Arielle Immortal Fury (The Immortal Rapture Series Book 6) (34 page)

“I think you’ve made a mistake. I have no idea what you’re
taking
about,” he said. The two men look at each other again and burst out
laughing.

“Unfortunately for you, cameras were set up at each corner of the neighboring structures. Your face was captured by each one of those devices. I bet you didn’t know that,” the man said with amusement.

Daniel cursed inwardly.

“Listen,” he said emphatically, “I’ve no id–” His last words were muffled by a gun blast, and Daniel’s head jerked back. He staggered and dropped lifeless on the top of the landing.

Sebastian watched as shock and fright engulfed Gustaaf and Frans as the two men turned around and walked out the door without giving them a second glance. Their gaze moved slowly
downward. They
stared at Daniel’s body. Perspiration drenched their bodies in a
matter
of seconds. Bile hurled into their throats. They watched blood
rushing out of the bullet holes saturating Daniel’s face and body. One of the
bullets had struck him right between the eyes. They stood frozen in place, resisting the urge to run, afraid that the guys may be waiting outside.

Sebastian, Troy, and Nathan listened in disbelief. Sebastian
assumed that the newcomers came for one purpose: revenge. Fast footsteps
ran across the front yard once again. Car doors opened and shut
quickly, and the roar of the engine told them that the visitors were gone.

They waited quietly until the engine sound faded away.
Sebastian
motioned to his friends, pointing to the side of the house. Troy and Nathan rounded the corner, heading for the front door while
Sebastian vaulted himself on the wall using his immortal ability; he reached the second floor window with no trouble at all. He jumped through it and landed inside the middle of the room. Gustaaf and Frans were still standing at the top of the landing over Daniel’s lifeless body. Sebastian’s feet hitting the floor made their heads jerk back toward the inside of the room. Startled, with mouths wide open and bodies perfectly still, they stared anxiously at Sebastian’s cold eyes.

“What the fuck!” Frans hissed stiffly. They exchanged a quick look of confusion. Gustaaf finally found his voice and barked out loud, “Haven’t I seen you before somewhere?” He scratched his
head and
gawked at Sebastian, who was observing them silently waiting for
Troy and Nathan. Suddenly, Gustaaf snapped, “I know! You were at the restaurant this morning with two other men. What the devil are you doing here?”

“Today is the day of reckoning for both of you,” Sebastian stated
as he started to move slowly toward them. He held a gratifying
smirk on his face.

“What the devil are you talking about?” Gustaaf scoffed. The
sound of footsteps ascending the stairs grabbed their attention. Turning around, they stared at the two men who approached them. Sebastian heard Gustaaf think,
What the fuck is going on?
There was something very significant about the three men that didn’t seem ordinary, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“We saw you all at the restaurant this morning. What is it that you want from us?” Gustaaf asked. Both men turned back to stare at Sebastian as Troy and Nathan stood right behind them.

“I’m Sebastian Gaulle,” he said with a soft chuckle. “Have you heard of me?” His gaze burned into Gustaaf’s eyes. Gustaaf winced.
A
loud curse escaped his lips. He pondered whether it was worth
trying to win a fight.
This is ridiculous,
he thought.
Frans and I have been in worse situations, and we’ve survived. These guys have no weapons. They don’t look that scary, so it should be a fair fight.
Smiling, he glanced at
Daniel’s body one last time and then caught Frans' attention. He
motioned with his eyes silently. Even if they couldn’t read the thugs’
minds, the move didn’t escape the immortals. Suddenly, Gustaaf
hurled himself against Sebastian while Frans closed his hands in hard fists and targeted the faces of Troy and Nathan.

When Gustaaf’s body collided with Sebastian, his vision of
victory
shattered into a million pieces. Pain surged throughout his body. He thought he had connected with a concrete wall. A loud growl of
agony
escaped his lips as his body flew back, hitting the opposite wall
before collapsing to the floor. In those brief moments, he realized that the pain was due to a broken bone, but he couldn’t decide which part of
his body hurt the most. He tried unsuccessfully to push the agony
back
in his mind as a second grunt of pain escaped him. He remained
unmoving on the floor, fear consuming every part of him. He heard Frans moan painfully from the landing, but he couldn’t see him from where he fell. Another scream of desperation came from Frans and then absolute silence.

