Wicked Games

43 - Eliana

Chapter Forty-Three | Eliana

Reid has no time to respond to my comment before little Ellie's screams resonate through the house, causing nearly everybody to run in the direction of her distress.

When will I get a break? Please!

Panic fills my body at the thought of someone hurting my baby sister.

I push through the door to her bedroom and come to a sharp halt at the figure who is dressed in all black with a balaclava around their head to hide their identity. They have a tight hold of Ellie's arm and have a gun held against her head. She whimpers and tries to pull free, so the intruder digs the gun deeper into her fragile skin.

I take a step forward and the only part I can see of them, which are their eyes shoot in my direction and they fire their gun right at me. It's way off, their hand shaky and all over the place and no experienced assassin would be this unskilled. This person was able to get onto the grounds and sneak into the house but now they're under pressure, it's clear it's too much for them.

I duck from the violence and hold my hands up to show them I'm weaponless and mean no harm, despite the fact I want to slit their throat for what they are doing.

Reid on the other hand chooses not to take the discreet and safe route and pulls out his gun, shooting the intruder right in the chest which causes them to drop Ellie and fall to the ground. Looking at the love of my life, I can only assume our previous conversation has given him enough to fuel his anger. A deadly glare is etched onto his face and when his eyes connect with mine, I shudder.

As soon as Ellie is free, she rushes toward me. I drop to my knees and pull her into a hug, shielding her face away from the dying person on the floor. "It's okay!" I breathe out and she cries. Reid closes the distance between him and the intruder, crouching down to rip the balaclava off of... her head.

Her bright green eyes are wide and frightened as she gasps for breath and it gives me an unsettled feeling, reminding me of the young girl I saw get killed in the stairway back in Russia. She had the same look on her face before she was killed by Baker's men. This young girl looks no older than twenty, and the paleness of her skin and hollowness of her cheeks means she has not been in the best of conditions. Her dark, brown hair has been cut short, just above her ear and whoever hacked away at it, did a poor job.

Blood starts to trickle out of her mouth and that's never a good sign which means she'll die in the next ten minutes maximum. I pass Ellie over to River who grabs her little hand and leads her out of the room. I crouch down beside the girl who continues to gasp for breath and catch a glance at Reid, his face hard, his muscular tattooed arms crossed over his chest. I sigh and look back down at the girl.

"Can you understand me?" I need to know if she can speak English. She nods and I clutch onto her hand which she squeezes tightly. "Did Baker send you?" Nod.

"Y-Yes." American.

"To kill my sister?"

"I-Just the first person I-I found."

"Are you a level 10?" Her head shakes but her hand tightens. She looks past me and at Reid before looking at me again, the fear still swimming in her bright, green eyes.

"D-Distraction." She croaks out before coughing more blood up and my brows furrow. "I-I didn't w-want to k-kill. Please, believe me, I-I didn't want this." She whimpers and my eyes sting, hating that she has been forced against her will and will now pay the price for it. Like many others, she did not deserve any of this.