Chapter 3-Blood In The Rain
1453 Words
The rain had not stopped.
It fell harder now, drumming against the steel bridge and turning the river below into a restless sheet of black water.
Elara Vale leaned against the cold railing, staring at the dark current rushing beneath them. The city skyline behind her shimmered in blurred lights through the storm.
Her thoughts were spinning.
Marina worked for Adrian.
The Black Choir existed.
And someone named Sebastian Crowe had decided she was worth killing.
Three years of investigation had led her here—to a bridge in the rain beside the most dangerous man in the city.
Elara turned back toward Adrian.
He stood near the car with the same calm composure he had carried since the moment she met him.
Hands in his coat pockets.
Eyes scanning the empty road.
Watching.
Always watching.
“You look like you’re expecting something,” Elara said.
“I am.”
Her stomach tightened.
“What?”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
Instead he tilted his head slightly, listening to something distant.
Then he sighed.
“They’re early.”
Before Elara could ask what he meant, headlights appeared at the far end of the bridge.
A black SUV sped toward them.
Another vehicle appeared behind it.
Then another.
Elara’s heart began to pound.
“That’s not good, is it?”
“No,” Adrian said calmly.
“It isn’t.”
The first SUV screeched to a stop twenty yards away.
Four men jumped out.
All armed.
Rain soaked their dark jackets as they spread out across the bridge.
The second SUV stopped behind them.
More men emerged.
Elara counted quickly.
Eight.
Maybe nine.
Her pulse raced.
“You said the warehouse attack wasn’t the most dangerous thing tonight.”
Adrian nodded slightly.
“This is.”
“Great,” she muttered.
The men began walking toward them.
Their boots splashed through the rainwater pooling on the bridge.
One of them called out.
“Mr. Voss.”
Adrian didn’t move.
“Evening,” he replied calmly.
Elara stared at him.
“You know them?”
“Yes.”
“Friends?”
“Not exactly.”
The lead man stopped several feet away.
His face was sharp and severe, his eyes cold with purpose.
“Mr. Crowe sends his regards.”
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“I’m touched.”
The man’s gaze shifted to Elara.
“That’s the girl?”
Adrian stepped slightly in front of her.
“Yes.”
The man smiled faintly.
“Mr. Crowe would like to speak with her.”
“I’m afraid she’s busy.”
The man’s smile vanished.
“You misunderstand.”
“No,” Adrian said quietly.
“I don’t.”
Rain poured harder now.
The wind howled across the bridge.
The man raised his gun.
“Step aside.”
Elara felt the tension beside her shift instantly.
Adrian’s entire posture changed.
Not visibly.
But something in the air felt different.
Predatory.
Like a wolf suddenly noticing prey.
“No,” Adrian said softly.
The man sighed.
“That’s unfortunate.”
Gunfire exploded.
Elara flinched instinctively.
But Adrian moved faster than her eyes could follow.
He shoved her down behind the car just as bullets shattered the windshield.
Glass rained around them.
“Stay down,” Adrian said.
More gunfire echoed across the bridge.
Adrian leaned out from behind the car and fired back.
The sharp c***k of his pistol cut through the storm.
One of the attackers collapsed.
The others scattered for cover.
Elara crouched beside the tire, her heart racing wildly.
“This is insane!” she shouted.
Adrian fired again.
Another man dropped.
“Welcome to my life,” he replied calmly.
A bullet slammed into the side of the car inches from her head.
Elara ducked lower.
“You said you were protecting me!”
“I am.”
“This feels like the opposite of protection!”
Adrian gave a short laugh.
Another burst of gunfire erupted from the attackers.
Adrian pulled Elara closer to the car.
“Listen carefully.”
“This is not the moment for instructions!”
“Yes it is.”
He grabbed her shoulders.
His voice dropped into something cold and focused.
“When I say run, you run toward the stairs at the end of the bridge.”
Elara shook her head.
“No way.”
“Elara—”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
Adrian paused.
Something unexpected flickered across his face.
Surprise.
“You’re very stubborn.”
“You’re just noticing that now?”
Another bullet shattered the car’s rear window.
Adrian sighed.
“This conversation is becoming inconvenient.”
He leaned out again and fired twice in quick succession.
Two more attackers collapsed.
The remaining men retreated behind their vehicles.
For a moment the gunfire stopped.
Rain filled the silence.
Elara peeked around the edge of the car.
Four men remained.
The leader shouted again.
“Mr. Voss!”
Adrian stood slowly.
“Elara,” he said quietly.
“What?”
“Stay behind me.”
Before she could argue, he stepped away from the car.
Out into the open rain.
Elara stared in disbelief.
“Are you insane?” she whispered.
The leader raised his weapon again.
“Last chance, Voss.”
Adrian didn’t stop walking.
“You should tell Crowe something for me,” he said calmly.
The man frowned.
“What?”
Adrian stopped about ten feet away from them.
Rain ran down his face and coat, but his expression remained composed.
“Tell him,” Adrian said softly,
“That sending amateurs was insulting.”
The leader’s eyes hardened.
“Kill him.”
Gunfire erupted again.
But Adrian was already moving.
He dove sideways behind a steel support beam.
Shots sparked against the metal.
Elara watched in stunned disbelief as Adrian returned fire with frightening precision.
One attacker fell.
Then another.
The leader tried to retreat toward the SUV.
Adrian shot the tire.
The vehicle collapsed onto its rim with a loud crunch.
The man froze.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
Adrian walked slowly toward him.
The rain had turned the bridge into a river of shimmering water.
“Wait,” the man said quickly.
“I was only following orders.”
Adrian stopped a few feet away.
“I know.”
“Crowe said the girl was important.”
Adrian’s gaze sharpened.
“What exactly did he say?”
The man hesitated.
“That she was the key.”
Elara felt her stomach drop.
“The key to what?” Adrian asked quietly.
“I don’t know!”
Adrian studied him for a long moment.
Then he lowered the gun slightly.
“You should have stayed home tonight.”
The man swallowed nervously.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Adrian’s voice softened.
“Neither did I.”
A single gunshot echoed across the bridge.
The man collapsed.
Silence returned.
Only rain and distant thunder remained.
Elara slowly stood from behind the car.
Her legs felt unsteady as she walked toward Adrian.
Bodies lay scattered across the bridge.
She stopped beside him.
“You killed all of them.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t hesitate.”
Adrian holstered his weapon.
“No.”
Elara stared at him.
“You’re terrifying.”
He looked at her.
“Good.”
She frowned.
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
He glanced down at the man he had just shot.
“The important part is what he said.”
Elara felt a chill creep through her chest.
“The key.”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean?”
Adrian’s expression turned thoughtful again.
“I’m not sure.”
He looked toward the city skyline.
“But I intend to find out.”
Elara crossed her arms.
“And until then?”
Adrian met her gaze.
Rain continued falling between them.
“Until then,” he said quietly,
“You don’t go anywhere without me.”
Elara sighed.
“You’re not giving me much choice.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“I’m not.”
Lightning flashed across the sky again.
For a brief moment the bridge lit up in cold white light.
Elara glanced at the bodies scattered around them.
Then back at Adrian.
The man everyone in the city feared.
The man who might be the only reason she was still alive.
And somewhere out there—
A man named Sebastian Crowe had just declared war.
But the part that frightened her most wasn’t the violence.
It was the realization slowly forming in the back of her mind.
If Adrian Voss was the devil people whispered about—
Then the man hunting them might be something far worse.
- Writer
