My body fell. Air rushed past.
And then—arms.
My savior caught me.
His arms locked tight around my back and legs. My head slammed into his shoulder.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
He held me like he meant to kill anyone who tried to take me again.
Then he shouted—
“Burn it to the fucking ground!”
Everything stopped.
Then everything moved.
All the men clad in black obeyed.
The Sacrifice was about to become ash.
Chapter twenty-six
Lyla dropped like dead weight.
When I caught her, her fingers curled into my shirt—clutching me like a lifeline. I didn’t waste time checking her over. Her limbs trembled in adrenaline-laced panic, so I headed straight for the exit that led out to the back alley.
DarkMatter soldiers swarmed, igniting chaos. Shouts, screams, and gunfire came from every direction. Smoke bled from the rafters as fires were set all over the building. My men would raze this place.
I turned, shielding her body with mine, and sprinted through the hallway.
Rory was already at the rear exit, holding the door open with one arm. He kept his gun raised, aiming for anyone who might dare get in our way.
Shots cracked behind us, and Henri and a couple of others returned fire.
I moved quickly, holding Lyla securely against my chest. Her bare thighs were clenched together. This had to be humiliatingfor her, which made my blood boil. I’d also noticed that one of those bastards had clawed her.
Fuck!
I wanted to kill every single one of those men who’d come here thinking they could buy a goddamn human being or watch the spectacle like it was a sporting event.
Glancing over my shoulder, I caught sight of Henri struggling three steps behind us, one hand clamped to his shoulder, blood pouring through his fingers. Two of our men flanked him, returning fire as Delgado’s reinforcements flooded the hallway behind us.
“Julian, Lachlan—get to the alley now!” I barked into the comms. “Henri’s hit. Bleeding like hell.”
“We’re already here,” Lachlan replied. “Julian and I got the alley covered.”
“Take Henri to the safe house near Teterboro,” I instructed. “DarkMatter’s med team knows the location.”
Lachlan snorted. “Yeah, I remember it. Last time you almost bled out on your backseat with a bullet to the thigh, remember? Ruined your fancy leather.”
I huffed. “Still have nerve pain, thanks to that. Bullet went clean through my leg, ruining tattoos on both sides. Had to get creative with redesigning them to fit the scar.”
Lachlan chuckled. “Only you would find a scrap of humor in this shitshow.”
Rory remained at the door just long enough for me to shove through. Then we darted down the steps and hit the alley running. The cold slapped my face, and smoke wafted around us from the fire that now licked at the roof of the building. Rory stayed just ahead of us, sweeping left and right to ensure a clear path. My boots pounded the pavement, and my arms stayed locked around Lyla.
