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CHAPTER TWENTY

ONYX

I can hear their voices as I head deeper into the thick smoke. The blaring alarm makes it difficult to make out the man’s words, but I catch pieces of what he’s saying. He rambles on about Selene, calling her an invasive disease, and I hear him drop her father’s name. But I don’t hear her say anything back.

Whoever the fuck it is, he knows Selene. That’s the whole reason why we’ve been followed—he was looking for her the entire time. We thought there was a connection between Ian and our stalker, but we were both wrong.

As I round the corner, I hear the words that shock me straight to my fucking core.

“Hey sis.”

Selene had told me about her brother, and she never spoke of him with any fondness. She hated him for everything he had taken away from her. I’m silently thankful for him because if Selene would have succeeded in killing him, she would have never fallen into my lap.

Or should I be more grateful for her mother for being the one who found them and the one who ultimately sent her away?

Either way, Selene’s brother lived states away. He was a piece of her past, but he never seemed relevant. I didn’t think he would ever become a threat. Now as I inch closer to them, I see how he has her pinned against the wall, her feet dangling as she loses the energy and fight to push him away.

He got rid of Sirius and now he’s here to do the same to Selene.

I don’t know what this kid is capable of, but I do know if I don’t intervene soon, he’s liable to kill her. It’s hard to make out her face through the thick smoke, but I can see the fight leaving her body. Her movements are slow and she’s struggling to stay conscious right now. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my knife and grip it tightly in my fist.

He doesn’t hear me as I approach, creeping up behind him. Selene’s eyes are on me, but it’s hard to tell if she actually sees me. Given her current state, I wouldn’t be surprised if she thinks she’s hallucinating. I pause, watching as Selene’s pale face changes color and her eyes begin to bug out.

He’s so fucking close right now.

My dick throbs in my pants as I lift my arm and bring my hand down in a rush, driving the butt end of my knife into the back of Selene’s brother’s head. The blow throws him off balance, causing him to stumble to the side. His hand leaves Selene’s neck, and she collapses to the floor in a rush, crying out as she struggles to catch her breath through the polluted air.

Her brother looks up at me, confusion mixing with his sinister expression. “I should have known you wouldn’t be far behind her.”

“You should have taken me out first,” I snarl, my lips curling upward as I drive the end of the knife into his temple, successfully rendering him unconscious with the blow. I watch as he drops to the ground, his head bouncing off the concrete, before I drop down to my knees in front of Selene.

Her hands are loosely around her neck as she violently coughs, struggling to catch her breath with the thick smoke in the air. I glance back and forth between her and her brother lying on the floor. I need to get her somewhere safe, where she isn’t inhaling the poison into her lungs. But I also can’t run the risk of losing him.

We need to end this once and for all. Here. Tonight.

“Is he still alive?” Selene croaks, her voice hoarse and rough as her hazel eyes meet mine.

I nod. “Just taking a little nap.” I pause, sliding my hands under her arms in an attempt to help her to her feet. “We got to get you outside or something.”

Selene shakes her head, batting my hands away. “Don’t worry about me,” she mutters breathlessly as she shifts onto her hands and knees. ‘‘I got myself. Just get him somewhere away from the fire, because I’m not done with him yet.”

I understand what she’s trying to say and as badly as I want to fight against her, I know how Selene operates. It’s a nice thought to think I have control over her, but there’s only so much I really do have. It would be smarter to focus on her and get her to safety, but this time I need to go with what Selene has already decided.

It’s easier than fighting with her and her brother will finally be taken care of.

Selene is smart and stays below the smoke as she crawls down the hallway. I watch her until she disappears, her form swallowed whole by the thick air. Hopefully she makes it outside and catches her breath enough to come back in here and take care of this shit.

My mind is already made up. If she’s not back in ten minutes, I’m ending this motherfucker, with or without her.

