Micaden

Duncan and Douglas slowly bring us to the edge of the ship, swinging the paddles to the side to allow us better access to the hanging staircase, which will use to climb up.

Jaxon presses the radio button on his collar, asking, “Tony, we are here. Is it safe to go up?”

“Yeah, you have three minutes. The guard watching over the perimeter went to take a piss.”

“Put the timer on.”

“You got it.” He disconnects and nods at me, while I place the guns in the back of my pants and squeeze my gloved hands, right before standing up and grabbing the edge of the stairs. I lift myself up enough to stand on it and climb up while Jaxon follows me and whistles quietly to the guys. “You follow in exactly three minutes.” In case we’re attacked, that’s enough time for them to show up for the fight and not get caught.

I finally reach the ship and drop onto the deck, my bare feet barely making a sound. I take off the safety of my two guns while Jaxon does the same.

We share a look when Tony speaks into our earbuds. “He’s back. There are more of them than I expected.”

“How many more?”

“Twenty-eight.” That’s the last thing he’s able to say before five men come at us, and Jaxon mutters, “And I won’t even get anything from this deal.”

“Sorry, your precious suit will get dirty.”

“I’ll forgive you. Let’s smear it in blood.”

I shake my head at him, because although he mostly keeps himself tame, when he doesn’t… to me he’s the most dangerous and psychotic of them all. I’m not even sure anyone from his “normal life” is aware how much.

We fire at will, since we already removed the safety from each gun. A few men fall, firing their own guns, but we keep to different sides and fire again, and the remaining men drop quickly.

Duncan and Douglas hop onboard the ship just as the new ones come, and these are not quite as dumb as the others, showing skill in dodging bullets and hiding behind the shipping containers scattered all over the ship.

We press our backs to one of them, breathing heavily. “This is not what I had in mind when I demanded a family vacation,” Duncan mutters, and the other one chuckles, but I don’t have time to dwell on it as several shots erupt, and I jump back, firing mine and leaving two of them dead.

“I need to find her,” I say, swapping the magazine for a full one. “Cover me while I go below deck. He wouldn’t keep her here with everyone.” Elijah might have always escaped my notice, but based on the past, Emerald is his precious toy and he hates anything and anyone that takes her attention from him.

“Do you have a plan?” Jaxon wonders, firing again, and I shake my head.

“Lachlan does, as always. I need her back.” And with that, we continue to fight while somewhere on this ship is my terrified woman, and I have a feeling the fucking bastard is with her.

Emerald

“You fucking stubborn woman!” Elijah shouts. “You have so much power over me I can’t kill you.” He fists my hair again, dragging me closer to him as he seethes. “I’ve waited for you for fifteen years. Since you were thirteen years old and had all those wild curves, I’ve wanted to sink myself into you and strip you of this innocence. I waited and waited so you’d come willingly. But you prefer to be his whore than mine. I’m done.” He unzips his pants, and I scoot back, whimpering, afraid of his next move and trying to get up. But he quickly pushes me onto my back, dropping on top of me, and I cry out as he forcefully opens my legs and then hikes my dress up.

“No, no, no,” I repeat, punching despite my wounds everywhere, and with the help of my legs do my best to get rid of him, but he’s too strong for me to fight off.

He spits on me. “I was gentle. You wanted me to be this.” He squeezes my hip, but then loud footsteps echo down the stairs and he stops, barking, “I told you not to interrupt me here.”

“We are under attack.”

Instant relief floods through me, because he found me.

He’s here.

I’m so happy I’m ready to cry, but it doesn’t last long.

With a curse, Elijah gets up and quickly puts himself together. “So the idiot was stupid enough to come after you. Let’s go then.” He drags me with him upstairs, while saying, “He didn’t come alone. Tell everyone to kill whoever crosses your path.”

“Yes, sir,” the man replies, and I shake my head at him. What kind of man would support a man like Elijah? Especially after seeing him almost rape me?

Hell is the right place for such people.

Bullets fire at us, and he presses me to the wall as the loud voices and screams continue. Elijah drags me to the edge of the ship, but then he fires in the air three times, shouting, “She’s here, Brochan. Where are you?” Then I feel the end of the gun pressed against my temple. “If you don’t show yourself right now, our beautiful Emerald will be dead.”

“She’s mine alone,” shouts the voice from behind us, and Elijah spins us around so we end up right in the middle of the deck with men surrounding us.

