30
A ngel flinched back so fast that his entire body shuddered and fell back. His eyes widened, a sudden roar beginning in the back of his mind as he saw Noah Hassan fall to his knees. He took a second, just a fucking second before jerking into action and pulling that gun from the hidden folds of his tux as well and–
Saw Ray do the same.
She moved faster than him, a fierceness in her eyes as she pointed her gun in Akash’s direction and shot! Angel gritted his teeth as Kyle yelled out to the crowd and everyone moved to jump on him. He ran ahead to Noah’s jerking figure and crouched down next to him. If he’d looked up, he would’ve seen Ray shielding them from the bullets and the knives that rained down on them. He barely noticed the shadows move and turn on them as masked strangers fell upon Ray.
All Akash’s people, he thought venomously as he checked Noah’s pulse on the side of his neck. Flinched when he found none. The boy’s face had paled, his eyes still wide open when Angel pulled away from him with harsh breath. He shut those eyes gently, his heart pounding in his chest as he mumbled a soft prayer and got to his feet.
All his rage, grief poured off him in waves as he moved to stand beside Ray and lifted his gun. Saw Akash and Irene already standing before them, covered by those masked strangers, grinning at them maliciously. That ringing, that roar became louder as Ray growled beside him, shaking with leashed anger as she shot down those who came after them .
“You fucking assholes,” Came Kyle’s yell of fury behind them as the boy pushed past Verana and screamed at those two standing up ahead,
“ COME FACE US YOU COWARDS!”
“Get down!”
It was Ray who grabbed him and ran to the nearby table she saw.
Vera was at her side, Kyle fuming next to her as the girls heaved and pushed the table down to form a barricade.
Angel covered them by shooting at anyone who came close to their huddle and was just out of bullets when Ray grabbed his hand and pulled him down roughly. No longer sitting ducks, Angel panted as he leaned back against the wooden table and heaved a breath.
“–fucking idiot,” he heard Vera snap as she pulled Kyle beside her as well. Angel turned his head to look at Ray and stilled when he found her frozen on the ground. The look of surprise and betrayal had stuck in her eyes as she combed a shaking hand through her hair and exhaled sharply. His eyes crinkled in understanding, and he clenched his teeth, turning away from her to peep at the huddle of people out there.
The crowd had already dispersed, some going to protect Maya and Alessandro at their backs, while the others contemplated which sides to choose. The atmosphere had darkened, morbidly so. The wind howled dangerously above their heads, with the sounds of bullets ricocheting with them. His eyes narrowed as he caught the view of Akash and Irene talking behind the wall of people surrounding them, looking absolutely relaxed. Angel tapped his thumb against the metal of his gun relentlessly, waiting for them to arrive, to–
“NOW! ”
A humorless grin took place on his lips as he turned swiftly on his heels and got up to his knees, watching the hell unleash.
Watching his people come raining down on those masked shadows.
His heart pounded in his chest when he saw Jack and Christina come with a militia of people behind them. As the latter snarled and shot the first person she saw. His shoulders stiffened in surprise, his smile dropping when he saw Mia walk in beside his father, another group of recruits behind them.
All those people watched Martin De Santos give brief yet firm orders before running away with a nod. Angel frowned as he saw Mia turn to him with an odd glow in her eyes but didn’t have time to question it as a bullet grazed past him and Ray shoved him down again,
“ Quit zoning out.” she snapped, her voice dry but venomous as she turned on her knees as well, propping her gun on the wooden edge and breathing out. He saw her eyes dart around, trying to catch the smallest gap in the barrier that Akash had created around himself. And sighed when she cursed and sat back down again,
“There’s no openings.” She whispered and looked at him from the corner of her eyes, “Your father’s here.”
Angel shrugged, “I know.”
Ray sighed again and swiped the beads of sweat off her face before turning to look at Kyle, “Where’s Alessandro?” she asked, turning over her shoulder. Angel followed her line of sight but found no one on the dais. Only stains of blood and small fires.
The wind howled again and Angel saw Kyle sit forward, his green eyes ablaze as he snarled lowly,
“Probably killing as many as he and mom can with their bare hands. ”
Angel knew he didn’t imagine the hint of pride in those words but bristled at it regardless. Maya’s rage was unending, and now Akash’s name would be written on the ledger in red .
“So Akash was behind everything huh,” Angel breathed, “June Kincaid, the ambush, Sorin?”
Ray didn’t say anything beside him, just pulled her knees to her chest and placed her head on top of it. He heard her breathe out, her hand which was hanging up ahead, shaking as she said something that had him straining his ears.
“Ira never told me.” She said softly, enough for Vera and Kyle to get distracted in another conversation, “She never told me that Akash was her boss. That he was behind all this.”
