Page 39

SYDNEY

My heart was beating so loudly that I couldn’t tell if it was my blood pumping or gunshots following me as I took the stairs two at a time in pursuit of Kaito.

There was no way I was going to let him get away. I knew the cops wouldn’t know about the back entrance. They had intentionally designed it to resemble the alley wall.

Kaito was much faster than I’d given him credit for. By the time I reached the parking garage, he was inside his car and backing out of the parking space. I slowly opened the zipper of my crossbody purse and reached inside. I fumbled with the gun, and it caught on the opening.

“Dammit!” I shouted as I heard Kaito’s car revving as he took off straight toward the entrance. I jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being clipped by his car.

I knew if I didn’t act fast, any chance I had of revenge would be gone in minutes.

I ran over to AJ’s car, unlocking it and quickly slipping into the driver’s seat.

I shoved the key into the ignition, spinning it until the car roared to life under me.

I took off out of the parking garage. Thankfully, Kaito must have had trouble at the garage entrance because he was only a short distance ahead.

I slammed my foot on the gas as a flash of darkness caught my eye.

I flew past AJ, who had come to a stop outside of the alleyway that led from the back entrance.

I knew I couldn’t pick him up. He would probably attempt to stop me if he knew what I was really going to do tonight. I had to have faith that a guy like AJ could get away from the police without a vehicle. And if he didn’t? Then I’d bail him out … somehow.

I raced after Kaito. Within minutes, the sky opened, and it began to rain. Which made the roads slick after a week of nice weather. I felt AJ’s car’s tires grip the street and was thankful he drove a car built for these kinds of high speeds around corners.

Kaito was surprisingly good at driving for a man who was driven everywhere he went. Looked like he was full of surprises. I’d have to be extra careful tonight. Make sure he didn’t get the upper hand at all.

I wasn’t even sure if he was aware he was being followed the first ten minutes, but then he picked up the pace, choosing to go up a narrow road that went through heavily wooded streets.

I kept up with him as our speeds increased.

My heart pounded with the raindrops splattering against my windshield as I turned the wipers up higher.

He slammed on his brakes, and I swerved just in time. I stepped on mine as he made a ninety-degree turn onto another street.

“Dammit!” I snarled as I reversed the car and turned onto the street.

He had gotten a bit of a lead, but I could still just see his taillights as he rounded a corner. I had to be careful. There were no lights on this road. It was an incline, and the rain was coming down harder now.

“Go faster!” I shouted as I pressed down on the gas, the car leaping forward under me.

I couldn’t hesitate and be as careful as I normally was. I had to catch back up to Kaito. I couldn’t let him get away. I had hoped he would be shot by the police when they came in, but the bouncer giving them away wasn’t something I’d expected.

Now it was on me. I was going to make all the wrongs he had done right.

I was closing in when he veered back onto a road to go back into the city. I touched the crossbody purse as I closed in.

I was nervous. What if I couldn’t do it? What if, when I was face-to-face with Kaito finally, I couldn’t pull the trigger?

I shook my head and gripped the wheel tighter.

“I will. Raven was always brave. Now it’s my turn,” I said to myself.

As we kept our breakneck speeds down the road, it was becoming clearer that he was now trying to get back to his estate. No doubt because he had a team of guards waiting for him when he arrived. I had to stop him before he got there. By any means necessary.

We exited a corner and entered a stretch of road that was straight and wide. I pressed my foot all the way to the floor, catching up to his car’s back bumper. I said a prayer and steeled myself.

Please, sister, protect me.

I yanked the steering wheel, and my front bumper smacked against his passenger-side rear tire.

His car swayed wildly, but remained straight. I went in for a second time. This time, I hit him so hard that Kaito’s car flung sideways, and I slammed on the brakes.

It was like watching a movie in slow motion as both of our cars spun out of control on the road.

My car slid to a stop as his car kept spinning, sparks flying everywhere, before it collided with a pole on the side of the road.

The sound of metal crunching together was sickening, and I knew there was no way he would drive away from this.

I slowly drove my car over to the side of the road, taking care to avoid the shrapnel littering the street.

The red glow of his car’s taillights poured into my car, and I took a deep breath as I put the car in park.

