Born to Fight

Chapter 16

Celeste

I hadn’t expected to enjoy myself.

That was probably the strangest part.

When Lilly had shown up with an overnight bag, I’d been ready to count down the minutes until she left. I didn’t trust her. I didn’t trust Billy. And I certainly wasn’t ready to start pretending that the family I’d suddenly inherited meant anything to me.

Yet somehow, somewhere between the pizza, the soda, the ridiculous amount of dessert and the horror movies we’d both sworn wouldn’t scare us, I’d actually started having fun.

Real fun.

The kind I hadn’t experienced since before my mother died.

Lilly and I talked throughout the evening, laughing about stupid things and discovering little bits about each other.

But I was careful.

Very careful.

I gave her nothing that I didn’t want her to know.

I didn’t tell her much about Mum. Nothing about the things I was beginning to uncover about Billy. And definitely nothing about the questions that had been eating away at me since he had walked back into my life.

I still didn’t trust any of them.

Not completely.

Lilly hadn’t pushed.

That surprised me.

I’d expected questions. Lots of them.

Instead, she seemed content to let the conversation happen naturally.

Which made me wonder if that was the point.

Maybe she was playing the same game I was.

Maybe she was simply being patient, waiting until I lowered my guard.

I couldn’t help wondering if Billy had encouraged her to have this sleepover.

Maybe he’d hoped his daughter could get information out of me.

Maybe this whole evening had been a carefully disguised interrogation.

The thought kept nagging at me.

But then Loki happened.

Apparently, my dog had decided Lilly was his new favourite person.

She spent at least half an hour rubbing his belly, scratching behind his ears and telling him how handsome he was.

Loki loved every second of it.

He sprawled across the floor like he’d found heaven, his tail thumping happily whenever Lilly touched him.

Traitor.

I couldn’t help laughing.

And somehow, that was when something inside me shifted.

Maybe Lilly wasn’t so bad.

Maybe.

Time would tell.

We ordered pizza using Jamie’s PayPal account, which he’d handed over after realising he’d essentially volunteered himself to fund the entire night.

Pizza.

Dessert.

Soda.

More dessert.

Then came the horror movies.

That had been my idea.

Possibly one of the worst decisions I’d ever made.

By the time the third movie was halfway through, Lilly and I were both sitting under blankets, screaming at every unexpected noise.

We laughed until our stomachs hurt.

For a few hours, I forgot.

Forgot about the men who had murdered my mother.

Forgot about Billy.

Forgot about the questions.

Forgot that my entire life had been ripped apart.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt almost normal.

And that scared me more than I wanted to admit.

Because I hadn’t expected to like being around Lilly.

She was Billy’s daughter.

My sister.

A person I had sworn I wasn’t ready to let into my life.

Yet somewhere along the way, she’d started feeling a little less like a stranger.

We stayed awake well past midnight.

Eventually, exhaustion won.

I fell asleep sometime after two.

Or at least I thought I did.

A wet nose pressed against my cheek.

Then a warm tongue dragged across my face.

I groaned.

“Loki…”

He whined.

I opened my eyes.

Something was wrong.

I pushed myself upright and looked around the darkened room.

Lilly was still asleep beside me, curled on her side on the queen-sized mattress we’d dragged from one of the spare rooms. She was breathing deeply, completely unaware of the world around her.

I frowned.

“What’s wrong, boy?”

Loki’s ears were pointed toward the lounge room window.

Then I heard it.

A noise.

Faint.

Almost nothing.

At first, I thought it might be Jamie and Josh coming home.

Then Loki growled.

My stomach dropped.

Whenever Freeze came home, Loki practically launched himself at the front door.

He would never sit quietly beside me and growl.

Someone else was outside.

I carefully reached over and shook Lilly’s shoulder.

She stirred.

Her eyes opened.

Before she could speak, I covered her mouth.

Her eyes widened in panic.

I put one finger against my lips.

“Shh.”

