Chapter 36
Mia flattened herself against a wall after ducking into a room with Cullen. She released her empty clip, letting it drop to the floor before sliding in a new one.
“We’re outnumbered,” Cullen said.
She looked into his hazel eyes. “It appears that way.”
“I can distract them.”
So she could get away? She shot him a withering look. “The ones in uniform turned against the Saints. I believe those were Yuri’s men.”
“They’re all dead now. But the soldiers managed to take out quite a few Saints in the process.”
“The only reason for those men to turn against the Saints would be if Yuri left as we suspected.”
Cullen peered around the door. “I’ve known men to inspire that kind of loyalty, so I suppose that’s a possibility.”
She thought back to the two Saints at the hotel. “Yuri wanted in the group.”
“What are you thinking?” Cullen asked as he glanced at her.
“What if Yuri joined the Saints to get to something?”
He rested his head back against the wall and blew out a breath. “If Markovic wanted to get to Dad, there were other ways to do it. He didn’t have to join a fanatical organization.”
“Right,” she said with a nod, thinking. Then it dawned on her. “Yuri joined to get Ragnarok.”
“Now that is a definite possibility,” Cullen replied. “Except my father screwed things up by sending the bio-agent away.”
She twisted her lips. “And the formula.”
“The question is, does Yuri want Ragnarok to use for himself? Or to destroy it?”
She saw something out of the corner of her eye and raised her gun, firing when she saw one of the Saints. The bullet slammed into his chest, knocking the man backward.
“Come on!” Cullen shouted and pushed her into the hallway as he began shooting at the approaching Saints.
She ran, glancing over her shoulder as she heard shots. Cullen had stopped and turned to fire off several more rounds. She stepped into a shallow puddle that sprayed water onto her leg. The yellow lighting hurt her eyes. She was beginning to hate the warehouse.
“Turn right,” she heard from behind her.
It registered just as she reached a junction. She turned to the right and ran as fast as she could. The floor was damp, causing her to slip on the concrete several times.
Then someone stepped out ahead of her. She knew she’d never stop in time. She bent her legs, falling to the ground and sliding feet first toward her opponent as she raised her gun, sighting down the barrel.
She fired three quick bursts, watching as they tore into his chest. His body jerked with the impact while he stumbled back and fell, unmoving.
The sound of gunfire behind her had her rolling to her stomach as she came to a stop. She took aim and waited.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, but her hands never wavered. She paused when she saw Cullen rushing toward her. When he caught sight of her, he ducked into a room, leaving her time to fire several rounds into the three men chasing him.
She jumped to her feet and looked back at the man she’d shot to make sure he was dead. He was the slim one from the hotel. Where was Chubs?
“Mia.”
The sound of her name on Cullen’s lips eased her, comforted her. She turned to him and gave him a half-smile to let him know she was unhurt. Pointing to the man over her shoulder, she said, “He’s one from the hotel. I think he’s in charge. We need to find the other one.”
“Perhaps with those two gone, it’ll end the Saints.”
Her smile widened at the thought. Then she spotted someone behind Cullen. It was Chubs. And he held a gun pointed at Cullen’s head. There was no time to warn him. All she could do was look at Cullen as she raised her gun.
A heartbeat later, Cullen whirled around and lifted his gun. Chubs smirked as he motioned for both of them to drop their weapons.
It irked her to lose her pistol. She grudgingly bent and lowered it to the floor. Meanwhile, Cullen glared at the man for a long moment before he did the same.
“Kick them to me,” Chubs ordered in a Russian accent. After they’d complied, he asked, “Did either of you really think you would win?”
She lifted her chin. “Well, I got one of you.”
Chubs looked around her to his dead comrade. He slid his gaze to her and shrugged. “It matters not. Tell me where they are.”
“Who?” Cullen asked.
“Do not play stupid,” Chubs angrily bit out. “Yuri Markovic and Orrin Loughman.”
Cullen smiled smugly. “Lost them, did you?”
“I do not believe I need your father anymore. Now that I have you.”
She shot a look at Cullen, but he didn’t seem the least bit fazed by the statement.
One Saint leader was dead. All they needed to do was kill Chubs, and it would end. One more death. In theory, it was easy. But with him holding a gun, things looked vastly different.
She eyed her pistol, but it was too far away for her to reach. Chubs would get her before she was able to reach it. But she did have her knife.
Cullen laughed and took a step sideways, edging closer to her. “You couldn’t hold one Loughman. Do you really want to try with a second?”
“You walked right in,” Chubs said with a smile. “As if you wanted me to hold both of you captive. Though, I’ll kill the bitch.”
She glared at Chubs. How she wished she had her gun. She’d aim it right at the bastard’s eye.
“You can certainly try.” Cullen shifted nearer.
She was wondering what he was about when his hand touched her leg. Her knife! Of course. How could she have forgotten? With a glance at Cullen, his subtle nod confirmed what she suspected.
“Why don’t you come and get me?” Cullen asked with a cocky grin.
When Chubs took a step toward them, she slowly turned to the side. His gaze was locked on Cullen as if he’d forgotten her completely.
By the time he stood two feet from Cullen, she had her back against the wall and had scooted away. There would be precious time between her bending over, lifting her jeans, and taking the blade from her boot before Chubs realized what was going on.
“You should check me for other weapons,” Cullen said.
She shook her head, wondering what he was doing. Time seemed to stand still as she waited.
“Give me your weapons,” Chubs ordered.
With a grin still in place, Cullen bent at the waist and pulled out an eight-inch blade from his boot. He flipped it end over end. “You mean this?”
“Hand it to me.”
