Page 18 of Sons of Hellfire (Hellfire Society #1)

eighteen

Cash

W elp, there’s no taking back the words I said to Ali.

I wasn’t wrong when I told her she wouldn’t be here without us.

We saved her from that group, and I have no doubts that she would have been killed after they all got what they wanted from her.

Then telling her she was now ours. I wanted to take it slow at first, give her some time to maybe wrap her head around us hinting at her being with the three of us, but that all flew out of the metaphorical window.

I don’t even know what came over me. It was like I had to make it clear she was now ours, whether or not she liked it.

The woman drives me crazy, making me lose control of all my logical thoughts .

We still know little to nothing about this woman, yet here we are, staking our claim like a damn dog pissing on its territory.

I also wasn’t lying when I said, “If you run, we will chase. If you hide, we will seek.” Somehow, I know all three of us would hunt Ali down to the end of the earth if she decided to run, then proceed to drag her little ass back kicking and screaming with a smile on our faces.

A small part of me wants to see her try.

Having Riot obsessed is one thing, but now, all three of us.

Ha. We’re basically an annoying splinter so embedded into her skin she will need to get us surgically removed. At least I would love to see her try.

When we split up at the entryway, Arsen and I head to the right. We keep to the shadows, a blade in my hand, while Arsen twirls his bat. Along the way, we check a couple of buildings, deciding if we cross paths with anyone else, it will be best to kill them now.

The rule change is a bit of a curveball for us. Not a single one of our fathers mentioned it. And that’s odd for men who seem to be trying to pit us against each other. This makes me wonder what different kind of game they are playing.

We come across an open area, maybe an old town square, and pause. Glancing around the barren space, I take stock of the buildings and watch for any movement. When I see none, I turn to Arsen.

“What do you think?” I ask as he finishes his inspection.

“I don’t know, man. Do you think it’s odd that we haven’t run into anyone yet?

How many buildings have we searched and only found a few bodies?

” He shakes his head in thought, but he’s right.

This town seemed like a decent size, but most of the structures are barely standing, others are just crumbling piles of bricks and wood, and we haven’t found another living soul.

I knew it would thin out the most the first night, with everyone trying to find safety and supplies.

But to not cross anyone on day 2 just feels wrong.

“I think you’re right. Something more is going on here.

The sudden rule change and now the town being so quiet.

” My eyes dart around the area again. “Let’s move forward, get what we came for, and meet back with the others.

Maybe they’ll find something else.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Who knows, maybe all our missing people are on their side of town. I’m sure Riot and Ali are having a blast.” I roll my eyes at my own words.

“Regardless, keep your eyes open. I still have a bad feeling about all this. ”

Less than a minute after the words leave my mouth, a group of seven or so men turn a corner on the other side of the square. All dressed in head-to-toe black tactical gear and armed to the nines. “Fuck.” I whisper, stepping back and shoving Arsen with me.

“What the fuck is that shit?” Arsen murmurs, the sound distorted through his gas mask.

“Fuck. I don’t know, but that’s new and probably the surprise Henry mentioned.” I can hear the shuffling of feet off in the distance.

“I feel like we would have seen these guys if they were already in the games, right?” Arsen asks, shifting his bat in his grip, ready for an attack.

I nod. “Yeah, but their matching tactical gear and weapons are what give them away. Guns have never been permitted. They want the trials to be bloody and brutal; a gun is a quick and easy death. So I don’t think they entered with us.

” I frown. None of this makes sense. Slowly, I peek around the corner and spot the men standing there, talking quietly.

Which means they haven’t seen us yet. “Two options. Turn and head back, find the other two, and figure out a plan or do what we came here to do.” Arsen is quiet for a moment before he nods.

“When in Rome, right?” I snort .

“Option two, it is. Keep one alive. We need answers.” Another nod, and I do a quick stretch of my neck and arms before flexing my fists.

“Alright, let’s move until we can get behind them.

