“Good. Don’t do anything until the team gets there.”
The line went dead.
Taigen put the car in gear. It took him a few seconds to pull back onto the highway, his thoughts running wild. What condition would Adelaide be in? Were Torrhent’s stitches bleeding? What would he do to protect her?
He didn’t want to think about it, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to wait for ATF.
Chapter 16
Torrhent realized her mistake as she struggled against the ropes around her wrists and ankles. She’d been shoved in the back of the oversized van, her hands tied behind her back. The tape over her mouth had begun to itch five minutes into the ride, but she couldn’t move. She sat in total darkness. Only the sound of the engine had kept the silence at bay for the long drive to New York. She had nothing to barter with for her life, and Taigen’s words became real. She’d die at her stepfather’s hands.
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Nicholas said from the driver’s seat. His warning echoed in the back of her mind.
In twenty minutes, she would die.
She’d known the day would come, but still couldn’t prevent her hands from shaking. Close to twenty minutes later the van stopped. They’d reached the front gate. She followed along with the sound of the keypad as Nicholas typed in the gate’s four-digit code. The gate creaked open.
All too soon Nicholas pulled her out of the van by the arm. He set her on her feet and she had to work to stay upright. The drive had made her legs fall asleep hours ago. Cutting the ropes around her ankles, he didn’t speak, didn’t meet her eyes, just led her in through the familiar back door of the house she’d called home up until a year ago. The darkness made it difficult to make out any differences since that time, but one stood out: more guards.
They turned a corner and she knew exactly where he’d take her as they ascended the stairs. The room where all of this had started, the room that had changed her life forever when she’d found the body of Romano Yanez: Isaac’s study.
Torrhent tried to keep her eyes down as Nicholas nudged her inside, but the silence made her buried curiosity burn. Her eyes went up and her heart stopped.
“Torrhent.” A smile spread across Isaac’s face as his arms widened, ready to receive her back into the fold.
It sickened her.
Nicholas pushed her down onto her knees, keeping a hand on her shoulder.
A figure to the right rose from one of the chairs at the desk. She was petite, moving carefully, as if thinking about every step. Like a dancer. Her eyes were a fierce green Torrhent had never seen before, but it was the white-blonde hair that gave the woman’s identity away.
Adelaide
.
She was the woman Taigen had dedicated his life to.
Something made Torrhent study her, a tic she couldn’t pinpoint. Adelaide’s lips moved silently as if she were speaking to herself, her eyes darting across the entire study. Unfocused.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Isaac said. He walked toward her slowly, his suit pristine, hands relaxed at his sides. “I thought I’d lost you there, but you got through it.”
He crouched down in front of her, their gazes connecting. “Did you really think your plan would work, bringing an assassin back here to kill me?”
She inhaled slowly, closing her eyes. Flashes of Taigen swept through her mind, bits and pieces of their time together over the last two weeks. Torrhent clenched her hands into fists, her nails biting into the palms of her hands to keep her focused. She’d come home for a reason. She opened her eyes and nodded. “The night isn’t over.”
* * *
The two men at the gate would be easy enough, but the four at the front door presented a problem. His best option would be to make his way into the house from another entry point, but Taigen didn’t have the time to scout it out. Torrhent had been taken inside fifteen minutes ago and he didn’t know how long Isaac’s welcome would last.
“Back door secure,” one of the radios squawked.
So there was a back entrance. Possibly one with fewer men to disable.
Taigen kept his cover against the wall, crouched beneath the shadowed overgrown trees. The darkness shielded him for the time being, but if he moved in either direction, the moonlight would give him away.
All he had to do was get into the house.
Bingo
. The window on the east side of the house would do just fine, but the hired gun standing in front of it put a wrench in things. He needed a distraction. Checking the clip in his 9mm, he inhaled slowly one more time.
Throwing a rock simply wouldn’t work. No. He needed something bigger.
The duffle bag over his shoulder weighed him down but held the supplies he needed. Taigen backed down the driveway the way he’d come and darted across the street. Pulling open a Volkswagen’s gas tank door, Taigen shoved a shirt from his bag down into it. He glanced back over his shoulder to ensure the flame from his lighter wouldn’t be spotted from the house and lit the end of the shirt.