I pointed toward the window.

Lilly slowly sat up.

We listened.

There.

A muffled footstep.

Then another.

And then whispering.

My heart started pounding.

Loki’s hackles rose.

Whoever was outside wasn’t here to knock on the door.

They were trying to get inside.

I looked at Lilly.

She looked terrified.

“Stay here,” I whispered.

Her eyes widened.

“Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

She grabbed my arm.

“No.”

“Lilly—”

“Don’t leave me.”

Her voice trembled.

“I won’t. Loki will stay with you.”

I squeezed her hand.

“I promise.”

Then I slipped away.

I raced upstairs and changed as quickly and quietly as I could, pulling on cargo pants and grabbing the handgun I’d hidden away.

I shoved the spare ammunition into my hoodie pocket, pulled it over my head and hurried back downstairs.

When I returned, Lilly was exactly where I’d left her.

She was clutching Loki against her, looking like she was trying desperately not to fall apart.

Then—

CRASH!

The sound of breaking glass exploded through the house.

Lilly screamed.

I grabbed her hand.

“Come on.”

We moved toward the kitchen.

Another sound came from somewhere behind us.

Footsteps.

My blood ran cold.

Two silhouettes moved through the darkness.

Men.

Inside our house.

I pulled Lilly toward the pantry and opened the door.

“Inside.”

“What?”

“Lilly, now.”

She hesitated.

I pushed her gently inside with Loki.

“Stay quiet.”

Her eyes filled with fear.

“If they find you, they won’t hesitate. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

I put my finger to my lips.

“Not a sound.”

I closed the door.

For one second, I stood there listening.

Then I turned.

The fear disappeared.

My mother’s daughter took over.

I’d spent years training for moments like this.

Tonight, I just hadn’t expected to need it.

I moved through the darkness, keeping low and using the house I knew better than the men who had invaded it.

I needed them away from Lilly.

Away from the pantry.

Away from the house.

I reached the front door.

Then I made my move.

I drew their attention and bolted outside.

Cold night air hit my face as I ran.

I didn’t look back.

I headed toward the trees at the edge of the property, where the darkness could swallow me whole.

The men wouldn’t know the land like I did.

That was my advantage.

I disappeared between the trees.

Then I stopped.

I listened.

Footsteps.

They were coming.

Good.

Let them.

I found a place to hide and waited.

Tonight, they had come hunting.

They just hadn’t realised they were hunting the wrong person.

⸻

Lilly

The pantry had never felt so small.

I crouched in the corner with Loki pressed against my side, desperately trying to keep him quiet.

My entire body was shaking.

What the hell was happening?

Who were those men?

What did they want?

And where was Celeste?

My thoughts immediately went to Josh.

I wanted my brother.

I wanted him here.

I wanted him to make everything okay.

Then guilt slammed into me.

Because while I was hiding in a pantry wishing someone would come and protect me, Celeste was out there alone.

Celeste.

My little sister.

She was only seventeen.

Seventeen.

And she’d just sent me into hiding while she went outside to deal with the people who had broken into our home.

What kind of big sister was I?

The worst one ever.

It was official.

I sucked at this whole big-sister thing.

A sound outside the pantry made me freeze.

Someone was there.

My heart stopped.

I pulled Loki closer.

The handle moved.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Then Loki’s tail started wagging.

What?

He whimpered softly and moved toward the door.

“Loki?”

The door opened.

I expected to see Celeste.

Instead—

Jamie.

Josh.

And Freeze.

Relief hit me so hard I nearly cried.

The expressions on my brothers’ faces told me they hadn’t expected to find me hiding in a pantry.

Jamie crouched in front of me.

“What happened?”

I swallowed.

“There were men.”

His expression changed instantly.

“Where’s Celeste?”

“She—”

My voice cracked.

“She hid me in here with Loki.”

Josh crouched beside me.

“How long have you been in here?”

“I don’t know.”

I shook my head.

“A while.”

