Chapter 18 #2
Shadowed movement cut across the living room.
Wyatt whipped the muzzle of the gun around.
As the figure solidified, charging them, Wyatt squeezed the trigger.
The gun barked and the figure was thrown across the hall.
Wyatt cocked the gun, chambering a fresh round while ejecting the spent shot.
He didn’t pause in his steps. They had one target.
The lab.
If Bel said they could find safety in the lab, he believed his vampire. He would get his mates safely to the lab.
A low snarl was their only warning. Wyatt’s eyes were locked on another figure lunging for them when the noise rippled from behind.
He fired and twisted around in time to see a man pull himself up over the stair banister and launch himself at the trio.
They crashed together, sending them all spilling down the remaining stairs in a tangle of limbs and weapons.
Fuck, they’d be lucky if they didn’t impale themselves.
Chaos ensued.
Their attackers fell on them, forcing them apart. Their organized retreat was destroyed. Wyatt fought to his feet. He had only a few rounds for the shotgun and with three men trying to tear him apart, he had no time to reload. For now, he was stuck using the gun as a baseball bat.
Around him, the air was filled with the sounds of battle. Angry growls, shouts of pain, and the sick squish of flesh being torn apart. Wyatt couldn’t let himself think about River or Bel. He had to focus on the men who came at him with one goal: murder.
River would be fine. River knew how to fight. They hadn’t survived together as long as they had without knowing how to protect themselves.
Bel had to know how to fight. The vampire was nearly two hundred years old and had weapons hidden around his house. He knew how to use them, right?
The only real problem was that time was not on their side. The house was on fire. Smoke clogged the air. Each passing second increased the chances of more sunlight coming through to hit Bel.
They just had to beat back the horde enough to find an opening. The lab was only a couple dozen feet away. They could make it.
Bel’s scream cut through the air, stopping Wyatt cold.
The bastard he’d been fighting took the opening and clocked Wyatt, snapping his head to the side with enough force to white out his vision for a second.
Bracing one foot against the wall, Wyatt launched himself at the fucker.
He speared the man in the stomach, tackling him to the ground.
Gripping the shotgun with both hands, he slammed it into his face again and again until he stopped moving.
Free at last, Wyatt shoved to his feet to find River standing over a kneeling Bel.
The vampire had lost one of his blades and his limbs trembled as he tried to get to his feet.
River was covered in blood and looking too shaky on his own, but his expression was fierce as he defended his mate from three attackers.
“The lab!” Wyatt bellowed as he charged the remaining three attackers.
“Go!” Bel choked out.
Wyatt could only see them out of the corner of his eye as they slowly made their way toward the lab. River cried out, but Wyatt could see he was still standing, protecting Bel’s back as they inched along.
More sunlight pierced the house, illuminating the thickening smoke. A soft cry pierced the air from Bel and Wyatt gave up his gun to kill a man with his bare hands.
Teeth sank into his upper arm, threatening to tear out his tricep. Wyatt snarled and grabbed the wolf by the scruff of the neck. He threw the creature at the remaining men. The large furry body flew through the air and crashed into their attackers, knocking them over in a knotted heap.
Wyatt chanced a look around to find Bel and River helping each other into the lab, blood trailing behind them on the shining wood floor.
Dragging in a ragged breath, Wyatt ran after them and leaped into the room as Bel slammed the door shut.
He accessed another panel and a metal door slammed over the wood one, sealing them in.
A choked sob was trapped in Wyatt’s throat when he finally saw Bel. He was severely burned on one half of his face and his neck along with the top of his left hand and wrist. Apparently the sun had slashed across part of him before he could escape it.
“Bel,” he moaned. He started to reach for him, but Bel was already shaking his head.
The vampire leaned part of his uninjured temple against the wall and dragged in a few gulps of air. “I’ll be okay. We need to get moving. It’s a bit of a hike to the car.”
“Wyatt.” River’s voice was soft and thready.
They both turned as one, in time to see River slowly sliding down the wall.
The T-shirt he’d pulled on was shredded and soaked with blood, but they could easily see the deep gouges in his stomach and chest as more blood spilled out of him.
There was a long cut across his throat as well, profusely leaking blood.
“Oh God, River,” Wyatt moaned. He fell on River, pressing one hand over the wound at his throat and his other over the one closest to his heart, but he couldn’t stop the bleeding. Around him, he was aware of Bel moving quickly. Cabinet doors open and slammed shut again.
“I’m sorry, Wyatt. So sorry,” River softly choked out.
“Don’t, baby. Don’t. Please don’t leave me.” Wyatt blinked, sending tears streaking down his cheeks and blurring his vision. He couldn’t lose River. They’d fought so hard to be together. They’d tasted heaven at last. River couldn’t be stolen from him now.
“He’s not leaving anyone,” Bel snarled. The vampire dropped to the ground beside Wyatt and shoved him out of the way.
“No one is fucking dying today.” The vampire worked quickly, pressing a thick gauze-like padding against River’s chest. He grabbed what appeared to be twine and wrapped it around River several times before tying it tight, securing the padding to staunch the bleeding.
He then applied more cotton padding to his throat and secured it.
“Bel—”
The vampire grabbed his face hard, digging his fingers into his cheeks so that River was forced to meet his eyes. “I am your master. Your master is commanding you to fight. Hang on. Do you hear me? You will not die.”
