Chapter 38
Zane
“Alpha in position,” Lucas said in my ear.
We were alongside the building, almost to the door.
“Fuck,” O’Connor yelled.
I turned to find the idiot had tripped. “Quiet,” I whisper-yelled while I put a finger to my lips. “No talking.” Useless idiot.
He nodded. “Sorry.”
After a few seconds of silence, I led the way forward and crouched under the window next to the door. “Bravo in position,” I announced quietly on comms.
“Alpha entering.”
“What’s going on?” O’Connor asked. What was it about no talking that was hard to understand?
“Waiting,” I whispered. We had no idea if they had a man positioned just inside the door.
The distinct sound of gunfire came from inside.
“We’ve been engaged,” Lucas said. “Breach, breach, breach.”
I stood and broke the window. In under two seconds, I’d thrown the blanket over the sill, climbed inside, and cleared the room.
Automatic gunfire broke out in the distance. Without rifles, Lucas and Constance had their hands full, and they wouldn’t be converging with us anytime soon.
O’Connor grunted and tried to lift himself up to the windowsill. He failed.
Motioning toward the hallway, I didn’t wait for him to get his bulk moving and took the lead. Peyton’s life was on the line and I wasn’t damned waiting for a fat out-of-shape detective.
I hurried. The map indicated an open office area ten yards ahead. Muffled voices came from that direction.
Peyton
The press of his knife cut off my laugh.
“We’ll see how funny you think it is,” Lucifer said, “when we move up to your tits and then your face.”
The devil kept the blade against my stomach again. He pressed down on the blade.
I refused to scream.
Shots rang out from the warehouse area.
“Fucking idiots,” Lucifer spat as he pulled back. “Go fix that.”
Vlad pushed me toward Lucifer, muttering something in Russian.
Lucifer’s free hand gripped my arm painfully tight. He wiped his finger across the blood oozing from my cut, brought it to his mouth, and grinned. “Yes, we are going to have fun.”
The rat-a-tat-tat of machine-gun fire sounded from the warehouse space.
Vlad rushed in from the warehouse space. “They found us.”
Yuri followed him.
Lucifer’s grip on me tightened. “The cops?”
“No way,” Yuri said. “Cops identify themselves.”
That could only mean that Zane and the rest of Hawk had come for me.
Lucifer hauled me with him. “We go out the front then.”
“Right.” Yuri ran that way.
“I don’t think so.” Zane emerged from the corridor, bigger than life. He was a glorious sight.
“Zane.” I knew he would come for me, and he couldn’t have picked a better time. “That’s my boyfriend. He’s going to gut you,” I spat at the monster.
“Shut up.” He spun me and clamped a hand over my mouth. “Yuri.”
Yuri held a knife behind him as he advanced on Zane.
I bit Lucifer’s hand.
“Bitch.” The monster punched the side of my head.
“Watch out!” I cried. “He has a knife.”
Zane pulled out his gun and aimed at the thin man. “Bringing a knife to a gunfight is a bad idea.”
Yuri halted, the blood draining from his face.
Vlad backed up as well.
Lucifer yanked me back roughly.
I struggled, but it was useless against his strength.
He brought a knife to my neck. “Put it down now, or I slit her throat.”
Zane froze.
With the knife pressed against my neck, I didn’t dare struggle. “Don’t do it, Zane.” Without his gun, he’d be defenseless. The cut on my belly hurt like hell, but I refused to give the monster the satisfaction of even a sob.
Zane ignored me and pointed his gun skyward. “Hold on, Angel. Trust me. Everything is going to be okay.”
“Put it down, or I’ll end her,” Lucifer yelled.
Fight with everything you have. All I needed was an opportunity.
“Calm down,” Zane said. “I’m putting it down.” He slowly laid his weapon on the ground.
“Now kick it over here.”
The gun skittered across the concrete floor.
The sporadic gunfire still sounding from the warehouse gave me hope that Lucas and the rest of Hawk Security would burst in at any moment.
Instead of a Hawk person, short Boris came through the door. “They’re—”
Lucifer cut him off. “Get the car.”
Boris raced behind us and out a door.
Lucifer laughed and thankfully pulled the knife away from my neck. “Now it’s a fair fight.” He nodded to Yuri.
Yuri regained his courage and moved on Zane.
Baldy lumbered behind his skinny friend.
My man braced.
