DANTE'S POV
"What the shit?" Headshot exclaims from beside me as the door to the auction hall opens up. We killed all of Veroncia's men that were guarding this place and that is all thanks to Kent. This never would have been possible without him. If he only got men from the branch of the FBI where he worked, we would have never had enough men to do what we have done tonight because Veronica was indeed prepared for us and she did have a lot of guars surveying this place. But Kent called for other FBI units and he basically made this issue a national problem. I never expected it. Veronica never expected it. There might be some more men lurking around but if they haven't come out yet, that means they are afraid to die.
I scan the girls that just walked out of the building with guards behind them and my blood boils as I realize what Veronica is doing. Some of the girls don't look a day over sixteen or eighteen and the others look about Adeline's age. They all look like they're drugged and Veronica is about to use them as human shields. She knows we won't shoot at the girls and she's using it against us.
The thing that annoys me the most, that makes me go feral, is that I don't see Adeline.
"She's in there. Trust me. Maybe Arthur has her." Colton reassures me as he surely notices the look on my face. He told m about this Arthur guy, about how he became obsessed with my Adeline from the moment he met her. I want to stick a knife in is neck and watch him bleed out.
"What do we do now Kent?" I ask the detective standing next to me. Kent has been so strong today. He has been alert and on his guard every second. Leading this mission by his side with the amount of men he was able to get has been a success.
"They're not getting away. That's all I know." He states simply. Liam and Naomi must be far away from here by now. He must have gotten Naoi somewhere safe already.
"Dante!" I hear my name come out of a mic, yelled out by a feminine voice I know belongs to Veronica. "I know you're behind this! No one else has to die. I believe you and your bandwagon have caused more damage than necessary tonight. If you don't let us leave right now, I'll put a bullet through Adeline's skull and you know I'm not bluffing. If I find out you're plotting something, I'll kill Adeline and then I'll have my guards kill each and every girl you see standing in front of us." As soon as she finishes, her guards raise their guns and place them behind the girls' heads. I grit and bite my teeth in annoyance.
"I swear when I get my hands on that bitch…"
"Don't lose focus now Dante…" Kent cuts me off. "Let them do what they want."
"What!?" Colton shout as Kent stares at me.
"You want us to let them go?" Colton asks again, dumbfounded. "We've come this far. We can't just give up now."
"We're not giving up. Their cars don't work. We destroyed every means of escape. The only cars that work are the ones we came here with and those cars are behind us. Let them think they've won. Let them have hope and then we snatch it away from them!" Kent states in a vicious tone.
Kent barks down an order and the FBI agents all drop their weapons. What Veronica doesn't know though, is that Headshot has his eyes on everyone right now and once they walk out, he'll start shooting everyone in sight. I asked him not to touch Veronica and Adrian. I want to take care of those two myself.
The guards start walking forwards slowly with their guns still pressed against the heads of the girls.as they walks further out of the hall, I see men in suits walk out after the guards. The guards are shielding them so I can't really see them clearly. But as they walk out even more, I spot chestnut hair.
Dark hair that I would recognize everywhere. I would recognize her in every universe. I would recognize her if I had to die and be reborn a thousand times. I would recognize that hair even if I were blind. My heart beats in mu chest. I want to run to her, I want to hold her and take her away from the man that has his hold on her. The way he's touching her, so possessively, as if he owns her.
I move my head from side to side, trying desperately to steal a better glance at the woman I would die for. I haven't set eyes on her in weeks. She looks drugged, just like the rest of the girls. She raises her head lightly and like magic, her eyes meet mine and time stops. The world stops spinning and atoms collide into each other. I can see tears well up in her eyes. I can see her inhale sharply as she stares at me in shock. I can see that she never believed we would ever see each other again.
As I stare at her that guilt stabs my chest again, the fact that she is here because of me is nothing foreign to me. I have hated myself since I lost her and I continue hating myself even as I look at her now. She's so close. My Adeline is right there in front of me and yet I cannot touch her. I cannot run to her because Veronica has threatened to kill all the girls if we make a move.
A tear escapes my eyes as I notice her state. She looks empty, like everything has been taken away from her. Things that I might never be able to give back to her. I want to rush to her right now but I have to be patient.
Kent glances at me and I see pity in his eyes.
"What happened to her? What did they do to her?" I ask Colton. Guilt washes over his future. I can see the longing in his eyes for her. I can see that he cares about her and like me, I can see that he hates himself for not being able to protect her.
He bows his head and focuses on the gun in his hands. "What didn't happen to her is the real question…" He states and then raises his head back up to stare at me.
"Those girls have been through shit. All of them. Their trauma is not something that I can even begin to explain." Colton states.
"You brought them here." I say with a hint of accusation in my tone. I don't mean to judge him right now but that's the only thing that comes to mind when I look at Colton right now after just seeing the state he's in.
"Look, man. I'm not proud of what I did okay? But I had no choice. I did it to keep my sister safe and now she's gone anyways. She's dead and now I have nothing to live for. I have no problem with any of you hating me. I loathe myself too. I just want to get Adeline out of here and then you can put a bullet through my skull yourself if you want. I have nothing to live for. If I don't die in the hands of one of Veronica's men, then I'll still kill myself after all this is over. I might have failed my sister, but that doesn't mean I have to fail Adeline too."
I look down at Colton with a pathetic look on my face. He really is something to pity but that doesn't change what he did. It doesn't change the fact that Adeline and Naomi and other girls in this place were brought here by him. He might have been doing it to keep is sister safe but that doesn't cancel out the damage he has caused.
"I need us to focus." Kent says as the guards approach the cars. Once they get the men in, once they get Adeline in, once they get Veronica and Adrian in and notice that the cars wont start, that's when Headshot starts shooting at them one by one. That's when the war starts again and I am ready to fight it. I am ready to do anything to get Adeline out of this damn place.