He walks down the long hall, keeping his footsteps light.He has his head turned so that he can listen intently at each door he comes to.It doesn't take long for him to be out of my sight because I'm still standing just outside of the foyer.Two seconds after he disappears from view, something catches my eye.Mulligan.Where has he been all this time?They must have put him in the den when they left.How did he get out?Eve.Eve let him out.Why?Four fingers walking.Four legs.Dog legs.
My sign.Mulligan is my sign.I don't waste another moment second guessing myself.Before the evil crony behind me can look up from the dog, I drop to the ground.His grip isn't tight enough to hold me and I slide down with ease.The moment that my head reaches waist high on the sidekick, I hear a whistling sound.It's not a whistle like Cal does.It's like something fast.Something cutting through the air.Then, I hear a smacking sound.Just one.It sounds like when someone opens their mouth suddenly, and the saliva on their tongue separates from the roof of their mouth.
Come to find out, that's exactly what happened.I turn to look toward the smacking sound, and I see the evil assistant standing there with his mouth agape, jaw slack, and a small silver blade protruding from a gushing neck wound.
If I were a betting woman and I am, I would bet money that shiny little thing just severed his carotid artery.He's making choking noises as his body goes limp and he falls to the ground.
Eve walks out of the den looking like the damn Black Widow with longer legs and cooler weapons.I've never experimented with a woman but if this chick wasn't my sister, I'd give it a go.She looks around the room, taking in each of us.First, me still crouched on the ground.Her look is pained, and I know she's thinking back on that night and feeling guilt even though she likely just saved my life.Then, she looks to Cotton, who motions toward the hall with his head.Then, to Adam.He closes his eyes with obvious relief at the sight of her.Finally, she looks to Cal.He doesn't look good.His skin has lost all color, and he doesn't appear to be conscious.His entire body is sagging in his chair.
Eve's face morphs into unadulterated rage.Her pupils are blown to the point that the beautiful green is absent and only an inky blackness remains.She's transformed into something else entirely.She seems to get taller and definitely becomes more menacing.He should not have shot Cal.I don't know what will happen next, but I know she'll make him regret it.She slowly turns her head to look down the hall toward the object of her fury.
Cotton stands from the table.He's the only one of the men who hasn't been shot.Adam hasn't lost as much blood as Cal, but there are thick streaks of his blood across the floor and a pool of it at his feet.He tries to stand too, but Cotton easily pushes him back down.
Cotton takes a step toward Eve, and she glares at him with murder in her eyes.She shakes her head, letting him know that this is her fight.Cotton hesitates.He's clearly conflicted about letting her do this alone.Cotton is surprised by what happens next, but no one is more surprised than I am when my brother reaches up to grab Cotton's wrist and pulls him back down into the seat."She can do this."I hear him say quietly but firmly to his friend.
Without another word, Eve stalks from the room in search of her prey.
CHAPTER 50
Eve
Iremember.I rememberit all.
This man tortured me and brainwashed me into believing that it was for my own good.I did despicable things because of him.I'll do despicable things again.Only this time, I'll do them to him.
I stalk down the wide, empty hall, keeping my footsteps quiet.I know exactly which room he's in.I isolated the speaker to only sound in the library and the sick fuck fell for it.The library is the largest room in the house and that's really saying something.There are multiple places to hide and even two hidden doors disguised as bookshelves.Once he finds the first one, he'll spend all his time checking the others to see if they're the same.
The door is halfway open when I get there.He has already found the first hidden room and has apparently cleared it because he's back out in the main part of the library, checking the shelves for similar levers like the one that let him past the bookshelf.
I slide a blade from the belt with my left hand and grip the whip tightly with my right.We have guns in the house, but my aim with a blade is much better.Thanks to this man in front of me, I threw my first blade around age seven.By the time I was 14, I could hit a fly dead center.It's amazing how well you can hone a skill when all you have is time.
I wait for just the right moment as he has both hands on the shelf in front of him.He catches my movement out of the corner of his eye and turns.I fling the blade, releasing it from my outstretched hand as I watch it cut through the air.It slices directly through his right wrist, disabling the hand holding the gun.
"Ah, mother fucker!Son of a BITCH!He continues wailing, dropping the gun to the floor.In the same second, I race toward him, putting myself within reach to employ the whip.There's a loud crack rings out into the room, amplified by the multitude of books.
CRACK!
