Chapter 18
Louhi
I pass Sean the Glock and take him by the hand, leading him into the corridor, noticing the way his other arm is folded at an odd angle.
He still seems a little dazed, but the longer his hand remains in mine, the more confident I become that I haven’t lost him to the demons that have been introduced to his brain like a flesh-eating amoeba.
Just as I approach Honey Eyes’s cell, the sirens begin to wail. I can’t say I missed that sound.
“Can you cover me while I get him?” I ask Sean, and he nods, his focus on the mouth of the hallway.
He doesn’t look okay, yet I need to trust that he can manage, even if that makes me nervous given his current state.
I’m already pushing my luck with how long I’ve been inside this prison.
The trail of dead bodies I’ve left doesn’t help.
Once I gain access with two rounds from my Wildey, I approach the man on the floor the way I would an injured animal. Jeesus Kristus.
“Honey Eyes,” I call gently, and he groans.
He shifts on the concrete floor, craning his neck in my direction. “Lou?”
“The one and only.” I simper at the sight of his handsome, swarthy profile. The features of his round face are slightly less chiseled than Sean’s, but no less attractive. His lips spread into a weak, yet dynamite grin. I match the expression. “Fuck, Honey Eyes, I bloody knew you’d be hot.”
A growl trembles behind me, but I ignore it. We all know that Sean is the only one who makes my heart sing, but I can appreciate male beauty when I see it. Especially when this is the first time I’ve seen the gorgeous face of Sean’s best friend. I’ll admit, the circumstances could be better.
“It’s damn good to see you, Lou,” Jace rasps, weakly waggling his dark eyebrows as I hold out my hand to help him up. As he takes it, I note that a full sleeve of tattoos adorns his left arm and left leg. Unfortunately, the lighting is too dim to make out the details of the intricate artwork.
“Are you alright?” I ask as I dig into my bag, pulling out another Glock and handing it over to him. I avert my gaze, doing my best to ignore the fact that he’s as naked as Sean.
“I’ll manage,” he grits out, his words barely audible over the screeching sirens as he follows me into the hallway.
The three of us glide to the entrance of the cell block, and I access Kazi’s cell. His eyes are open now, a glare on his face. Entering his cage, I hold out a hand. He stares at my outstretched offer for half a beat before placing his massive palm in mine.
“Is he here?” he asks, his voice deep and gravelly with obvious disuse. Viktor is certainly the he being referenced.
I nod. “Only a jailbreak away.” The corner of my mouth curls as I remove the Ruger from my ankle holster and pass it to him. He takes it, his jaw tight. “If you could refrain from blowing their heads apart like fucking melons until after we leave, that’d be great.”
I can’t imagine Kazi feels the same indifference I do about having these two men torture him. I’d hate to have to kill him for touching a hair on Sean’s pretty head.
A deep rumble sounds from Kazi’s chest, but it’s enough of a confirmation for me. Good boy.
“Louhi and her pets are on the move,” I speak into the comms unit, earning me matching scowls from the three men around me. I wink, a giggle bubbling in my throat like a hot cauldron.
Disappointingly, no one laughs. Lame.
Instead, Sasha inquires into my ear, “How’s Kaz?”
“He’s fucking fine: shitting sunshine and puking butterflies.” I lead our team of four into the hallway. “Assuming we survive the worst part of this plan, you’ll see for yourself.”
“You’d make a terrible doctor, Louhi,” Vik mutters. “Your bedside manner is atrocious.”
I roll my eyes for what feels like the hundredth time today. “I’d never sign up to save lives. I’m far better at taking them.”
“Who the fuck are you talking to?” Sean asks, the back of his hand brushing mine.
“And what did you mean the worst part of this plan?” Honey Eyes adds with a wince, but I ignore him. He’ll find out soon enough.
Warmth radiates through me, but I press on, peering around the next corner and firing a shot at the soldier who’s racing down the hallway. He never saw the reaper coming. Bellend.
“You didn’t think I came alone, did you?” I reply to Sean. “Now, show me where the fucking exit is.”
Sean
Pulsing pain radiates through my body, but it’s nothing compared to the relief unfurling in my chest.
She’s here. She came for me.
Now that I know Lou isn’t a figment of my desperate imagination, I feel the overwhelming urge to touch her, to solder our bodies together.
Jace has taken on the role of guiding our crew toward the exit, so I grasp her, disregarding Kazi’s heavy gaze that feels oppressive enough to bury me six feet under.
My fingers fold around the back of Louhi’s hand as I clutch her tightly.
She twists her head in my direction, our eyes colliding. Her braided hair, the color of a starless night, is silky now and gleams beneath the oppressive lights. And she’s undeniably clean now, her face void of makeup. She looks beautiful, deadly.
When I notice that one of the deeper cuts just above her collarbone has been tended to, I ask, my voice rough, “Did you see a doctor?”
“Viktor wouldn’t let me come without being checked out. A bloody waste of time.”
Something else I need to begrudgingly thank the Pakhan for.
While I know she’s more than capable of taking care of herself, I hate that I couldn’t be the one to take care of her myself. I wanted to, if only to help atone for my sins against her.
A shot rings out a split second before the concrete next to Louhi’s head cracks, dust particles flying. I whirl around, but she’s already got a round in his forehead before I could even raise my Glock.
“Damn, Lou,” Jace echoes my inner thoughts over the sound of the wailing sirens.
She waves a hand dismissively, but her lips curl.
Our small team of four marches down the hall, Kazi towering over all of us. We ignore each other’s blatant nudity and the motherfucking baseball bat swinging freely between Kazi’s legs as we become one unit hellbent on catching a ride out of here.
As we edge closer to the end of this maze of terrors, Louhi sidles next to me and whispers a smidge too loudly, “I kind of want to fuck.”
A laugh bursts free of her mouth like air releasing from a popped balloon, and I surmise she’s responding to something someone said in her earpiece.
My nose wrinkles. “What? Now? Here?”
She shrugs. “Why not? For old time’s sake. We could go back to the torture room for one last shag.”
In front of me, Jace’s shoulders bounce with silent chuckles, and he shakes his head. I can practically hear him thinking, she can’t be serious. I tug her along by the hand still in mine, rushing down the concrete corridor. “We don’t have time for that.”
She sighs, stumbling for a beat to keep up with my long, heavy strides before catching her footing. “I suppose you’re right, but I still want to. I…miss it, even if it hasn’t been all that long.”
Fucking hell. “What the fuck? You miss this place?”
“No, I miss the games. I miss the way I could get under your skin and watch you crack.” She smirks, just as Kazi fires a round into the chest of a soldier who enters through the door we’re about to use as our exit, and it gives me an idea.
I bark a short laugh. “You still do that.”
She grins broadly, showing off her sparkling white teeth. “You’re right. I do.”
Stepping over the dead soldier, I yank off his olive-green mesh mask, recognizing the face of a patrolman. I pass the wad of fabric to the woman next to me with a wink. “For games.”
Lou squeals like I just offered her ice cream, then brushes a kiss over my cheek, setting my skin ablaze. I don’t comment on the very real possibility that we might not make it off this God-forsaken island alive.
She’s just shoved the mask into her pocket when the double doors only a few feet ahead of us burst open, and a horde of men in camouflage tactical gear spills into the hallway like a dam that’s been broken.