Page 118 of Raphael

“I’m not leaving without her,” I gritted. “I’ll check the south end of the building. You two get the women out of here.”

Alexei didn’t look too good. The usually unmoving cold Russian had sweat beading on his temples. He didn’t need another prompt, he started to urge women towards the door. He was a scary motherfucker, and in his state, I wasn’t sure whether he was scaring them even more.

A tug on my sleeve and I stilled, then lowered my gaze. A woman, about five foot tall, stood in front of me, fear clear on her battered face. She couldn’t be more than twenty, her odd colored eyes staring at me.

She pointed to the southern wall and I followed her finger, but didn’t get what she was trying to say. My eyes flicked to Sasha, wondering if he maybe saw something I couldn’t. He just shrugged his shoulders.

“White hair,” she rasped and my back tensed. She pointed to the same spot. Was Sailor here? I couldn’t see anyone.

I strode towards the area. The corner was empty. But it was then that I spotted it. The crack in the wall. I glanced over my shoulder and met the young girl’s eyes. She nodded.

“Gracias.” An acknowledgment nod. “Sasha, help your brother and take the women to safety. I’ll continue here.”

“You can’t-”

“I didn’t ask you what I can do,” I gritted. I’d find Sailor, dead or alive. Leaving without her wasn’t an option. “Take the women to safety. If I don’t make it back, I made arrangements. Caine will stay with Gabriel. Alexei already gave me his word he’d take him.”

Aurora and Alexei would care for him as if Gabriel was their own.

Sasha’s jaw tightened. He didn’t agree with my decision. He wouldn’t understand it until he found his own woman.

“Going home without her body isn’t an option,” I told him.

“What is it with all of you going all crazy stupid over your women,” he muttered, then he flashed me a grin. “You better be back. Because our boat is not leaving without you.”

I pulled another detonator out, then pushed it against the door. Sasha hustled out with Alexei and the women, urging them towards the entrance. As the last one left the room, the explosion blasted and shook the walls of the building.

I was running out of time. We might end up buried here if I had to use one more detonator. As the dust settled, I could see the path down another hallway. Darker. More ominous.

I reloaded my magazine, then stepped through the debris and stones. The moment I stepped into the space, I could see there are doors on each side of the wall. The cold stone hallway was a lot bigger on this side, every so often opening to a wider space where more cells were housed.

Some empty cells. Others were full of dead bodies. Lifeless eyes of young women. Lives cut short.

“Reina?” I roared. I could feel the numbness filling me, the old fear of losing something precious growing with each step I took. Then I reached another set of stairs. Leading further down into the dirt.

Into hell.

How fucking appropriate!

I took the spiraling steps, taking me further and further down into the pits of darkness and hell. The dust and mold seemed heavier down here. The scent of blood overpowered all other smells.

It was when I reached the bottom step that I finally saw her.

My black heart stopped beating.

All the air released from my lungs in a rush. It was right there and then that I knew, I was nothing without her. I couldn’t live without her. I’d burn down this motherfucking world for her.

She was chained, facing the wall, her platinum blonde hair barely recognizable. Dirt and blood stained it now. That hair that usually shined like platinum gold hung loosely down her back, parts of it stuck against her skin, hiding some of her whipped and bloodied back.

The pain that slashed through me was as deep as those whip marks on her back.

Please, don’t let me lose her,I prayed for the first time in a long time to all the Saints my mamma kept praying to.

My wife hung, spread eagle, with her arms and legs chained, her clothes shredded to unrecognizable rags. Her pale skin was a canvas of dirt, bruises, and blood. Her head hung loose, like that of a broken angel.

Her arms, back, and legs were covered in gashes, and at this moment I felt them as if they were my own. I fucking wished they were so she’d be spared. She hadn’t moved.

Her body was deathly still. Too motionless.