THE BASTARD THEY FEARED

CHAPTER 4 - SHADOWS

Kael’s POV

The footsteps downstairs multiplied rapidly and I knew they were at least six men or more.

Rain battered the broken windows of the abandoned building while thunder shook the walls hard enough to rattle dust from the ceiling.

My shoulder burned where the bullet had grazed me, warm blood soaking through my hoodie but somehow the pain barely registered anymore because my brain was still stuck on one sentence.

Most hunted man in Blackthorn City?

I stared at the blonde woman and yelled, “Who the hell are you?”

She ignored the question completely, instead, she moved toward a nearby table and calmly assembled another gun like this was a normal Tuesday night for her.

The metal clicked softly beneath her fingers, precise, practiced and dangerous.

“You know,” she said casually, “most people say thank you after being saved.”

“You pointed a gun at me.”

“But you’re still alive. So, that's a fair point.”

Another crash echoed downstairs and a male voice shouted, “Search every floor!”

Adrenaline surged through me again.

“They’re coming up.”

“No shit.”

The woman checked the chamber of her weapon before finally looking at me properly.

“You can fight?”

I blinked. “What?”

“Fight,” she repeated impatiently. “Can you?”

“I mean… I’ve been in fights before.”

She looked deeply unimpressed.

“That’s wasn't my question.”

My jaw tightened.

“I don’t even know your name.”

“Raven.”

“I'm Kael.”

“I know.”

Alright, she already knew who I was somehow which was honestly becoming more terrifying by the second.

Raven walked toward the window and peeked through the cracked blinds, then her expression hardened.

“Damn.”

“What?”

“There are more outside.”

I moved beside her carefully and looked down to see black SUVs surrounding the building.

Men in suits stepped out holding weapons and my stomach dropped. This was a random damn manhunt.

“What do they want from me?” I whispered.

Raven glanced sideways at me.

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“Whether the rumors are true.”

I stared at her blankly.

“What rumors?”

“That Alessandro Varez left you something valuable.”

Before I could ask another question, heavy footsteps thundered up the staircase very close.

Raven immediately killed the small flashlight beside us and darkness swallowed the room. Then she grabbed my arm suddenly and yanked me behind a concrete pillar.

I nearly hissed from the pain in my shoulder.

“Quiet,” she breathed against my ear.

The footsteps reached the hallway outside and my pulse pounded violently as I could hear my own breathing and theirs too.

The door creaked open slowly and flashlights swept across the room. I held my breath as three armed men entered carefully.

They were on black suits, had cold eyes and silenced pistols.

One of them spoke into an earpiece.

“The top floor is clear so far.”

Raven’s grip tightened slightly around her gun and I realized that she wasn’t scared even slightly.

The men moved deeper and closer into the room until one of them suddenly stopped and his flashlight landed directly on the trail of blood leading behind our pillar.

“Shit!”, I cursed within myself.

“There!”

Everything exploded at once as gunfire erupted violently and Raven moved before I could even process it.

Two suppressed shots cracked through the darkness and the first man dropped instantly.

The second barely raised his weapon before Raven slammed a knife into his throat and blood splattered the wall making me freeze

Holy shit!She killed them so easily.

The third attacker fired wildly toward us but Raven grabbed my hoodie and shoved me down just as bullets tore through the concrete above my head.

“MOVE!” she shouted and we ran.

More men stormed upstairs behind us and gunshots exploded through the building while Raven sprinted toward the far side of the room.

“There’s no exit!”, I yelled.

“There will be now.”

She kicked open a rusted metal hatch hidden beneath debris and cold air rushed upward. It was a fire escape. Raven jumped onto the ladder first before looking up at me impatiently.

“Well?”

Another gunshot hit the wall beside my head and that answered for me. I climbed down after her while chaos erupted above us.

Rain slammed into us immediately once we reached the alley below and my shoes splashed through puddles as we ran again.

“What happens if they catch me?” I shouted over the storm but Raven didn’t slow down.

“You die or worse.”

That made me nervous enough to almost stop running.

