Chapter Twenty
“No.” The ragged whisper was ripped from his throat. Kinley’s lifeless body lay before him. Too late. It had taken too long to dispatch his enemies. “No,” he repeated, this time more determined. Kinley was a wolf, not a human.
He gently turned her onto her back. Several long gouges ran down her slides. Her heart was intact but wasn’t beating. He pressed his hands against the center of her chest and began CPR. He’d never done it before, but he’d seen it done in movies and on television. “Come on. Come on.”
“Shit!” Zach fell to his knees beside them. “What can I do?”
“Take over for me.” When Zach moved into position, Eli counted down. “In three, two, one.” He lifted his hands and his brother swapped places without missing a beat.
Eli lowered his head and caught the fresh scent of blood.
Duke had caught her around the back of the neck.
He hadn’t crushed her spine because she’d turned her head.
Pressing his mouth to hers, he began to breathe, he and Zach working in tandem.
He sensed the rest of his brothers returning. He didn’t look up, didn’t stop.
“Eli.” Cyrus’s hand gripped his shoulder. He shook it off.
“She’s not gone.” She couldn’t be. He’d only just found her. A tear rolled down his cheek and fell onto her face. He swiped it away and kept going, filling her lungs with his breath, willing her to live. Another minute passed.
He was no stranger to death. He’d lost both parents, killed his share of bad men, but this? Kinley had given him a glimpse of something beyond cold duty and his role as one of the Seven Deadly Sins. She’d given him hope.
“Eli.” This time he didn’t shake off Cyrus’s hand.
“I can’t stop.” If he did, it meant he’d given up, that she was truly gone. Every tick of the clock was a death knell. Time was an enemy he couldn’t fight.
“Let her go,” Cyrus murmured. “There’s nothing more you can do.”
Eli shook his head, tears rolling unchecked down his face. Zach sat back and hung his head in defeat. It was over.
Throwing back his head, a mournful howl was ripped from the depths of Eli’s soul. Six other howls joined his in a sorrowful tribute, the Seven Deadly Sins united in life and death.
A faint, barely detectable whisper of a howl joined in. Eli’s head snapped down. The others fell silent. Kinley’s lips were parted, her chest rising and slowly falling.
“Kinley.” No response. He pressed his ear against her chest and caught the slight beat of her heart. “She’s alive.”
“Get her inside.” All business, Cyrus began to direct them.
“Zach, you’re with Eli. The rest of you, I want every trace of those fuckers gone from our mountain.
Collect keys, phones, and wallets. After we’ve dealt with the bodies, find and move all the vehicles to the field a half mile up from the house where I stashed Ridge’s truck.
They’ll keep until we decide what to do with them. ”
Leaving his brothers to deal with the aftermath of the battle, Eli carefully slid his arms under Kinley and lifted her.
She was light in his arms, delicate, yet she’d been tough enough to hold her own against an alpha wolf, strong enough to come back to him.
He watched every inhalation, every slight rise and fall of her chest, afraid if he looked away she might stop breathing.
Zach went ahead of him and shook his head. “Damn.”
The front door was wide open and hanging by a single hinge. It had almost been ripped clean off. Eli’s jaw tightened at the sign of how badly he’d failed her. There was no telling what else they’d find.
“I need to clean her up.” There was so much blood, it was impossible to see the extent of her injuries. They didn’t have much in first aid supplies. They’d never needed them before.
“I’m on it.” Zach hurried ahead leaving him to follow.
They all had private bathrooms with showers, but their parents’ old suite, the one they’d converted into an office, was the only one with a tub. Their mother had enjoyed her long soaks and their daddy had enjoyed making his mate happy.
The smashed window and shards of glass along with the broken shotgun and acrid scent of gunpowder lingering in the air told their own tale. “He’ll never hurt you again,” he murmured.
All this death and destruction set squarely on the shoulders of a man who should never have been an alpha. Duke Wright had sown the seeds for this day of death.
Water was filling the tub. The separate shower was also on full blast. Zach held out his arms. “Give her to me.”
Eli growled at his brother. “Back off.”
“You’re covered in Duke’s blood, man.”
Shit, he’d forgotten his hands were coated in the dried blood of the man who’d tried to murder her. Not enough time had passed for it to fully disintegrate and turn to dust. “I’ll be fast.”