And there’s Micaden, walking toward us and hitting a few men on the way, but Elijah clacks his tongue. “Nuh uh. Leave the gun and tell all your men to surrender. William,” he calls to a nearby guy who quickly jumps over to us. Elijah points at a heavy bag and then to my ankle. “Wrap the rope around her.” The guy obeys, and when Micaden takes a step toward us, still holding his weapon, Elijah just pushes the gun harder, and I cry out, because it digs right into the fresh wound he just inflicted. “Don’t bring more pain to her, Brochan.” The guy tying the rope is done, and then Elijah grins. “Now, if your men don’t surrender, I’ll just throw her overboard.” He pulls us back so we’re almost right at the edge of the ship. “What a painful death it’ll be, don’t you think? Our poor angel struggling in the water with no help in sight.” He sighs dramatically. “So tragic.”

“Micaden, don’t,” I whisper to him, because it’s not worth it to risk his life and the other men’s. Elijah will never stop until he kills me, but my life shouldn’t be more important than someone else’s.

“Of course he will. He’s Brochan after all.” Elijah emphasis his name, laughing. “You always danced to the tune of my music. Always helpless by the situations I created.” He wraps his hands around my waist, seething. “See her? She was always mine. You should have never touched her.” He inhales my scent and revulsion rushes through me as I barely contain myself from vomiting all over the floor.

Micaden stays silent though. Instead, he drops his guns and then whistles. “Jaxon.” It only takes a second before a dark-haired man emerges from the back, along with three blond men who look very much alike.

Are they siblings?

They all seem like a united front and join Micaden, dropping their guns to the pile while Elijah’s men point their guns on them, ready to shoot at any minute. “See? He’s ready to do everything for you,” he murmurs, and he’s opening his mouth to say something when Micaden shouts, “Down.” I quickly obey the command even though I don’t understand, but that’s when Elijah is pushed to the side, and behind me, two men hop onboard the ship with a third one firing from the captain’s cabin above.

I have a second to recognize Arson and… Kaden. “Kaden!” I whisper, and for a moment he kneels next to me to cup my cheek, but then his gaze gets steely, and he orders, “Sit here and do not move.” Then he jumps into the fight that erupts; everyone is either punching each other or shooting or even one of the blond guys, Duncan judging by the shouting, slices throats with a knife, and the blood pours in different directions.

Arson, though, doesn’t participate in the fight; instead, he runs toward the other end, killing only those who stand in his path as if he has a specific mission.

I cover my ears as much as I can with my injured hand, but the fight continues, and then my breath hitches when I see Micaden and Elijah locked in a fight, each one of them delivering blows and comebacks. They are about the same physical size, so it’s not an easy fight for either of them.

The chaos around me won’t stop anytime soon though, because barely anyone is paying them attention. With a roar, Micaden pushes him in the back and starts to deliver punch after punch, shouting, “She was never yours, you fucking piece of shit.”

At this rate, he’ll kill him, but I don’t have the heart to stop him.

Then Arson comes back, spraying what I recognize as gasoline all over the ship, especially pouring it on dead bodies, and Kaden calls my name. “Emerald, follow Arson, now!”

“But—” Are they planning a fire? How will they escape…

“I said now!” I see Arson darting toward me, clearly wanting to help me get wherever I’m supposed to go, and I find the strength to get up. The bag barely allows me to move my feet though, and with a frustrated sigh, I pick it up and hold on tight to it but sudden pain in my arm makes me rest on the railing. I half lie on it, breathing heavily and pushing myself to keep going.

Just a little bit more and this will be over.

However, that’s when I notice Elijah slipping a knife from his side and digging it into Micaden. “No!” I scream, wanting to get to him, but someone pushes me from behind and I lose my balance, and try as I might, I can’t hold on to anything.

I slip over the railing right into the ocean.

With a loud splash, I plunge into the water, and instantly silence surrounds me, blocking the outside world away.

I hold my breath, struggling and trying to wiggle my ankle free of the rope wrapped around it. The stone bag attached to it takes me farther and farther into the blue hole of the ocean while I hold my breath for as long as I can.

My lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, and no matter how much I twist and try to reach the knot, I’m helpless against the water and its power.

Looking around, I search for any source of help, even though it’s useless. I pray for some kind of divine intervention to rescue me from this nightmare that has become my reality, but nothing is in sight.

Instead, the bag tugs on my foot harder, and I sink deeper.

Finally, the tightening in my throat becomes unbearable and I close my eyes, succumbing to the darkness that ends it all.

The war has ended.

The victor was chosen.

And no one got the spoils.