“What’s worse than dying?” I interrupted curiously and she looked back briefly before answering.

“You get dragged into the succession war.”

The way she said it sent a chill down my spine like death would actually be kinder.

Police sirens echoed somewhere nearby but strangely, none of the attackers seemed worried about it. It was almost like they knew nobody would interfere. This was a corrupt city with corrupt cops so nothing was new.

We cut through another narrow alley before Raven suddenly shoved me against the wall hard enough to make me wince.

“What the hell?”

“Quiet.”

Her blue eyes narrowed toward the street ahead.

A sleek black car slowly rolled past the alley entrance. It had tinted windows, looked expensive and dangerous.

Raven cursed under her breath and I asked,

“What now?”

“That car belongs to Lucien Varez.”

The name meant nothing to me. Apparently my face showed it and she stared at me like I was stupid.

“Your half-brother.”

My entire body went still.

What?This was insane. I didn’t have brothers and barely even had a father until two hours ago.

Raven leaned closer slightly and whispered,

“And if Lucien finds you before the others do…”

She paused and for the first time since meeting her, I saw genuine concern flicker across her face.

“He’ll skin you alive.”

The car stopped at the end of the street and a tall man stepped out slowly.

Even from a distance, he radiated power. He wore a black tailored coat, had dark hair slicked back neatly and cold silver eyes, the kind of man who looked dangerous without needing weapons.

Lucien Varez, my supposed brother scanned the street calmly while rain poured around him.

Then his gaze shifted toward our alley and locked directly onto me.

My blood froze.

Impossible, there was no way he could see me clearly from this far but he smiled slowly like he already knew exactly who I was.

Raven grabbed my arm instantly. “Run.”

We bolted deeper into the city again. My lungs screamed in protest while blood continued dripping down my shoulder but my mind was worse.

Brother?The word echoed violently inside my skull as none of this felt real anymore.

I was a delivery guy twelve hours ago but now armed men were hunting me through the city while mafia heirs apparently wanted me dead.

How the hell did my life collapse this fast?

We finally stopped beneath an abandoned train bridge nearly twenty minutes later.

I bent over breathing hard while Raven remained perfectly composed.

I looked up at her. “You need to tell me the truth.”

“You’ll need to be more specific.”

Thunder cracked overhead and Raven leaned against the concrete wall silently for several seconds before speaking.

“Alessandro Varez controlled most of Blackthorn City from the shadows. When he died tonight, every predator in this city started circling for power and your existence became public.”

I frowned. “How?”

“That’s the interesting part.”

Before I could ask what she meant, my phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket. I took it out and saw “unknown number” on the screen.

Raven’s expression changed instantly.

“Don’t answer.”

But I already had.

“Hello?”

I called and a deep male voice spoke calmly from the other end.

“Good evening, Kael.”

Something about that voice made my skin crawl.

“Who is this?”

A soft chuckle echoed through the line.

“I expected Alessandro’s son to sound less frightened.”

Ice flooded my veins but I asked, “Who are you?”

“My name is Lucien.”

My grip tightened around the phone and across from me, Raven mouthed one word," speaker" but I ignored her.

“What do you want?”

“It's simple,” Lucien replied smoothly. “I want to meet my little brother.”

Brother? He said that word like he enjoyed twisting the knife.

“I don’t have a brother.”

Lucien laughed softly.

“That denial will fade eventually.”

Rain fell around us as I forced myself to stay calm. “If you know where I am, why not just kill me?”

“Because Father left something to you.”

My heartbeat slowed.

“What?”

“And unfortunately for everyone involved” Lucien’s voice darkened slightly. “I need it.”

I looked at Raven and her expression had become dangerously sharp.

“What did he leave me?” I asked quietly.

Lucien chuckled again.

“Ooh, you really don’t know.”

Fear twisted in my stomach because I realized that everyone else seemed to know more about my life than I did.

Then Lucien spoke one final sentence that made my blood run cold.

“Tell me, Kael…”

His voice became almost amused.

“…did your mother ever mention the key?”