Page 29

Phantom

S he blinked at me, her pupils blown wide, as if she was drugged. I swore, crouching by her side, but I didn’t touch her. Her words still rang loud in my head. The fact she didn’t want to marry the perfect human boy didn’t mean she wanted me, after all.

“You’re here,” she mumbled, blinking fast like she tried to see me better. “You can’t… Go away! You need to leave!”

I thought I could handle it, but the pain of another rejection shot through my chest like a bullet. I stood up, turning away from her while my throat burned with a scream of pain and rage that I couldn’t let out. I had to be quiet to stay undetected.

“Look, I’m only here to make good on my promise,” I said roughly, not looking at her. “I said I’d save you from being shipped off to an institution. Come on. We’re going.”

She tried to get up, but her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees again, breathing hard. For a moment, I forgot about my own pain.

“Doll, what’s wrong? Are you actually on drugs? What did they give you?”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. My mother… Assassins! They are looking for you. You need to run! Please, please, go! Hide before they get you!”

I reeled back, staring at her in confusion. “What assassins? Doll, are you all in there? You sound like you’re on some good shit.”

She groaned, then convulsed, whimpering from pain. I crouched by her side again, my hands itching with the need to touch her. From up close, I saw how sweaty she was. I saw blood coating her nostrils.

Uh-oh. She was bleeding.

My girl was bleeding.

“Who hurt you?” I asked, my voice falling into the low, deadly rumble of the predator while red seeped into my vision.

“I’ll be fine,” she choked out with effort. “You… Please! Abomination hunters. My mother hired them… They are looking for you.”

I paused, considering her. It could be just the rambling of a drugged girl. Hell, maybe she took something or was dosed to get through the wedding. And no wonder, since she evidently didn’t want to get married. I heard her “no” loud and clear when I watched the ceremony hidden in the church loft in the back.

I’d watched her for the past week, looking for evidence that she had been forced to push me away. I found nothing. My girl was perfectly happy, smiling, dancing, and going through tons of beauty treatments in preparation for the wedding.

With no more hope left, I came here to witness her betrayal in person. This was supposed to be closure. Instead, I saw her defy her family and get dragged away. The promise I made to her burned in my chest, and so I came here, knowing how she’d be punished for her defiance.

“I haven’t seen any abomination hunters around,” I said slowly. “I didn’t even know it was a thing in this country.”

“Please!” she grabbed my armored hand in a shaky hold, her eyes wild as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Three Russian men! They kill your kind with chains! Shoot through the eye. Please, you need to hide!”

“Russian?”

I saw three Russians lurking around the property when I started stalking Barbara. They were big and burly, wore tactical vests and carried guns. I assumed they were new bodyguards that were brought in after I was fired.

“Please!” she begged again, shaking as she sobbed. “They will kill you! I saw what they do. I’m begging you, go!”

I didn’t move. A sudden suspicion burst into flame in the graveyard of my broken heart. I was almost afraid to say it out loud, but if she was telling the truth, we had no time. I shook myself off and put my hand on top of hers, staring into her terrified face.

“Doll. How long have they been around? Those hunters?”

She hiccupped, trying to sit up. I helped her, my hands lingering on her shaking arms. She seemed somehow smaller and weaker than only two weeks ago. My heart wrenched with horrible rage.

“Ever since I told you to go,” she whispered, clutching the front of my jacket. “I had to. If I hadn’t made you leave, they would have killed you. Please! There is still time.”

I nodded, a sudden cold blowing through my mind until everything sharpened, finally bright and crystal clear.

“Why are you so weak?” I asked, my voice sounding far away. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Her white wedding gown was free of blood, but I had to make sure she could wait until I dealt with all the immediate threats.

She shook her head. “I… Mind manipulator. He tried to make me say ‘I do’. I resisted.”

My chest swelled with pride. “Brave doll,” I whispered. “Okay. They are looking for me, right? I guess I’ll have to find them first, then.”

Her eyes widened in terror. “No! You don’t understand what they do! They are lethal, and you can’t…”

I pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. “You protected me,” I whispered, a flood of grateful appreciation pouring into my chest. “Now let me protect you.”

She groaned, trying to stand up. She got as far as a chair at a heavy wooden table. I huffed, helped her sit, and turned to my weapons bag. It was filled with all my favorite toys, but I couldn’t carry all of it while I hunted down the three Russians. I bent down to grab a machine gun, when something popped in the corridor outside. The lock burst, the door slowly swinging open.

“Get down!” I roared, toppling the table at the last moment to give her cover. “Stay there!”

I confirmed with one look that she was huddled safely behind the table before I threw my knife, barely missing one of the Russians, who pulled his head back at the last moment. The knife embedded in the doorframe. I tightened my armor, getting ready to fight.

