Chapter 34
LIV
REVENGE - PAPA ROACH
Rune.
My head lolls to my right as he comes rushing toward me, bullets flying as Hayk’s men start dropping like flies.
Everything is happening so fast; Rune shooting at anything with a pulse, more of Hayk’s men barging into the warehouse. I can hear our puppies growling and barking, and men screaming as those dogs do what they do best.
I shake my head hard, trying to stay conscious and regretting it immediately as pain lances through my skull but I can tell if I get hit again, I’m going to pass out, and I can’t do that. I can’t let Rune do this on his own.
I knew they would come for me no matter how hard I tried to manifest the opposite and now that he’s here, I have to help.
Especially as Hayk shouts, “Now!”
Several things happen at once and I struggle to process all of them.
A bark and high pitched whine comes from across the room, a single bullet fired before all three dogs stop making any other sounds.
I lift my head and crane my neck, trying like hell to see what happened through the blood on my face.
Trying to find the bastard I’m going to enjoy killing for touching one single hair on one of my dog’s heads, but I don’t see anyone.
I can’t. I just see my puppies. My heart sinks and tears spring to my eyes when my stare locks on Bee, our sweet girl laid out and barely breathing while Rus and Cy protect her, their teeth bared, mouths foaming, but they’re stock still and silent.
A tear rolls down my cheek before my eyes snap to the right again, the sound of multiple guns cocking drawing my attention in their direction.
At least twenty men surround my mate, weapons drawn and pointed at Rune at point blank range.
His chest is pumping, his breaths ragged and harsh.
Both of his arms are raised, his SIGs locked on targets, but his eyes…
Those beautiful dark eyes are trained on me.
I’ve failed again.
The bond link. It has to be because that’s his voice in my head, I know it is, and while I can’t hear more than that, I know my alpha is about to do something beyond reckless thanks to the guilt that’s starting to build in his chest.
“Don’t,” I whisper, my mate’s eyes narrowing on my face as I shake my head.
I’m not going to lose him, not going to let him sacrifice his life for my own, and when I see the same emotion pass over his face, my thoughts echo loudly in my mind and I know for a fact this is going to be a battle of wills.
Until Hayk changes the game again.
“The girl,” he barks over his shoulder, holding out his hand and flexing his fingers as he waits. “Now!”
My heart slams against my ribs as I watch one of his men drag a little girl toward us, the poor thing maybe four years old and absolutely terrified.
She tries to scream as Hayk grabs the rope around her wrists and yanks her to his side, but the cloth gag is muffling the sound, and it looks so tight that her jaw is struggling to move.
She looks around the room as tears stream down her face, her big brown eyes bouncing from person to person, threat to threat, as she starts to sob.
The girl does a double take when she sees me, a mix of relief and fear, panic and calm flooding her little body, her eyes pleading with mine, silently begging me for help.
For safety. For all the things I wanted but never got at her age.
My brow furrows as we stare at each other, a strange feeling of familiarity washing over me as I watch her jerk against her restraints, crying and screaming against the cloth in her mouth and when she kicks Hayk in the shin, stomps on his foot then races toward me, that’s when it clicks.
Tatiana.
She knocks the air from my lungs as she crashes into me, scrambling onto my lap, lifting her bound wrists above my head until her arms are looped around my neck. The little girl hangs onto me for dear life, squeezing so tight it's hard to believe she’s so young.
“Tatiana?” I whisper and she nods as I breathe in a scent that’s both new and familiar. It’s sweet and soothing, a bit spicy, and something about it has my heart screaming that this little girl is mine. “Tatiana, honey, are you okay?”
She nods again as she buries her face in my hair, her sobs calming to a steady stream of tears falling against my neck.
My gaze swings toward Rune again, my alpha’s thoughts mirroring my own.
She looks just like both of them.
Tatiana acts like them, too, and if we weren’t very literally in a life or death situation right now, I’d have to wonder which one of my mate’s she’s going to favor long term.
Hopefully, it’s Niko.
“It has been a very long time since I’ve seen you, Rune,” Hayk says with a smirk as he rubs his shin. “I was sorry to hear about your master.”
My alpha slowly changes positions so one SIG is still aimed at any number of these bastards but the other is pointed at Hayk’s shiny, bald head.