“Maybe she didn’t know,” Angel replied just as quietly and flinched as another loud bang zoomed through the air. Ray breathed out beside him,
“It's not that, I–” a pause that had his brows furrowing in question, “I just don’t know anymore. And I don’t know how I’m going to protect Ira from Maya’s wrath if we get out of this unscathed.”
He had a distinct feeling that she had changed her words at the last moment but decided not to question it. Decided to let it go as another bullet landed on the wooden table hard enough for it to jerk forward.
“How long are you going to continue hiding, Raylene Walker?”
Sudden shivers erupted on Angel’s arm as Ray stiffened beside him. His blood ran cold as he realized what they were here for. What they had been looking for all this time. But they were out of time , Angel thought furiously as he heard Ray breathe out harshly, his people were already here.
“Are you going down alone, or will you take your entire group down with you? ”
Akash’s voice was loud, was mocking when Ray growled deep and turned to Vera.
“We need to move.” She said quickly and Angel nodded, ignoring the terrible feeling climbing up his spine as all of them went up on their tiptoes. Why wasn’t he dead yet?
Angel swore as a bullet whizzed from the top of his head and turned to Ray, grabbing her hand before they could more. Her body jerked back, her head turning over her shoulder to look back at him, “You need to stay with me.” He said in a low voice and saw her brows furrow, “They’re after you. You can’t separate–”
A snort stopped him short and Ray moved away from him.
“They can get in the fucking line.”
He sighed, “You move, I’ll cover you, alright?” he said, and gave her no room to argue by simply pushing her forward.
Her eyes widened in surprise as Vera caught Ray’s hand and hauled her up ahead. Angel rose carefully on his feet, and just when the bullets stopped, jerked up and began running behind Ray. He saw her blue highlights sway violently as she growled and ripped her hand from Vera’s, turning to angle her gun upwards to shoot the rest of them.
Angel rolled his eyes but ran forward, using her bullets as a distraction to step beside her and wrap a careful hand around her waist. He picked her up with a silent grunt but kept her tucked to his side as he ran. Her yelp drowned out when he saw the small barricade. Saw Vera and Kyle beckon them and sighed.
Ray settled in his arms almost immediately, and to his great pleasure, focused on shooting people as he ran with her in his hands .
Angel kept his eyes on the prize, on the small barricade they’d formed when Ray suddenly jumped out of his arms. He paused, a growl on his tongue just as Ray shouted something and shoved him to the ground,
“ Shit,” she was saying as the bullet they’d dodged buried itself in the dais, “They’re onto us.”
Angel peeped a look over her shoulder, crouching on his tip toes as they best tried to avoid any shots aimed at them.
His eyes caught the red locks swaying before the man that had advanced on them fell to the ground.
They were all searching for him, he knew they were, but there was no way he could leave Ray here, especially after Akash had shot Noah down.
Not when their alliance was hanging on by a thread.
“We need to get out of here,” he responded through gritted teeth and saw Ray nod grimly as they neared the second barricade.
“We move in opposite directions,” Ray said as they reached Kyle and Vera.
The latter looked at Ray, her eyes clear and ready for instructions as Ray spoke, “You take Kyle and run in the direction of the house nearby. Find out why the fuck we’re all alone on our island. I’ll go with Angel and round up on Akash. Let’s see how much damage he can do with a knife pressed to his throat.”
As if on cue, Angel saw the glint of metal as Ray looked over the table to see where their huddle was located, “I’m out of bullets,” she said without looking at him, “What about you?”
He checked his gun and scoffed, “Last round.”
“So much for checking for weapons in the beginning,” he heard her murmur and chuckled lightly, appreciating her show of humor .
“We’re out as well,” Kyle said lowly, his brows drawn together as he looked back out there and back at Angel, “Those your people?”
Angel fought a smirk but nodded.
“They’re doing a shit job.”
Ray clicked her tongue just as Angel cocked his gun in place, “Better than becoming deserters.” He volleyed back and saw Kyle’s breath leave him. A pang of pity for the boy hit him, but it did nothing to ease the tension of the events.
They were still stranded. Still alone. Still fighting.
“Let’s go,” Ray started and looked at Vera, “Be safe, we don’t know what Akash could have planned. If he knew about our alliance beforehand, god knows what else he might’ve done.”
Vera nodded, her hair bobbing, “It seems we might have another rat,” she snarled softly and turned away from Ray, “We have a lot of those these days.”
Ray swore in response but motioned for them to go. Kyle looked at Ray just once before following Vera’s swift footsteps, “Be careful. You aren’t expendable anymore.” He said and disappeared behind Vera.
