Chapter Twenty-Five
Colton set the bomb in its case and raised his hands. Gemma, Imara, and Christian spun slowly, their own hands raised in surrender. A figure emerged, clad in armor and armed to the teeth, a menacing glint in his eyes.
“Who the hell are you?” the bounty hunter asked. He spoke their language, but his accent was strange—an unfamiliar lilt to his words. “One of you had better answer me, or I will start shooting.”
“We’re, uh, here for the prisoner exchange,” Christian said, gently nudging Gemma out of the way and stepping forward.
The bounty hunter narrowed his eyes. “The auction isn’t until tomorrow.”
“Really? Our invite told us to come today.” Christian’s hand moved toward the handgun on his hip.
The hunter’s nostrils flared. “Don’t even think about it.”
Boom!
Gemma shrieked as Colton fired from behind them. The bullet nicked the hunter’s neck, leaving behind nothing but a thin streak of red. Gemma flinched as the bullet ricocheted off the wall and thunked into something solid.
“You son of a—”
Another boom, and a hole appeared in the bounty hunter’s forehead. Blood and brain matter painted the scenery behind him as he fell limp to the floor. Gemma squeezed her eyes shut, pushing the image of Hawk’s lifeless body from her mind.
Christian’s eyes were full of wrath as he lowered his weapon back to his side. “We need to go. Quickly. Someone will have heard that.”
“I thought you said not to use guns,” Imara drawled.
“Yeah, well, sometimes you have to improvise.”
Christian shoved a couple items from the shelves into his vest. Colton slammed closed the case of bombs, then the four of them raced from the armory.
Thankfully, Christian’s efficiency with a map came in handy. After a few quick assessments, he led them toward the mess hall, maneuvering around the corners of the labyrinthine building with impressive speed.
Footsteps pounded in front and behind them, bounty hunters shouting that their bunker had been infiltrated. Gemma’s heartbeat rang like a siren in her ears, the severity of their situation sinking into her skin.
Any moment now, their enemies would round on them, and they’d be surrounded. All four of them would die, and they’d fail their test. They’d be sent back to Perileos. Nadine would never be vindicated. They would rot in a stinking pit of disease and depression.
Christian jumped into a gap in the wall and ushered them in. His chest rose and fell rapidly as his gaze remained locked on the hall, his dagger grasped in his hands. The bounty hunters ran passed, yelling orders to keep searching and to kill on sight.
The sound of retreating footsteps was like a massage to Gemma’s heart.
Christian’s stare flit from the hall to them. “We need to split up.”
“What?” Gemma almost shouted.
“If we stay together, we die together, and we lose together. Imara and I will take the bombs to the mess hall. You two get the captives and get them out of here.”
“No way,” Colton said. “You’re the only one who can read that blasted map. Imara and I will take the bombs. You and Gemma go free the captives.”
Christian ground his teeth. There was such fire in his eyes—his hatred for the bounty hunters practically seeped from his soul.
“Fine,” he growled, pulling out the map and showing Colton exactly how to get to the mess hall. Then he handed Colton the access ring they’d swiped off the guard at the front entrance in exchange for one of the bombs.
He peeked his head out from their hiding spot before popping back in. “It’s clear. We move now.”
Colton and Imara went to the left; Gemma and Christian split off to the right.
Again, they stuck to the shadows, trying their best to blend seamlessly into their surroundings.
Whenever Gemma heard a voice, her knees weakened.
Everything she’d worked so bloody hard to achieve would be over in a matter of seconds.
But every time she thought they were done for, Christian somehow managed to find a hiding spot, and they squeezed themselves together until their enemies passed.
Sweat rolled down Gemma’s neck when Christian stopped them for what felt like the twentieth time.
“The holding cells are through there.” He tipped his head in the direction of a windowless door. A thick, metal beam lay across the middle, connected to each side of the frame, barring anyone from opening the access. How in the blazes were they going to get in?
Christian pulled a chunk of reddish, clay-like material from his vest. “I need to find a weak spot in the door. Stay here.”
Gemma ground her teeth. She definitely should have shown him she was capable of more than just stitching flesh back together.
“Found one!” a female voice shouted from the hall, and Gemma’s heart stopped.
Christian had been spotted.
Snarling, Gemma leapt out from her hiding place and slammed the female bounty hunter into the far wall. The hunter shouted, startled by Gemma’s ambush, and dropped her knife. Gemma thrust her own dagger into the woman’s abdomen, below the hem of the woman’s vest, and heaved upward.
The woman grunted, clutching her stomach as Gemma withdrew her blade. She backhanded the bounty hunter, silencing her before her cries led even more enemies to them.
But five more bounty hunters appeared from the shadows anyway.
Blast. There was no way she’d be able to take them all on by herself. A cold dread began to sink into her bones.
Christian appeared out of nowhere and pushed her toward the bounty hunters. “Back up, back up, back up.”
She shot a wide-eyed glance at him over her shoulder. What—
He turned and fired at the clay he’d stuck against the door.
The explosion sent Gemma sprawling onto the floor. She covered her head as metal shrapnel spewed from what had once been the door, wincing every time a piece hit her body. The floor beneath her vibrated until she thought it would give way, but then the tremor ceased.
“Kill them!” one of the bounty hunters shouted.
Gemma jumped onto her feet, dagger tight in her hand, and braced herself for the onslaught.
Two of the hunters lay sprawled on the floor, pools of blood forming beneath their bodies. At least it’s now just three on two.
Unwilling to die without a fight, Gemma flung herself at the nearest hunter, swiping at his gut with her blade.
He whacked her wrist, blocking her attack and sending her blade flying. Gemma gasped, a cold dread settling into her bones as she raised her fists to prepare for attack.
An evil glee filled the man’s eyes as he swung at her in a barrage of strikes until she was pressed against the wall. Gemma blocked the punch to her face, wincing at the wave of pain down her arm.
“I’m gonna kill you, you little whore,” the hunter said, slamming his knee into her side so hard that the air left her lungs.
She gulped in oxygen before the man’s large hand wrapped around her thin neck, not tight enough to constrict her airway, but enough that she couldn’t break free. She clawed at his arm, white hot terror filling her every pore with terror. His stare was ravenous, a predator ready to devour his prey.
Gemma aimed for the hunter’s privates, trying to strike him with her knee, but his quick movement caused her to connect with his thigh instead.
“Mmm, I love a bitch who puts up a fight,” her attacker said, slamming her head into the wall behind her.
Nauseating pain flooded every bone and muscle in her body.
A blade appeared in front of the bounty hunter’s neck and sliced his throat open from ear to ear. Blood sprayed from the man’s arteries, dousing Gemma, before the hunter’s hands loosened, and he fell limp to the floor.
The scream died in Gemma’s throat before it could escape.
Christian drew her into a calming embrace. “It’s all right. You’re okay. You’re safe now.”
Gemma turned to the side, out of his hold, and gagged. The memories that followed from this test would scar her for the rest of her life.
Another heave ripped through her body, and Christian held back her braid as a second and third dry heave hurled out of her. Then she wiped her mouth and face with the arm of her sleeve.
“Here.” Christian tugged her gently into an upright position. With his sleeve, he wiped the rest of the hunter’s blood from her face, his every touch tender despite the fury boiling in his eyes.
“Thank you,” she said as he dropped his arm from her cheek.
He stole an access ring from Gemma’s attacker, and when he spoke, his voice was gruff and angry. “Let’s end this.”