As I kissed her, she smiled against my lips.
“You better not miss.” Amalia slid her rifle off and positioned her boots quietly against the metal. “Out of sight until it’s time.” Those were the last words she spoke before kicking open the vent and quickly exiting.
A commotion ensued between the men as they shouted instructions and raised their weapons.
“On your knees,” one commanded.
“Es la reina,” another said with dark amusement.
“Alvaro, check the vent. Make sure she’s alone.”
I knew what that meant. He wouldn’t be coming by and sticking his head in to say hello. Things were about to get ugly, but before they did, Alvaro got a new hole to breathe from when my hollow point ripped through the side of his neck. Without wasting a second, I fired more shots through the narrow opening when I saw Amalia hit the floor. The bastard in front of her went down with two bullets to his chest.
Holes the size of quarters opened up around me as the third man began firing. I ducked just as the metal behind me broke open, and aimed my weapon, hoping Amalia was out of my line of fire. But when I squeezed the trigger, I realized my gun hadjammed. As if sensing what had happened, she jumped on the man’s back and plunged a blade into his throat twice before he even knew he was as good as dead. By the time her assault registered, his eyes were wide, mouth agape when she slid the serrated edge against his Adam’s apple and sliced deep into flesh.
He threw his weight back, attempting to buck her off, but the stained steel disappeared again, deeper, until his knees hit the floor.
“Kai! We gotta run. Incoming!”
We picked up the abandoned AKs and dashed toward a stairwell, where a hail of gunfire awaited us, reverberating like clashing thunder against the long, hollow space. As we descended, our gazes met, and she reached out to me, briefly squeezing my forearm. While no words were exchanged between us, it was all I needed.
“This was where the other team was supposed to be,” I said, fear tinging my voice.
A puddle of blood pooled on the floor from the other side of the door, and Amalia placed a firm hand on my chest. “Kai, whatever we see in there…we have to keep our heads clear, okay?”
Her tone was vulnerable and empathetic, as if she knew that whatever awaited us on the other side could be equally devastating to us both.
Something was happening between us.
Changing.
But there was no time to dwell on those thoughts. I just hoped we’d get the chance to do so later.
“It’s quiet,” I said, as I pushed open the door. Emergency lights illuminated dark corners just enough to see a crouched figure on the far side of the room as soft squelching noises filled the air. Amalia raised her weapon.
“Wait.” Her shoulder twitched, hand shaking, desperate to make the kill. But I just had a feeling… “D, is that you?”
The fleshy noises ceased for several seconds before continuing, and Amalia steadied her aim again. But I shook my head, a broad smile on my face. Anyone else would have startled or reacted to the threat, but my brother was too busy handling business.
“About time you made it. My hand’s starting to cramp up,” he joked dryly.
“You’ve been down here finger-painting all this time while Amalia and I have been doing all the heavy lifting.”
Derek scoffed and straightened, twisting around to face us. He and I had been through a lot and done some wild shit. Unimaginable shit that would traumatize the average person, but the way Derek looked right now, was straight up a thing of nightmares. There wasn’t an inch of him not drenched in blood. His face looked like he’d applied crimson war paint and used it to slick back his hair, with the exception of a few thick strands hanging over his forehead, dripping red down his skin and onto the floor.
“Goddamn, Derek. We’re going to have to take you out back and hose you the fuck down.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “There’s a little back spray when they kick and scream.”
“A little?” Amalia chimed in. “You sure you weren’t playing in it? You look absolutely vile.” Her sneer suddenly lifted. “Amazing.”
“Is that what I need to do to impress you?”
She looked up and hip-checked me. “You can impress me in other ways, Cain. But first, we need to keep moving…” I put a hand on her arm as she stepped under the glow of a red light that highlighted her sheer bra. Setting my weapons down, I quickly shrugged off my shirt and forced it over her head.
“Really?”
“Yeah, come on.”