Zach carefully took her and stood right beside the shower door as Eli lathered his hands and arms. Blood pooled at his feet and disappeared down the drain. He made a half-hearted swipe at his chest and considered it done. He cranked off the water and held out his arms. “Give her to me.”
After the transfer, Zach shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “What else can I do?”
“Round up any bandages you can find.”
“You got it.”
Since she was as naked as him, due to shifting, he stepped over the rim and sank down with her in his arms. Her thick reddish-brown hair was wet with sweat and blood.
She wouldn’t like that. With her supported against his chest, he scooped water into his palm and poured it over her head, careful it didn’t run into her eyes.
She was limp and still. Only the low thump of her heart reassured him she was indeed alive.
He grabbed the washcloth Zach had set out and began to clean her stomach and sides, his mouth tightening at the sight of the long slashes.
They’d finally stopped bleeding, but they were a vivid reminder of how badly he’d failed her.
I should have been there.
Duke Wright was a coward. Everything he’d heard and learned about the man had led him to believe he’d run away rather than risk himself. Eli hadn’t factored in his fury at the death of his son or that he’d blame Kinley for it. That mistake had almost cost Kinley her life.
A soft whimper jerked his attention back to the task at hand.
There’d be plenty of time for recriminations later.
“I’ve got you.” He leaned forward long enough to turn off the water before settling back.
“You’re safe.” He had no idea how much she heard or understood in her current state, if anything, but he reassured her anyway.
Her eyelids fluttered. “Eli?”
His throat tightened, and he clutched her closer. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re safe.” He’d repeat it a thousand times if necessary. It was as much to convince himself as it was to reassure her.
“You’re okay?” Her blue eyes were unfocused, her voice weak.
The lump in his throat made it impossible to speak. After everything she’d been through, that her first concern was for him moved him to the depths of his soul. He nodded, his throat tight. “Yeah,” he managed to get out.
Her eyes began to flutter closed, then shot open. “Duke!” She tried to sit upright, splashing water over the side of the tub onto the floor. He caught and held her before she could further injure herself.
“He’s dead. He can’t ever hurt you again.
” The mournful wailing sound she made broke his heart.
He palmed the back of her head and settled her against his shoulder.
Her salty tears mingled with the water droplets on his skin.
Tenderness welled up inside him. If he could take away her pain, he would.
All he could do was be here for her. “I’ve got you. ”
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of movement in the doorway. Zach set the meager first aid supplies on the vanity, gave him a nod of understanding, and left them alone. God, he’d won the jackpot when it came to family. Kinley hadn’t been nearly as lucky.
Rather than try to get her to stop, he let her weep.
She needed to release the fear, anger, and poison from her system.
It was the first step toward healing. When it finally ceased, he lifted her off his lap and set her in the tub in front of him.
“I need to wash your hair.” And check the back of her neck. Duke had done his damndest to kill her.
The puncture marks were still seeping, an indication of how deep they’d gone.
It was a miracle there were no broken bones.
More likely it had been intentional. Duke hadn’t wanted her to die fast, had wanted her to suffer, to suffocate her slowly.
That need for prolonged vengeance had saved her life.
Eli pressed his lips against one of the wounds. “Are you able to tip your head back? I need to wash your hair.”
She drew her knees toward her chest and wrapped her arms around them. When she started to tilt her head back, what little color remained in her face vanished. Sweat beaded on her brow. “Can’t.”
There would be extensive muscle and tissue damage that hadn’t had nearly enough time to heal.
He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Let’s try it another way.
” Eli hoisted himself out of the tub and knelt beside it, uncaring of the water dripping off him to soak the floor.
He released the stopper on the tub, letting the water level lower.
Kinley began to shiver. “Not much longer. I have to get rid of the dried blood.” When the water was the right level, he put the stopper back in.
“Let me know if this hurts.” Supporting her shoulders and neck, he lowered her into the tub.
The water lapped at her body but not her face.
More importantly, her hair floated out around her.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes. Bruises dotted her limbs. The smaller cuts on her arms and legs, likely from the shattered glass in the office, had stopped bleeding. With time, they would fade, not deep enough to leave lasting scars.