Page 72 of Taint My Soul

Boots thunder down the corridor. My eyes snap to the entrance, muscles coiling as I prepare myself for another round of torture. Not just that, but to fight them from taking Mason. He’s still wrapped around the heat of my body. We have been like this for days. I’m not even sure how long it’s been. But after that night, I haven’t let him go.

Bullets go off, and the lock snaps open. The rusted hinges screech, jolting Mason from his sleep. His eyes shine with panic and he breathes heavily.

It’s not Cyrus’s men.

These are entirely different people.

I cup his face with my large steady hands and look at him, scared face and all. “Stop. You are fine, we are safe.”

“Boss, we have them secured.” The lead commander of the operation says to his walkie-talkie. A soldier moves toward me with giant plier pinchers. “Get to him first!” I order, and he moves towards Mason, who’s on the verge of passing out. The chain snaps free, then the soldier hurries toward me. He puts the pinchers around the chain and squeezes hard. The chains come off, and I regain my footing. A bloodcurdling scream tears out of his throat as I lift him onto my chest. His body curls inward as his fingers splay across my skin.

“We are safe,” I whisper to him.

As I turn on my heel, Prince and Virgil enter the space. “He needs medical attention,” I yell at them.

“There’s a car waiting outside. I’ll call the hospital ahead of time.” Prince explains.

I don’t regard Virgil. I push past them and follow the dark hallway, taking the staircase. The ground shakes beneath my lacerated feet. Prince, Virgil, and the soldiers follow behind me.

I kick the door open, and the dark forest comes alive around me. The raw evening breeze snaps across my skin. My brows arch sharply as I regard my cousin. He stands beside the Range Rover with Bernard, who has his left thigh bandaged up.

“I need you to get him to the hospital.” I tell Bernard and hand Mason over to him.”

“Yes, sir. Go with him, Syn.”

“Of course, brother. We’ll meet at the hospital.” Syn says and circles over to the driver’s seat.

I stand and watch as the car zooms off until it disappears down the unpaved drive.

“Put this on.” Virgil tosses a pair of shorts to me. I grunt as it hits me, and I step into it hurriedly. “How the fuck did you get into this? You’ve been gone for almost two weeks.”

“Two weeks?” My head pounds and spins, but I plant my feet firmer on the ground.

“Thanks to Prince and your driver, Bernard. We tracked you down.” Virgil utters.

“I…” I lift my hand to my head.

“Saint, everything okay?” Virgil’s thick voice drowns out as if I’m submerged in water. Pain shatters at the back of my head as I collapse against the gravel floor. The edges of my vision smear into darkness as the voices of Prince and Virgil dull into a distant echo before everything vanishes.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SAINT

The door creaks ahead of me, and I lift my hooded gaze to the entrance. Virgil and Syn enter through the plain white door. I sit up against the hospital bed, eyes tracking them as Syn settles down on the visitor’s chair while Virgil stands by my bedside.

I have been awake for the past thirty minutes. My body hurts less since the doctors have administered some painkillers and antibiotics to help me heal. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as I recall Virgil’s words.

Cyrus held us captive for almost two weeks.

“Did you find that fucker?” I ask them and sit up slowly.

“No. Relax, Saint, you’ve both been out for four days.” Syn answers from the seat. “Who was he?”

“Cyrus Deveraux.” I mutter. Syn shifts in his chair and leans forward, hands resting under his jaw.

“The Gravedigger.” He whispers to himself with an edge of helplessness. We know who Cyrus Deveraux is. How powerful he was when he stood by my father’s side. He had helped raise us after all. He trained Virgil and me in hand combat, taught us how to use a gun, and even led us on our first operation.

All that didn’t matter to my father when he gave me the order to kill his son.