CHAPTER 143 Heart Shatter
Joy
I stared at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a ck and white floral spaghetti strap midi dress under a
three quarter sleeve ck zer. I decided to straighten my hair, allowing it to cascade down my back..
I gazed at me reflection, the person staring back at me had a little evil grin ying on her lips, yet there
was a sadness in the depth of her eyes.
I was proud of myself. Earlier, I was stuck in a horrible situation where if I had been the same old Joy
Taylor who left ten years ago, I would probably be at the mercy of the Angels of Darkness as of the
moment.
Today, I gained K iki’s respect which made me proud.
However, there was now a rift between me and Cristos which made me feel miserable.
From the other end of Terry’s Snack and Gas convenience store emerged two men with chains in their
hands. They were dripping sweat and smelled like they needed to take a bath. The suffocating stench
from their armpits was so overwhelming, I had to cover my nose.
One of the men had dark hair, the color of midnight, while the other had bright auburn hair and looked
like the younger of the two.
I decided I’d keep the redhead alive.
I dropped the bag of food items on the floor, appearing to be a damsel in distress.
I surreptitiously nced through the windows and noticed Cristos was getting antsy. I saw him say
something to Ki ki before walking towards the store.
“Stay away,” I told the two men in a panicky voice. “Or I’ll… I’ll scream.”
The three menughed, amused at my apparent despair.
“Go right ahead and scream, Missy, but you’re friends won’t hear you,” the old man smirked. “I got loud
music ying on the outside. And forget about calling 911 because we own the police. So I suggest
you be a good girl. If you don’t put up a fight, I promise to put you in the clean cages.”
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CHAPTER 143 Heart Shatter
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“What are you going to do with me?” I asked in a quivering voice as I slowly positioned my hand at the
rear of my shorts.
I couldn’t see the old man’s hands. I had to make sure he wasn’t holding a gun. I figured if I continued
acting scared, he wouldn’t see me as a threat and lower his guard.
“Lately, my boss has been asking for blondes. Last week, we thought we hit the jackpot since. we got
us some youngdies who got holed up in here because of a storm. It was a pity when he only took the
blondes and those with blue eyes,” he disclosed, disappointed things didn’t go his way. “But I’m sure
he’ll pay a pretty penny for you.” I gasped in aghast at his statement. “Yep, this here gas station’s a
trap. The women we sell to our boss, the men we grind and sell as hotdogs while the cars we chop up
into parts. Now, let’s take a look at those. eyes of yours. If they’re blue, you just earned me a hundred
grand.”
He finally lifted his hands from underneath the counter… one hand holding a syringe.
“Please don’t hurt me, I cried out, backing away, my hand at the grip of my gun. “I’ll… I’ll… double
whatever he’s promising you. Just let me go.”
The old manughed. “Sorry, Missy, but you don’t look like you have two hundred thousand on you and
I… I have a business to run,” he uttered, disdainfully. “Men, hold her down while. 1-”
I didn’t give him time to finish his sentence. I pulled out my gun and shot him in the eye.
I quickly turned around and shot the dark-haired man in the chest. He copsed on top of the rack full
of cookies, candies and other sweets.
I aimed my gun at the lone man standing in the convenience store, his auburn h sweat… daring him to
move.
He abruptly stopped, dropping the chain he was holding, and raised his hands above
head.
“No sudden movements,” I warned, “or you can kiss this world goodbye.”
A sudden banging sounding from outside the door made him flinch. I aimed my gunt his
companion lying on the floor and squeezed the trigger.
“Again… no sudden movements,” I said through clenched teeth, aiming my gun at his head. “The next
bullet thates out from this gun will be going through your skull.”
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I heard the unmistakable sound of a bullet hitting bulletproof ss as well as someone
ramming against the door. The man in front of me, closed his eyes, frightened by the loud sounds. His
sweat was dripping down the tip of his nose while his already fetid stench became even more pungent
as fear swept through his body.
“How the f uck do you open that door? And what’s your name?” I asked calmly.
“T-There’s a-a button underneath the counter which automatically unlocks the door and m- my name is
Dous,” he answered quickly. He had an ent. European. Irish? No. He was
Scottish.
“Thank you, Dous,” I said before shooting him in the arm. He cried out and copsed onto the floor
in pain. “You’re lucky I’m going to keep you alive. I still need you to answer a few questions.”
I reached over the counter and felt for the button, unlocking the door. K iki and Cristos burst in, both
with worried expressions on their faces.
“Oh my G od! I thought we lost you!” Cristos eximed in utter relief, giving me a kiss on the forehead.
I saw the terror in his eyes which quickly turned into rage as soon as he saw Dous writhing in pain.
“What the f uck were they going to do to you?” Cristos asked, taking his gun out and aiming it at the
poor b astard who was crying like a baby.
Ki ki rushed over to Dous’panion to check for a pulse. When she was satisfied he was dead,
she went behind the counter. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.
“Dous and his friends abduct women who happen to stop by the gas station on their way. to the
camping sites,” I said, showing him the photo I took from the bulletin bo
she look familiar to you?”
Cristos took the picture, peering at it closely then shook his head in disbelief whe realized it was one of
the women from Huff Hills Mansion. He suddenly kicked the the stomach. “F ucking sc umbag! I should
kill you!” He kicked him again and again… again.
