Page 67 of Lust & Lies

NOELANI

THE PAIN IN MY SIDE jerked me back into reality. But I won’t lie, the ache from that memory of the past was almost worse than the agony my body was experiencing in the present. The Aiden from that memory was the one I loved.

He was the one who’d kneeled with me in the past and gave me forehead kisses in the present. Could it really be a misunderstanding that forced us apart? I couldn’t put it past Grandpa Park and my sister to have done something cruel to bring us to where we are today.

If only I could remember everything at once and not these heartbreaking fragments. Muffled voices forced my mind back to my current situation. I hadn’t been out for long. I awakened in time to realize I was being shoved into the back seat of a car.

I couldn’t let them take me. I had to make it to Gertrude. They pushed me into the car, then slammed the door. I lay there, staring at the back of the front seats. This was so much like the night my sister and her boyfriend drugged and kidnapped me, taking me to Aiden.

But we’d crashed, and I’d ended up hurt with my memory gone. Who knew what would happen if I let these bastards take me? I’d had enough of living my life according to someone else’s plan.

I was done being taken here and there against my will. And to make matters worse, one of these bastards had stomped on my stomach. Oh, hell no! Because of these fuckers, my side was bleeding, my head was throbbing, and every part of me ached.

My killer instincts had been dormant. But they’d awakened something dark in me. Something cold. Something disturbing. Something vicious. Something that was determined to survive at all costs.

I watched them climb into the front seats, confident that they’d completed their mission. A mission wasn’t complete until your target was no longer breathing. And I would continue to fight as long as there was air in my lungs.

Since I had no weapons, I would have to fight with my hands. Oh, wait. There was the knife in my boot. If I could... just... reach... it. Pain shot through my side as I brought my knee up while inching my hand down.

Almost got it. You can do this, Noe. You can... do... this. Got it!

But damn, if it hurt that bad just to reach for the blade, how was I going to fight my way out of this situation? The driver turned to look into the back seat. Closing my eyes, I forced myself to stay as still as I could, pretending to be out cold.

Before closing my eyes, I noticed that both drivers had on masks like mine, except theirs were black. Definitely Watchdogs.

“So this is the legendary Mist?” the driver sneered. “She didn’t put up much of a fight. Shit, this bitch didn’t fight back at all. Her reputation must be fake. Mr. Park and the Leader kept warning us to be careful of her. But she was probably my easiest capture.”

“Just keep your guard up,” the guy in the passenger seat said as the driver started the car. “I’ve worked with her before. She’s not to be underestimated.”

“Oh, right. You’re a member of her team,” the driver mused.

A member of my own team wanted me dead? You disloyal prick!

“Shut up!” the disloyal prick snapped.

“What? She’s unconscious.”

“Just be careful of what you say,” the guy in the passenger seat told him. “Plus, she isn’t herself right now. She seemed disoriented or something. Trust me, you don’t want to meet her when she’s herself.”

“If you say so,” the driver drawled, sounding unconvinced.

“Just drive. We need to get her to the spot Viper designated as soon as possible.”

“We’ll be there in no time,” the driver stated as he drove off, gravel crunching under the tires.

“Plus, Viper and the Leader are at the Orchard now, looking for Mist. We’ll tell the Leader we lost Mist in the woods.

He’ll believe she escaped. And the search for Mr. Park’s favorite Watchdog will continue. ”

The Leader.

Mr. Park.

Clearly, they weren’t the same two people because these guys kept referring to them separately. I knew they were referring to Aiden’s grandfather when they said Mr. Park. But I had no idea who the Leader was.

Was he a friend or a foe, like the viper person they spoke of? I’d find out soon. Right now, I needed to make a move before we ventured too far away from the orchard. For this to work, I’d have to wound the passenger first.

The driver would be too busy trying not to wreck to be much of a threat. Once the passenger was wounded enough for him to be distracted, I’d take out the driver, then finish the passenger off.

That was the plan. It was now or never. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, forcing my mind off the pain. I released the breath slowly, trying to rid my body of lingering fears and doubts. Fear and doubt caused you to hesitate.

There was no room for hesitation tonight. No room to be squeamish at the sight of blood. These people wanted me dead. I could not, would not, feel sorry for taking their lives. I mean, I probably would cry about it later, when I was alone, in bed.

