Her Obsession (by Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 115

Her Obsession.

The Ghost Maker Is Dead.

Suppressive fire opens from my left, controlled, precise. Art’s team pushes the perimeter, slamming a blanket of gunfire into the guards clustered around the tree. The rookies move like they’ve seen this done a hundred times; they cut toward the vans, corralling the perimeter. Liam punches through a man’s jaw hard enough that the man forgets how to reach for his weapon. Nico, standing close to Yakov, ducks his head as if to plead, then in the same breath slams something into the man beside him, a hard, practised shove that trips a guard into a shallow ditch. He’s been playing the part, and now he plays chaos. His earpiece hisses instructions to us that Arl amplifies on the feed: “Left flank clear, two at the generator. Conner, Yakov’s moving to the truck.”

I run. Four steps, then another. The gap closes faster than it should. My world is muscle and air and the taste of blood in the back of my throat. One hand on the stock, one on the safety, and then the fight is close and hot: a boot in a face, the snap of a rifle butt, the scuff of bodies on wet grass. Men I grew up with move like ghosts, efficient and focused, leaving no room for sentiment.

Yakov stumbles back as men fall around him. For the first time since he showed himself like a god, his composure cracks. He jerks, looks for a way out, and his hand goes for a pistol at his hip. CRACK.

My boot hits his wrist, sending the gun spinning into the dirt. Yakov hisses, clutching his hand, eyes wide with something that finally looks like fear. Then he looks up and realises what’s closing in.

Sage. Naomi. Ari. They fan out, blood–slick and wild, eyes sharp, movements feral. They don’t speak. They don’t need to. The circle tightens, their weapons drop to the ground one by one, the sound of metal against dirt sharp in the sudden quiet. I take a step back, chest heaving, letting them have him. Letting them finish it. Yakov tries to back away, but Sage is faster. She moves like lightning, one clean strike; her boot slams into his gut, folding him in half. He gasps, spittle and blood hitting the dirt. Naomi’s next, a vicious snarl curling her lips. Her knee cracks up into his jaw with a sickening snap, throwing his head back and sending a spray of red across the ground. He staggers, choking on the taste of his own teeth. Ari doesn’t wait. She drives her fist into his ribs, one, two, three hits, the thud of flesh on flesh echoing through the clearing. Something pops under her knuckles, and Yakov drops to one knee, wheezing, blood bubbling at his lips.

Sage grabs him by the collar, yanking his face up to hers. There’s no pity in her eyes, no mercy. Just the ghost of every person he’s ever broken staring back at him. She swings again, a sharp right hook that splits his lip wide open. Naomi circles behind him, boot connecting with the side of his head. He crashes sideways into the dirt, but before he can fall completely, Ari’s there, catching his shoulder and driving a punch straight into his temple.

Thud.

Crack.

Another thud.

The sound of it is almost rhythmic. The monster that once ruled them is now nothing but a body in the mud, taking blow after blow from the very ghosts he created. Sage breathes hard, chest heaving, a strand of hair stuck to her cheek. She doesn’t stop until her knuckles split. Naomi’s laughter cuts through the noise, dark, sharp, alive, while Ari finishes with a hard kick to his side that sends him sprawling flat on his back.

Yakov coughs, a wet sound. Blood drips down his chin as he looks up at them, dazed and broken. “You think this changes anything?” he spits weakly.

Sage wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and crouches beside him. “Yeah,” she says, voice low and even. “It changes everything.”

She stands, the three women forming a line before him, breath mingling with the smoke of gunfire and the copper tang of blood. And behind them, I watch with pride and rage burning in my chest, as the ghosts he loves, take back their power, one brutal hit at a time.

The noise fades. The gunfire stops. The shouting dies. Even the wind seems to hold its breath. All that’s left is the wet, meaty sound of

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12:03 Tue, Oct 21

The Ghost Maker Is Dead

fists and boots connecting with flesh, Sage, Naomi, and Ari raining down fury on the man who once owned their nightmares, and then even that slows. I glance around, realising the silence isn’t just in my head. Every single person, my men, the rookies, the survivors, the ghosts, they’ve all stopped to watch. Dozens of eyes are fixed on the scene in front of us. Yakov, the untouchable, the monster who thought himself a god, now a broken, blood–soaked heap in the dirt. He’s wheezing through every breath, each one wet and ragged. Blood runs from his mouth, pooling beneath him, and the women who tore him down stand above him, panting, bloodied and alive.

Then movement from the back catches my eye. Winnie. She steps out from the shadows, her small frame trembling, eyes wide but steady. There’s a knife in her hand, one of mine, I realise. Her knuckles white around the handle. She looks terrified, but she keeps walking, one slow step after another, until she’s standing right in front of the man who ruined them all. Sage notices first. She straightens, eyes flicking from Yakov to Winnie, then gestures softly for Naomi and Ari to step back. They obey without question. The space opens. The air changes again. Sage meets Winnie’s eyes and gives a single, silent nod. Winnie swallows hard. Her breath shakes. Then she crouches down, looks Yakov dead in the eye, and spits in his face.

“You don’t get to breathe our air anymore,” she whispers.

Then she drives the knife into his neck. The sound is short, a wet choke, a gasp and then nothing. Yakov’s eyes roll back, body twitching once before it goes still. For a moment, no one moves. Sage steps forward, resting a hand on Winnie’s shoulder. No words, just quiet acknowledgment. Around us, men lower their guns, heads bow slightly. There’s no cheer, no victory cry, just the sound of relief breaking through the still night. The ghost maker is dead.

Chapter Comments

Maxine Webb

3 days ago

awesome. so well written

B 11

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