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“Any idea why she didn’t take Saint to this side?” Bishop asks over his shoulder.
I shake my head. “No. I’m guessing it’s because she didn’t want them to know.”
“Or that she wanted us to find her, and then to enter The Devil’s Pit on our own fucking accord.”
“Knock, knock, motherfuckers.” Nate smirks, raising his shotgun up and pointing it forward. He pumps up and starts firing. Bishop doesn’t let up the gas until we’re crashing through the iron border. I grip onto one of the bars and raise the AK up with my other. As soon as we crash in, I start spraying. Bullets are flying everywhere.
Every. Where.
The Devil’s Pit is laid out identical to the main street of Perdita, only where everything is clean, wholesome and bright in Perdita, it’s all darkness and gore here. Where the shops are in Perdita; there are jail cells here. Flames burn down the pathway of the main road that’s lined with dirt. This side of Perdita is the prison of the island. They stay in, or they get shot. Criminals don’t get to walk free—ever. That is the rule. Some choose to come in, because they don’t want to live amongst the people of Perdita. They’re too sterile. Too perfect. All of these fuckers contained behind this wall are scum. Rapists, murderers of their own people, thieves. And now, they’re all gassed up and ready for us.
Bishop was right. This was a setup and we just rode straight into it.
I squeeze the trigger and aim my gun sideways, unloading a whole clip into who is shooting. Bishop directs the ATV down, ru
A single strip of road is doused in dried blood and ridden with dirt, reminding me of the old cowboy era.
I aim. I shoot. I aim. I shoot.
We get to the end of the road and Bishop drives straight through the wired fence that blocks off the prisoners from the home. No one runs this side of Perdita but the guards. No one.
The ATVs kick up dirt as we slide to a stop. Guns no longer popping off. The silence is u
“Everyone good?” Bishop calls out over his shoulder.
They all nod.
I climb out, heading toward the front door. It’s an abandoned house, but when I look closer— “Someone has been living in here.”
Bang! A single shot blares out and we all duck. “Fuck!”
I turn slightly. “Who got hit?” Someone is lying on the side of the ATV, clutching his stomach. Please be a fucking guard.
When he turns his head, I already know it isn’t. “Fuck!”
Bishop runs toward Cash, holding his hand over his stomach. “Hold it there. Hold it right fucking there and don’t you dare close your eyes. We fucking need you.” Cash shakes his head, harsh and desperate. “Hey!” Bishop shoves Cash as Hunter finds his way to him, too. “We need you.”
“I’m sorry, B.” Cash coughs and blood spills down his throat. Rage fills my veins and I reach into the back of the ATV, grabbing another shotgun and pumping it before swinging it over my shoulder. I raise the AK up and shoot out the windows I can see, while walking straight through the front door. I see fucking red. Enough people have died because of her.
Nate is firing shots behind me, but all I can see is the tu
I snarl. “I’m not going to make this easy for you.”
“Ah!” She raises her finger and twirls it, signaling for me to turn around. I do. Samael has Nate locked into his arm in a chokehold, a devious fucking smirk on his face. “Oh, how unfortunate. And if you’re wondering why the rest of your army hasn’t barged in here, it’s because they have an extra little dot directed straight to their forehead.”
“What do you fucking want, Veronica?” I lower my gun. No point in keeping it on her. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize anyone else’s life.
Yet.
“Ah, the question you’re all wanting to know.” She stubs her cigarette out in the carpet. “I want Saint, Brantley. As I was to have her until you decided to destroy all of that by falling in love with her. You know I knew I couldn’t get her through Lucan, so I knew I had to get close to you.”
I pause.
“Why Saint?” I ask, confused. I take a small step closer to her. Enough, but not too much so she doesn’t notice. “Why her? Why the obsession with her all these years?”
She laughs, crossing her legs. “Well, I guess I should expose it all to you.” She cocks her head, her long black hair covering her tits. Thank fuck. “Saint is not my daughter. That was a last-ditch effort to pull you both apart, which is ironic really, since the reason I became close to you to begin with was to get close to her. Shame on me because your bond is even stronger than the possibility of incest.”
“Hold up,” I seethe. “We already know we’re not related, you sick bitch. We wouldn’t have married had we thought that was true.”
“Ah, how disappointing. I thought that was quite impressive.”
“You would.” I raise my eyebrows. “You’re disgusting.”
She laughs, her head tilting back for a brief second.
Another step. Turning my head slightly, I notice Sam watching Nate instead of me. I still can’t get a read on him, whether he’s working for us or for her. Confusing fucking bastard. I’ll put a bullet between his eyes anyway, I decide. Just for making it so hard for me to read him.
“There was a reason Hector brought Saint to your father instead of me, Brantley. It’s because Lucan, though he is who he is, cares about one thing. The Vitiosis line continuing. Hector didn’t bring her to you to raise; he brought her to you to fuck.” She slants her head. “Why do you think he had you have sex with all those girls? He wanted you to impregnate one—or all—and got his rocks off while doing it.” I hold my breath, my shoulders tight. What she’s saying makes sense, but she’s no better than Lucan. “Your father was smart. He knew with her being Hector’s child and being a Swan, she would be worthy of more than just your spawn one day, so he allowed you to raise her how you wanted. The reason he never outed her was because of this fact. Even in his final hours. Even as much as you hated your father, he still protected you. Even her.”
I raise my gun to her head. “Shut the fuck up. You don’t know shit about that piece of shit, and I know more than you think.”
Veronica shakes her head, unfazed by the gun now pointed at her. “She broke the curse, Brantley. One of the girls fell pregnant during The Hunt that Saint was present in. She carries the gift from the original Hayes’ witch, passed down from her father. It’s the only reason why I wanted her.”
“She has them because she has—I don’t fucking know—psychic abilities. It’s not fucking magic.”
She tsks, wiggling her finger at me. “Such a skeptic, son. I knew after you told me about her first sleepwalking encounter that she was gifted. I knew right then I needed you to trust me so that when the time came, you would allow me to take her under my wing.” She smiles up at me, and I know right here and now. I know I didn’t inherit my malice from my shitty father. It was all from her. She is why I am the way I am. She is why I will never reproduce children. And Lucan, obviously. “Lucan sniffed me out when I was ten years old. He was already in his early thirties. I was pregnant before my twelfth birthday, birthed you that same year.” Her eyes glass over. “I hated your father, and you were a constant reminder of all I endured. That he made me love him in his sick and twisted web of darkness. I always found myself wanting to please him. Do better. Even though I hated him.”