I slowly rise back to my feet and stalk over to Abel’s unconscious body, lying on his side on the floor. I tilt my head to the side as I peer down at him, attempting to figure out how the hell I’m going to move him. He isn’t very big, but there’s a noticeable contrast in size compared to Selene. Even though they have the same genes, he’s not nearly as small and dainty as she is.

Leaning down, I grab his feet and lift them up, his legs feeling like sandbags. I position his feet, pinning his ankles between my arm and my side, and begin to drag him along the ground. It takes most of my strength to move his dead weight, but I’m able to get him down the hall and to the last room on the right—the one right next to the exit out of here.

It’s the last room the fire will reach. Even though it doesn’t have all the supplies we need to do this properly and cover our tracks, it doesn’t fucking matter at this point. The fire is going to swallow this place whole, and if we don’t get out of here soon, it’s likely to take us down with it.

As I pass the room that we were originally set up in, I stop and grab one of the packs that has zip ties in it. This is going to be rushed and we’ll have to improvise, but it is what it is. It’s all part of evolving. You must be open and adaptable, ready to change on the fly without second-guessing yourself.

Selene and I are the apex predators. This is what we do. We have to evolve to stay at the top of the food chain.

I drag Abel into the room and push the door shut behind me. A metal chair sits in the corner, and his feet thud against the concrete floor as I head across the room to grab it. It’s a struggle, but I manage to lift him into the chair and secure him to the metal structure with the zip ties.

His head bobs, rolling as his chin brushes against his sternum. I must have gotten him good—that and the smoke inhalation—because he’s still passed out. I swallow hard and thrust my fingers under his jawline, feeling for his pulse. It’s thready and weak, but it’s there. I let out a breath of relief as I realize that I didn’t kill him.

I reach into the pack, pull out a rag and wrap it around my fist as I head over to the windows. The room isn’t completely filled with smoke yet, but it won’t be long before it looks like the rest of the building. Clenching my hand into a ball, I thrust it through the glass, shattering it as I break each window open.

The cold air from outside rushes in and I inhale deeply, feeling the contrast between the fresh air and the toxins we’ve been breathing in. I glance down at the watch on my wrist. Selene has two minutes before I fucking end this shit.

Just as the thought crosses my mind, the door bounces open, letting in a rush of smoke as Selene strides in and shoves it closed behind her. Her face is dirty and her hair is a fucking mess, but I’ve never seen anything quite as majestic as her—especially in this moment, with bloodlust coursing through her veins with such force.

“You switched rooms on me.” She scowls, brushing her hair out of her face. “I went outside to catch my breath and when I came back in, you weren’t there.”

I shrug, a smirk forming on my lips as her attitude sends s rush of blood straight to my balls. “We’re pressed for time. Unless we want to burn in this fucking place, we needed to be as close to an exit as possible.”

Selene raises an eyebrow as she motions to the broken windows behind me. “Pretty sure the other room had those too. Looks like the same thing as a door to me.”

“Okay, Selene. Next time, I’ll let you fucking handle everything.” I roll my eyes, brushing past her as I stride over to her brother. “Now, if you're done throwing your little temper tantrum, can we please take care of this shit?”

Selene walks over beside me, stopping in front of her unconscious brother as we both stare down at him. “I should have killed him when I had the chance.”

“If I remember correctly, you tried.”

She glances over at me, her eyes blank, before turning back to him and slapping him across the face. “Wake up.” Her voice is stern, but he doesn’t move as she glares down at him. Selene spins on her heel and marches over to the pack I brought from the other room. She reaches inside, then walks back over, cracking the smelling salts in between her fingertips before holding them under her brother’s nose.

It takes a few moments and a couple shallow breathes before he lifts his head in a rush. His eyes are wide and bloodshot as he inhales sharply, glancing around the room as his surroundings come back into focus. “What the fu—” His voice stops short as his eyes land on Selene.

A ghost of a sinister smile plays on her lips as the darkness creeps into her blank stare. “Hello, little brother.”