Kortez walks directly through the fight, the last bit of strangling guards turning to escape only to be shot or thrown to the ground by one of my men. One flings himself towards Kor and immediately regrets it as Kor turns and shoves a knife through his eye socket. The man screams as Kor twists the blade and drops the man to the ground. The others finish up with the guards and come to stand beside Kortez as he slams his boot into the man’s face. Blood splashes up on Kor’s pants to join the rest but all Kortez does is smile.
When his eyes meet mine again, I see why. This isn’t Kortez standing across from me – it’s his demons. They’re who came to save me.
I step forward only to be dragged backward by my hair. My back slams into Wade’s chest as the same knife that stuck into his hand comes to rest on my throat. I had been so caught up in Kor’s bloodlust that I forgot I had my own monster standing beside me.
“Oh, no, Evangeline. You’re not leaving me that easily.” The words are whispered into my ear, his hot breath making me shiver as the blade presses into my throat. Blood begins to run down my chest as he breaksthe skin and I watch all four of my guys look from Wade, to the blade, then to me.
Almost simultaneously, their eyes drop from the blood to my nightgown. Kor’s body begins shaking and Wyld has to hold Roman back.
My throat constricts at the view of them all lined up and covered in blood. My dark knights are coming to my rescue. But the glass poking me in the head reminds me that I’m not some damsel in distress.
I just need an opening.
Chapter 46
Atlas
“You’re outnumbered, Wade. Drop the knife.”
It’s killing me to watch Eve stand in front of him with fear in her eyes. I can’t help but to wonder if anything…happened before we got here. It’s clear he’s hurt her. She has a bruise on one arm and on her jaw. Her lip is busted and swelling but the blood dripping down her thigh is what’s killing me the most. Where is the blood coming from?
If it wasn’t for Kortez, we wouldn’t be here right now. The plan was to land in Jacksonville and scope out the warehouse. We needed to learn the guard rotations and what kind of firepower they had. It was too risky. By the sound of Wylder’s painful grunt at my side, I know that at least one of us got hurt.
Kortez threw that right out the window when we landed. He demanded the captain to open the cargo area and get his motorcycle. He hasn’t ridden the entire time in Denver, but his body didn’t forget. He strapped on his knives and took off, leaving us to followin a rented SUV. It didn’t take long to realize he was heading straight for the warehouse. His demons didn’t care about plans or guard rotations – they just needed Eve.
Wade laughs and tightens his grip around Eve’s waist. I see her flinch from the movement but he only smirks when I refrain from taking a step forward.
“I may be outnumbered but I’m not leaving – not without Evangeline.” He tilts his head down and licks up the side of her neck. “She’s mine now, Atlas. She wants to kill you just as badly as I do.”
He bends down, bringing Eve down with him so he can grab his gun from where it fell on the floor. When they stand, he levels it directly at me. “Look at you, taking lives with no mercy.” He turns the gun toward Kortez. “And you, covered in blood with a smirk on your face. You’re more of his child than I thought.”
So, Kortez was right. Wade set up camp here because of his mother – their mother – who was killed because of my father. No, not just killed. She was raped, kidnapped, and then forced into a life of abuse before they murdered her in cold blood. All because of my father.
If I was a weaker man, I would think I was poisoned by my father’s blood, too. I’m violent and at times, my temper gets the best of me. I ask men to fight in battles for me just for some of them to lose their life to my own selfish cause. It’s the Valente in me but that blood only goes so far. I would never do what my father did, and I know Kortez never would either. He may be my brother, but he’s a better man than even me.
Eve doesn’t look surprised by Wade’s words, so I assume he filled her in. The fear I saw in her eyes bleeds into anger, her fingers dancing at her side as the wheels inside her head turn. I silently plead withher to stay still. Don’t let his blade slide any deeper into her throat. Don’t let her waste anymore of her blood.
I see the moment a plan solidifies in her head. Her fingers clench into a fist and she willingly presses her body back into Wade’s. She murmurs something too low for even him to hear and tilts her head to the side.
His head comes down to rest in the crook of her neck and the hand around her waist spreads out, claiming her in a way he has no right to.
“Get ready.” My voice is low but the soft grunts of the other’s signal that they heard me. I have no clue what her plan is but she’s getting his guard down. She’s been here for a week already and no doubt knows how to make him tick.
Eve laughs, the soft sound making my body loosen as she reaches up with her hand and wraps it against the back of his head to bring him closer. Kortez growls, the sound loud enough to have Wade raising his eyes to look at us with a smirk on his lips. “They’re jealous, Evangeline.”
Her eyes dart to us, looking at each one of us for only a second. Whatever Kortez sees when she looks at him has his growl stopping but a blade slipping from its sheath. Eve has Wade distracted enough that he doesn’t notice the sound, but he also doesn’t notice her other arm slowly raising to her head. At first, I think she’s going for the blade, but she quickly bypasses its edge and slides into her hair.
When her hand comes down, I see the glint of amber shine in the moonlight before it disappears in her hand. Wade, oblivious to her actions, leans in when she whispers something to him. His head gets thrown back to the ceiling as he laughs and the knife loosens around her neck.
I see a quick flash of amber in Eve’s hand as she reaches up and slams her hand into Wade’s neck. His eyes widen as the knife he was holding drops to the ground. Blood begins to spurt from his neck as Eve dives down to the ground, her head whipping towards us. “Now!”
Kortez lets his knife fly, and a gunshot sounds to my left as Wylder pulls the trigger. Wade stumbles back as the gunshot hits him directly in the chest and Kor’s knife finds its way to his forehead. His feet continue backward as we all rush forward. I make it to Eve as Wade’s body crumbles on the ground behind us, pulling her into my arms and tilting her head back to take a look at her neck.
The cut from the knife doesn’t look too deep, but I don’t get a good chance to look at it before her body is ripped from me. She gives a laugh as Roman holds her face in his hands, dropping kisses all over her pale skin and murmuring how badass she was between the kisses.
Wylder drops to his knees beside them and checks her bruises, first on her arm and then on her face. He swats Roman to the side as he takes Eve’s chin in his fingers and turns her toward the light. He lets out a low whistle, “He got you good, little demon, but you got him better.”
His words bring a smile to her face as she looks around at us. When her eyes land on Kortez, her eyebrows narrow. He’s still standing, his hands clenching and unclenching as if missing the knife he usually keeps in his palms. I can tell the demons are still riding him hard, despite all the blood drying on his clothes. I’ve never seen him this deep before.
