Within His Reach

Chapter 27

BRIAR POV

I didn't cry after the Nevretti's house was blown up by my husband. Countless lives were lost and I couldn't even shed a tear. I knew it was disgusting and evil but I'd grown used to such monstrosities so that the lack of shock overcame the fear of the action committed. I wasn't just used to the violence, I expected it- constantly waiting for the next kick of blood.

And it wasn't about who the victims were, what they did or whether they were innocent. No one in this world was innocent- we were all tainted by the darkness and sin. However, no one deserved the kind of deaths Theo delivered to his enemies. Certainly not those of us whose only sin was marrying or being born to someone who'd irritated a man like Theo (which was not a hard thing to do).

What did surprise me was Savina's detachment to the death of her entire family. She hadn't cried either, at least not in front of me. We'd spent the last two days together and she'd barely acknowledged what had happened. Apparently Jona had broken the news to her and I'd offered my commiserations but she simply shut it out.

The first stage of grief was denial.

I was sure the anger would come soon.

"We have to get out of here Briar."

"I've already told you, we cannot escape it's literally impo-"

"I know. I know you tell me everyday. But I've been thinking and I think I've figured out how we can do this. We have to act fast though. I heard Jona on the phone to the crew this morning. They're still cleaning up at my house.... what happened, it..."

She paused, taking a moment to collect herself as she was forced to acknowledge the awful reality of what had happened to her family.

"It's taking a long time to clean up. They can't alert the authorities because my family is too high profile. They're having to fix this mess themselves."

That wasn't unheard of for Theo's men. He didn't like it when things got messy like this- he said dirty cops were below him and he didn't need their help to get his way.

"Anyway, because of that there's a temporary shortage of guards here in the estate. Normally, two guards per station would work the evening shift. There is only a day or two before the police pick up on my families' disappearance and come sniffing for answers. Because of that, the guards are working day and night. Tomorrow evening there will only be one guard per station."

Yet again, Sevina's plan failed to impress. I had no clue where she was going with this- a guard was still a guard. It made no difference as long as someone was at each station.

"It doesn't matter there's still-"

"Just listen. We create a distraction. Something urgent- that only he will be around for so has to leave his station for help. We go late at night so the house is quieter, everyone is asleep. We'll have minutes before they figure out our plan and come after us, so we must be fast."

I began laughing at this point. Sevina's plan was hysterical. It would never work. There was no one around for miles, so even if we did make it out of the house we'd be caught eventually. Or die trying to make our way into the closest town.

"That will never work. We have nothing. No way to call for help, no way to get anywhere-"

It wasn't Sevina's sudden movement that caught my eye but the shining key she held in front of me. A car key.

"Theo keeps the staff cars just behind the estate gates. All we have to do is make it there, then we're done. I can drive us away from here."

"How did you get that key?"