Page 24 of Cut Her Strings (Fractured Puppets #1)

Chapter 23

I Always Keep My Promises

I floated in an ethereal dreamscape. Sparrows, ravens, and jays flew around me, circling my body until they covered my entire form, blinding me. But I wasn’t afraid. Instead, I was calm, and I enjoyed the wings as they glided against my naked form. For the first time in years, I was completely at peace. We were all dead, but we were together.

“Not again,” the guttural voice broke through my tranquility. It annoyed the birds, and their wings began to move in frenzies along my body. A gap in their wings spread, and I could just make out the form of a man. He was shadowed, and I couldn’t see any distinct features; even the color of his eyes was coded in darkness. All I could really see of the man was the unmistakable sadness and desperation that clung to him.

I always keep my promises. The man’s husky voice floated through the chaos of the birds. I reached out to touch him to understand why he was so familiar yet a complete stranger.

“Wake up!” This time, the voice awoke me with a start, and I tore my eyes open.

“What’s going on?” I rasped out. Through my blurry eyes, I could see Jayce hovering above me.

“The rest of us woke up an hour ago. I was afraid something happened again.” He fell on top of me, cradling my body in his strong arms. I didn’t struggle and allowed him this solace he needed. I was in shock; I hadn’t expected to wake up.

“Happy to see you’re awake, darlin’,” Levi chimed in. I could just make out his form as he approached and grabbed my hand that wasn’t trapped under Jayce’s body. “Let the poor girl breathe.” He pulled lightly on Jayce with his free hand.

Jayce grumbled but didn’t protest.

“We all made it?” I asked, sitting up in the bed. I clearly remembered accepting my fate. Apologizing to Jayce. Knowing that I was meeting my end. This was reminiscent of when my sister attempted to end my life, except this time, I accepted it. I was ready.

“197,” Maverick stated from the foot of the bed. “Give her some space; we need to talk.”

A memory flashed to my mind. 197 trading my life for someone else’s. Me hurting him. Him kissing me. My face burned as it all flooded back.

“Give her a minute, Mav,” Enzo argued.

“No, we need to talk. There is something going on. 189’s crew held Jayce, but he just let us pass and left her alone?” Maverick’s voice filled with suspicion. “Why does he want you? What aren’t you telling us?”

Jayce turned his attention to Maverick, squaring his shoulders. “Leave her alone. He’s just a sick fuck!”

I shuddered. “I didn’t know,” I whispered.

Jayce whipped his head back to my face. Whatever he saw there caused him to swear.

Maverick ignored my distress and trucked on, “What didn’t you know? Any information you could share with us could be the difference between life and death in these games.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and prepared myself to rehash the mission that went so horribly awry it had caused me to lose myself. The few months between my escape from him and my attempted escape from the country were a blur of madness. I subconsciously rubbed my wrists along the lines of the scars. The two long, deep ones up my arms? Those were self-inflicted. But the rest? The rest were from him.

Enzo

Enzo watched as Raven stood on shaky feet; Levi and Jayce helped to lead her to the bathroom. He pushed down the volatile urge to yank her from their grips and mark his claim. He had years of practice controlling his more distasteful urges.

Instead, he focused on what they just endured. He’d felt helpless the last game, unable to do anything, but hope that his brother would come through for them. Again.

It was always Maverick fixing everything that Enzo ruined. In some ways, he was grateful that Maverick was the one that brought Levi into their fold. It was the most devastating miscalculation that Maverick ever made. Enzo rubbed his hand over his chest. He knew he would never feel right again after George’s death. The emptiness left in his wake was all-consuming. Enzo did his best to seem the happier of the brothers, but it was Maverick who coped better with George’s death.

Grief. It was an unwelcome addition that lived in the souls of nearly everyone in this country. It never dissipated. It simply evolved itself. To some, it developed into revenge. To others, it conformed to acceptance. For Maverick, it fueled his mistrust. But to Enzo? It was his penance.

How could he be angry with Levi when Enzo was the reason Violet was taken in the first place?

