39. Raegan
Chapter thirty-nine
Raegan
Five minutes earlier…
My heart pounds hard and fast, blood rushing in my ears and deafening the sounds of the fight through Aiden’s laptop. I’m glued to the screen, too scared to blink and miss anything.
Thorne steals a knife from Jackson’s horde above Gordon, using it to cut Reid and grab his larger dagger. The rest happens in slow motion.
Instead of attacking Reid or the guys, I see Thorne turn that blade on Gordon.
I watch it go in Gordon’s side from behind, and come out the front.
All the way through.
I stop breathing.
“What the fuck?!” Dane shouts from Aiden’s chair.
My legs wobble and shake, and the room spins.
“Rae!”
“Raegan!”
Dane jumps up and Kellan is suddenly behind me, his hands steadying my hips. Cibrina left as soon as the others disappeared, so it’s only the three of us in Aiden’s office.
I grab the desk, leaning on it for strength to keep myself upright and gasp for air. “Is…is he…?”
“Here. Sit down.” Dane swings the chair to face me and Kellan guides me into it.
“Not yet, beautiful,” Kell answers me. “What do you need?”
What do I need?
I…don’t know. It doesn’t feel real, seeing Gordon hurt. Can he recover from something like that? Is it over?
You thought he was dead last time, and he wasn’t.
That’s right.
“This is a gift from the president.” Thorne’s voice sounds through the speakers.
“What deranged bastard kills his own men?” Kellan growls.
It was a rhetorical question, but Dane replies anyway. “Clearly the sick fuck in charge of GE.”
I keep watching the screen as everything plays out. Jackson fighting Thorne back. Aiden grabbing Gordon.
See? He’s still alive.
“What did he say? Turn up the volume,” Kellan barks suddenly.
Dane reaches over the laptop and taps a key several times. “There. It’s all the way up.”
“He’s there…been there…with your Guild…”
Dane stiffens next to me.
“He’s lying.” Kellan snatches the phone on Aiden’s desk and hits two keys. “Yeah, I want a full security update. I’ll wait.”
“You think he snuck in during the party?” Dane asks.
“No. This place is locked up tighter than a frog’s ass hole. There’s absolutely no way he could have gotten in.” Kellan brings the phone back to his mouth. “Yeah? She did? Good. No, that’s the order. Everything locked down, no one in or out. Call me if you see anything.” A pause. “ Anything . You see a speck on your screen where it shouldn’t be, I want to know about it.” He hangs up. “Cibrina already has the bunker entry points secured, and the guards all checked in again that nothing has happened.”
Gordon’s head drops, his body going limp.
I grip the armrests on the chair, my knuckles turning white as I stare breathlessly at the screen.
Did he…?
Is he…?
“Wait…didn’t he say something about been here?” I hear Dane talking, but the words don’t register as I’m consumed with the image of Gordon collapsed on the ground.
“The bunker is impenetrable. No one from outside got in,” Kellan argues.
“That’s not true, though, is it? We’ve let a lot of outside people into the bunker,” Dane pushes. “All of the rescued gifted.”
“And they’re isolated on their own floor in a locked space.”
“Then fucking humor me and call them.”
The phone on the desk rings, making us all jump.
Kellan answers. “What do you mean, the door opened on its own? No, there are no ghosts—” He stops, teeth snapping together. “It was probably Harvey. Call Claudia and have her keep an eye on him until I get down there.” He slams the phone into the cradle and slaps the laptop closed. I blink from my daze and look up. “I’m going to see what Harvey’s up to, but in case it’s nothing good, you aren’t coming with me. Get to our room, put the steel wall down, and hide under the bed until I come for you. I’m not taking any chances.” Kellan shoves the laptop at Dane. “And take this with you.”
“Do you think the president is actually—”
Kellan cuts Dane off. “I think you both need to get your asses to that room.” He helps me to my feet, then draws my face up to his with a pinch of my chin. “Can you do that for me, beautiful? I know you’ve got a lot going on right now, but I need to know you’re safe. I’ll come for you as soon as Harvey’s dealt with and I’ve checked in with Cibrina.”
I take a deep breath and exhale, pushing the stress and worry from my mind for later. I can’t get lost in a sea of what-ifs when there might be danger here in the bunker. I need to be prepared to fight. To defend and protect the Guild for Aiden while he’s not here. “I’m fine,” I tell him, my voice coming out strong and clear. No more fear or hesitation. “I can help you if it comes to a fight.”
He smirks and slides his hand to cradle the side of my face. “That’s my girl. Protect Rapunzel for me until I’m back. He’s still their target.”
Dane scoffs behind me, muttering under his breath.
I turn to tease him, but Kellan yanks me in for a kiss and I forget all about what I was going to say. The kiss is rough and deep, his beard scratching my face and leaving burning in its wake. His hands pin my body to his, one holding my face and the other gripping my ass. I throw my arms around his neck, dragging him into me as much as possible.
It’s feverish and raw with a hint of desperation. I don’t like that it feels like a goodbye kiss. Like he wanted to taste me one last time before he steps onto a battlefield.
He moves to pull away, and my nails dig into his neck and shoulder. Kellan growls, biting my lip hard enough to draw blood and then sucking it clean as he sweeps in with another kiss. This time, he breaks away sharply with his hand on my throat.
“What the fuck was that?” I snarl at him and grab his arm. “I’m coming with you if you’re going to kiss me like that!”
Kellan laughs, still holding me back as if he knows I’m ready to throw myself at him to keep us together. “I couldn’t help myself. I always feel that way when we’re about to part ways, beautiful.”
I frown, unconvinced.
A hand finds mine, and I turn to Dane.
“He’ll be fine. We should go.” He squeezes my hand, and I nod.
A sinking feeling fills my gut.
Dane tugs on my hand, prodding me to move. I do as if on autopilot, moving at his behest as Kellan follows behind until we get to the elevator. Kell grins and waves us off, waiting for the doors to close. His face drops and his body turns just before the silver doors block him from sight.
My chest feels tight the moment he disappears.
“Dane…” I whisper.
His thumb strokes the back of my hand. “Yeah?”
“This doesn’t feel right.”
He looks just as conflicted, but I can tell he’s trying to do the right thing. If GE is here, if they try to go after Dane, he’ll be a distraction for the others too focused on protecting him than fighting. But I know he wants to fight, too. “Come here,” he murmurs, setting the laptop down and drawing me against his chest. He wraps his arms around me, holding me close and resting his head on mine.
I breathe in his citrusy cologne, soaking in his warmth and comfort.
The elevator jerks, bounces, and stops.
The lights cut out.
Fuck a duck.