It was Cullen’s hesitation that put her on alert. Then his gaze met hers. She rolled, reaching for her knife. When she came to her feet, she was behind Chubs with the weapon in hand, aimed to slide it between his vertebrae.
She tried to stab him, but he turned. Still, the blade cut into his suit jacket and shirt to his skin to leave a long cut that immediately welled with bright red blood.
He bellowed and fired the gun. Mia saw Cullen drop to his knees after the retort. No! her mind screamed.
She drew back her arm and was ready to plunge the knife into Chubs when his meaty fist slammed into her forearm. Her fingers went numb, and the blade dropped to clatter to the concrete.
Chubs turned the gun on her. She jerked as she heard the shot and waited to feel the pain. Then Chubs’ face went white as a trail of blood ran from his forehead to his nose and down his right cheek.
She spotted the single bullet hole in the center of his forehead before he fell forward. Mia moved aside and watched him hit the ground, Cullen’s knife in his spine. She looked to find Cullen standing, his eyes filled with cold determination. And she knew she was witnessing him at his most lethal.
He blinked and raised his gaze to her. He held out his hand. She eagerly took it as he pulled her against his side. She checked him for wounds, but only found his previous injuries bleeding.
“Who shot him?” she asked.
He looked down the corridor. Mia followed his gaze and saw a man in a Russian uniform lower a sniper rifle. Cullen took her hand and began walking.
When they reached him, Cullen asked, “Where are Markovic and my father?”
“I don’t know.”
She narrowed her gaze on the man. He might be in a Russian uniform, but there was something about him that didn’t fit with the others she’d seen.
“Did you help them escape?” Cullen asked.
The man raised a blond brow, his gaze unyielding. “I follow orders.”
Which didn’t answer the question. Whoever the man was, he was good. Mia rubbed her bruised arm. “Thank you for the assistance.”
“You didn’t need my help,” he said and turned on his heel.
Mia and Cullen watched him walk away until only silence greeted them. She had never felt so tired in all her life. She rested her head on Cullen’s chest when he threaded his fingers through her hair.
“We did it,” he said.
That brought a smile to her face. “The Saints are finished.”
When he didn’t reply, she lifted her head. “What is it?”
“We took down two obvious leaders, but were they the top ones?”
“If they weren’t, the Saints will be gunning for us with everything they have now.”
“As well as my father and Yuri.”
“We need to find them.”
He nodded and began walking to the front of the warehouse. “That we do. I’m not done hunting the Saints yet.”
“Me either.”
They made their way to the entrance hand-in-hand. There was no other sign of the blond Russian. The dead littered the warehouse, and the smell of blood filled the air, making the already unpleasant building fouler.
She was glad when they walked outside, and she was able to take a deep breath. The back door of the SUV opened, and Kate stepped out.
Mia faced Cullen. “I’m sorry we didn’t find your father.”
“Killing two Saints’ leaders is nothing to sneeze at,” he said after a brief pause.
She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I know, but I wanted to find Orrin. I wanted the two of you to be reunited.”
“We will be.”
She saw the determination in his hazel eyes. Whatever happiness she felt dimmed when she realized he had no more need of her. “I suppose you’ll be heading back to Texas to meet up with your brothers now.”
“I don’t know where I’m going, but wherever it is, I want you beside me.”
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. She couldn’t catch her breath or even get any words past her lips. Hope spiraled through her, bursting in an array of brilliance at the mere suggestion that they not part.
“I’m not going to lie to you,” he said. “My longest relationship was a week. In high school. I’m used to doing things my own way, and I can be stubborn. I never expected to ever feel anything for another, and yet, here it is.”
He touched his hand over his heart for a moment. “You did that. I don’t know when or how, and it doesn’t matter. All I want is to have you beside me.”
“For how long?”
“A month, an eternity. I want it all. As long as you’re with me, I can face anything.”
She swallowed past the lump of emotions in her throat. This was exactly what she wanted, but it was fear that held her tongue. “You have such a hold over me that I know you could shatter my heart if I gave you the chance.”
“Never,” he vowed. “My father once told me that if I ever found the woman that was my other half, I’d know. It’s you. That wandering spirit that I’ve always had is gone. I . . . I love you.”
Her eyes clouded with unshed tears that she hastily blinked away. One escaped and fell down her cheek.
Cullen caught it on his finger. “I know you doubt me. You have every reason to. I didn’t realize my feelings until the crash. I tried to deny and ignore them, but I can’t. I won’t do that to either of us.
“I know how to fight and stay alive. What I don’t know is how to be the kind of man you need. Teach me.”
She laughed through her tears. “Oh, you silly man. I don’t need to teach you anything. You already know what to do.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay with me?”
The hope that shone in Cullen’s eyes was blinding. She nodded, and the next thing she knew, she was pulled against his chest, his strong arms holding her tightly.
She squeezed her eyes closed. It was too good to believe that she’d finally found what her heart had searched for.
The fact that she hadn’t been looking for it made it even more special.
To have such a horrific event bring such a man into her life made her wonder at the plans of the Universe.
But then she didn’t care because Cullen was kissing her.
Suddenly, he pulled back, a frown marring his forehead. “You did hear me earlier, right? The part where I said I loved you.”
“I heard you,” she said with a smile.
He raised a dark brow, concern lining his face. “That’s all you have to say?”
“I love you, too, Cullen Loughman.”
His face split into a wide grin. “We’re going to have a wonderful life, darlin’.”
“Right after we take down the Saints and find your father.” Because they couldn’t truly be happy until those two things were done.
Cullen drew in a deep breath and released it. “With you by my side, we can do it.”
He held out his hand. She took it, and they walked to the SUV where Kate waited. Another night was coming to an end, and they were going to enjoy the victory they’d gained that night.
Tomorrow was another day.