Bullets flew into the room. I covered my eyes with my arm as they ricocheted off my armor. I shot a glance at Barbara. The table top was sturdy, and she was safe enough behind it. Still, shooting was a risk. I advanced. The room was red, my instincts activated.

I had one goal now: to kill.

Before I got to the door, one of the men came in, swinging his chain. I kept my distance, eyeing it. It was a sturdy, long chain, and if it wrapped around me, my mobility would be impaired.

“Abomination hunters, huh?” I asked while he watched me, working the chain to keep me at a distance. “Fuck, guys. Way to choose a career. How much do you make a year? Do you get health insurance? Dental? Maybe I can join?”

The man was silent, keeping his eyes on me. As fast as lighting, I threw another knife, aiming for his thigh. He swung with his chain, and the knife clattered to the floor behind him.

Fuck. Okay. They weren’t amateurs.

The two other men filed in, both wielding chains. I thought longingly about my bag that held everything I needed to blow each of them ten new holes. On me, I had only knives and also grenades, which I wouldn’t use for fear of hurting my doll.

“ Bey !” The first guy, who had an ugly red scar running down his cheek, swung at me with the chain, as fast as a cobra. I stepped back to avoid it and he pushed closer, giving me an unhinged grin.

“You dance like bear in a circus, ah?” he said in a thick Russian accent.

“Yeah, and you are the clowns,” I said, returning his grin.

He swung at me again. I caught the chain and pulled hard, bringing him to his knees. I threw a kick at his face, breaking his nose in one go. He fell back into a small table with a fancy flower arrangement, which landed on top of his head.

While he was busy getting orchids out of his hair, his two friends swung at me in unison. I bent back to avoid the chains, my arm falling back to lean on the floor. I got a clear view of the crystal chandelier hanging right above me from the ceiling. Damn, this place was fancy.

The chains crossed above my stomach and pulled away. I straightened in a rush and sent another knife flying. It grazed one guy’s arm but didn’t do more damage.

“So, how about that dental? Casual Fridays?” I asked, bracing myself to attack.

The first guy got up, his face covered in blood. The other two swung at me again, perfectly in sync. I rolled on the floor, aiming to kick the middle guy in the nuts. He stepped back at the last moment, while the guy on the left leapt deeper into the room. I was surrounded, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was, I wasn’t between them and my doll anymore.

“Oh, you did it now,” I said, crimson flooding my brain.

I jumped at the guy whose nose I broke. He tried to block me with his chain, but I flung it aside, getting his jaw with an uppercut. He punched me back, but I barely felt it. Not wasting a second, I jabbed his nose again. He stumbled back with a scream of pain.

While I dealt with him, his friend got a chain around my neck. I leaned forward and treated him to a high donkey kick.

“Oof!” He stumbled back but still held on tight.

I kicked him again until he let go, and I turned fast, murder on my mind. Grabbing my last knife from my belt, I dropped to one knee and sank it in his thigh.

Before he even made a sound, I pulled the knife out. He’d bleed faster this way. I turned, still low on my knees, and jabbed with the knife at the third guy. He got me with his chain, which briefly wrapped around my wrist. I pulled hard, using the hold he had on me to bring him closer, and kicked up, landing one between his legs.

He barely huffed. Fucker wore a groin guard. I dropped the knife to grip the chain, but he pulled it back, making me sprawl on the floor.

“Come on, let the old nuts breathe a little,” I grunted, rolling away to get back on my feet.

I didn’t make it. A boot landed on my nape, Broken Nose barking something in muffled Russian. I got my arms underneath me and did the hardest pushup in my life, grunting as I lifted not just my weight, but his, too. The guy stumbled away, but before I could get up, a chain hit the side of my head, rattling my brain.

That was fine. My head liked a bit of a shakedown.

I jumped to my feet, pirouetting away until I was face to face with Broken Nose. Another chain hit my ass, and I laughed, wasting a second to wiggle my bum tauntingly. My little dance done, I grinned and hit Nose with my head. He fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

“One down,” I announced cheerfully, grabbing the chain that had just wrapped around my middle.

I pulled the guy holding it closer, but he fought, his teeth bared, veins jumping on his forehead. While I was busy with him, his friend swung his chain at my legs. It wrapped around my ankle, and before I could react, the guy tripped me. I fell back, managing to turn to my stomach at the last moment.

In the matter of a second, another chain wrapped around my neck . A gun swung into view as one of them straddled my back with a grunt. He grabbed my skull, his fingers finding purchase in my eye sockets.

The gun came closer as he raised my head with effort. Realization hit me. I was going to die. Actually die.

I couldn’t protect her anymore.

“I’m sorry, doll,” I whispered.