And ran like hell.
The explosion did exactly what he’d planned, drawing the guards away from the house and giving him a way in. He stashed the duffle in the bushes but kept his gun in hand. Throwing his elbow into the glass, Taigen checked the guard’s positions then disappeared inside.
Silence greeted him. He’d broken into the basement but quickly made his way up the stairs, gun drawn, finger on the trigger, ready. Footsteps echoed down the hallways, quick paces letting him know they’d heard the explosion.
He kept track of his route through the house in case they needed to make a fast escape, but that all depended on whether he’d be leaving the house at all. He passed expensive paintings, polished banisters, exquisite carpets and a purple bedroom he recognized with just a glance. Torrhent’s bedroom.
The closed door at the end of the hall on the third floor became his target. He stopped directly outside of it, dropped his chin to his chest and smiled.
There were two men at his back armed with SIG716s. NATO standard rifle cartridge, gas-operated with a short-stroke pushrod system. Just over nine pounds, easily used as a weapon without the bullets.
“Hands on your head,” a voice said. “Now.”
Taigen forced his hands above his head. “Taigen Banvard here to see Isaac Rutler.”
A muffled scream came through the door and his body tensed automatically. That sound tore the wound in his chest all over again.
Torrhent.
“Did you search him for weapons?” the shorter man asked.
“Yes, sir.”
Not all of them
. The study door opened and he was pushed inside.
The escort at his back immediately aimed their weapons at Torrhent.
Isaac Rutler, on his knees, had a gun pointed at his head.
Taigen reached back for the knife he’d hidden along his spine, wrapping his hands around the hilt. In one quick motion, three men armed to the nines slumped to the floor. Keeping the blade in hand, he stepped into the study farther, but stopped when his vision got blurry. The effects of taking lives took hold faster than normal. His stomach rolled as he forced himself farther inside.
“You’re not the girl you used to be, Torrhent,” Isaac said.
Taigen watched as the man’s eyes pled with him to intervene. Looking at the scene, he couldn’t get past the fact Torrhent had overcome Isaac Rutler. “Torrhent, how—”
“Does it look like I give a shit what you think?” She almost drilled the barrel of the gun into Isaac’s head. “She’s dead because of you. I went to prison because of you, and now you’re going to make it up to me or I’m going to blow your head off,” she spat. “Call them off.”
The words came out through gritted teeth.
From where Taigen stood, he saw the pain in her expression and the blood drenching her shirt. Adrenaline kept people going, made them do seemingly impossible things. He’d witnessed it firsthand, but something wasn’t right here.
She was trying hard to keep the gun at Isaac’s head, but he couldn’t understand why the scarred blonde he assumed was Nicholas hadn’t already moved in. How had she been able to draw a weapon on them?
“Nicholas, do something!” Isaac roared.
Nicholas stood at attention, his shoulders relaxed and his face calm. “If I move, she’ll blow your head off. Is that what you want?”
Isaac stared past Taigen and his skin prickled.
Taigen twisted around to find the sister he hadn’t noticed.
Adelaide’s green eyes shone as brilliantly as he remembered. He exhaled in victory. He’d traveled a long way to find her. His other half was alive and there was nothing to stop him from doing his duty.
Except,
he thought,
that
. “Adie,” he whispered in disappointment.
Even from five feet away, Taigen saw the glassy, dazed film over her once fiery eyes. Strike one. She turned her gaze on him slowly. Strike two. His sister was a trained killer. She’d never reacted so lazily before. There was no evidence of recognition as her gaze locked with him. Eyes vacant, body relaxed, as if she wasn’t in complete control, Adelaide smiled. Strike three.
Adelaide had never been in control of herself.
“You’re not Adelaide.”
“You look surprised to see me, brother mine.” Her petite form and white-blonde hair were exactly as he’d remembered them. The twin he’d grown to fear and love at the same time was within reach, but with just one look Taigen knew the woman in front of him wasn’t his sister.
Shit
. Rutler had let the monster out.
“Did you really think you’d gotten rid of me?” the monster asked. “Your affections were never strong enough to keep me locked away. But Isaac was nice enough to let me out. We’ve had a lot of fun.”