This secret and shame of what he had done, of the chain of events he started? It wormed its way deep inside Enzo; it crawled through his body, affecting everything he did and every action he made.

Enzo had the sneaking suspicion that he was the monster of his team. He was the one that they were meant to direct their anger towards. Not Levi. Enzo’s grief and guilt existed symbiotically. They fed on each other and grew. Every. Single. Day.

It was because of this that he didn’t hold the same mistrust as Maverick. Enzo knew how to spot a liar. He saw one every time he passed his reflection. In the clenching of his jaw, the shiftiness of his eyes, the way his skin seemed to snake against his bones.

Enzo spent several days up close and personal with Raven. He saw in her an innocent girl who was forced to harden into a fearsome woman. He admired her intensity and her passion. He could acknowledge his growing obsession. She held onto parts of herself even as the world did everything in its power to break her. He admired her, he trusted her, and unfortunately, he cared for her. Too much. Women didn’t fare well once Enzo set his sights on them. The previous women in his life always thought they could handle him, they consented, but then they would quickly realize he was serious. That he wouldn’t be changing. Inflicting pain was a necessity for him to get off.

He knew he would never choose anyone over Maverick, but it would be difficult to sacrifice her if the need came. Even still, Enzo would make the choice because he couldn’t lose the last of his family due to his carelessness.

Maverick’s hand landed on Enzo’s shoulder, bringing him out of his head. Enzo placed on his typical cheery smile.

“Give her a chance?” Enzo pressed.

Maverick narrowed his eyes at Enzo. “I don’t like how she’s affecting you.”

Enzo chuckled at that, as if he hadn’t seen Maverick’s eyes follow Raven everywhere she went. “Pot,” he coughed into his hand jokingly.

Maverick gave him a half smile, but then his focus turned to the bathroom door. “I’m beginning to think she is going to be more trouble than she’s worth.”

Enzo let out a genuine laugh from deep in his gut. “Brother, you are done for, aren’t you? A puzzle you can’t solve. Your kryptonite.” Enzo already knew he wanted the girl, but he didn’t dare give that thought any attention. He would break her.

Maverick glared at him but didn’t argue.

Raven

I was once more perched on my makeshift throne AKA a bathroom countertop. Jayce and Levi lifted me up here and I enjoyed the lessening of our height difference. Levi and Jayce faced me as we waited for the brothers to join us. I was incredibly tired of this ephemeral home of ours, but I knew we had it better than the others.

“You don’t owe them shit,” Jayce stated. “We all have secrets. We were all part of the Resistance, for fuck’s sake.” That was one thing about Jayce that hadn’t changed. As hot-headed as ever.

I put a placating hand on his shoulder, and he leaned into the touch. I didn’t particularly want to relive the moments that finally cracked my spirit. Even still, I could acknowledge that Ivan was going to be a problem.

I diverted my attention to Maverick and Enzo as they entered and took up the remaining space in front of me.

“Explain,” Maverick stated angrily.

I squeezed Jayce’s shoulder once more in reassurance before dropping it. I needed my strength to get through this conversation.

I wasn’t exactly sure which bandage to rip off first, so I started with the easier bit. “Do you all remember Ivan Volkova from the Resistance? The one who started the Retrieval Faction but then turned on the Resistance and joined the Government in taking us down?”

Maverick coiled tightly. “Yes,” he eventually hissed out.

I watched as the other men slowly nodded, unsure where this was going.

“He is 189,” I stated firmly.

“Bullshit,” Maverick snorted. “Try better on your lies.”

Enzo gave Maverick a look.

I ignored Maverick and continued, “He was my last mission.”

Jayce growled out, “Your Faction sent you after the originator of the Retrieval Faction? That was a suicide mission.”

I was beginning to suspect that was the point, but I put that line of thinking aside for a future date. “They did,” I confirmed. “He knew I was Raven, and I didn’t know it at the time, but he also knew I was the Shadow. Apparently, we were on opposing orders.” I paused. “Let me start from the beginning.”