Chapter Twenty-One
The hit knocked me to the floor. I think I was more in shock over who had done it than that it was actually done. Even more surprised when Braydon stepped up to the door holding a gun on his Dad.
I felt myself being moved. I was still gasping for air when I was leaned up against the door to our room. I tried to calm my heart rate as I heard alarms echo through the building. Or maybe it was my ears ringing. I finally caught my breath and stood up as I heard something I don’t think I ever wanted to hear.
“I knew you were involved. I don’t understand why you would do this to her. She’s just a kid.”
“Just a danger to all of us,” his dad replied.
“I didn’t believe Braxton when he told me he thought you had set her up to get kidnapped. I paid attention though. I had done my research. All those trips you went on, you never left town. That’s why I stayed with her. I figured you would make a move eventually. And when you did, I would be the one to stop you.”
Braydon’s face was red and strained. I could see him taking slow breaths to try to calm down. If he would just make it out of this I would worry about the fact that he was just protecting me and really didn’t have an interest in me later.
“You don’t have the guts,” his father laughed. That laugh was cut off by the sound of Braydon’s gun firing.
I heard the body fall and saw Braydon fall to his knees. I began screaming for Dean. I wasn’t looking at anyone but Braydon but that view was blocked as Dean and Gabe ran into the room and shut the door.
I couldn’t manage to pull my eyes away from the door until someone was shaking me. Braxton was asking what was going on but I couldn’t tell him anymore than not to go in there. Of course, he didn’t listen. I watched him open the door, look over, walk in and close it behind him.
It was wrong of me to begin to feel this way. I shouldn’t feel like this right now. I should not be telling myself that I was nothing to Braydon. I should be glad he’s alive and sad his father had chosen the path he did but I wasn’t. The only thing that could go through my mind was that I was never anything to him.
I used the pain I was feeling in my heart to break me from my stupor. I turned around and looked at Sage. In his hand was the manila envelope that held everything my Dad had left us.
I opened the contents and poured it out on the bed. I scattered each of them until I found what I was looking for. When I compared the pictures of the one of the house now to one of the house before, it was the same. I was right. If I was correct on the rest of this, Dad was holed up in that house waiting. Whether it was to be rescued or what I didn’t know. I could just pray he was still alive.
I grabbed the paper and ran back to Dean’s office. The others were still with Braydon so I didn’t bother waiting. I shoved the paper in Mom’s hand, opened the box of novas, taking out two, and ran back out the door.
Zavier and Shayden followed me. I went to the library where Gabe and Lorik sometimes stored their motorcycles and tried to open the door. When it wouldn’t give I used my gun and blew the lock off. I didn’t have time for anything more.
I kicked the door open and went in search of what I knew would be there. Hidden behind a shelving of books, sitting side by side where two black bikes; Helmets were on the back, keys were in the ignition. Yeah, they made this too easy.
I grabbed one of the helmets, tossing the other on a stack of books. I put it on and was getting on the bike when a hand went around my arm to stop me.
“I’m going with you,” Zavier said.
“So am I,” Shayden chimed in.
I nodded once and scooted back on the bike. I would let Zavier drive. Sage stopped us as we came out of the library. I watched as Lorik fiddled with something on the computer and then heard the beep. He was connecting our helmets to the voice-com. Sage begged us to be careful and I nodded and put my hand over my chest telling him I loved him.
I watched him walking to the door. He had almost removed the inner lock when I heard screaming from down the hall. Braydon was running our way screaming for us to stop. I wasn’t going to. When I told Zavier and Shayden to keep going, they did. Within seconds we were flying down the road and I was looking back making sure Sage was locking the door back.
We had already made it to Henry Street when I heard Dean’s voice booming over the voice-com demanding we turn around. I politely declined, letting him know that it wasn’t possible at the moment.
“Uh you see we would except for that car there behind us. They have guns hanging out their windows and I’m sure that stinging pain in my shoulder means they are actually shooting them at us.”
I knew I shouldn’t have been antagonizing Dean but I was past the point of caring. My heart was aching so bad I didn’t think I’d pull through it.
“However, you do get the chance to see one of my novas in action.”
I stood carefully on the back of the bike and turned around. I sat back down, held on to the bar behind me and gripped a nova. I pushed the button, gripped a hold of one of the blades and aimed. I threw the nova and it landed perfect in the center of their windshield.
