Page 27 of Forbidden Empire (Sinful Gods #1)

Fourteen

E SME

Gunfire. Like the world’s angriest drum line pounding against the walls, and then my heart, then everywhere.

I jerked, hard, the zip ties biting deeper into my wrists, panic in my mouth. I twisted, shoving the chair legs across concrete, ignoring the pain screaming up my back.

Sweat dripped into my eye, the one Rhea’s ring had gotten up close and personal with, leaving it all puffy and split.

Sweet flaming hell, it burned. I squirmed, shoulders howling, and reached for my stiletto.

The heels had seen better days. I was going to see another one, if I could just…

Yes. Got it. My fingers fumbled the tiny catch, and the heel’s secret compartment snapped open.

In a room this small, the click might as well have been a gunshot.

“Fuck yes.” It came out in a wet croak, my split lip stinging as I sucked in a breath.

Razor blade pinched between fingers, hands shaking so bad I almost dropped it.

Blood on my chin, sweat everywhere, ribs on fire, all thanks to Rhea’s goons.

The memory flashed, ugly and full of Rhea’s smeared lipstick and laughter. She’d watched her guards work me over. Laughed harder every time someone’s fist smacked into my face.

The plastic ties would not go. The razor was dull, and my hands were slippery. I sawed anyway, frantic, while gunshots kept count in the halls.

Each cut, closer. Each heartbeat, faster. Finally, the zip ties gave, my arms flopping forward like they’d died.

Pins and needles, stars behind my eyes, and I nearly screamed, but bit down instead, tasting blood.

Outside, boots stomped. Rhea’s guy was clueless. The gunfire rolled away, deeper into the building. Bought me a minute, maybe two.

Not much, but I could work with it.

Something in my head snapped into survival mode. The zip ties had left angry red welts on my wrists, and as I pressed my ear against the door, my heart pounded so loud I couldn’t hear anything else. One breath. Two. Nothing. Absolute silence beyond.

Fuck it.

My fingers were shaking as I gripped the cold metal knob, turning it millimeter by excruciating millimeter. The hinges whined—a whisper, but enough to make me freeze. A sliver of light. Then a little more.

One guard. Broad shoulders, back toward me. Pistol on his hip, black and gleaming under the washed-out fluorescents. Holster strap open. Sloppy. He shifted his weight, keys jingling on his belt. Scratched the side of his neck. No clue I was even there.

The razor felt pathetically fragile between my fingers as I stepped into the room. Three careful steps. Bare feet against freezing concrete. I kept my breathing shallow, steady. Close enough now to catch the cheap, pine-scented aftershave.

I rose on my toes. One arm wrapped around him for balance. The blade drew across his throat, deep and clean, opening him ear to ear. Hot blood sprayed, covering my hand, my wrist, dotting my face, warm and wet.

He convulsed, grabbing at the wound as he collapsed to his knees. He turned his head to the side, his eyes were wide, disbelieving. Then empty. The gurgle as he tried to talk. The way the light vanished as he fell forward.

I wiped my hand on my dress and grabbed the pistol from his holster. The weight of it was grounding. I ejected the magazine. Full. Popped it back in, racked the slide, safety off.

Another door. More captivity. Like Russian nesting dolls, just layers of locked rooms. I pressed my ear to the next door.

This time: voices. And then, his.

"Where the fuck is Esme, Rhea?" Aidon’s asked, clipped, cold, furious.

A jolt went through me. He came. He came for me.

I cracked the door, ready to spring out, but stopped cold at what I saw. Aidon and Rhea were in each other’s faces, and Rhea was grinning that nasty, twisted grin of hers.

Two of her men stood behind her, both of them looking pissed, blood all over their clothes, guns pointed at Aidon. His hands were up.

My heart pounded so loud I thought they’d hear it.

I had to move. Fast.

If I hesitated, Aidon and I were dead. This was one of those situations where you didn’t get a second chance.

I slid the door open and crept behind them. One shot. Then another. Both bullets went straight through the backs of their heads. They dropped like rocks.

That was all it took for Rhea to snap. She launched herself at Aidon, punching him hard as she closed in. Time practically froze as the two of them went at it.

Aidon shook off her punch, blocked the next, then slammed his elbow into her face. Her nose gushed blood, but she kept going, landing another punch on him.

They were both fighting like they’d been waiting for this.

Rhea stepped back, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and then gave him this bloody, twisted sneer. And she laughed.

Aidon’s face twisted, all sharp lines and fury. “You think you can just take what’s mine?”

Rhea grinned, blood staining her lips. “Darling, I already did.”

“She was never yours to take,” he snapped, low and dangerous.

Rhea dove at him again. He knocked her fist aside, but she spun on her heel, and her boot slammed into his thigh. She landed lightly, and suddenly there was a knife in her hand, pulled from her boot like she’d done it a thousand times.