He lifts his hand to keep his small army at bay, laughing as he comes closer to Tati and I. “I was also extremely impressed. It’s not every day that you hear about a man being bent, broken, and torn into pieces like his joints were perforated like a roll of paper towel.”
Well, that’s a very colorful way to get confirmation on how Rune got out of The Circuit. Not that I doubted him and his ability to kill anyone with his bare hands, I just didn’t realize he was able to dismember with them, too.
“That’s why I’m going to let you decide on how this game comes to an end.” Hayk reaches into the back of his slacks and pulls out two handguns. “Olive and Tatiana.” He points one at the two of us and I try to turn the four year old away from the line of fire the best I can. “Or your fucking dogs.”
Think before you act, I say through our link. At least, I try to. I repeat it over and over, knowing damn well Rune will choose us despite how much he loves those dogs, just like I know Hayk is going to shoot everyone regardless of the deal he swears he’ll honor.
My alpha stares at me, dark eyes boring into mine, and just as I see his decision and apology flash across his face, everything stops when the warehouse starts to shake.
Windows rattle, doors swing open and slam closed.
The chains hanging from the ceiling start to vibrate and spin.
It’s almost like an earthquake but I didn’t think they had those in Minnesota.
Not to mention, earthquakes don’t make noise.
A noise that’s a weird combination of screeching tires, crunching metal, and something plummeting from outer fucking space, and it’s growing louder by the second.
Hayk scowls as he looks around the room, searching for whatever is causing it. “What the fuck is—”
A goddamn airplane comes crashing through the side of the building, bricks and dust exploding into the open space, glass spraying everywhere while the tires squeal and smoke, and they mow over close to two thirds of Hayk’s men.
The force of the crash sends my chair toppling backwards before it falls to the side, my shoulder popping as my head hits the concrete floor.
“Are you okay?” I quickly ask Tatiana as she pushes herself up the best she can, unlinking her arms with a nod. “Do you think you can untie me?”
She nods again and scurries behind me, her tiny fingers working the rope around my wrists free. The little girl crawls in front of me again, going for the restraints at my ankles but I stop her.
“I need you to say the words for me, okay? Tell me if they hurt you.” I reach out and remove her gag, my eyes searching hers, the same color brown as Niko’s staring back at me. “Tell me if Hayk hurt you.”
“No,” she whispers as she shakes her head.
“Promise?”
Tatiana nods and leans into my touch as I cup her cheeks. “I promise.”
“Okay,” I say as I untie her wrists and we both make quick work of my ankles. “Things are about to get very messy, but I need you to trust me, okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I trust you,” Tati whispers as I get to my feet. “I trust you lots.”
“Good.” I quickly scoop her up into my arms, ignoring the way my shoulder screams and start running as Hayk’s men start to regroup.
I can hear him barking orders, hear them trying to get their shit together enough to follow them, but that isn’t what makes me turn and look over my shoulder.
No, it’s the, “Oh my god, is that a severed head?” screamed by one of the soldiers, and I turn in time to see Leon wind up and send what is, in fact, a severed head into the middle of the group like this is a goddamn bowling alley and those panicked bastards are the pins.
Thank god.
I didn’t want them to come, didn’t want any of my mates putting themselves in danger, but Tatiana wasn’t something I had to factor in before.
I have to keep her safe, I have to protect her, and I can’t do that by myself.
Hell, I can’t do life by myself, not now that I have a pack that I would literally kill and die for, not when we have this little girl to protect, and raise, and love.
Things changed completely when Tatiana was thrown into the ring, and I’m going to fight tooth and nail to make sure we all come out swinging.
Running as fast as I can with bruised ankles and a four year old in my arms, I search for somewhere to hide her while gunfire rings out into the space behind us.
There.
About twenty feet away is a janitor’s closet, far enough away from the action that she won’t catch a stray bullet, but close enough to be able to grab her if it gets too intense to stay inside.
I yank open the door and carefully place her in the corner, sliding a mop bucket and other odds and ends in front of her before I crouch down to her level.
“I have to go help my pack,” I say as a smile touches my lips. “I have to help our pack, Tatiana. Your brothers are out there, and they need me.”
Her eyes go wide as she wipes away a few stray tears. “Michi and Neato?”