Reverence In Ruin

Chapter Sixteen

Voss pointed his gun towards the direction of the headlights and pulled the trigger three times. The loud bangs bounced off the alley walls as bullets shattered the glass of the approaching headlights. The car let out a loud squeal, its tires spinning on the slick pavement, then suddenly it reversed, skidding out of the alley and onto the main road.

​He didn’t even bother chasing after them.

​He dropped to his knees, the cold rain soaking through his shirt as he pulled Amelia against his chest. Her head rolled back, eyes shut tight, her skin glowed like grey marble under the low streetlights.

​“Amelia!” He shook her, his voice was full of panic he had not felt in years. “Amelia, wake up!”

No response. Just the sound of the rain and the faint sound of the car.

He quickly put her in his car and made way to the hospital.

There was the smell of old fear and wax polish mixed together in the hospital room. Voss stood by the window, his silhouette shadow against the morning light. He hadn't sat down once. His hand stayed shoved in his pocket, gripping the burner phone until his knuckles went white.

​A soft, crooked gasp came from the bed.

​Amelia bolted upright, her eyes wide with panic. She clawed at the air, her breathing coming in quick gasps. “Lila! Adrian, where is she? Where did they take her?”

​Voss didn't turn around. His eyes remained fixed on the sight before him “They’re gone

They wanted a trade, they’re not going to kill a kid they can still use as a bargaining chip.”

​Amelia let out a sound, an unadulterated grief.

She folded into herself, her forehead resting on her pulled-up knees. “You should have let me die. Why am I here? You let them drive away with her just to scrape me off the pavement?”

​Voss finally turned. His expression appeared cold and impassive, the V lord mask back in place. “I don't owe you anything, Amelia. And I certainly don't owe that child a damn thing. I brought you here because i never leave my business unfinished.”

​He strode back and forth beside the bed, his footsteps echoed like a ticking clock. “When you’re steady enough to walk, you’re leaving. I’m done. I am not obligated to spend my resources hunting for a kid you had with some other man while I was rotting away.”

​Amelia went still. The sobbing stopped. She slowly raised her head, looking at him with a hollow, stunned expression. “Some other man?”

​“Don’t,” Voss snapped, pointing a finger at her. “Don't start the act again. The timing, the years, it doesn't add up. Just get your strength back, go find her father, and get out of my city.”

​Amelia stared at him, a bitter truth slowly becoming clear in her gaze. She laughed dryly, a laugh that was closer to a cough than anything else. “You really are a fool, aren’t you? You’re so wrapped up in being the victim that you can't even see your own blood.” Her voice sank into a whisper that sliced through the air like a knife.

​“What is that supposed to mean?”

​“I didn't have her with another man, Adrian,” she said, her voice sinking into a whisper that sliced through the air like a knife. “I was going to take her away because i was trying to save her from the man you are right now.”

​Voss stopped. The room looked like the air had just been drawn out of it. “Nice try.” he clapped.

“Bravo.”

​“I don't care what it is you're on right now, but she's yours.”

​Voss stood frozen. For a second, the image of the girl counting in the dark flashed in his mind, her small jaw set in that exact, stubborn line he saw in the mirror every morning. His stomach turned over, a cold, sickening weight settling in his gut.

​Then, he scoffed. He stepped closer to the bed, leaning down until he was inches from her face, his eyes narrowed into slits.

​“What? Is this another plan?” he hissed, his voice quivering with both fury and an emotion he wouldn’t dare to name.

“A new script to get me to trust you? You think if you tell me she’s mine, I will get soft? That I’ll let you sell me out again? It is none of my business whatever happens to her!”