Taigen stepped back, far enough to keep her at bay yet in his sights. “Rutler, you son of a bitch.”
His chest grew hot. He clenched his teeth, trying to contain himself, but the bullet made it hard to breathe. All of the progress he’d made over the past seven years with Adelaide had vanished in a few weeks. A small hope he’d be able to save her again had planted itself in his mind, but now, he knew his sister was gone. Dead.
But not physically. Not yet.
Without thinking, Taigen lunged toward Rutler.
Isaac’s eyes widened.
Nothing else mattered in that moment. He didn’t care that Nicholas would intercept him, maybe even kill him, or that Torrhent happened to be in the way. Isaac would pay for killing his sister. The study disappeared in a thick haze, but Rutler remained in focus. The bullet in Taigen’s chest wasn’t a problem anymore. The pain didn’t matter. He would have his revenge.
Someone intercepted him a split second before he would have collided with Rutler.
They fell to the floor and suddenly his own knife was pressed to his throat, the monster occupying his twin’s body wielding it. She rose slowly, inviting him to follow by one swift movement of the blade.
“I always hoped I would be the one to pay you back for what you did to Adelaide.” The voice was Adelaide’s, at least what he remembered of it.
Breathing ragged, Taigen scanned her with his eyes first, his back against the floor.
She waited, but not patiently. She stood as still as her tic would let her, and with Taigen so close, he caught the slight hint of the tic. Her head jerked to the right every few seconds, almost involuntarily.
“I did what I had to.” He made no abrupt movements to set her off. Adelaide’s condition had grown worse than he’d feared. No sign of his sister remained. Adelaide had truly been consumed. The realization slammed directly into his gut and he knew that this time around he’d be able to finish the job. This monster in his sister’s body had destroyed lives. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people suffered because of her, and he wouldn’t let her bring that kind of pain to another single soul.
She laughed, slight hints of hysteria pushing through. “You think injecting her with drugs would make me go away?”
The smile on her face was serene, evidence that his sister had once existed. “That’s all right.”
Adelaide lowered the knife, taking a step back and several closer to Rutler.
Torrhent’s eyes widened, just as Isaac’s had a moment ago. The gun was still in her hand and it seemed only an afterthought that she aimed it at Adelaide when she drew near.
“You pathetic little girl.” Adelaide stopped directly in front of the gun, pressing herself into it. “A gun won’t stop me from killing you.”
She struck. Fast. She knocked the gun from Torrhent’s hand and wrapped her arm around her throat.
“Don’t do this.” Taigen took an involuntary step forward.
“If you move, I’ll break her neck.”
Rutler got to his feet, victory plain on his face. He wiped imaginary dirt from his suit. “That’s enough, Adelaide. Mr. Banvard and I have business to discuss.”
Bad move, Rutler
. He tried to get Torrhent’s attention just as he’d done back at his apartment with the Russian, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes.
Nicholas moved in from behind, collecting Torrhent’s gun from the floor.
Adelaide turned her head slowly, a crooked smile corrupting her beautiful elfin features. “I’ll say when it’s enough.”
Fear flashed across Isaac’s expression and he stepped back. “You gave me your loyalty.”
“I have no loyalty.”
“Tread carefully, Ms. Banvard.” He slid a hand into his jacket pocket, producing a small syringe. “I have other thoughts on how this meeting will go.”
“Then why don’t you tell him the real reason he’s here.” Her singsong voice sent a chill down his spine. Adelaide let Torrhent go. “Tell him what you really want.”
Torrhent dropped to her knees, coughing to breathe.
“You let my sister kill dozens of people. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
“Is it?”
Confusion filled every fiber of his being. Taigen didn’t know what Rutler meant.
Isaac stepped closer, ignoring Nicholas’s attempt to prevent it. “You never once considered this was all about you?”
Taigen didn’t answer as Rutler circled around. He kept his attention on Rutler’s movements, but his gaze stayed on Torrhent.
Her breathing was even but strained from his sister’s attack. No tears. No pleas for her life. Her expression was utterly void of emotion.
Whispers of Isaac’s breath slithered across his skin as he spoke. “Or were you too distracted by my lovely stepdaughter to realize I wanted you here all along?”