The Assassin's Blood: The Confradia Assassins 3

Chapter 28: Nonstarter

Santana

It's time to leave. This morning I snuck out of my room and spent most of the day trying to avoid Declan. I didn't go back into the room until I knew he was gone. After our intense lovemaking, I figured it would be best if I left things as they were. Unlike me, Connor made every effort to be in Declan's presence. He has always been the more forgiving of us. When I asked him, he told me it would be a waste of time to be angry at Declan, considering nothing would change. He'd rather savor every last minute he had with his brother. I figure that I'd let him have this, even if I didn't agree with Declan's easy disposal of his brother. I even let Connor ride shotgun on the way to the bus stop. There's no point in having any further contact with Declan. It would just add to my sadness, and I've had enough sadness in my life.

Once I left the bed, I went to the bathroom, cried a little, and gave myself a pep talk. What Declan and I did last night was beautiful, but it's over now. It was just a fleeting moment of pleasure, and it's done. I repeated that in my head a few more times until my unshed tears abated. No point in crying over what could have been.

It didn't take long to pack our things since we didn't have much. Thankfully, Declan and Connor filled in the silence with their conversation. When they'd talk to me, I'd give curt responses. All I felt was relieved to finally get to the station. While Connor and Declan kept watch, I purchased our tickets. There's no turning back now. "Okay, I got our tickets." I extend them to Connor. "The bus leaves in a few minutes, so we better get going." Connor takes the tickets, then turns to Declan. His lips tremble as he gazes into his brother's eyes. Declan, on the other hand, seems unmoved.

"Thanks for everything, Declan," Connor mumbles with a quiver in his voice. Declan extends his hand to Connor and pulls him into his embrace. I guess he's not as unfeeling as he looks. "Goodbye, little brother." He mutters solemnly. "You have my number if you need me." Connor grins. "Yeah, I got it. Maybe I can text you some time just to annoy you if that's cool?" Declan snickers in amusement. "Yeah, I'd like that. You be safe and take care of your sister, alright?" Connor shakes his hand and walks to the bus stop. Before I leave, Declan takes my hand in his and looks longingly into my eyes. I almost break down and beg him to keep us at that moment. "Goodbye, Declan," I mutter softly. Declan licks his luscious lips and nods. "Take care of yourself, Santana." My skin heats with every caress of his fingers against mine. Swallowing hard, I slowly untangle our fingers and take a step back. My breath hitches with arousal, and my heart beats wildly against my chest. I feel like I've been running a marathon.

Heart-shattering, I take a step back and walk away. I don't even look back. I simply take Connor's hand and lead him inside the bus. His eyes gleam with unshed tears, but I don't comment. He deserves to mourn on his own, as I do. It's done. Declan has his freedom back. Just like he wanted.

Unfortunately, life is never easy. We're a few hours out of town when the bus comes to a sudden stop. The passengers look around in confusion since we're in the middle of nowhere. "What's happening?" Connor asks in bewilderment. Alarms instantly go off in my head. Looking around frantically, I'm about to get up from my seat but instantly slump back when the bus's doors burst open. The driver rises from his chair with a belligerent growl, "What the─" His words are cut off when the sounds of pops echo, and his body flies lifelessly back into his seat. Screams and mutters burst from the passenger's as they begin to shift in panic. A masked man wearing black ops gear steps inside the bus and begins to shoot at the bus's ceiling. It's nightmarish, and Connor and I are right in the middle of it.

Connor pulls me into his arms protectively and covers my head when more shots ring out. I cringe at the sound of the passenger's strangled cries of fear. "Sit down and shut the fuck up or I will shoot all of you!" An angry male voice yells out. The crowd instantly goes quiet and stills. You can still hear the passengers muffled sobs, but everyone is too frightened to move. The man walks down the aisle, searching, but the bus is packed. My heart nearly stops when he leans the machine gun against his chest and calls out. "I'm looking for Santana Vega and Connor Archer. Santana, if you're here, come with me, and I won't kill everyone on this bus." Connor's body stiffens as he gazes down at me with terror.

It's Perroni, he found us. Getting no response, the man lowers his gun again and aims it at a little girl crying fitfully in her mother's arms. "You have five seconds to show yourself before I shoot this little girl. One, two, three.─"

"Wait!" I cry out as I slowly rise from my seat. "I'm…we're here!" Connor rises to stand beside me and takes my hand. The man waves his hand and waits for us to approach. Frightened, Connor and I make our way slowly down the aisle of the bus. As soon as we're close enough, he shackles my wrist and ushers me out the door. Connor follows quietly behind us, horror clearly etched in his eyes. I stumble and limp with every step I take. The man is walking too fast for my short legs, and he's not slowing down for me. There's a black SUV waiting on the side of the road with another masked man sitting in the front seat. We're about to step into the car when I make a last-minute decision. Without a thought, I push Connor away and throw myself on the ground, taking the masked man with me. "Connor, run! Find Declan!" I scream out as I grapple with the masked man.

Connor doesn't say a word as he hesitantly takes a few steps back, then runs into the darkened night. Thankfully, we're in the middle of a forested area, so he's easily hidden. The man in the car steps out and begins running and shooting in Connor's direction, while the other one drags me up by the hair and slaps me across the face. "You stupid bitch!"

Holding my bruised cheek, I stifle a cry and begin to pummel his chest. I don't do it because I hope he'll let me go, but to keep him distracted enough to stop him from trying to find Connor. The other man reappears a moment later without Connor. "He's gone!"

Relieved, I take a deep breath and prepare for the pain. The man holding me grips my hair tighter and pulls me into a tight lock. "Forget him for now. Perroni wants the girl more than the boy. We can look for him in the morning." The man curses and slides back into the SUV's front seat.

My body aches, and my head throbs as he drags me into the SUV's backdoors. Before we get in, he extends his hand in front of me and grits out. "Give me your cell phone, bitch!" I give him a defiant glare but stumble back when he punches me in the stomach and grips my chin tightly between his finger. "Give me the fucking phone!" Spittle spills from my mouth as I grip my injured stomach with a cry and hand him my phone with my other hand. "That's a good girl." The man mutters with an arrogant smirk. "Good girl. We don't want you calling the police now, do we? Mr. Perroni's going to make a good profit selling you in the auction." The man places the cell phone in his pocket. It was the only lifeline I had left, but it gives me hope that he still doesn't know about Declan.

If Connor can get to him, he might be able to find me. The idea of being a sex slave makes nausea gather in my throat. If Declan and Connor don't make it to me on time, I'm determined to end myself. And even if I die, I can die with the knowledge that my brother's alive.