The blade caught the fluorescent light. It sliced, ripping cloth and nicking his skin; a thin red line appeared on Aidon’s thigh.

The gun felt steady in my grip. I squeezed the trigger. Rhea screamed, grabbing at her arm, blood pouring between her fingers where my bullet tore through.

I stepped forward, gun aimed right at her, finger tight on the trigger and ready to finish it.

Aidon’s broad shoulders slid in front of me, blocking the shot. I cursed under my breath.

Rhea staggered back, blood dripping. Her laughter echoed off the concrete as she slipped away.

“Enjoy your prize while you can, Aidon,” she called out. “We both know this isn’t over.”

Her words bounced off the concrete, sharp and ringing. I slid past Aidon, gun steady, tracking her every move as she darted for the exit.

Rhea’s hand disappeared into her pocket. Something small and black flashed under the ugly fluorescent lights. Her thumb slammed down.

And then everything blew apart. It was like getting punched in the face by the sun; heat roared over my skin, concrete rained down, and I hit the ground so hard the air left my lungs. My head was buzzing, my eyes stung, and smoke filled the space where Rhea had been.

Strong arms caught me, crushing me tight against a solid chest.

“Jesus, Esme.” Aidon’s voice was thick, barely making it through the ringing in my ears.

I reached for him, fingers coming back red and wet.

“You’re bleeding,” I said, trying to see how bad it was.

He gripped me tighter, his heart beating wild against my cheek. “Doesn’t matter.” He sounded wrecked. “Tell me you’re okay.”

“It’ll take more than this to knock me down,” I managed, even though my face was throbbing.

His jaw was set. “She’s dead. Next time I see her, she’s fucking dead.” He hauled me upright. “Ares and the rest are waiting. We’ve gotta move.”

“Move where?” I blurted without thinking.

Something flickered across his face, quick and hard. “Where else? I’m taking you home.”

His hand clamped over mine, dragging me forward, straight into hell. Where were we headed?

No matter. All that mattered was not dying.

The walls moved, alive with fire, flames crawling up and spitting embers like dying stars. Smoke clawed at my throat with every breath.

I coughed, yanked my sleeve up, and tried to keep breathing. Gunfire didn’t stop. It hammered, constant, growing louder with each step as we tore through the burning house.

Aidon stopped and backed against the wall with a slam. The click and slide as he reloaded echoed between shots.

“Ares is pinned with my crew,” he said, eyes burning orange in the firelight. “We go in hot.”

I checked my gun. It felt heavy. Real. The only thing that was.

“Behind you,” I said. “I’m ready.”

Aidon snarled and lunged, leaving a messy trail of blood on the floor and up the wall. I wanted to stop him, or at least slow him down, but it was pointless. He wasn’t going to listen, and honestly, I’d die before letting anything happen to him. For now, we just had to keep moving.

We rounded the corner, guns raised and firing.

Ares and his men were completely outnumbered, doing a shit job of holding their ground. We came just in time and, from behind, picked off most of Rhea’s crew.

The only thing that mattered was getting out of there. So we booked it for the exit, shooting as we ran, lighting up the perfect target for the last few guys left.

They emptied their magazines, bullets screaming past us and pinging off the walls as we sprinted for safety.

The zing of pain as a bullet ripped open my side almost dropped me. My hand flew to my ribs, and I hissed, fighting the urge to stop.

Blood oozed out, hot and sticky, but I didn’t slow down. I just clenched my fists and kept running, sweat popping on my forehead.

Breathe, Esme. Just breathe.

My jaw locked as I dove behind a couch to get out of the line of fire. Aidon dropped to the floor next to me, his eyes going straight to my bloody hand. He didn’t even have to say anything.

“You’ve been shot!” His eyes were wide and wild. “Fuck.”

“I’m fine,” I said, my tone flat, determined.

He practically vibrated with anger, scanning me up and down as he considered his next move. “Stay here. I’ll come back after I kill these fuckers!”

He was seething, on another level of pissed, maybe even crazy. But there was no way I was going to sit tight.

“I don’t take orders from you, Aidon.”

He glared at me, jaw tight. He might have actually growled, all annoyed and exasperated.

Two quick shots from him, and somewhere in the house, then bodies hit the floor. He didn’t even blink, just shot me a look.

“You’re fucking stubborn, you know that?” The way he spat it out almost made me laugh if I wasn’t in so much pain.

Then he grabbed me around the waist, hoisted me up, and tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. I screamed—the pain rocketed through me, white-hot and blinding.

Aidon didn’t let up. He held on, carrying me out of there while Ares, covered in blood, cleared the way, and more bloodied bodies crashed down as we barreled to the front door.

The whole house reeked of smoke, fire eating everything in its path. It was loud, chaotic, but we kept moving.

Outside, Aidon didn’t slow down. He took me straight to his car, hands digging into my side like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go.