But not right now. No tears for the wicked. I let that thought fill me and strengthen my resolve until finally, I was ready to act without hesitation. It’s time to fight, Mist! Opening my eyes, I attacked.

I sat up fast and leaned forward. I stabbed the passenger in the throat, once, twice, three times, before he even realized what was happening. I closed my eyes briefly as blood splattered across my face.

The driver swerved, yelling at me to get my ass back. I turned on him and stabbed. He jerked the wheel, making me miss my mark, his throat. Instead, my blade sliced across his cheek. Damn!

The driver’s curses filled the space just as the passenger grabbed a fistful of my ponytail and yanked me backward. I sprawled across his lap, my back pressed against his thighs, the contents of the console biting into my legs.

The driver took advantage of my situation by reaching over and punching me in the stomach, while still trying to steer. Swallowing down bile, I kicked him in the face, gritting my teeth against the sharp pain in my ankle.

Pain was temporary. Death was forever. I could endure this pain. The passenger wrapped his fingers around my throat, choking me, his blood pouring over me from the wound in his neck.

Even as I lay across the passenger’s lap, struggling to breathe, I continued kicking at the driver, boot landing hits against his face and neck. When my foot slipped against the blood on his face, I started aiming for his neck alone.

The driver swerved again. Our bodies jolted as the car slammed into something. I assumed it was a tree, but I couldn’t see it. My eyes were on the ceiling as I kept kicking at the driver. Light flooded the vehicle. Someone was approaching.

Damn it.

The passenger was growing weaker. I could tell from his grip on my throat. My eyes darted his way to see him sliding his mask from over his mouth and trying to tighten it around his neck to stop the bleeding.

Seeing his face almost made me remember something. Almost. But it faded away. However, I was sure I knew this man, with his short blonde hair and green eyes. The driver had let slip that this man was a member of my team.

Even more reason for me to make sure he was unable to stop the bleeding in his neck. I wanted this betrayer to bleed out. Let’s see which one of us would get what we wanted. I stabbed his wrist, making him release my throat.

Bellowing in pain, he elbowed me in the face, leaving me dazed for a moment. But at least I’d gotten him to let go of my neck. Sucking in air, I forced myself to sit up, the movement causing blood to spill from the wound in my side.

Ignoring it, I headbutted the betrayer, wanting to share that dazed feeling he’d just gifted me. Then I turned and drove my knife into the driver’s already swollen eye. When I pulled it out, blood splattered across my hand and the steering wheel.

A cry of agony erupted from the driver. But I didn’t get a chance to finish him off because the passenger just wouldn’t die already. He grabbed the back of my neck, but his grip was weak. I needed to finish this before I passed out.

I twisted my body, straddled him, and gripped his hair. I stabbed him over and over in the throat, eyes locked on his, waiting for that look that told me his soul had departed from his body. It was exactly nine stabs before the vacant look I craved filtered into his eyes, leaving his body limp.

“She’s crazy. Fucking insane,” I heard someone mutter, pulling me out of my haze.

I turned to see the driver fumbling with the door, trying to escape. I lunged, stabbing him in the side of his neck, then climbed onto his back as he stumbled out of the car. I clung to him as he staggered toward the road.

He tried to shake me off. I didn’t let go. They’d started this. But I was going to end it. I stabbed him in the neck again. Then again. Over and over until his knees buckled and he dropped to them in the middle of the dirt road.

Exhausted and panting, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked his head back. I stared into his eyes. Well, into his one good eye. The other one was bloodshot, his eyeball ruptured. His eyes pleaded with me before his mouth did.

“Please...Mist,” he whispered.

My name was not Please Mist.

“Don’t... Kill... Me.”

No sympathy. No tears for the wicked.

“Just remember,” I told him. “You came looking for death. It didn’t come looking for you.”

I sliced my dagger across his throat, feeling his warm blood spill over my hand. I released his head as he gurgled, trying to breathe. Blood poured from his mouth as he began to drown on it.

Breathing hard, I stumbled away from him. I was one with the pain now. It was still there, but it was distant. My body was mainly numb now, adrenaline keeping me standing. I faced the car lights that had been approaching earlier.

I expected to see more rogues heading for me. That wasn’t the case. I squinted, trying to see what was going on near the stalled vehicle. I saw shadows moving. Fighting. Were they fighting each other?

Watchdog vs. Watchdog?