“Speed up boys,” I told them as the car tried to get closer. I turned my head when they aimed at me but turned around just in time for Dean to see the front end of the car explode. Within seconds the gas tank joined in.
“Going downhill, hang on,” Zavier told me.
He was taking the shortcut. It was a gravel road off to the side that went between the road and a couple of houses. It kept us from having to drive all the way down the road and around.
“Well, glad I didn’t see that one coming,” I said as Zavier swerved and I watched a car go up the road.
He tapped my leg for me to turn around and I did. Just in time too.
“Don’t stop, go through the door. Shayden give us a five second head start.”
I put my legs up on the seat and held onto the bar the boys had welded onto the front of the bike. They had done it just for me. It was so I could pull off stupid stunts such as this.
He took the concrete beside the steps to get on the porch, then through the door. As he went through, I jumped and used my blades to hold me in place on the ceiling until Shayden was in, then dropped down and shut the door behind us. They cut the motor on the bikes and parked them.
We were all quiet, looking around the vacant room. There were no pictures and no furniture. When Dean began telling us he wasn’t there, to come back, I belayed that order. One perk of being the black rose.
We separated, each checking a room. When I got back to the living room I activated the camera feed detector on my contact lenses and took my time looking around. When I found what I was looking for, I gave a finger wave. The camera feed cut out.
I made my way through the house. We were now near the bedrooms. Each of us took one to check. When I walked in, a dizzy spell threatened to take me under.
“Get out of there now, you’re hurt,” Braydon was screaming into the com.
“Oh really? Do you think it’s from the gunshot or the heartbreak?”
That was wrong, I shouldn’t have said it. I knew I shouldn’t have. So why did I?
I leaned back against the wall and tried to calm my pounding heart. I could feel the sweat dewing on my face and knew what they were seeing wasn’t good. If Braydon knew I was hurt, they were watching. I had to get it together.
I finished checking the room and walked out. The boys were discussing how to get us out of here when I noticed the wall. I couldn’t stop staring at it. I looked back and forth between the doors of the bedrooms. There was too much space left between each for there not to be something there. Then it clicked. A panic room.
I used the back of my cylinder to knock. I did it three times and waited.
When I heard the mechanism begin I grabbed my gun and aimed it at the door.
“I’m your friendly neighborhood saleslady. Would you be interested in looking at my assortment of weapons?” I asked the man sta
nding there behind the door.
A slow grin spread across his face. I still didn’t lower my weapon. He put his hands up in the air as in surrender but also to show me the tattoo he had on the underside of his arm, three roses; one black, one shaded, one purple and two wedding rings resting one on top the other on a leaf of each stem, joining them together.
“No I believe I may have enough weapons. However, I prefer to fight with my hands,” he responded.
That was my Dad. I knew it without a doubt, just like I knew that tattoo. No one had ever seen that tattoo but me and the guy that did it. He kept it covered. When I finally took my eyes off of him, I noticed that Shay was as tall as Dad now. It had been too long since they had stood side by side. Now I'd say they would look identical except Dad was older and his hair was cut short because he hated it when it curled up.
“I would like to see the face of the person that’s going to take my life,” he finished. That was what I had said to Braydon.
I laughed a breath and took my helmet off amid protest from Dean. I put my gun in its holster and stood there.
“Why wouldn’t you have contacted me? Why did you make me go all these months, as well as the past few weeks thinking you were dead? I’m not going to speak to you for a month now, you know that right?” I said as a tear leaked from my eye.
He opened his arms to me and I ran to him hugging him close.
“I couldn’t. They thought I was dead. I was doing everything I could to find out who was behind it. Plus every time I even thought about trying to get to you, someone would show up and I’d have to hide again.”
I knew what that meant for him. He was out of ammo and had no way of protecting himself. He and I were definitely going to talk later about stocking his panic rooms.
When I pulled back from Dad I noticed the blood that had soaked his shirt. I didn’t have time to think about who was hurt though as the noise on the porch alerted us to someone around the house. I grabbed Shayden and shoved him in the room. I pushed Dad back demanded he keep my brother safe and to lock themselves in there.
I could see Shayden getting ready to bolt for the door as it slid shut. I put the helmet back on and motioned for Zavier to follow. When I used the infrared I could see two men at the back and two in front.
“Did the rest of my men stay put?” I whispered to Dean in the microphone.
