Page 155 of Taint My Soul

I have to escape.

I have to find Elio.

Most of all, I have to prove to Tobias King that he can’t get rid of me that easily.

CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT

ELIO

It’s been a week since we left Ali’s cabin. He didn’t come with us. He’d left with Spencer on an important assignment. It was just Bernard and me living in this remote underground outside of Queenstown, where we remain untraceable.

Every minute I’m here, Saint’s getting worse. It’ll be harder for me to get him back.

We were supposed to storm the Red Vault today, but Cyrus insists I need more training, and so does the experienced soldier who has been training me for the past week. She had been cautious because of my healing wounds, but I didn’t care about that. All I wanted was to get strong enough to join the crew that would extract Saint from that godforsaken island. I can get myself through the pain and the blow. I can and will take it all for him.

I sit opposite the bedroom mirror, staring at my reflection as I replace my old bandage. The room has gray walls. A queen-sized bed sits in the middle of the space with a large dressing mirror and a nightstand. It wasn’t fancy. I didn’t need it to be. I’m not here to sit around and relax. I’m here to train and fight.

I’ve gotten a lot of cuts from getting tossed around by my trainer. Her name is Blessing. She has several experiences working as a hitwoman and also running things with Cyrus in the past.

I rise to my feet when I finish, just as a knock comes against the door. Bernard hooks his head through the entrance, and I look up at him with a smile.

“She’s waiting.”

“Can we talk for a minute? I have something to say.”

He steps into the room and shuts the door behind him.

My shoulders rise as a shudder moves through me. “The maps. It was me.” I utter. “And I apologize that my actions made Saint question your loyalty.”

“I know, Elio.” He offers. “But you helped save my life and I truly appreciate that. It doesn’t mean I excuse your actions, but I hope this time you know where your loyalty lies.”

“Without question.” I nod.

I throw on a black polo shirt and head out of the room. Amber light shines overhead, lighting the narrow hallway. We take a turn once we get to the end of the hall and hurry down the stairs, which leads us to the basement\training center. Half of the large hall is for combat, and the other half, separated by a thick concrete wall with a steel door entrance, is a shooting range.

Blessing squats on the floor, tying her boots when we get there. She straightens up with a smile and pulls her long brown locs into a ponytail. “I didn’t think you’d make it today.”

Outside of the grueling combat experience, Blessing has been teaching me how to take a gun apart and put it back together. How to put in a bullet and take off the safety. Today is the day when I finally take my first shot.

“I wouldn’t miss a session.” I grin at her. She hands me a gun, safety glasses, and an earmuff, and I put them on, adjusting them until they fit. I load the magazine, feeling the weight of the gun in my hand. It’s not the first time I’ve held a gun since I arrived here. It has been easier, and the memories of the things that happened to me don’t come up very often.

We walk through the door, which opens into the well-lit room with about six rows of shooting stalls, each with a target at the far end.

I step up to a stall, glancing around at other soldiers practicing in the other stalls.

“Take your position.” Blessing says.

I do as she instructs and hold up the gun to the target. She walks up behind me and adjusts my shoulder and my arm.

“Good.” She remarks.

I hold steady, taking a deep breath as the target zooms in and out of focus.

The first shot jerks, sending a powerful vibration up my steady arm. I take another shot, and another, and another, until I run out of bullets.

Blessing hits a button, and the target pulls closer. My brow furrows with doubt when I study each shot.

Not good enough.