“If you insist.”
“Nikolai!” the other man chided. “Our orders were to kill the bitch.”
He violently turned me toward him, lecherous green eyes burning with apathetic cruelty. “Yes, but he never said we couldn’t have a little fun first.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
DEREK
Everything in front of me was a blur. I was on autopilot, tearing mercilessly through flesh with the edge of my blade and the heat of my HK. There was only one thought in my mind. One objective. Reaching her.
Saving her.
The moment Kai’s grave look connected with mine, I knew the message he’d received involved Evangelina. She and Helena were under fire by Belov’s men and had taken shelter in the ventilation system of Einstein. I blamed myself. I should have taken care of that sack of shit the moment he’d touched her the first time. But I was trying to be level-headed and not bring war down on Ares.
Fuck every single one of them. For Eva, I’d go to war with the whole goddamn world.
The flame of a bullet scorched my skin as it grazed the top of my left shoulder. Clenching my jaw, I turned to find a familiar face. His mangled, silver-capped sneer twisted even wider as he raised his weapon, thinking he’d gotten the jump on me, but Kai was faster. Lead to the temple.
“There’s a body, D.”
Fear snared my heart as I neared the slim form of a woman on the floor. Streaks of brown in her hair brought a fresh wave of relief, and I exhaled the residual tension and pushed forward. I knew Kai would deal with Helena. The soft rising movements of her chest suggested she was alive. Alive, but not conscious and, therefore, would be no help in locating the woman I had come for.
The only one who mattered.
That’s when I heard her voice, muffled by the commotion and distance between us, but it was unmistakable.
I threw open the metal door, and Evangelina was standing over the body of a large man, a bloody knife in her hand. She startled at the noise and turned to me in a panic. The gun she’d been holding out of view was pointed center mass in my direction. Through the haze of chaos and shadows, she hesitated just long enough to register my face before pulling the trigger. But there was a second of indecision. A flash of mistrust in her eyes as they narrowed on my weapon. I couldn’t deny the tinge of hurt her suspicion caused, but I understood it.
“Angel.” A shuddering gasp fell from her lips as we ran into each other’s arms.
“Derek! What are you doing here? How did you know?”
“I came for you,” I said, resting my forehead against hers. She was trembling, and I framed her face, wiping away spatters of blood with my thumb. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. “It’s not my blood. He tried to…”
Red rage edged my vision as it fell on the corpse of the man who’d tried to take advantage of her.
“He got what he deserved,” I said through gritted teeth. Pride and relief swelled in my chest at what she’d done. I wanted to take her home and sink my dick inside her. “That’s my girl.”
She took care of fucking business and got herself out.
The loud creak of a door saw us both drawing our guns. Kai put a hand up as he crossed the threshold, Helena under his other arm. She was awake, though looking dazed and weak.
Evangelina’s heated gaze met mine as the four of us shared the same space. It was as if I could see the wheels in her mind spinning, fueled by endless questions whose answers she couldn’t even begin to comprehend.
Answers I could never reveal. Not if it meant losing her.
“You’re… the calvary? How do you know Leni? And who’s that?” she asked, motioning to Kai.
“No, we’re not. PPD has this place surrounded.” I tipped her head gently. “Angel, you and Helena have to walk out that door. I’ll see you out until it’s safe.”
“Wait, what about you?”
“Kai and I have our own exit plan.”
Her fingers curled tightly around the sleeves of my jacket. “Derek, no. Please, come with me.”