” We turn and weave behind buildings, keeping low and out of sight as we get into position.

Once there, I eye my brother standing opposite me.

“Don’t get shot.” I tell him before holding up five fingers to count down.

Five. I take a deep breath.

Four. I readjust the knife in my hand.

Three. A gunshot sounds in the distance. Fuck. Something is going down, and I have a feeling it involves Riot and Ali. We need to do this quickly.

“Now.” I say as I turn the corner and charge.

The seven men who were standing around are focused on the gunshot in the distance, giving us an upper hand.

With quick, quiet movements, I reach the first closest guy, grab his head, yank it back, and expose his throat.

My blade glides across like a knife through butter.

The man lets out a choking sound before I release him, and he slumps to the ground, a loud thump echoing through the open space.

The man Arsen had drops next, his neck broken with a hard, fast twist. The other five men turn at the sound, but Arsen and I are already moving.

I fling out my knife and send it soaring through the air and watch as it hits the next closest guy in the chest. It stuns him as he looks down at the hilt, then back at me, before stumbling back into one of his friends.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Arsen already swinging his bat, but I know he can take care of himself.

I rush forward as another guy, the one who was leading this ragtag team, pulls out his sidearm and starts shooting.

I nearly miss a bullet as I dive for the man with my blade.

His friend, who tried to catch him, is trying to shove him off, reaching for his own gun, but I’m faster.

I grab the now dead guy’s thigh piece and send a couple of bullets down range blindly.

I hear a grunt of pain before I finally look up.

The gunshots paused, but only because the fucker is reloading.

Without much cover for him, he’s a sitting duck.

I had a feeling that these guys were amateurs, not professionals.

Without hesitation, I quickly line up another shot, this time targeting the man’s head.

I hit dead center and watch as he goes flying backwards from impact before going still.

The dumbfuck who tried to catch his friend is still struggling, and I almost want to laugh.

I hear a struggle coming from behind me as I reach down, gripping the skinny fucker by his collar and yank him up.

Disarming him, I place a gun at his head and wait.

When I shift to see what Arsen is up to, I see he took down two of the three men that were on his side.

Now he is wrestling with the last guy in the dirt, but Arsen has the upper hand as he straddles the fuck and starts to rain down punch after punch on the guy’s face.

It reminds me a lot of my first encounter with my little Ali cat. The way she straddled the killer clown and beat his face in. When she ran off afterwards, I checked to make sure he was dead, and the guy was unrecognizable. Who knew a little wisp of a thing like her could do such damage?

A few minutes later, and the guy under Arsen goes still, looking like a hot mess of blood and brain matter.

Arsen stands, turning towards me, and all I can see is blood.

“Think you might need a shower, A, you’re starting to look like Ri.

” I tell him, and he snorts. I shove the last guy forward.

“At least I was smart enough to leave one alive.” Swinging out my leg, I trip the guy and make him go flying forward, face first into the dirt.

“So, wanna do this the easy or hard way?” I ask him as Arsen joins me, attempting to wipe his lens clean of blood.

“I’m not telling you shit.” The guy spits out. Lifting my boot, I press it into his back. He lets out a yelp of pain as I twist my boot, applying more pressure, then suddenly, I stop, stepping back .

“Have it your way.” I shrug as I grip the fucker by his dirty brown hair and yank.

Lowering my lips to his ear, I tell him.

“But you’re going to wish you chose the easy way.

” Then Arsen is suddenly there, rope in his hands from one of the dead guys, no doubt.

We tie his hands behind his back before gathering a few of their weapons and other supplies.

With everything ready to go in our bags, I stand, grabbing the asshole and dragging him with me. “Let’s go find the others. I have a feeling the gunshots involved them.” Arsen nods, and we head out. This time keeping an eye out for any more little groups like the one we just crossed.

I think the game has officially changed. Too bad for whoever is on the opposing team. Nothing is going to get in our way because we play to win.