When Yuri reached Zane, he gleefully brandished the knife, swinging it lazily, then lunged.
Zane dodged and threw the skinny guy into the wall just before Baldy reached him.
Vlad let out a blood-curdling scream in Russian, landing a punch that missed Zane’s head, but hit his shoulder.
Zane shook that arm out and swiveled to land a vicious kick to Vlad’s midsection, sending the big man back a few steps.
On the other side, Yuri recovered and slashed out with his knife.
Zane backed away, but not fast enough. A bloody streak appeared low on his side.
I screamed at seeing my man cut.
“Shut up.” Lucifer clamped his hand back over my mouth. “We’ll see who guts who.”
Zane, stumbled backward. My man had been hurt. The blood leaking down his side looked bad.
Vlad stood back with an evil grin. “Finish him off, Yuri.”
Panting, Zane leaned precariously and stumbled to the side.
Fight with everything you have. I flung my elbows back into Lucifer, and bit the hand over my mouth. It didn’t matter that he tasted like three-day-old fish. I bit down as hard as I could.
“Bitch,” he yelped, pulling his hand away.
The monster’s yell was music to my ears. I’d drawn blood.
Then, he wrapped his arm around my neck in a chokehold. My kicks and elbows didn’t affect him.
Yuri advanced on my injured man. “Zane,” I managed to squeak out.
Our eyes collided, before he swiveled to face Yuri.
Lucifer breathed in my ear. “Say goodbye to your boyfriend.”
As he released the pressure on my neck, I pulled in a breath. “Fuck you.”
Lucifer’s chuckle was evil as he licked my ear. “I’m looking forward to that.”
Gross.
Zane staggered toward the wall, looking worse by the second.
My stomach lurched as it looked like the Hawk team wouldn’t reach us in time to save him.
Yuri approached Zane confidently, wielding his knife in a figure-eight. “I’m going to enjoy this.” Then, he lunged.
Zane’s movement was lightning fast as he grabbed Yuri’s wrist, twisted it, threw him against the wall, then bent his arm in an unnatural way.
Yuri’s scream followed the crack of his arm breaking. The knife fell to the floor.
Zane grabbed Yuri’s hair and slammed his head against the wall. The thin man fell silent as he slumped to the floor.
“Vlad, get him,” Lucifer growled as he towed me toward a door.
I resisted the monster as best I could, but I barely managed to slow him. If he got me to the car, it would be game over.
Baldy pulled a knife and rushed Zane.
Zane dodged and whirled, hitting the back of the big man’s head as he went past.
Vlad spewed Russian and lunged again.
Zane’s chop to his arm sent the knife to the ground, but he didn’t get far enough away.
Vlad wrapped beefy arms around my man and lifted him off the ground.
Lucifer laughed in my ear. “Now watch your boyfriend die.”
Vlad squeezed Zane tight.
Lucifer’s grip on me loosened. “He’ll break his ribs, then his back.”
I willed Zane to find a way out of the big man’s bearhug, and he did.
Zane brought both feet up and then kicked them down and back on Vlad’s knee.
The big Russian screamed and collapsed to the floor, allowing Zane to scramble. Two punches and a knee to the head put Vlad down, unconscious.
Keeping one arm around my neck, Lucifer dropped the knife and leaned down to pick up Zane’s gun.
I couldn’t let him get it and shoot my man. It couldn’t end like this, so I kicked at the gun. It was too far away and I missed, sending the knife sliding under a couch instead.
Zane picked up Yuri’s knife.
Lucifer grabbed up the gun I’d missed, and swung it toward my man.
Zane ran for us, but he was too far away.
This was it. By mistiming my kick at the gun, I’d doomed Zane.
At a dead run, Zane threw the knife.
It flew by me and into Lucifer.
With a scream, the gun fell from the monster’s hand, and he let go of me to cradle his injured shoulder. With the knife still embedded in his shoulder, blood oozed from between his fingers.
His evil eyes turned to me as I backed away. That was when I wanted to twist that knife. He deserved it, for Cassie, for Olivia, and all the rest. But before I could, Zane reached us.
“It’s over, asshole.” My man’s punch sent Lucifer staggering backwards.
Bang, bang. Bang, bang. Four shots rang out.
The monster who’d hunted me collapsed to the floor, hitting his head hard.
Blood oozed from his mouth as angry mismatched eyes stared at me, then closed.
My nightmare was finally over.