“How stupid do you think we ar?—”
The man bellows. A gunshot goes off, and the women and girls scream. The man opposite glances over his shoulder as though he’ll be able to see through the closed door.
A lot happens in the time he takes to look at me again. Time moves impossibly slowly. I’ve heard of time perception changing as a trauma response during my work in the ER, but I’ve never felt it myself. Now, it hits me.
Sluggish, slow hundredth seconds peel by as something dangerous and reckless triggers deep inside me.
They’re going to kill my brother. Then they’ll kill me.
Don’t think, Celine.
Don’t you dare let yourself think.
I throw myself at the man, hands flying to his gun.
CHAPTER 26
DAMIAN
Ishoot the guard outside the storeroom door square in the head, the gunshot loud even through my earplugs. My head is ringing, but I don’t give a fuck. Stepping over his body, I kick open the door. The hatch is already open. Thank God for small miracles.
I rush down the narrow corridor as another gunshot goes off. Charge into the room and find Julian on the floor with Vincent. I always thought he was one of the good ones.
Julian snarls as they wrestle. Pushes him up so there’s about a foot clearance between his head and Vincent’s.
Another bullet takes care of that. Blood spurts all over Julian and the dirty stone floor.
Another man fires a shot. Hits me straight in the bulletproof vest I’m wearing, and I feel one of my ribs threaten to break. I spin, take a knee, the collision slamming into my kneepads. One shot to center mass. As he drops, I put one right through his mouth.
These poor women. These poor goddamn girls.
Someone has triggered the alarm. It screams through the building. Must be more men upstairs.
Fuck.
We’re not going to be able to get these women out of here in an organized way.
A door bursts open at the edge of the room.
A man falls out…
With Celine attached to him, her hands on his gun. I stare in awe and terror as the man–the same bastard who pulled the alarm the first time I was here–struggles to aim the barrel at Celine.
I leap on him, dragging him away from her. Shove him up against the wall and shatter his nose with a headbutt that makes his body limp. He makes a choking noise as I bury my hands in his throat. Lift him off his feet and stare into his dying eyes.
“No one,” I growl, squeezing harder. Cartilage crunches in his throat. “Touches.My fucking woman.”
Snap.
I break his goddamn neck and let him drop.
“Damian,” Julian roars, grabbing my arm. “This place is going to be crawling with men soon. We need to leave.”
Celine tears off the duct tape around her mouth, gasping. “The women,” Celine cries. “The girls!”
“There isn’t time!” Julian snaps.
Celine ignores him and rushes across the room. Two girls run at her as if she’s their mother. She scoops them both up, red-faced and determined. She cradles them both to her chest.
