I didn’t think. I acted.
“I got her. Go. Get the hell out of here,” I yelled at Dean.
Dean met my gaze, all the bravado gone.
I lifted the cloak’s hood back over her head, my gaze never leaving her face. Slowly, those light-blue eyes focused, and her lips parted. “Kreed.” My name trembled from her, a broken sob.
That was all I needed.
I peeled her from Dean and pulled her to my chest. The pressure that had clamped around my heart since I’d found her gone finally lifted. Warmth radiated from my chest at having her heart beat against mine. It was an indescribable feeling, and I could go a thousand lifetimes and never feel what I felt during her absence, but these few moments of us reunited could fuel me forever. I never wanted to let her go, but I could tell something was off with her, more than trauma and confusion. They’d drugged her, and the knowledge brought an unbridled fury in my veins.
“As touching as this reunion is, we need to go,” Maddox urged, turning so he was protecting my back.
I hadn’t realized how long I’d been standing there with her in my arms. Too long by the looks on Maddox’s and Mason’s faces, and as much as I knew they both would like to give her a hug, neither would try to take her from me.
Not yet.
Not now.
Not here.
“He’s right. They’re overriding us and shutting the house down.” Fynn’s voice cut through the static in my ear. “You guys need to get out of there now. The fire has already started and is spreading.”
I tucked my weapon under my shirt, behind my back, and into my waistband. “I’d like to see him lock us all in here. He wouldn’t like the outcome.”
Mason scowled, surveying the room with disgust. “I doubt he is thinking about that. He is worried about protecting his investment.”
“Have everyone start to move out,” Brock commanded through the shared line of communication.
Sweeping Kaylor off her feet, I cradled her against my chest. My brothers and I barreled toward what I prayed was the nearest exit. Maddox opened the route, shoulders like a battering ram. Mason covered my back.
“We have under two minutes, Kreed,” Raine warned in my ear. “The cameras are still out but not for much longer.”
Fuck.
I picked up speed, and Kaylor’s breath hitched against my collarbone. She clung to me with feeble, instinctive strength, and for the first time since she’d been gone, I let myself think we might actually make it.
A guard popped up in the doorway, gun raised. I swung the side of my pistol and hit him across the temple. He went down with a thud, and I kept moving, barely breaking my stride.
We hit the dark hallway, which funneled to the side exit, and someone screamed that the door was locked. My stomach dropped. Before I could come up with a solution, Maddox rushed past me, slamming into the door. All those years as a linebacker paid off as he levered it with everything he had, and the door thrust open.
He stood on the other side, grinning. “Not anymore.”
We spilled into the night, cold air tearing at my face. A black SUV idled under silver moonlight streaming through the trees, its door swinging open. Maddox slipped into the front seat, and I took a step forward, Mason coming to my side. He opened the back door, and?—
Click.
A gun cocked behind me, stopping me dead in my tracks.
Son of a bitch.
11
KAYLOR
The SUV waited just ahead, its black paint absorbing what little moonlight filtered through the ancient oaks. My eyes were struggling so hard to stay open, and between heavy blinks, I spotted Grayson’s silhouette in the driver’s seat, his shoulders tense, one hand gripping the wheel while the other rested on the gear shift. The engine rumbled low, waiting to take off.
Kreed carried me across the uneven dirt, each step sending small tremors through his chest, but his stride never faltered. The plantation was a hellscape of shattered windows and smoke, orange light dancing across its crumbling facade as fires consumed the house.
