Chapter 16 #3
I locked that thought down fast.
Amaia Rahia was off limits.
“All right, we’ll let you guys get back to your drinks,” Tane said.
Suddenly, a loud siren blared.
We all shot to our feet. My muscles tensed.
“That’s the wall siren.” Jameson spun and ran for the door of the bar.
“Stay here,” Marc said to Colbie before he jogged after our squad leader.
I rounded the table, Kai, North, and Jess moving with me.
“Like hell,” Colbie muttered as she marched toward the door.
As a group, Hunter Squad sprinted to the main gate. I saw it was open, and beyond it, I heard carbine fire.
One of the guards rushed toward us. “Agricultural vehicle was attacked on the way back to the gate. Hell, the monsters attacked it right at the front gates.” The guard looked shaken.
“Carbines,” I yelled.
With a nod, he ducked back into the gatehouse. Then he tossed weapons at us. I grabbed a carbine and passed it to Kai. Then I grabbed one for myself, checked the charge, and sprinted out of the gate with Jameson.
Instantly, I saw one of the ag vehicles overturned, its side dented in like something had hit it.
That something was what a group of guards were firing on. The large monster looked vaguely like a triceratops, with heavy armor plating over its stocky body.
On the wall, someone shifted the large spotlights, aiming it at the monster.
Two people in ag uniforms ran toward us, one stumbling and the other limping. They were battered and bleeding.
“Please, help,” the man said. “It’s got Amaia.”
Every muscle in my body stiffened. My gaze shot back to the car.
“A monster ripped the roof off the car like it was paper,” the woman said shakily. “It grabbed Amaia.”
My muscles flexed, then I was running.
“Zeke!” Jameson shouted. “Dammit. The rest of you get that big monster down.”
I scanned beyond the ruined car, into the grassy field. Then I saw it. Just beyond the lights of the spotlight, I saw the gleam of moonlight-pale hair.
She was wrestling with a dark shadow.
Adrenaline hit my system like I’d taken a stimulant. I leaped over the wrecked car, whipping my carbine up.
“Amaia!” Kai shouted from behind me.
I saw her struggling with a creature. It was thin and wiry, but all muscle covered in mottled gray skin. It had large eyes that blinked rapidly.
She was kicking it, blood dripping down the side of her face and soaking into her white hair.
Dammit, they were moving too much. I couldn’t risk shooting at the monster in case I hit Amaia.
I fired wide.
The monster didn’t let her go. I ran faster.
I saw the grass around the pair growing higher than the rest of the field. Fuck, it was winding around the monster’s legs.
Amaia had more of her mother’s abilities than most people knew.
I knew. I’d seen her use them to save us when we’d been kidnapped as kids.
I fired near the monster again, the laser stream hitting the dirt. Fuck this. I tossed the carbine and yanked out the knife I always carried.
I ran, jumped into the air, then slammed into the monster.
All three of us crashed to the ground. I rammed the knife into the monster’s rib cage. It hissed and snarled. I stabbed it again.
It swiped out with its claws, but I rolled off. Amaia scuttled backward.
The creature whirled, crouching like a gargoyle. I lifted my knife.
Then it looked past us to where the rest of Hunter Squad, plus Devlin and Tane, were running in our direction.
The monster hesitated, then turned and sprinted into the darkness.
Jameson and Kai arrived first, the others not far behind them.
“Go!” I yelled. “Don’t let it get away.”
“Amaia.” Kai looked where she was sprawled on the ground.
“I’ve got her. Go.”
They ran into the darkness. I kneeled and scooped Amaia into my arms. “I’ve got you.”
“Zeke.” She clung to me, pressing her face into my neck. “I was so afraid.”
As always, when she was close, things settled inside me.
“I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
“They attacked the vehicle. They came out of nowhere. God.” She dragged in a shaky breath. “Are the others okay?”
“They’re fine.” Holding her close, I tilted her chin up and touched her temple. “You’re bleeding.”
“I just caught some glass in the crash.” She shuddered.
I rubbed a finger through the blood on her temple. It wasn’t cut too badly, but I still hated seeing her pretty, pale skin with blood on it. I ran a hand down her hair.
“Thanks, Zeke. For coming for me.”
All I could manage was a nod. I could never fucking get a word out around this woman. She tied me up in knots.
Hitching her up in my arms, I headed back toward the gate.
“Amaia.” Tane’s face was set in hard lines as he stalked toward us.
“I’m okay, Dad.”
He reached for her. For a second, my arms tightened, then reluctantly I handed her to her father.
“Thank God,” Tane said. “Thanks, Zeke.”
A moment later, Jameson and the others returned.
“The monster got away into the trees,” Kai said unhappily.
“Everyone’s alive,” Devlin noted. “That’s the main thing.” He frowned at the ruined vehicle. “This was a pretty brazen attack so close to town.”
My gaze was still on Amaia. There was something on her face. Something she wasn’t telling us.
“Amaia?” I growled.
Her gaze flicked to me for a moment, then back to her dad. “That monster… It was after me.”
I froze solid.
“It yanked the roof off, then pulled Jon and Ciera out of the car, and tossed them aside.” She bit her lip. “It wanted me.”
“How do you know?” I demanded.
She pulled in a sharp breath. “It said my name.”
Tane cursed. “Come on. Let’s get you to the infirmary. I want Doc Emerson to check you over. Then we’ll sort out whatever the hell happened here.” He spun and carried her to the gate.
I stood there, watching. She looked over her father’s shoulder, her gaze meeting mine. I watched until they disappeared from view, then I turned and looked into the darkness.
You can’t fucking have her.
You’ll have to go through me first.
I hope you enjoyed Colbie and Marc’s story!