Frans had moved his fists fast, targeting the faces of the two
men.
His breath caught in his throat when his fists came in contact with
what felt like stone walls instead of flesh. Long fingers wrapped
around
his wrists like steel vises, rendering him immobile. It took several
moments for him to get his breath back. He struggled to free his hands. In the process, his left arm broke, and he let out a curdling
scream. Troy and Nathan let go of his hands, and Frans toppled over with a groan. He
remained still for several seconds. Finally, using all the strength he had left, he pushed himself up with his right arm. He glared at Troy and Nathan furiously. He drew a deep breath and spit on the floor in repugnance.

“I’m going to fucking kill you!” he screamed. He took a combat stance, still cursing. Then he twisted his body as he sent his leg
forward
in an effort to kick both men in their throats. He had absolutely no
idea what transpired after unsuccessful attack. He felt icy fingers around his neck and face, and then nothing. He dropped to the floor, lifeless, right next to Daniel’s body.

Sebastian watched his prey. Gustaaf didn’t move a muscle. He just listened warily and flinched at the loud thump of a body hitting the floor.

He slowly turned his gaze to Sebastian and searched his face. He saw an icy smirk curve his lips. He blinked and tried to assess his
situation when he heard footsteps. Turning, he saw Troy and Nathan step inside the room. He cursed inwardly as he met their cold gaze, and he frowned. A cold chill traveled down his spine, and his lips
twisted guardedly. They gazed at Sebastian with a look of understanding and leaned against the doorframe. They crossed their arms over their chests and waited.

Gustaaf felt like a caged animal, but he decided that he wasn’t going to make it easier for them. He pushed himself upright and
stood against the wall.

“Is this how you all do your dirty work?” he asked mockingly. Sebastian shot him an inquisitive look.

“Three of you against one unarmed man!” he screamed. “I guess I should have expected something like that from wimpy, sick sons of bitches like you,” he furthered. He spit in revulsion. Sebastian, Troy, and Nathan winced at his words, but they remained calm.

“It’ll be just you and me,” Sebastian said calmly. He looked at
Troy and Nathan and motioned with his eyes. They pulled themselves off of the doorframe and walked out the room.

“Well, here we are,” Sebastian hissed. “Just you and me, no weapons,” he said showing his bare hands.

Gustaaf smiled, thinking that he had a good shot. He pushed the pain into the back of his mind and moved his large frame toward Sebastian, who remained perfectly still. He brought his fist up, going
straight for Sebastian’s face. Sebastian lifted his hand up and
grabbed Gustaaf’s fist just before it made contact. Gustaaf felt the iron grip
around his fist, and his feet left the ground as his body catapulted
like a rag doll over Sebastian to land against the opposite wall once
again. The pain was excruciating. His brain went into a thick fog.
What the fuck!
he thought, shaking his head fiercely to clear the haze.

“What are you?” he asked. He thought about how he had never encountered a person with this strength in his lifetime.

Sebastian grinned. “I’m your worst nightmare.”

Gustaaf gave him a hard stare and drew a quavering breath. He was in terrible pain, and he was sure that he couldn’t muddle his way out of this mess.

“Looking at your ugly face is my worst nightmare,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

“Unfortunately for you, my ugly face will be the last one you see before you meet your maker,” Sebastian hissed. Bile rose in Gustaaf, making him wince at the bitter taste that filled his mouth. Sebastian
needed to put an end to this; they needed to get home. He was tired
of wasting time with this thug. He bent down, and with a quick twist, he ended the man’s miserable existence. Gustaaf hit the floor with a broken neck.

Sebastian made his way out of the room without looking back. He stepped over the two bodies on the top of the landing and
quickly descended the staircase, joining Troy and Nathan at the door.

