“Get them out,” I urge, stepping aside as they move into the hallway, Aidan pulling Rory by the hand behind him, and Liam carrying a sobbing Remi. “Out the back. They already blew the front.”
Liam gives me a quick nod, something unspoken passing between us, before they disappear toward the back of the warehouse.
I grab two more guns from Aidan’s closet, strapping them across my chest before taking off, headed for the bay. The lights flicker and go out, and I move forward silently in the darkness, edging around the corner and taking out two Russians as they attempt to come through the front door.
Two of my men are already down. The two left alive hit the ground alongside me, just as another round of automatic gunfire sweeps the room.
I move in closer, firing blind through the warehouse walls; the glow from the burning SUV outside flickers through the thousands of tiny holes.
I’ve just about reached one of my men, Byrne, I think, when the other one shouts.
“Grenade!”
We dive. I roll behind a forklift just in time. The grenade explodes, ripping through the loading bay. Metal shrieks, and everything plunges into smoke and chaos. The blast leaves my ears screaming—a high-pitched, painful whine.
Shaking off the buzzing in my head, I peer out from behind the heavy machine.
Walsh is dead.
Byrne is at my side in an instant, his gun cocked and ready. I nod at him, and together we move in on the entrance. Firing at anything that moves.
Byrne’s hit and he goes down, but I keep shooting, switching guns when my clip runs empty, until every single fucking Russian is dead.
Letting out a heavy breath, I keep my gun in my hands, on high alert before turning to assess the damage.
Bullet holes pierce just about every inch of the outer face of the building. Liam’s SUV sits not far off, engulfed in flames. An orange glow also lights up the warehouse from the inside.
Fuck.
I race back in, pulling up short at the sight of an entire pallet of wooden crates on fire. The flames are spreading too fast; the fire is too far gone to stop now.
The shipment we just brought in… at least half of it was explosives.
Irun.
Throwing open the locker door with a clang, Briar flinches, a look of absolute terror on her face until she recognizes me. My face is likely covered in a mix of blood, dirt, and ash.
I don’t waste any time, reaching up and releasing the chain that’s holding her up. “I’ve got you,” I breathe, catching her when her legs can’t handle the weight. My ears are still buzzing from the explosion, so it takes a minute for me to realize she’s screaming something at me.
“What?” I shake my head, trying to listen more closely.
Aname… she’s screaming a name.
“Liam’s got her. Liam’s got Remi,” I assure her, our eyes meeting, exchanging a weighted look.
“Can you walk?” I set her down on shaky knees, but she stays on her feet. Nodding at me.
Her hands are still bound with rope, but there’s no fucking time.
“Come on.” I grab her arm and drag her out of the room. She tries desperately to keep up with me as I run us down the hall,and at some point, I scoop her up to carry her since she’s slowing us down.
We crash out of the back door, and dash across the lot. The garage door of the warehouse next door is already open, thanks to Aidan and Liam. We own this entire industrial park.
I set Briar down and grab a key off of the hook. Liam and Aidan will have taken the extra SUV, leaving only a couple of bikes parked further in the garage.
Briar stands by the entrance, shaking, trembling. I take out my knife, cutting the ropes from her hands before she even sees the blade, pulling off my sweatshirt and shoving it over her head before going for the bike.
There’s no time. I glance up at the black smoke billowing out of the warehouse beside us as the bike starts up. Swinging my leg over, I rocket forward. Briar jumps when I stop short at her side.