A glimmer of fight returned to River’s eyes and he tried to smile. “Yes, Master.”
“Good boy,” Bel said and released him.
“How are we getting out of here?”
Bel twisted and pointed behind them, wincing as the motion pulled at his seared flesh. Wyatt looked across the room to find another wall had opened to reveal a ladder leading beneath the house.
“You are the coolest fucking vampire ever,” River said weakly.
“The ladder goes down pretty far. You’ll need to fireman-carry River. I’ll follow.”
Wyatt nodded, but his stomach twisted. The position was going to hurt a hell of a lot, but River was too weak to manage the ladder on his own. He just prayed that Bel was strong enough to handle the ladder.
Shoving to his feet, Wyatt took a couple of deep breaths before looking at his lover.
Through the thick door, they could still hear the howl of the smoke alarm.
Someone was pounding on the metal barrier, and pounding had started on one of the windows for the lab.
With enough time, they’d get through, assuming the house didn’t collapse on them first.
“We got this,” River said, trying to smile.
Wyatt could only nod. He pulled River to his feet and hefted him over his shoulder in one smooth motion, not giving the wolf time to have second thoughts. River let out a strangled cry, like he’d tried to hold it back, but the pain had forced it out all the same.
Placing one hand on the ladder rung, he looked over his shoulder at Bel. “No martyrs?”
Bel shook his head. “No martyrs, I swear. You need me for direction to Marcus’s house. He’ll be able to patch up River.”
Wyatt believed him. He had to. For one cold second, he was afraid the vampire would close the door behind him, separating them while he fought the shifters on his own. No, they were sticking together.
Small muffled cries slipped from River as Wyatt made slow and steady progress down the ladder into the darkness. Above him, he could hear Bel moving very slowly. His breathing was heavy and labored as if he were struggling, but he kept moving.
The sounds in the house grew more distant until they were enveloped in a kind of unnerving silence. No smoke. No alarms. Just the quiet of the earth and their ragged pants.
Just before Wyatt reached the bottom, lights flicked on, revealing what looked to be a spartan garage. Along one wall was a small number of weapons and in the center was a black sedan with darkly tinted windows.
“Put River across the back seat and open the trunk,” Bel whispered between wheezing breaths. “There’s a heavy blanket in there. I’ll lay on River to try to slow the bleeding, but you’ll need to cover me with the blanket. The tinting on the window isn’t enough to block out the sun at this hour.”
Wyatt hurried to follow Bel’s instructions.
River was frighteningly pale, blood already soaking through the padding Bel had applied.
They were running out of time, and Marcus’s house was so fucking far away.
Grabbing the blanket, he carefully helped the vampire into the car.
He wasn’t looking much better, lines of pain cutting deep into the uninjured side of his face.
Once they were settled as best as they could be, Wyatt jumped behind the wheel and started the engine.
Thankfully, the keys had been left in the cupholder for just such an emergency.
He barreled down the long underground driveway.
After what felt like miles, it dumped out onto a lonely road in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.
He focused on the road in front of him, desperately trying to keep the growing panic at bay.
Bel gave directions, but they were almost immediately drowned out by the persistent ringing of a phone.
“The Bluetooth display says ‘Rafe,’ ” Wyatt said. “Is the car connected to your phone?”
“Yes, a spare I picked up in the lab,” Bel murmured. “Answer it. Tell him.”
With the push of a button, Rafe’s frantic voice filled the car. “Bel! Where are you? What’s going on?”
“We were attacked. Bel’s hurt, River…” Wyatt’s voice cracked and he had to try a second time to get the words out. “River is dying.”
There was a long string of curses and muffled commands, probably shouting at Philippe to get ready. “Bring them here to my penthouse. It’s closest.”
“No,” Bel said. “Too much traffic downtown. Midday.”
“It would take too long to get to you in downtown traffic. We’re less than twenty minutes from Marcus’s,” Wyatt repeated.
Twenty minutes felt like an eternity. He kept his foot on the accelerator, pushing the car as fast as he dared.
He just prayed they didn’t pass any cops.
Nothing was going to stop him from getting to Marcus’s house.
“Okay. I’ll call Marcus. Warn him. Aiden should be there. Philippe and I will try to beat you to Marcus’s.”
“The sun, Rafe!” Bel cried.
Rafe growled. “I’ll have a Blush employee bring us there wrapped like fucking mummies. Go directly to the carport on the side of the house. It will be the safest way to bring Bel inside.”
“River’s blood type,” Bel whispered.
“River…River is losing a lot of blood,” Wyatt forced out. He clenched his teeth, fighting back the tears and another desperate sob when he was sure his heart was being pounded to dust in his chest. “He’s A positive.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure Marcus has plenty on hand. We’ll save your wolf. You just get to the house safely.” Rafe ended the call, and Wyatt was sure it was the longest he’d ever heard the man be completely serious.
For now, he clung to Rafe’s promise while he focused on the road. One step at a time. Get them to Marcus’s house. From Bel’s stories about his mother, Wyatt knew the Variks were extremely experienced at patching each other up. They would be able to save River.
After his men were alive and healing, Wyatt could think about tearing apart the pack that had attempted to destroy his family.