Jamie looked toward the hallway.

“Okay.”

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

“Josh, stay with Lilly.”

“What about Celeste?”

“I’m going after her.”

He disappeared before either of us could argue.

A moment later, I heard his footsteps upstairs.

Then silence.

Seconds later, Freeze appeared.

Jamie held something in front of him.

Celeste’s sweater.

“Find her.”

Freeze immediately moved.

Jamie followed.

Loki pulled away from me, desperate to follow them.

I grabbed his collar.

“No.”

I couldn’t lose him too.

I couldn’t lose anyone else.

⸻

Jamie

The moment Freeze caught Celeste’s scent, everything else disappeared.

My only thought was finding her.

Finding her alive.

I followed Freeze through the darkness, with Loki racing beside us.

He moved cautiously between the trees.

That told me everything I needed to know.

The men were still here.

I stopped.

Freeze dropped low.

Loki did the same.

I crouched behind them and scanned the darkness.

Movement.

Two men.

They were searching.

My stomach tightened.

They hadn’t found Celeste.

Yet.

I followed them through the trees, keeping to the shadows.

Then one of them disappeared from view.

A few moments later, the second man did too.

I waited.

Listened.

And then I saw my opportunity.

I moved.

The confrontation was over almost as quickly as it had begun.

I lowered the man silently and immediately turned my attention back to Freeze.

“Find her.”

Freeze moved again.

We pushed deeper into the trees.

Then I heard voices.

I froze.

Three men.

Maybe more.

I couldn’t tell.

I studied the darkness, trying to work out where they were.

Then I heard something behind me.

I spun around.

My heart nearly stopped.

Josh.

And Lilly.

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

My whisper was sharp.

Josh didn’t even flinch.

“I couldn’t let you come out here alone.”

“You brought Lilly?”

“I couldn’t leave her at the house.”

I stared at him.

“She’s safer there.”

“She’s terrified.”

“So are we.”

Josh’s jaw tightened.

“She wouldn’t stay.”

I looked at Lilly.

She was pale, frightened and clearly trying to be brave.

“She’s your sister,” Josh whispered. “And so is Celeste.”

I exhaled slowly.

I couldn’t argue with that.

Not really.

“She’s putting herself in danger,” I whispered.

“So is Celeste.”

That shut me up.

Josh was right.

I looked toward the darkness.

Somewhere out there was a seventeen-year-old girl who had already lost her mother.

And now she was facing the same kind of men who had taken Tina from her.

We couldn’t fail her.

Not tonight.

Lilly stepped closer.

“Can you two stop arguing and find her?”

Her voice trembled.

“Celeste is out there alone.”

She swallowed hard.

“She must be terrified.”

Josh immediately softened.

“Lilly, we’re going to find her.”

She nodded, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

I crouched in front of her.

“Listen to me.”

She looked at me.

“Josh and I know what we’re doing.”

I glanced at Loki.

“And you’ve got one of the best bodyguards on the property.”

Lilly looked down at Loki.

He nudged his head against her hand.

She stroked his fur.

“I want you to stay right here.”

Her eyes widened.

“But—”

“No.”

My voice was firm.

“Stay with Loki. Whatever happens, don’t leave this spot unless we come back for you.”

She nodded.

I looked at Josh.

He gave me a determined nod.

Then we turned toward the darkness.

The men who had invaded our home thought they were hunting us.

They had no idea what they’d walked into.

Josh and I had spent years being trained for situations exactly like this.

But tonight wasn’t about a mission.

It wasn’t about orders.

It wasn’t even about us.

It was about Celeste.

A girl who had already lost too much.

A girl who had somehow become our family before we’d even had time to understand what that meant.

And I wasn’t leaving these woods without her.

Alive.

I looked at Josh.

He nodded.

Then we disappeared into the darkness.

Because somewhere out there, Celeste was waiting.

And whatever happened next…

I was going to make damn sure she wasn’t facing it alone.