There stands my brother… wearing a Wraith’s cut.
I go to open my mouth, but Leon puts a finger over his lips. When I glance over at Shelby, she looks just as confused as me.Are the guys here? Did they take out some members and put on their cuts to blend in?
Leon’s eyes widen as he scents me, but they get even wider when he takes in Shelby’s injuries.
“We have to be quiet. You do as I say,” he commands both of us. I have so many questions, but right now, all that matters is that we get the fuck out of this place.
Leon holds his weapon up as Shelby and I follow him. I look at all the locked rows of doors, and I tug on his shirt. He gives me the most pissed-off look ever, but I can’t keep quiet. Not on this.
“What about the others?”
“I can only get you two out right now. That has to be enough,” he urges.
Has everyone in this house not been taken out? The man, Tex, sits in the hallway, but he doesn’t look dead; he just looks asleep. I’ve never in my life had the urge to kill someone, but a part of me wants to take Leon’s gun and shoot this man in the head.
Shelby tugs me back to reality as another cramp rolls through me. I place a hand over my mouth as I whimper. Shelby rubs my back as my brother looks at me.
“They gave her something. She’s going into heat,” Shelby whispers to my brother.
“Fuck. We’ve got to be quick. Go down the stairs, to the left, and out of the infirmary. You’ll have to drive with Lily on the back,” his voice is soft, but I take in every word and tilt my head.
“It’s just you?” Shelby questions him for me.
I’m also wondering why he’s going to stay here, why wouldn’t he be coming with us? I need him. I tug on his cut, fisting it in my hand. The leather is comforting.
“I’ll explain everything later, baby. I promise,” Leon pleads with Shelby, cupping her face. He looks at the damage there, and I swear my brother almost cries. “No more bullshit after this. I’ll keep you safe. Both of you are safe,” he declares, looking over at me. He places a kiss on the side of Shelby’s head and then mine before we proceed down the hallway.
Leon is here… on his own... with a Wraiths cut on. All the drunken self-loathing nights he’s had and self-deprecating he’s been doing slowly gets pieced together in my mind.What the fuck has my brother done?
Now is not the time or place to ask. We’ve already spoken more than we should.
Our footsteps are soft on the beige carpet as we make our way down the hall. Leon takes the steps first and we follow, trying to be as light on our feet as possible. It has to be relatively late, seeing as all the lights are off and how few noises there are in the house. Only the mundane sounds of a clock ticking, the air conditioning running, and the gentle hum of some sort of appliance fill the space.
We pass through the kitchen first. Shelby wisely grabs a knife, and I wish I would have thought of that. She wields it in her uninjured hand. I know she won’t hesitate to stab the fuck out of someone if they try to stop our escape.
Leon guides us down another hallway, and there’s a loud snore, which makes us all pause our movements for a moment. We’re stark still in the hallway, but my heartbeat drums loudly in my ears.
The snoring continues in a rhythmic tone, and we continue our path down the hallway. “Fuck,” Leon mumbles as he goes to turn the doorknob to the infirmary. He looks to Shelby first. With her arm, there’s no way she can hold a gun. Instead, he hands it to me, and I take a deep breath as I grip the cold metal. I hold it steady as he pulls out a ring of keys and unlocks the door. It clicks loudly, making me wince. He pushes the door in, looking around.
Shelby enters first, then me, and last, Leon. He shuts the door softly behind us and locks it. I’m about to return his gun as a shot is fired off. Shelby is right next to me, and I watch in devastation as she clutches the side of her face, falling to the floor.
My heart thunders, and as badly as I want to crash to the floor and console her, I don’t. It’s like my instincts knoweverything I need to do right now. I need to get the fuck out of here and to my pack.
Every single person who stands in my way has to die.
I have to fight.
Instead of leading with fear, I raise my gun. My hands are as steady as they’ve ever been, and I shoot. I hit Reg right in the stomach, and he collapses to the ground, dropping his gun. It slides across the floor. He’s gurgling and writhing as I finally turn and face Shelby.
“Where were you hit? Are you alright?” I ask. She pulls her hand away from her face, and I sigh in relief at the fact that it was just a graze.
That is until I look behind her…
My brother lies on the floor, gasping for breath as he holds his chest. I don’t even think about how the gunshots would have woken everyone in the house up, or that this will all be for naught as they drag us back to our rooms.
All I think about is Leon, my protector, bleeding out on the floor.
Shelby sobs, crawling over to my brother, putting pressure on his chest as she stares into his big brown eyes that are laced with a fear I’ve never seen before.