I turned the car off, and then I reached into my purse.

Grabbing the gun, I carefully pulled it out and set it on my lap.

There’s no way he survived that. But I still need to make sure.

The rain was lightening up a bit, and a soft drizzle shrouded the road in silence as I stepped out of the car. I stood there, looking at the wreck that had unfolded before my eyes. I gripped the gun tight as I took my first step.

The sound of the passenger door creaking open from the inside stopped me in my tracks. A groan echoed through the open door as my stomach dropped.

The door only opened a few inches. It must have been damaged from the crash. I walked over, each of my footsteps feeling like they were dragging a hundred pounds behind them.

I heard a few ragged coughs come from the car as I reached the back bumper. I peeked over at the driver’s side. The driver’s door had slightly wrapped around the pole, but otherwise, the car looked mostly intact.

“Who’s there?” Kaito’s voice snapped.

I could tell he was in pain as he spoke.

Good. I hope he is suffering a thousand times more than anything he ever inflicted on anyone else.

I didn’t answer as I walked back around the passenger side and took a deep breath as I reached for the passenger door, shoving it open a few more inches.

I stepped into the opening, and soft light from the light pole overhead illuminated us.

“You,” Kaito snapped.

He was half bent over the center console, twisted at his torso.

His legs pinned between the steering wheel and the seat, as the side of the car had crunched everything down and in from the driver’s side.

Blood trickled down the side of his head, and he had blood on the corner of his mouth, which he wiped away with his hand as he glared up at me.

A hand already covered in blood splatter.

His breath was gurgling. His lung might be punctured and filling slowly with blood. If that was the case and he didn’t get medical help soon, he could die. If the risk of someone driving by and calling for help was not so great, I would leave him here to drown in his own blood.

“Hello, Kaito,” I said as I looked back at his face.

“Don’t just stand there, you dumb bitch. Call for an ambulance,” he spit.

I glanced down the road, but it was still empty and quiet.

“Why would I do that? I’m the one who caused you to crash,” I said as I leaned back against the door, tucking the hand not holding the gun into my purse. I grabbed my phone and pretended to call for help.

His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth, no doubt to snap something vile at me, but I held up my hand as I pretended to answer a call.

“Hello? I just ran someone off the road, and he needs help. Aww, no one is available to help? Oh no .” I slipped my phone back into my purse, and he glared at me. “I tried.”

“You insignificant whore!” he said as he slammed his hand down on the steering wheel.

“You are a sick, lying, sorry excuse for a man, and I refuse to lose another sister to your twisted games,” I snapped at him.

I was doing my best to keep it cool, stay calm, and not show the gun in my hand, but being face-to-face with him, knowing what he wanted to do with Regan, made that hard to do.

He sat as upright as he could and laughed. A sickening sneer swiped across his face as he shoved his hair out of his eyes and looked over at me.

“You do not know what you are talking about, little girl. You have made this more than easy for me. Once I’m out of here, I’m going to drag you back to my home and teach you a lesson.

Then I’ll force you to watch me take your sister as my wife, as I bed her and fill her with my cum.

Maybe I’ll even keep you alive long enough for you to see her give birth to my child before I kill you myself,” he said gleefully.

My anger rose. How dare he talk about Regan like that?

He will never touch you. I swear it on my last breath, sister.

“You sick psycho, you will never touch her with your disgusting hands ever again,” I said as I leaned forward, gripping the edge of the doorframe.

“Oh, I will, and I will revel in the sweetness of her cries, knowing that you will be forced to watch me take your precious younger sister. And when that’s all over, maybe then I’ll tell you what really happened to Raven, before I end your miserable existence.

” His words dripped with malice as he watched me.

I froze at the mention of Raven’s name.

What really happened to her? I knew it! I knew he was the one behind her death!

The blood was pounding so loudly in my ears that it was hard to hear anything but my pulse. But I had to know, even if it broke me.

“What are you talking about?” I choked out.

My chest tightened as I waited for his reply.

“I’m talking about how alike you and your dearly departed sister are. Neither of you could keep your nose out of my business. Neither of you know your place, and both of you will die from my hands because of it,” he said as he leaned lazily toward me.