“C, sorry to rain on your parade, but this old coot has a small weapons cache under here. I don’t see
any CCTV cameras, but he does have a CB radio and a smartphone,” K iki said, stopping Cristos from
kicking the shi t out of Dous. She took both items and ced them. irin her backpack. “What I want
to know is where did those twoe from?” Ki ki asked.
FFrom the restroom door,” I told her. Ki ki jumped over the counter and quickly barricaded
the door with one of the wooden racks.
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“Are there any more of you?” Cristos asked Dous. He shook his head.
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“The old man said his wife made the sandwiches,” I said. “I don’t see a house in the area, so I suspect
they live in the basement.”
“I don’t know about you guys, but personally I don’t want to find out if there are any more of them. Good
thing you used a silencer, V. But the rack falling over should’ve gotten the attention of anyone and
everyone down below unless this kind of raucous is normal,” K iki rationalized. “I say we burn the ce
down. All we need to do is let the gas flow out of the pumps and into the store.”
K iki and Xavier were indeed siblings. They both loved arson.
“No, please, don’t. Don’t burn this ce down,” Dous pleaded, alerting us.
Of course. There were more of them downstairs.
Ki ki took out some duct tape from her backpack and taped his mouth. Cristos yanked him off of the
floor and pushed him outside.
“V, you better head back to the truck. I got this,” K iki said, grabbing a bottle of whisky, a lighter and a
dirty rag from behind the counter.
While Cristos handcuffed and chained a wounded Dous inside the camper trailer, I
watched Ki ki douse Terry’s Snack and Gas with gasoline.
When she was done, Cristos and I climbed into the pickup truck, while K iki jumped he
truck bed.
Cristos turned the ignition and drove off back to Bismarck. In the rear view mirror, throw a molotov co
cktail into the gasoline, setting everything on fire..
We were already a good distance away when we heard an explosion. K iki suddenly knock on the roof,
signaling for us to stop.
She jumped down and climbed into the backseat,ughing enthusiastically.
“G od da mn! Look at those fireworks!” She eximed, pping her hands like a delighted little girl.
“You know, when the Blood Disciples back home said you guys were having so much fun out here in
the middle of nowhere, I thought they were joking. Man, was I f ucking
wrong.” She leaned back on her seat and sighed. “Virtue, I was bout you. I thought
you were just using my brother to get your revenge, but f uck, this is even bigger than I coutef
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CHAPTER 143 Heart Shatter
have ever imagined. She patted me on the shoulder. “You did good back there. And by the
way, I am
never leaving your side from now on… just as long as I get to do more sh it like
that!”
“K iki is right,” Cristos said, finally breaking the awkward silence between us. “You did good,
Virtue.”
He was obviously ming himself for what had happened.
I was about to console him and convince him none of us could have known the gasoline station was a
trap when Cristos phone suddenly rang.
I grimaced. It was Xavier.
“What the hell happened?! I’ve been trying to contact you for the past hour, Xavier bellowed. “Well, is
someone going to tell me what happened?!”
Calm down, will yah?” K iki said indignantly. “The gas station, ording to the data I found,
was strategically ced in a dead zone, okay? I tried to put up my VSAT as fast as I could,
but we got tangled into a bit of a mess.”
“What kind of mess?” I heard the strain in Xavier’s voice. “Chip? Virtue? You guys okay?”
“Yes, we are Bo,” I answered. “We’re going to head back to Mandan HQ to deliver a package.”
“What happened this time?!”
“The gas station was set up as a trap to lure in campers. The people who manne convenience store
abduct women. Virtue found a picture of one of the women y saved at Huff Hills. She was abducted
there. They almost abducted Virtue, but sh them except for one. He’s in the camper trailer, tied up and
bleeding. Unfortunate
to burn the ce down. There were more of them in the basement,” Cristos answer voiceced with
guilt.
I see you at Mandan HQ,” Xavier replied gruffly and hung up.
When we arrived, a very worried and angry Xavier greeted us. Apparently, he was about to send out a
search party for us when we couldn’t be contacted.
“Cristos, this was why I wanted satellite images and information before engaging. You guys were only
supposed to survey the area. What were you thinking?!” Xavier yelled at him. We were in an office
room inside the warehouse. Xavier was pacing angrily in front of us while5/6
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CHAPTER 143 Heart Shatter
Cristos, K iki and I were seated on a sofa like children being scolded by their father.
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“I’m sorry….. I wasn’t thinking,” Cristos said quietly, feeling small. He bowed his head low, cing his
hands on the top of his head, like he just wanted everything to stop. When he raised his head, there
were tears in his eyes. “While I was ramming myself against the door, I actually thought Joy was dead.
It scared me so much I literally thought my heart was going to stop. He wiped the tears from his eyes.
“S hit just got real, Xavier. I don’t know if I can go through something like that again.”
“What do you mean you don’t know if you can go through something like that again?” Xavier asked.
“I mean I can’t do this anymore,” Cristos answered. “I’m heading back to California. You can use my
men at your disposal, Xavier.” He took my hands in his. “I hope you get your revenge, Joy, I really do. I
love you so much, but I can’t do this anymore.”
I felt my heart shatter as he uttered those words.
Chapter Comments
Elizabeth Johnson
that’s a shock, how can he leave????
Liz Boten
?
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