Page 52 of Tainted Blood
As we’re sucked further into this ghost town, with its shuttered windows and boarded-up shops, the sound of fire power starts to dwindle.
“Where the fuck did all the guards go?” RJ says, voicing what we’re all thinking. “It can’t be this easy.”
It’s not.
The first explosion feels like the ground is crumbling beneath us. The walls of nearby buildings shake, setting off a chain reaction. Bomb after bomb detonates, destroying street after street, until the air is thick with smoke and flame.
“Zaccaria’s gone,” Grayson shouts, sprinting toward the castle. “We’re too late.”
Bleeding and frustrated, we sprint after him.
“What the hell is this?” RJ yells.
“It’s a self-destruction plan. Destroy the evidence and everyone inside. We have to reach that castle, before it goes up in smoke too.”
Chapter Fourteen
Santi
I thought we had the element of surprise on our side. Then another explosion goes off, sending stone scattering across the floor of the castle’s front portico. That’s when I realize stealth never mattered. Three generations have tried to destroy Villefort. Whether we coordinated a blitzkrieg or sent Zaccaria a RSVP to his own funeral, the outcome wouldn’t have changed.
There was always a protocol for an invasion like ours.
Through the portico, we find ourselves in a courtyard. Grayson stops to reload his gun again. “Time’s running out,” he stresses, as if I don't feel the same weight pressing down on me.
The doors leading off this courtyard are mocking us. There are at least ten, all heading in ten different directions. Ten opportunities for success or failure.
“This place is like a goddamn labyrinth,” I hear RJ say. “How the hell are we supposed to find shit before the whole thing blows?”
“We split up.”
This catches everyone’s attention.
Grayson nods. “He’s right. Half our sicarios are gone and the rest are raining down bullets on any remaining Villefort guards. Which doors, Carrera?”
“Zaccaria trades in shadows, but he’s a sadistic bastard who lives for the hunt. He wouldn’t lead us away from destruction. He’d drive us straight into the heart of it and watch us burn…” I glance around the courtyard again. “We take the main entrance and the two doors closest. Hit me up on the radio the minute you find them, then you two get the fuck out of here.”
“Don’t you mean the three of us?” RJ says.
I reload my magazine in silence. I need him focused on the mission, not distracted by my choice. If I can’t find Thalia and Lola, I won’t be coming back to New Jersey. If they burn, I burn.
I take the center door, Grayson to my left, RJ to my right.
The first room I enter is a wide open space with a long glassless window, overlooking a field of black. I step closer to investigate, and then a strong arm is wrapping around my neck from behind and crushing my windpipe.
Fuck.
“You’re here for her, aren’t you?” leers a voice, as he tightens his grip around my throat.
I don’t think, I react. Pulling my arm forward, I sink a hard elbow in his ribs—a move that barely causes him to stumble.
“Carrera,” he seethes, spitting out my name like it’s a curse. “She called for you, you know. She begged for you.”
I sink another elbow into his ribs.
“There’s a maze down there, Carrera.” As he says it, he twists me toward the window. “I watched her run it. Right where you’re standing. Spader outbid some very wealthy men for the privilege of degrading your whore wife first. He stripped her naked and chased her. We all watched her bleed.”
I’m fighting to reach my pocket. All I can smell is smoke and rancid breath as the son of a bitch laughs.