Angel heard Ray’s sharp exhale as she flopped down next to him and shut her eyes just for a second.
“I know.”
Those words distracted him. Enough for him to forget where he was. Enough for him to not realize the threat until it was hanging right above his shoulder.
“We’re at war.” Akash’s voice snaked its way down his spine, and Ray’s head whipped around in surprise .
Angel shook as well, his hold on his gun tightening as he grabbed onto Ray’s wrist to stop her from moving,
“And do you know who’ll win this war Angel?”
Too close. The voice was too close.
Which meant his people hadn’t managed to complete the job. Angel grit his teeth and turned to Ray. She was already looking back at him, something like panic and fury shaking in her gaze as they slowly moved away from the barricade.
They hadn’t been expecting it–
Boom!
The ground shook underneath them, and Angel was lurched forward by the sudden movement. The bomb, the explosion had been too close, he could tell. Sudden ringing began in his ears as he slammed on the ground with a yell. The feeling of blood trickling down his forehead came later. His vision blurred first, a nauseating amount of bile rising up his throat as he groaned out loud and squirmed on the ground. Something like sound silence echoed with the wind as the ringing in his ears intensified.
Ray’s scream followed his movement, and he saw as the barricade behind her fell apart and heard the soft clink before sudden smoke lifted in the air around them. Shit, this wasn’t good, he managed to think before a wave of pain rushed down his spine. Angel groaned again as his fists loosened.
“Ray,” he gasped through the smoke, and balled his hands into loose fists in an attempt to keep his eyes open. She groaned beside him in response but moved enough for him to figure out where she was.
His eyes were barely open when he saw the silhouette of a tall figure walk over the shattered barricade .
His breath came out in violent gasps as the smoke cleared and Akash Smith stepped through the smoke with a pistol in his hand. Angel growled, his vision still blurred, and his ears ringing when he saw Akash point towards–
No, a part of Angel screamed as Ray groaned but rolled onto her back. Through the smoke, he could see wisps of her hair, see the glint of her narrowed eyes as she grunted at the gun pointed at her chest. No, he wanted to scream when she lifted herself onto her elbows and snarled,
“ We win the war, Akash.”
“No,” he breathed just as the smoke cleared. Just as he saw a smirk lift the corner of Akash’s lips and his gun raise further. Fast, he had to be fucking fast if he wanted to get his hands on Akash. His hands shook violently as he fumbled with the bands of his watch, removed it swiftly. Akash barely heard the crack when he slammed his watch on the ground and removed the vial hidden in it.
“Sorry.” Akash said and Angel growled, going up on his elbows with whatever strength he had left, the small glass close to getting crushed as he rose, “But that’s the wrong answer.”
Angel didn’t think. Barely breathed when he jumped from his crouched position with a growl and shoved Akash away from Ray. The latter gasped in surprise, scrambling to get up on her feet as Akash whirled on Angel with a venomous look and advanced. Angel didn’t give himself time to think, just threw his free hand back and threw a jaw breaking punch.
Except Akash was faster, was easily able to dodge the fist by ducking and jabbing at him instead. Angel let him take the hit, and bit back a cry of pain as he grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and hauled him closer. Akash’s dark eyes widened and he barely had time to register what was happening before Angel shoved that vial’s tip on the side of his arm .
Akash roared, pushing away from Angel with a loud curse, and ripped that vial off his sleeve.
He glared at Angel, but he didn’t see him.
His vision was already blurring when he saw Akash’s hand clench around the hilt of his gun and rise when–
Ray pounced on him without making a single sound. He heard the snap of his bone as she landed on him with enough force to make him fall back on his ass. He heard the sound of agony rip past Akash’s lips and stumbled back as Ray whirled on him and punched him enough for his head to snap in the opposite direction.
With what strength, Angel didn’t know, Akash bellowed and grabbed a hold of her upper arms, yelling something inaudible before throwing her away. Angel heard Ray’s groan, saw her shift on the concrete ground with blood gushing from the side of her face when Akash stumbled back up on his feet. Angel moved, or at least tried to but Akash was faster. Was quicker.
Was already wiping the blood from his nose and pointing that damned gun in Ray’s direction.
Angel let out a harsh breath as Ray saw Akash’s movement, her eyes widening at his action. She snarled something low, something venomous enough for Akash to flinch. But Angel didn’t hear it. Heard nothing but the ringing in his ears and seeing nothing but the flash of panic in her eyes as Akash cocked his gun.
Thought nothing as he jumped in between and covered Ray’s body with his own. He heard her gasp of surprise. Saw her honey eyes flash. And managed to shoot her a faint smile before the gun went off.
Bang!
And his vision went dark with only a faint scream echoing in his mind.