Diamond (31 page)

Keep going. Keep going.

She did. Didn’t stop as he continued to litter the ground with those coming straight for her. She was fast. She only took out people who were directly in her path. She blindly trusted her shooter, and Phyr grinned as he continued to take out those that tried to get to her. Nadya was perfect for him.

V

Diamond called out his signal to Thys and her women that were stationed on the fifth floor of the Quarry. A handful of arrows flew through the air, hitting their targets. Onyx, the traitorous bastard, had gotten what he deserved. Diamond’s hand was bleeding, and for all his troubles, his mind still strayed to Nadya. He couldn’t believe she was Attia’s daughter.
Figure that shit out later.
He didn’t have to tell his men they needed to act, and act fast. Reapers were blind, and the battle that was going on around them gave them somewhat of an advantage. But not much. The old woman was still on the ground, defeated, her head in her hands as she sobbed at the chaos surrounding her. Nadya had taken off in the direction of the cage. Attia was nowhere to be seen.

“Emerald! Go! Find Nadya. I want that bitch brought back alive.”

Emerald shot forward into the group of fighting males and females. He had to fend off the attacks of the Reapers, as well as Attia’s men. Diamond had just pulled out his gun to take aim, when a clawed hand came down on his wrist. Pain seared through his flesh and he dropped the gun. He didn’t have time to react, and even if he had, it was too late for the old woman he was trying to protect. She was trampled by a male riding a huge black horse. The male jumped off as the horse came to a halt in front of a Reaper and Anna.

Diamond stepped forward, pulling out the sword strapped to his back. It was an old lawnmower blade, which had been modified and fashioned with a handle. He swung out, trying to cleave his opponent in half. He missed, stepped back, and tried again. The male on the horse grinned. Metal teeth showing where ivory teeth should have been.

“One of Attia’s experiments I see.”

The male didn’t speak, but grunted and swept out with his left leg while pulling something from his pocket. Some sort of string with a silver ball on the end. It dropped to the ground with a clang, and then was up in the air, spinning. It made a whistling sound as it twirled, right before two blades popped out and sliced Diamond in the shoulder as the male flung it towards him.

Thys and her girls must have been watching him specifically because three arrows pierced the male’s chest. Still, he didn’t go down. What he did do, was smile again.

Fucking Attia and her damn experiments.

He could have been wearing some sort of armor, but Diamond could see the blood seeping out from the arrow wounds. Diamond used his good arm to lift his blade. It wasn’t his strong arm, but it would have to do. He advanced again, and this time, it seemed, he wasn’t just a target for the male in front of him. From his peripheral, he saw another male gunning for him at full speed.

Reasons why he should have stayed inside and not come out ran through his mind. Only for a second. He didn’t give up. He was fucking Lavarious Antoine Diamond. He ran shit. He ran shit so tight, he turned coal to diamonds. He pulled in a deep breath just as the male coming at him full speed threw himself into the air, intending to tackle Diamond to the ground. Diamond turned, took the brunt of the impact, and fell to his side. When he did, he sent a silent prayer up to Stitch. The man was a genius when it came to weapons. His shirt hid a couple of surprises, and by the look of the fucker who’d just run into him, he’d been introduced to a dagger, soaked in a paralytic. The man wasn’t dead, but he couldn’t move either.

Diamond looked up just as the other male with the arrows in his chest tried to bring down a large axe meant to separate Diamond’s head from his neck. These fuckers didn’t play around.

V

Nadya didn’t have time to look behind her to know who was clearing her path to Dominika. Women and men were coming at her from all sides, but she only had to worry about the ones in her line of sight. She had a feeling it was Phyr, and if it got Nika out of this alive, she’d thank him. Right now, she had to focus on her goal. Getting to the girl. She could see the tops of the cages, could even hear the people inside screaming for help. There was a Reaper blocking her path. He hadn’t zeroed in on the cage, but he had zeroed in on her.

She could tell by the way his eyeless head was turned towards her, and the saliva dripping from its extended jaws that it had a lock. Its arms were open as if to receive a hug, but she knew it was waiting to grab her. To take her back to Dasan. Now that Fursay was dead, they’d think their only purpose was to gather and kill. The Reaper was about twenty paces in front of her. The cage was directly behind it. She knew Phyr wouldn’t be able to take it and those coming after her down at the same time. Nadya made a quick choice. It was the only choice. She ran at the Reaper, full speed, her boots pounding the pavement, her heart tearing at her ribcage as she got closer and closer to it. There was a moment of complete silence right before all the blood rushing through her veins whooshed loudly inside her ears. Like a tidal wave coming to take her over.

She had to time it right, if she didn’t, she and the monster were going to collide, and she’d be taken. Or worse, killed. Her left leg bent at the last possible moment, the blood already soaking the pavement giving her the extra push she needed as she slid beneath the monster, blade raised, slicing through skin and muscles. The creature’s blood and intestines showered her as she slammed into the cage, dislocating her shoulder.

“Fuck!”

Her arm was going numb, and the pain was trying its best to mess with her plans. The people inside the cage grabbed at her, all screaming for help. There was so much noise and confusion, she couldn’t make out who was whom. A male reached through the bars and pulled her towards the cage with such force she saw stars. Something whizzed by her shoulder and the male was down, blood spraying everywhere.

“Dominika! Dominika! Where are you?”

Nadya called out over and over, hoping Nika would hear her over the roar of the battle. Phyr was still covering her. Shots rang out in all directions, and she knew it was more than just Phyr firing bullets. Nadya circled to the other side of the cage and cut through two females that were dead set on trying to kill her. There were bodies all around. Limbs severed, eyes lifeless, making her job that much harder.

