Naddie made a soft, unhappy sound.
“Fuck it,” Crush muttered.
He hit the brakes, pulling the car to a screeching halt on the road shoulder.
Killian yelped and turned, his pulse loud in Crush’s ears. “What’re you doing?”
“Doing this so you don’t have to,” Crush growled.
He grabbed the lever to collapse the front passenger seat, at the same time he unbuckled his seat belt.
Between Naddie’s car seat, Killian, and the bakery boxes, there was hardly any space left in the back seat. Crush squeezedhimself back there anyway, slotting his folded legs on either side of Killian’s hips, so Killian’s back was pressed against his chest.
Killian fitted perfectly between his legs, in his arms.
He was so small.
Crush’s instincts roared:Protect.
He hit the button for the back window, plucked the gun out of Killian’s hands, and aimed it at the black cars speeding toward them.
Crush took out the snipers first. Killian stiffened at the recoil, but Crush didn’t give him time to adjust. He shot out one front tire, then another. Then he shot through the windshield at the driver, and didn’t stop to look at the blood splatter.
Instead, he aimed for the other car, shooting out its tires and its driver too.
The cars skidded on the asphalt. Crush watched them for signs of life. One of the cars crashed into the concrete center divider; the other headed straight toward them, at such a high speed that a collision was inevitable.
Killian gripped Crush’s thigh, his pulsethundering.“Crush!”
Crush bit into his own thumb, smearing his blood against a spot on the car roof.
Blue light glowed softly around them. A high note tinkled like silverware hitting a crystal glass, the vibration buzzing through Crush’s bones.
The next second, the car slammed into them. Its hood crumpled; its windshield shattered. Bodies jerked lifelessly in their seats.
Crush, Killian, and Naddie barely felt a bump.
Killian stared, his pulse so loud. “I... What... What just happened?”
Before Crush could check for any other hostiles, Killian nudged the spare magazine into his palm.
“You have one shot left,” the omega mumbled.
Something fluttered in Crush’s chest. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
He reloaded his gun, listening to the black cars. When he found no survivors in them, he hit the button to close the back window.
Then he wrapped his arms around Killian in a warm hug. “Great job. That was a barrier spell combined with a sticking, stationary spell. It made my car behave like a concrete pillar.”
“A... A pillar.” Killian blinked several times, looking around dazedly.
“I use my car on missions sometimes,” Crush explained. “It’s been heavily modified—that drift stunt earlier could’ve cracked axles on a car that wasn’t prepped for dry road drifting. Not to mention the potential bullet damage. I don’t want to build another of this baby, so I have precautions in place to minimize damage.” He waved at the car roof, at the invisible spells hidden in the fabric.
“Oh.” Killian swallowed. “That... That would’ve been nice to have. When I was...”
Not for the first time, anger bubbled in Crush’s gut. “They should’ve treated you better, whoever they were.”
Killian bowed his head and shrugged.
