Fury and Flame | 3

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J A X O N

    I resisted a shiver as a sudden breeze blew cool mist onto my face and arm.

     The army had retreated back to the bunker we'd originally come from, but the remaining five people on our team stood in the cold, waiting for Jake and Delphinium to to return. They'd been gone for some time now. I would have worried that something had gone wrong if not for the fact that they still had my earpiece. If Delphinium needed help, she would have called for it.

     The remains of the fortress in the distance were still smoking. A few stubborn fires resisted the drizzling rain and continued to flicker through the night. It was in utter ruin and I couldn't have been happier about it.

     An easy smile found its way on my face when I saw a figure making his way through the forest toward us. Jake. He'd found us at last.

      But once he made it into the clearing, I could sense that something had happened. For one, Jake was covered in blood—his hands were literally dripping with it. But he'd been down inside the fortress looking for information. So why did he look like he'd just taken on an entire army and killed them all with his bare hands?

      Then it occurred to me that he was alone. Where was the Czech technician? And Delphinium?

     "Finally," Riley drawled, taking a few steps toward our teammate. "Where are the other two?"

     "Gone," Jake rasped, his head still low and cloaked in shadows.

     Kane frowned. "What? Where is Delphinium?"

    "Gone. They fucking took her." It was then that he raised his face to glare at Kane and I could see how manic he looked. I'd never seen him look like that; that wild look in his eyes actually made me take a step back. He'd only exhibited bored arrogance and cold fury. Never this...whatever it was.

      The smile melted off my face. I wasn't sure if I'd heard him correctly. "What...are you saying?" Was she...dead? I suppressed a shudder. Kane had said she'd promised to get out of there, but if she hadn't...

      "I'm saying that your brother," he spat, pointing an accusing finger to Kane, "Put a mask of steel over her face and dragged her off to that godforsaken place in Romania."

      "Oh, God," Riley uttered and put her clasped fists over her lips. The others mirrored her, Finn with shining eyes covering his mouth and Kane looking uncharacteristically distressed. Even Arlo had the decency to look devastated. As for me...I felt too much. I felt both nothing and everything at the same time. Delphinium was gone. She was one of my closest friends and they'd taken her...

      "I'll rip them apart," I muttered, already trying to think of how we could get her back.

      "I already murdered every single one of the soldiers that pointed guns at her. But they have her now." His voice was cold and rough, like he was ready to tear the world apart with his bare hands to get her back. Even Jake Evans hadn't been able to tear her from her devastating fate.

      "Are they...are they going to kill her?" Finn managed to get out the question we all wanted to ask but didn't want to suffer Jake's wrath for saying out loud.

     Jake gave Finn a withering look that I took as a warning that he would freeze him alive if he asked another question like that. "You really think they're going to kill such a valuable asset? She was their best soldier once. And according to what she said before we stormed the fortress, they can make her that same thing again."