for me. A warning shot rips into the wall, inches from his head. The smirk falters. Another man lifts his weapon—too slow. I fire. He drops before he even registers he’s dead.

“Last chance,” I bite out, stepping closer. “Where. Is. She?”

DeLuca’s gaze flicks to the fresh corpse, then back to me, unimpressed. “That was her new husband.” He says it like a fucking joke, like he’s baiting me. “Guess I’ll have to find her another.” With a shrug, he steps over the body.

Husband.

I see red. Savagery the only response.

“The great Reaper…” DeLuca taunts. “Reduced to a lovesick?—”

I pull the trigger.

He hits the floor, eyes wide, mouth frozen mid-sentence.

Motherfucking bastard.

In the corner of my eye, movement. A gun.

I dive, but the bullet slams into my side, tearing through muscle.

A fresh burn ignites deep, but I fire back, my shot landing.

The bastard stumbles, clutching his stomach as Kane lunges, teeth sinking into his throat.

A scream. A wet, tearing sound. Then nothing.

Blood slicks my fingers. My wound pulses, leaking warmth down my side. Doesn’t matter. I’m already moving.

Kane takes off, nose locked onto her scent. I push past the agony and follow.

Then—

“AXEL!”

Her voice.

A scream, faint but there.

My chest locks up, muscles tight with urgency. Kane’s snarls turn rabid, his pace frantic.

Behind me, heavy footsteps—DeLuca’s reinforcements. They spill into the hallway, guns raised.

I don’t slow.

Bullets crack past me, slamming into the walls, shredding the marble. I duck behind cover, gun aimed. A guard drops. Then another. The scent of blood thickens, pooling in the heat of gunpowder and smoke.

I move. Keep pushing.

My gun clicks empty. Fuck.

“KANE!”

He lunges before the nearest guard can react, taking him down in a mass of thrashing limbs and screams. I reload, come up firing.

More bodies. More blood.

“Arsen, I need backup!” My breath is fire in my chest, my side screaming with every step.

“We’re pinned down!” Arsen grits out, gunfire crackling in the background.

“Un-fucking-pin yourselves.” I drop another guard, his body twitching as I shove past.

“I’m sending Griff,” he shouts back, voice drowned out by gunfire.

I round the corner into a sea of guards, each one just waiting to die. Rounds fire, bodies drop. My hands move, steady, even as my vision blurs, my body grinding to keep up.

“On your six,” Griff’s voice cuts in, and I glance back to see him coming up, gun blazing.

“Fucking took you long enough,” I grunt, a bullet grazing my arm as I duck against the wall. Pain blazes all the way down to my hand, and I grit my teeth.

Griff smirks. “So, you do bleed.”

“Shut it,” I snap, taking out the last guard in the corridor. His body collapses, lifeless, and we’re moving again, Kane right at my side.

An explosion tears through the villa, walls shaking, debris raining down. I stagger, catching my footing. Then I hear it—another terrified scream.

“RORY!” Her name rips from my throat, raw fury driving my sprint. Griff and I plow through another wave of DeLuca’s men. They’re nothing—just bodies in my way. We cut them down without slowing. Another blast shakes the ground, throwing us against the wall. We’re up in seconds, still moving.

Up ahead—coughing, strained. I raise my rifle, heart pounding. The smoke is thick, burning metal clogging my lungs.

“Shut the fuck up, you stupid bitch!” a voice snarls through the haze.

Rory’s answer is sharp. “Fuck you! Let me go!” Then—the crack of a slap. Her whimper.

That’s all I need.

I move, silent and lethal, eyes locked on the outline through the smoke.

Beside me, Kane lets out a low growl. He can smell her. Smell him. I snap my fingers once—barely—and he stops, his body trembling with restraint .

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” Creed sings, mocking. “Show yourself, Reaper. Or I’ll shoot your precious girl.”

“Creed.” My voice is pure murder. The bastard comes into view, standing near the broken wall, moonlight outlining his shape. His gun’s pressed to Rory’s temple, his arm locked around her waist.

“Let her go.”

She’s a mess. Red dress torn, bruises blooming across her skin, blood streaked down her temple. His hand grips her waist too tight, digging in. She fights, but he yanks her harder against him.

“No,” Creed laughs. “You’ll have to shoot through her.”

Then, slow as fuck, he rips the strap of her dress down, exposing her tits. His hand clamps over one, squeezing. Her cry—broken, small—sends a rage through me so hot, so consuming, it takes every ounce of restraint to hold myself back.

“You fucking piece of shit,” I snarl, gun already raised, finger twitching on the trigger. One shot. That’s all it’d take. But he’s using her as a shield. If I fire now, I risk hitting her. I can’t risk that.

Kane growls, stepping forward.

“Keep that fucking dog back,” he snaps. “Or I’ll put a bullet through his fucking head.”

“Creed.”

“Take one more step, and she’s dead,” he warns.

Rory’s voice is barely above a whisper. “Axel…”

“Shut the fuck up,” Creed spits, jamming the gun harder into her skull .

She sobs, and I grit my teeth. “Let. Her. Go.”

Creed smirks, his hand tightening over her chest, squeezing hard enough to make her flinch. “She’s mine. My ticket out of here.”

I’m done talking.

“Griff,” I murmur into my comms. “Remember Sudan?”

“Yeah,” Griff’s voice comes through.

“Think you can pull that shit off again?”

Silence. Then, deadly serious— “Hell. You better make it fast.”

“Give me one fucking opening.”

Creed’s head snaps up, eyes narrowing. “What the fuck are you whispering about?”

His nerves crack, finger twitching on the trigger. He’s jumpy now, his body language giving him away. He’s desperate. Good.

“You really think you’re walking out of here?” I taunt, voice calm. I need him off balance. I need him distracted. “With her?” I nod at Rory.

“Either you let us go, or I’ll blow her fucking brains out,” he spits, his grip tightening like a noose. “This little bitch is my insurance policy. And I plan to have some fun with her along the way.”

My blood runs ice cold.

“Axel, do something,” Rory cries.