The Devil’s Chaos (The Brotherhood #2)

38. Thirty-Eight

38

THIRTY-EIGHT

HAVEN

“ D id she make it?”

“Who?” Kai asked, his blue eyes lifting from the ground to meet mine.

“Mila? Did she get out? Did she make it to Archer?”

“She did. You saved her life.”

A sigh of relief escaped me. “I killed Maddie.”

“Good.”

My eyes flew open to look at him. Shouldn’t I feel guilty for taking a life? I couldn’t find that emotion within myself. Was I just as evil as my brother? As my father? Did it flow through my veins as quickly as it flowed through theirs? Was my fate set long before I killed Maddie? A consequence of being born to a bloodline of cruelty and corruption?

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Images of Maddie bleeding out on the ground after I shot her flashed through my mind. A sharp pain tore through my stomach as if someone had set fire to my skin and charred my muscles. Mila ran toward freedom, and I slammed the door shut behind her, trapping myself in my prison. My hand clutched at my side as I stumbled forward, nearly tripping over Maddie’s lifeless body. Blood pooled around her from the gunshot wound to her head, staining her light blonde hair a deep crimson color. Her vacant blue eyes stared up at me as my world spun out of control. After I smashed the earpiece, I had almost resigned myself to dying.

Almost…

I collapsed into the corner of the room. The cold wall pressing against my back reminded me that I was still alive. And then I saw Kai’s face and remembered the anguish in his voice as he begged me to let him come get me. I realized I had something to live for—someone that was waiting for me.

I don’t know where the strength to stand up came from. I was on the ground one second, and the next I was navigating through the dark halls, hiding from the guards as they ran through the halls, desperately trying to figure out what had happened. I used the cover of loud music and shifting shadows to blend in seamlessly. Having spent enough time in this club, I knew every nook and cranny by heart, so I didn’t expect anyone to pay attention to me as I made my way through the crowd. I should have taken my chances and followed Mila out, but I quickly dismissed the thought. I would have only slowed her down, and she could have been caught, or worse, Kai and the others could have been exposed.

Kai.

He told me he would be waiting for me—that I would finally be free. He and The Brotherhood would protect me, just like they protected Mila. All I had to do was get Mila out and meet them at the fence.

But nothing in my life ever goes as planned.

No, staying put was the right choice, but an inexplicable sense of unease nagged at me. Urged me to keep moving, one foot in front of the other.

Even when my legs felt like they would give out at any moment, I forced myself to keep going until I finally collapsed against a wall near the exit, dizzy and drained.

I kept going, not for myself but for him.

Had I finally found something to live for in my miserable existence?

Slipping into the coat room, I grabbed a thick coat from the rack that the valet had checked in and pulled it on. This was the moment of truth. If I couldn’t slip past the bouncers at the front, I was dead anyway. I pulled the coat shut and tied it tightly, then shoved my hands in the pockets to hide the blood that covered them. Taking a deep breath, I stood straight up and winced, “Fuck.”

I took several deep breaths, trying to calm myself long enough to slip out unnoticed. A group of drunk girls were laughing loudly and stumbling toward the exit, followed by a group of guys. I stealthily moved toward them, slipping into their group and pretending to laugh with them, none of them sober enough to realize I wasn’t a part of their group. I made eye contact with one of the bouncers, a newer guy, and our eyes locked for a moment. My heart pounded in my chest, terrified that he would recognize me and stop me. If he stopped me, he would ask questions—questions I didn’t have time to answer, and he would see me bleeding through this coat. He might even bring me to the hospital, but I couldn’t afford to waste any time.

He nodded, seemingly appeased, and I stepped outside. The cold air hit me like a slap in the face. I pressed the unlock button on my keychain and fell into the driver’s seat. My hands trembled as I pushed the ignition button, the dashboard lighting up, illuminating the darkness with blue light. My whole body shook as I pressed the hospital button on my GPS screen and hit Go.

The drive was a blur, flashes of lights and horns honking as I navigated through the bustling streets of New York. Pain shot through my side, but I refused to give in. My body was slipping away, but my mind kept fighting. I was so tired. If I could just rest for just a minute…

No. Stay awake. Just a little bit longer.

Exhaustion weighed heavy on me as blood poured from my wound, soaking through the fabric of my coat and staining my skin. I knew I was dying, but I couldn’t afford to think about that. I was so close to finally being free from my brother. My father. My bloodline. I wouldn’t let a bullet stop me from living. But goddamn, I was just so tired. My eyes drooped closed for a brief moment before jolting open again at the sound of blaring horns and screeching tires. I swerved to avoid an ambulance head-on, only to crash into a power pole with a sickening crunch.

The airbags deployed, and for a moment, I thought I was dead. The world seemed to fade around me, and I could feel my life slipping away. Pushing open the door, I stumbled out onto the cold pavement, leaving a trail of blood and glass behind me as I aimed myself toward the bright lights of the emergency room entrance. The paramedic from the ambulance I had narrowly avoided rushed over to me.

“Miss? Are you okay?” he asked, his voice filled with concern as his eyes traveled down to the blood staining the coat I stole.

I shook my head, too weak to speak. My breaths were shallow and ragged, the pain in my side was unbearable, and my fingers and toes were numb. The paramedic's lips moved, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying. The blackness started to seep in around the edges of my vision. Just as the last shred of consciousness slipped through my fingers, Kai was the last face I saw before I tumbled into oblivion.

“Where did you go, little lamb?” Kai’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I blinked away tears that had formed in my eyes. “I thought I’d feel guilty for killing her, but I don’t. And I don’t know if that scares me or excites me.”

“It was you or her. You did what you had to do to survive. Don’t ever apologize for that.”

“My brother will hunt me down if he finds out I helped Mila escape.”

“No, he won’t.”

“You don’t know my brother like I do, Kai.”

His face darkened, and the muscles in his jaw clenched before he spoke again. “I won’t let him hurt you again.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“This is one I will keep.”

I took a deep breath, the weight of his promise settling over me, and that’s when I knew I was fucked.