Page 55 of Corrupted

I stayed beside Mina, close enough for our arms to touch as we moved through the darkness.

We had the advantage that we knew this place better than the enemy, but I had no illusion this was going to be easy.

At this point, it had already stopped being fun. Trust Kurt Lasalle to suck the joy out of the people around him. I added that to the ever-growing list of reasons to hate him.

Another factor in our favour was that we'd stood in near total darkness for about twenty minutes. Our eyes didn't need time to adjust.

The same couldn't be said for the first two of our enemies we snuck up behind and dispatched silently. A quick slash to the throat and we lowered them to the floor.

I pictured the expression on Reuben's face at the idea of blood on the hardwood, but it couldn't be helped. Better their's than ours, anyway.

A low grunt sounded from the direction of the kitchen. That was quickly followed by another.

Mina grabbed hold of my wrist and pulled me to the side. Lucky she did, because I almost walked into another one of our enemies.

Instead, I grabbed them from behind, my hand over their mouth, my knife across their throat. They tried to cry out, but the sound was muted by my fingers and their quick death. Still, it was enough sound to inform others of our presence.

I lowered them to the ground and winced. I'd have to ask Reuben if we could put up speakers around the house. Music, when played loud enough, would mask anything and everything. We could have stomped through the house and never been heard.

That was an oversight. Something I hadn't considered before and I could kick myself for it now. In retrospect, it was obvious, but at least we could fix it later.

I hoped.

Light from a phone flashed out across the room in front of us. The living room.

"I know you're there, Mina," Kurt called out, taunting. "I know that you know I have your sister here. And Reuben's brother. And Damon's brother. How cosy all of this is. It's up to you whether they live or die."

I've always found it ironic when people said shit like that. The only one responsible for their deaths was him. It was past time he took responsibility for his own actions.

I made a note to tell him that later. Right before those actions led to his death.

"What do you want, Kurt?" Mina called back. Her fingers curled around my wrist, drawing me with her while she stepped forward. Reuben and Damon moved along slowly behind us.

"The same thing I've always wanted," Kurt said. "I want all the power and influence the Brantley family has, and I want you."

Reuben snorted softly. An articulate expression of 'fuck that' if I ever heard it. He always did have a way of quietly conveying what he was thinking.

"Why?" Mina asked. "From the look of things, you have plenty of power and influence. There are women out there who are attracted to things like that. I'm sure you could find someone more than willing to be a part of your life. Why do you want me?"

"Because you belong to me," he stated, like nothing could be simpler. "I own you. Every millimetre of you."

"Why me?" she pressed harder. "Of all the women in the world, why do you want me?"

"We're wasting time here, Mina. And I'm running out of patience." The light flashed again, presumably Kurt turning around in a circle, trying to figure out what direction we might jump out from. "I'm going to start killing in a minute. How many die, depends on you."

A short grunt of pain came from the direction of the kitchen. My heart thudded in my chest. It sounded like one of the twins.

"Parker!" Hunter's harsh whisper was like the crack of a whip through the darkness.

Fucking hell.

Fucking hell.

Mina's fingers trembled. Her intake of breath was sharp, horrified.

"One of them is dead," Kurt sounded amused. "How many more are you going to allow to die? Hunter is surrounded, as is your sister. All I need to do is say the word. Or, you can hand yourself over to me. Reuben can step aside and give me the keys to his empire. That's all it takes for the rest of the people you care about to walk away."

Mina swallowed audibly.