“Yes.”
I held up two fingers to Zavier and pointed to the back then did the same for the front. He took the back as I made my way back to the living room. I used my suit to levitate to the ceiling and laid flat against it. When the two men came into the room they didn’t think to look up, at least not until a few drops of blood landed on ones face.
I took a deep breath and pulled my gun. I was getting too weak to try to fight them. I pulled the trigger and watched them both drop to the floor.
“She’s using her gun,” Braydon murmured.
“Marissa Rose, you better get back here and now.”
Dean wasn’t playing around.
I watched with my contacts as Zavier fought the men off. Then I heard Shayden ask Dad if he was hurt. When they both realized the blood was coming from me, they were both freaking out. I knew everyone back at the academy was listening to. I could hear Mom crying in the background.
Zavier ran to me and I grabbed his arms.
“I need you to listen to me okay?” He nodded. “I might not be able to make it back. If something should happen, I want you to get Dad and Shay back to mom. I also want you to get back to your brother okay? Can you promise me that? If something happens don’t stop, just keep going.”
He raised the visor on his helmet. I copied him.
“Rissa? What’s going on?”
I pulled the glove off my left hand and watched as blood ran down my fingers. I had felt it traveling down my arm when I had hung myself upside down to try to get down from the ceiling. I looked at him and tried to swallow. He yanked his helmet off and then mine. I could hear Shayden through the microphone screaming for me to answer. Zavier ripped open my suit almost pulling the Velcro off and looked.
The bullet had gone through my suit, through my tank top, my bra, and into my breast. I didn’t know how close to my heart it was. I did know that I was getting weaker and weaker by the moment.
I watched as Zavier pulled open his suit and pulled off his shirt. He wadded it up and put it against the wound to try to stench the flow of blood. When he looked at me I put my hand on his cheek and got up on my tip toes to kiss him. At least I would know some love before I was gone.
When I pulled away, he had my blood smeared across his face. He pulled my suit together, letting the tightness hold the shirt in place and put my helmet back on before taking over.
He let Shayden know to come out after he rechecked everything. When they came out they both ran to me. When they saw where I had been shot they both paled.
Dad got on the bike behind Shayden and Zavier stopped me and made me get in front. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed one of my hands to the bar in the front. He was making sure I didn’t fall off on the way back. I knew it wouldn’t take but five minutes but those minutes felt like days to me at the moment.
We had made it back to Henry street before we met up with anyone else. They had pulled over; guns drawn, and waited for us to come to them. I was barely conscious but there was no way I would let anyone do anything to my men and that included my dad.
I pulled the last nova off my side, press the button, grabbed a blade, and as we passed I shoved it in the chest of the man on the passenger side. Both Shayden and Zavier sped up after I told them that this was the big one. I was barely aware of Dad turning to watch.
I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. The blackness was starting to creep in. I knew it wouldn’t be long. I had very little time to say what I needed to say.
“Mom, I want you to know that even though I have not said it, I do love you. As an aunt you were great. As a mom to Shayden you were great. These last few days have been amazing having you in my life. You have to know that. I don’t think I could have asked for a better mom. Take care of Dad for me.
“Dad, I love you more than you will ever know. After the pain I felt of losing you, I’m glad I’m going first because I don’t think I could take that pain again. I’ll always love you daddy.
“Dean, you’ve always been like a second father to me. I’ve always loved you and always will. Take care of my men for me. Keep them safe. Keep yourself safe too.
“Shayden, even before I found out you were my twin, I loved you like my brother. Never doubt how much you mean to me. You completed me.
“Braydon, I’m so sorry for what you had to go through. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me, to know that I never wanted you to have to do that. I do love you and I don’t blame you. And I also want to thank you for being there for me and taking care of me.
“Braxton, keep your brother safe. Don’t let him do stupid stuff. And even if he doesn’t admit it, you’re his hero. And mine to. I love you Braxton.
“Zavier, I never told you because I was too scared, I’ve been in love with you since I was ten. Sage, I love you. Thank you for always making me laugh. Lorik, I love you too. Thanks for all the fighting. It always kept me busy. Gabe, you’re my best friend. I love you. Please don’t forget me,” I said as my voice broke.
By the time I finish talking, we were back at the Academy. We were just coming to the door when I felt blackness take over. It was over. I’d gotten to say what I needed to say, I could go now. They would know I love them.