Rage and Ruin | 2

7 | 8

D E L P H I N I U M

My eyes felt like they might be in fire as I watched the fortress burn. But I kept my eyes glued to it. This was what we'd done. What I'd done. I would stand and watch until the flames flickered out.

      Jake bowed his head and I wondered what he would say next. It never came. Then I felt his cold fingers on my arm.

"What are you doing?" I glanced at what he was looking at. The wound I'd gotten in the massacre downstairs. I raised a suspicious eyebrow; he wasn't exactly one to fret over injuries.

"There's something shiny inside," he said, still inspecting the laceration. "I could see it when the light hit the bottom."

I blinked. "What could that possibly-"

"Hunt said that tracking devices were stolen."

That was all he had to say for my body to go cold. That couldn't be it. It couldn't. If that was a tracking device and they'd stuck it under my skin during the fight an hour ago...

I'd doomed myself.

"Very good, Evans. I always knew you were as intelligent as Hundsen warned you'd be."

No. No. I didn't think I could breathe. Benny walked out of the shadows, the moonlight giving him an eerie glow. It also made enough light to illuminate all of the men standing behind him and the semi-automatic guns they all held. We were severely outnumbered and overpowered. This was an ambush.

      Benny was staring avidly at me, taking in every detail. Before anything else could happen, I took the earpiece out of my ear and crushed it under my boot. There would be no opportunity for Benny to speak with the others for a hostage situation. They would have no chance of being slaughtered by Benny's men.

We were trapped. They'd found us. I felt numb. I felt as if my mind was screaming. I needed to do something, anything. But what could I do now? I'd inadvertently subjected us to this surprise attack.

If it was possible, my heart sunk further when I realized Gigi could be here right now, waiting for the perfect moment to finally kill me. Would Benny let her if she tried?

"No." He'd read my thoughts. I wanted to spit on him, but he was just out of range. "She's not here. But she will be soon. Neve has orders to bring her to the fortress as soon as possible."

"What do you want?" A whisper. I already knew.

"Why would you ask if you know the answer?" He smiled and dropped his gun to his side. "You know what I want." A pause. "I want you, Delphinium." Beside me, Jake scoffed at his audacity, but I noticed how he tensed at Benny's statement.

"Why?" I was stalling for time now. Benny already knew, but I didn't care.

"You already know," the Imperium agent said again with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "He wants you dead for what you did. You nearly ruined us. For that, he wants your head on a pike to remind all our enemies what happens to those who won't bend to our will." He took a threatening step closer but I remained as still as a statue. I'd be afraid that he would try and hurt me in this weakened state if I didn't know Orion wanted that glory for himself.

"Now, come with us and Evans won't be hurt. We don't want him. We only want you."

"And if I disagree?" I forced my voice to be stony, but it still had a desperate ring to it. We'd gotten out of dangerous scrapes before. There had to be some way to trick him, to escape. But even as I had the thought, I knew it wasn't possible. I wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.