“Shit,” Lucas muttered. He grabbed my arm, dragging me back toward the stairs. “No playing hero, Sophia. No leaping into dangerous situations. No trying to save me. Your only priority is surviving this. You will do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?”
I nodded, wide-eyed.
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” I said.
“If something happens to me, go to our house on Evanston, okay?”
I hesitated, but nodded at his threatening glare.
Down the hall, the west wing of the building exploded. Lucas threw me against a wall, using his body as a shield.
As soon as the debris settled, he had a tight hold on my arm again, dragging me toward the main stairs. We made it to the landing of the first floor when the front doors of headquarters erupted in a shower of wood, glass, and fire, followed by a flood of Hunters.
With a curse, Lucas pushed me back upstairs. At the top, he darted left. Several Defiants trailed us. He pulled me behind a corner and waited, gun ready.
“You shouldn’t waste bullets,” I whispered.
“Bullets aren’t wasted when they’re inside Hunters.”
Across from us, two Defiants mirrored Lucas.
The explosions downstairs shook the entire house. Gunshots roared an irregular tattoo of blasts through the air. Voices shouted from all directions.
When the first Hunter reached the landing, a shot fractured the air, ringing in my ears. Lucas’s bullet whizzed through our enemy’s body. The Defiant across from us did the same. Each explosion spiked my blood with more adrenaline. My heart tried to break my ribs with its pounding.
Four Hunters fell. The rest ducked behind a wall for cover.
Their counterfire flew. Lucas threw an arm around me even though I stood out of harm’s way. Useless.
“Need help?” Adam approached from behind, armed to the nines. He grinned and yanked the safety pin from a grenade with a flourish, throwing it at the staircase.
Shouts of warning echoed down the hall before the explosion.
Wood and debris scattered across the floor as we retreated. We reached the rotunda. An iron banister encircled the balcony, and we stayed at the periphery, breathing fast. Hunters darted through the doorways below.
“What’s the plan?” Adam asked.
“I have a safe house on Evanston Avenue. If we can make it out…”
“Got it,” Adam said, and passed down a handful of grenades. Lucas waved two fingers, and he and Adam stepped forward, followed by a few other Defiants. He signaled to release, and six grenades sailed toward the lower level.
Metal clanked on stone as we ducked. Lucas jumped on top of me, his weight digging my bones into the carpeted floor. The doors shattered into shrapnel that rained over us.
Adam patted his pockets. “Grenades didn’t last long.”
“Come on.” Lucas grabbed my elbow. “Get up.”
I kept my pistol ready in my right hand, my knife in my left. We stayed low while bullets lodged themselves in the walls above us, plaster dusting my skin and hair.
On the opposite side, we slipped into the east wing of the building. The closest stairway was blocked by a door. Adam held a finger to his lips. We stilled.
Lucas crept closer, leaning his ear toward the wood. He listened for six of my erratic heartbeats before kicking the door inward. It broke off the hinges, taking down a Hunter on the other side.
Another Hunter jumped back. “Shit!” He pointed a gun.
Lucas lunged for it. Long fingers wrapped around the Hunter’s wrist, shoving it away. The weapon discharged, and a bullet embedded in the ceiling.
