When the sunlight streamed through the windows, Dakota was already enjoying a cup of tea. What he would give for a steaming cup of coffee so strong that his spoon would stand in it. Something that would give him so much energy that he could outrun that damn bunny on the commercials.
He looked over to his stuff piled in the corner. He had packed his bag with some clothes and his gun-cleaning kit, and was ready to go. That woman was going to let him see Ana even if it killed him in the end.
He let out a dry laugh. She would probably not think twice before killing him if he pissed her off.
“Dakota!” Robbie banged on the door to the cabin.
Dakota spilled the hot drink on himself and cursed. He walked quickly to the door and pulled it open to see panic in Robbie’s eyes. “What is it?”
“The Brutes are back.”
“What? Again?”
“Yes.” Robbie was breathing heavily. “They are approaching now. They will be here within the hour.
“Son of a bitch!” All thoughts of Ana pushed aside, Dakota sheathed his sword, holstered his gun, and headed outside. He couldn’t make it to her until he made sure she had a home to come back to.
Dakota followed Robbie down the path that led to the village, and he immediately climbed the ladder to the watchtower that faced the direction where they were coming from.
“Well, isn’t this a nice fucking surprise?” Dakota muttered as he got a closer look at the approaching attack. Vincent himself stood at the head of the group, a smug smile on his face. Dakota climbed down the ladder and made a beeline for the gate.
“Dakota, you can’t go out there.” Tony gripped his arm.
“The hell I can’t. That man has destroyed my life. I think a little face-to-face is just what I need.”
“He will kill you.”
“Not if I kill him first.”
“Do you honestly believe he would come here if you stood a chance at harming him? He would not make it that easy.”
“I’ll be fine. He’s not going to kill me, Tony.”
“I’m coming out with you.”
“Fine.” They stepped through the gate and joined the line of Fighters ready to lay down their lives to protect their homes.
“It’s nice to see you again, Dakota.” Vincent smiled at him.
“I’m sure it is.”
“I was so sorry to hear about Anastasia’s ‘accident,’” he said, and Dakota crossed his arms over his own chest to keep himself from pulling out his gun and ending this fucker’s life right now.
“Oh, you mean the ‘accident’ where you had a teenage girl kidnap and threaten to kill a woman, then had your Brute buddies beat the shit out of your niece?”
“It’s a shame she had to die.”
Dakota had to fight the pride he would feel in proving Vincent wrong. He wanted nothing more than to rub Vincent’s failure in his face, but if that smug bastard believed Anastasia was dead, that could prove to be in their favor. That is, if she didn’t in fact die from her injuries.
“I would say it’s more than a shame,” he lied, hoping the Fighters behind him didn’t give anything away on their faces.
“You are young, I’m sure you will find someone else to warm your bed,” Vincent taunted, and this time Dakota didn’t try to mask the anger on his face.
He took a step towards Vincent. “She was a whole hell of a lot more to me than that, and you know it. Now how about you shut the fuck up about her and tell me what you want and why you chose today to curse us with your presence.”
“Yes, of course.” Vincent ran his hands down the front of his robe. “You will surrender, and I will allow you to take your mother, Carmen, and even your new daddy back to Seattle to live under my rule. You can have your lives back, your jobs—hell, I’ll even get you a penthouse if that’s what you want.”
Dakota felt Tony stiffen next to him, but he ignored the taunt and let out a short laugh. “You honestly believe I am going to leave these people here so you can feed them to the Trepidos?”
“Death is coming to this world, Dakota, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. My niece was your only hope, and her weakness led to her death. Do you truly think you stand a chance? Look around you, boy. There is nothing here for you!”
“Then why offer me another chance? Why not just kill me too?”
At this Vincent shrugged. “Call me sentimental. Anastasia had to die. Stubborn as she was, she wouldn’t have stepped aside. You, on the other hand, are not a fool. You know you will die if you stay here.”
“So you think that by letting me live, you are atoning for the fact that you murdered your brother, his wife, and your niece? Are you a fool?”
Vincent ground his teeth together. “I don’t know why I bothered.”
“I don’t, either. We will defeat you, Vincent, and I look forward to running my sword through your chest and watching you bleed out.”
“You will all die,” Vincent muttered, and disappeared into thin air. The Brutes that had stood behind him launched into an attack.
“Here we go again,” Tony said beside Dakota as they plunged into battle.
* * *
Vincent opened his eyes and tried to calm himself. He went there to offer life and was mocked in return! The way that powerless boy had taunted him had made Vincent want to forgo the larger plan and just kill Dakota right there.
Of course he wasn’t truly going to allow him to live. Vincent simply needed to draw out the only real threat they had left now that Anastasia was out of the way. What a shame it had been to kill her. He shook his head softly. She had been incredibly powerful, her only weakness being that she refused to accept it just as her father had. He supposed the saying about apples and trees truly wasn’t as far-fetched as he had believed, at least not in this case. It had obviously never applied to him, since his mother had been weak and he was anything but.
Anastasia wouldn’t have helped further his plans anyways. She had to be removed from the picture.
“What’s our next move, sir?”
Vincent looked over at the heavily tattooed man who stood on the other side of the large wooden desk.
“Gather your men. We need resources. My niece may be out of the way, but her grandmother still lives. I don’t believe Dakota to be much of a threat, as he doesn’t possess any power. We have to get through the village’s defenses in order to get to Carmen. She is the only thing standing in our way.”
“Grandmother?” The man let out a short laugh. “I can take care of that myself.”
Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose and shot a look of annoyance the man’s way. He wished he had taken the time to learn this man’s name. At his glare, the coward shrunk away.
“You cannot afford to underestimate her. She may be old, but that woman is tough as nails, and your evaluation of her simply based on her being a grandmother will cause you to die very painfully. I don’t think I need to remind you what is on the line here.” Vincent stood to drive his threat home. “Do I need to find someone else to do the job?” He eyed the man before him and smiled to himself as he watched the battle play out on the jackass’s face. This had been a man who had been used to getting his own way and calling all the shots. Head of one of Seattle’s most notorious biker gangs, and now a lackey for Vincent’s errands. Damn, how I love the power that comes from fear.
“I can get the job done. I will not underestimate her.”
“Good.” Vincent dismissed him with a wave of his hand and then took his seat back behind his impressive desk.
It would have been so much easier had Dakota just heeded his warning and drawn Carmen out. He should have killed him when he’d had the chance. But he’d tried to be a good uncle and allow his niece time to come around to seeing his side of things.
What a waste of time and energy that had been.
Dakota and every other person living in Terrenia would soon come to realize they had no choice. Those who didn’t would face death.
It was too damn bad he couldn’t just transport a fucking tank to their doorstep. That’d show those idiots who they were dealing with.
“Need a back rub?” The soft female voice drifted over from the chaise lounge in the corner of his office. He glanced over at her and felt himself harden.
Since he had “saved” Seattle, women were throwing themselves at him. This one had stuck around longer than the others. Long enough that he had bothered to learn her name.
“That’s not what I want, Gwen.” He stood and began to remove his pants. She grinned and tossed her magazine to the side.
“Good, because that’s not what I wanted to offer.” She spread her legs as he climbed on top of her.