Her vision was blurring and she knew that if she didn’t find Nika fast, she might not make it. The pain from her shoulder wasn’t dimming. But it wasn’t just her shoulder. Her side hurt, too, and the blood from the Reaper was doing things to her body, slowing her down. Nadya used her good hand, which still held her blade, and touched it to her side. She winced, drew her arm back and saw blood on her fingers. She’d been cut, and deeply. But her body was producing enough adrenaline to keep her going for weeks. She’d heal. Hopefully the Reaper blood could be filtered out and fast.

“Nadya! Behind you,” Dominika’s voice rang out, and Nadya turned just in time to see Emerald mowing down everyone around her as he tried to reach her. She ran to the bars, Nika in sight. Nika’s blond locks were soaked with blood, and she had an open cut on her forehead. Her eyes were clear, though. She looked torn down, but fully aware of her surroundings.

“How do I unlock the cage?”

“There’s a bolt. You’ll need the key, or something to take the lock off.”

Fuck! She didn’t have time for this.

She should have left the girl.

“Who has the key, Nika?”

The girl shook her head frantically. Her eyes wide with fear.

She could hear the clank of blades, and the roar of gunfire. There were even a few Reapers she could hear screeching in the background.

Emerald reached her.

“Which one is your sister?”

“The blonde with the pink braids.”

“Go. I’ll get her.”

“No. No you won’t.”

“Listen here, little girl. We don’t have time for this shit. Go, or I’ll cut you down right here. Put you out of your miserable existence,” the large male roared in her face. When she would have put up a fight, strong arms locked around her waist and bent forward just as the sound of a blade echoed through the air.

“Get her the fuck out of here, Phyr. I got the sister.”

How had the male gotten down from his perch so fast? Bloodborne or not, he shouldn’t be that fast.

Nadya could see an opening in the fight. It led to an abandoned building, and Phyr was pulling her, or more aptly
dragging
her as she watched Emerald break the lock and grab Dominika’s hand.

“We’re going the wrong way!”

“Shut it.”

Phyr’s voice was calm. No inflection. Nothing. He was void of any type of emotion. He pulled her in the direction of the large building.

“We’re going the wrong way!”

“We’re going the right way.”

Diamond watched as Phyr set out for the smoke house. He was more concerned for Phyr than he was for Nadya. Phyr had a nasty habit of succumbing to his urges. If that happened, well, Nadya was on her own.

“All the bodies inside?”

One of his guards nodded. Apax. He wasn’t in the Guard but part of Diamond’s program. He’d only take orders from him. Diamond noticed Freeze was out helping the men carry the bodies back inside. The male had fought well. Why he wanted to work the Quarry was a mystery to him.

“You did good out there today. You sure you want to work inside?” Diamond jerked his head in the direction of the building. The other man looked up, way up, his face hard to read as he continued to stare off into the distance.

“I know my place.”

“Your place could be with my guards.”

“I’m not a fighter.”

“That’s not what it looked like to me.”

Freeze tore through the crowd with a single focus. Kill. Even when he was cut, punched, and his face bruised, the Bionic kept moving. Maybe Freeze was more man than machine.

“Looks can be deceiving. You needed help. The odds weren’t in your favor. I helped even them out.”

“Pretty sure of yourself.”

“I’m sure about a lot of things,” Freeze answered.

“Working the Quarry one of them?”

“For now it is.”

“Fair enough. Help them take the bodies inside. I’ll call Eightball and make sure he comes in with his cleaning crew. We should be able to salvage some decent organs.”

“After Eightball, then what do you want to do with the bodies?”

“Recycle.”

Freeze looked confused at his use of the word recycle.

“You eat them?”

“Hell, no. The hair can be recycled, so can the skin. As for the meat, well, Eightball and his crew will take care of it.”

“Why don’t you bury them? Isn’t that your custom?”

“We only bury our own kind. Thys is in charge of burying our dead. Those motherfuckers were just in the way of what I wanted.”

“Yeah, what was that?”

“My payday, which has conveniently run off in two different directions. I’m not worried about it. The girls will be back.” Emerald had taken off with the young girl. Fuck, he couldn’t trust anybody.

Freeze looked down at Anna’s body, and Diamond knew what he was going to say before he even said it.

“She’s not ours. She’s a viable good like the others. Stick her in the pile.”

The battle was far from over, but Attia and her men had retreated.

Freeze stared at him for long moments before picking Adya’s mom up off the ground. Only, she wasn’t Nadya’s mother. Attia was Nadya’s mother.

Diamond was in a daze as he walked back inside the building.

He’d barely made it back up to his room when his comm device went off. It was coming across a secure line. Only his team had access to the secure line. Maybe it was Phyr or Emerald.

“This is Diamond.”

“Isn’t it just my lucky day,” purred Attia.

“Where are you?”

“Why so interested in my daughter? I already told you, you can’t have her, she’s mine.”

“She’ll be back. Phyr’s on her.”

There was a moment of silence over the phone before Attia’s voice reeled through the comm in laughter. She laughed long and hard.

“Seriously? You think so.”

“Crazy bitch.”

“That all you got?”

“Why the fuck are you calling?”

“I want my dead.”

“Too bad. You can’t have them; I’ve already claimed them as mine.”

“You sure that’s what you want?”

What the fuck was wrong with her?

“Getting your legs altered has ruined your brain.”

“Seriously, you think you’re so smart. Well, I’m a whole lot smarter, and twice as vicious. You took my daughter from me. But no matter, I’ll find her. I have my guys tailing her and Phyr. I’ll get her back.”

“She’s mine, Attia. She entered into contract with me fair and square. You can’t break that deal.”