Cataclysm (Four Horsemen #4)(79)

The lobby was a grand affair with a staircase curled around each side ending in a landing overlooking the marble floor below. My footsteps echoed around the vast space as I made my way into the centre of it and looked up at the painted ceiling. Stuart had commissioned the artwork when I was still in my teens after he’d visited the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. He liked over the top shit to demonstrate his wealth and influence. Everyone always admired it when they walked in. I personally thought it was excessive, but there was no accounting for taste. Everything about Stuart Carver was lavish and fucking gaudy if you asked me.

West came to a stand next to me, his eyes darting around the place as he rested a sledgehammer on his shoulder. His face was a picture of disgust.

“What the fuck is this shit?” He waved at the ceiling with his free hand. “Who does he think he is? The lord of the fucking manor? What a cunt.”

“You could say that. He likes to show off his wealth.”

“This is a fucking neon sign blaring in your damn face saying look at me, I’m so far up my own arse, I can see the fucking sun. Jesus, if I didn’t hate the guy already, this would make me want to bash his head in on sight.” He spat on the floor. “Fucker knows no bounds.”

I couldn’t help breaking out into a smile at his words. His words shoved their way through my paralysing fear of being back here. Reaching out, I laced my fingers with his, making him look down at me as Francis dumped a bag down next to me.

“You can bash his head in later. First, let’s make sure Gio did what we asked. I’m ready to end this.”

West grinned at me. This was it. There was no going back. We had committed to ending Stuart for good. And nothing would stop us now.





Thirty Five


Scarlett





The first place we needed to check was the security room. This was key to our plan going off without a hitch. Not that I imagined any plan we had would end up the way we envisioned, but we couldn’t afford to go off script unless circumstances changed.

Prescott and Drake dumped the two dead security guys in the lobby and shut the front door. I squatted down, opened the bag Francis had brought and pulled out a crowbar, swinging it between my fingers when I stood up.

“Careful with that,” Drake said.

I turned to him.

“Why? Do you think I’m going to hit you with it?”

The way he smiled had my heart thumping.

“No, but if you’re planning on bludgeoning anyone to death, warn us first.”

I winked, then took a deep breath, reminding myself I had nothing to fear here. We had the upper hand. We’d done everything in our power to make sure this was as painless as possible… for us. It wasn’t going to be painless for them. We planned to make it hurt.

“If you want to kill someone that way, I brought the sledgehammer. Much more effective,” West said as I started towards the staff wing.

I shook my head, trying not to imagine what kind of damage West would do a human being with it. The house was eerily quiet, even at this time of night. I could only hope for the best and expect the worst. Gio wouldn’t have been able to get to everyone. We knew that, but the important people would be none the wiser as to who had just entered the main house.

The security room wasn’t far off the lobby and, as expected, was locked. There was one thing about this old house no one had thought to replace. The fucking wooden doors. I stepped back, waving at it. West gave me a grin before stepping up to it. Then he looked up at the camera blinking above it.

“Did you think this flimsy piece of shit would keep us out?” he said before his foot slammed into the door, making it groan under the impact.

He took a step back, taking the hammer off his shoulder, and proceeded to smash the door repeatedly. It lay in pieces by the time he’d finished. I was the first one to step through, holding the crowbar tight in my fist.

The man in the room scrambled back away from the safe he was trying to get into and looked like he was about to shit himself.

“Well, hello, Alex. I bet you didn’t think you would see me again.”

I looked back to find West had followed me in.

“Tell Drake it’s bludgeoning time.”

Then I turned to Alex, head of fucking security and the biggest cunt out of all of them. I swung the crowbar back and forth as I approached him. He backed up into his chair, his knees buckling under him.

“Scarlett…”

“You fucked with the wrong girl.”

West came around and forced him into the chair. He stood behind Alex, holding the man down for me. I pressed the crowbar into his chest, making him wince.

“Who knows we’re here?”

“N-n-no one.”

I canted my head, pressing the points of the bar harder against him.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes! Everyone else is…”

“Is what, Alex?”

He looked towards the screens.

“Passed out. I was going to phone the police, then you all barged in here.”

“A likely fucking story.”

Pulling the bar away from his chest, I brought it down on his hand instead. He screamed at the impact, the sound of bones snapping filling the air.

“How long until you noticed, huh? Or were you too busy wanking over porn as usual?”