“That was painless,” Nathan mentioned, and all three smiled. In
the car, they sat back and quietly reflected on the last two days. Arielle’s
safety was Sebastian’s next thought. The thought of something
happening
to her made him sick, but the fact that they were heading home
made him feel a lot better.

Back at the hotel, they checked out and made a few calls. They
were on the way to the airport when Sebastian’s phone rang. For a quick moment, he took his eyes of the road and glanced at the screen, but he didn’t recognize the number. Troy was sitting in the passenger seat,
watching Sebastian and wondering if he was going to answer the
phone after the fourth ring. Sebastian finally turned and motioned for Troy to answer it.

Troy raised a quizzical eyebrow and threw a surprised look at Nathan sitting in the back seat. Nathan shrugged his shoulders and
smiled. Troy picked the phone up from the center console and
flipped it open.

“Hello?” Troy answered calmly.

“Sebastian!” Dylan’s anxious voice rumbled through the phone.

“No, it’s Troy. Who is this?”

“Hi, Troy; it’s Dylan. Are you still in Brussels?”

“We are actually on the way to the airport right now to catch a flight home,” he said.

“Is Sebastian with you?”

“He’s driving. That’s why he couldn’t pick up the phone. Hold on. I’ll put you on speaker.”

“Hey, Dylan. What’s up?” Sebastian grunted.

“Sebastian, I’m glad you are heading home.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

“I was just notified that Jorrit’s group in Brussels has been on high alert. My detectives have seen a lot of movement in the last
thirty minutes. We overheard some talk, and it seems that three of his best agents have been killed.”

“Oh?” Sebastian pretended to be surprised.

Troy muted the phone, shocked by the statement. “News travel fast,” he said while Dylan was still talking.

“It seems that it was a retaliation hit.”

“By whom?” Sebastian was still faking ignorance. Centuries of
experience made it easy to refrain from showing any emotion.

“They are not sure, but they are on the move, and they are
planning the next step against you.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by next step?”

“Sebastian, I didn’t tell you before, because I didn’t want to
alarm you, but I have been taking strong measures. I have my best agents on the job.”

Sebastian knew exactly what Dylan was thinking, because the same worries whirled through his brain, but he didn’t give any sign
that he had any knowledge. “What is it that you didn’t tell me?” he rasped.

“They were given orders a while ago to snatch Arielle as soon as
possible and use her as the bargaining chip for your documents.
They
have a couple of people in Brighton already following Arielle, and
they are deploying three more mercenaries from Belarus. They are due to arrive here within the next three hours.”

“Belarus?”

“Yes, the Belarus group is called the death squad. They are dirty, unscrupulous, ruthless, and lethal.” His voice reverberated through the phone with rage. Sebastian remained quiet. He knew that he had
strong and capable immortals protecting Arielle until he got home.
He couldn’t understand why his tension amplified.

“When you get home, make sure you keep an eye on Arielle.”
Dylan’s voice boomed again through the phone.

“Thank you, Dylan. I will,” he said sincerely. The phone went
dead. Sebastian stared out the windshield. He felt the weight of Troy's and Nathan’s gaze on him, and turning, he met their trouble glances.

“Well, it seems that the good news has already reached the
goons.
They think that it was a retaliation hit, which is great for us,”
Sebastian said thoughtfully.

“They haven’t seen anything yet.” Nathan snorted from the back seat. Sebastian smiled softly.

At the airport, they turned the car in and arrived at the gate just in time for boarding.

Once they were up in the air, Sebastian, Troy, and Nathan pushed their seats back and laid their heads on the headrests.
Sebastian closed his eyes, happy to have the first part of this issue behind them. He
felt lucky to have friends like Troy and Nathan. He knew they were
happy to be going back to their girls, too. Arielle’s image emerged in his mind, and he suddenly felt the urge to hear her voice. He reached for his mobile, but as his fingers curled around it, he realized that phones were not allowed during the flight. He shoved it back in his pocket and cursed inwardly.