As plans went, it was nice and simple. Too bad it barely lasted the two minutes it took them to move into position at the north wall and jump over. That’s when they heard the chatter of gunfire coming from the far side of the mansion. A few moments later, half a dozen armed men ran out of the front door.
A stab of fear shot through Knox’s chest.
Rachel is in trouble.
“Diego, you and Knox get into the house and find Rachel,” Zane said. “Trey and I will work along the perimeter and attempt to draw as many of the bad guys out of there as possible to make it easier for the two of you.”
Knox didn’t wait for more instructions but immediately turned and ran for the house. Diego followed close enough to cover him but far enough away to avoid a single burst of gunfire getting both of them. There weren’t any doors on this side of the mansion, but Knox didn’t slow. He simply ran as hard as he could, the muscles of his legs and back flexing and twisting until he swore he heard bones crack.
He didn’t slow as he reached the house but, instead, launched himself off the ground and right through a window. Glass shards sliced into the skin of his arms, but he ignored it. He hit the floor inside at a roll, then was on his feet and running again as Diego joined him.
More gunfire echoed from somewhere inside the house, but he couldn’t trust the sound to lead him and Diego because it was bouncing off walls and floors, going in every direction at once. Instead, he allowed his inner wolf to pick up Rachel’s scent and let that guide him. His nose led him down a series of corridors until they came up behind three men blocking the way and shooting toward the far end. One of the men must have somehow realized Knox and Diego were there because he turned to engage them.
Knox didn’t hesitate and was glad to see Diego didn’t, either. They simply kept running, putting all three men down before continuing along the hallway. At the end of it, he found Rachel, Jennifer, and Addy crouched down, doing their best to avoid being hit by all the bullets coming their way. The sight of blood running down one of Rachel’s arms and staining the material of her jeans along both thighs had Knox close to losing it, but he had no time for that. Biting back a growl, he forced himself to run past her, emptying an entire magazine of ammo down one of the two hallways ahead of them, where Theo and a handful of other men hid. At the same time, Diego turned and fired down the other.
As Knox reloaded his weapon, he wished Zane had been able to provide him an M4 like Diego carried, but unfortunately, he’d have to make do with his Glock. It was enough though, and within seconds, Theo and the other guys from DAPS fell back and disappeared down the hallway. The same thing happened down the corridor Diego was firing, and for a few blessed moments at least, they weren’t under threat of being overrun.
When Knox turned back to Rachel, it was impossible to describe the relief he felt at the sight of her beautiful face—even if she was bleeding. He would have pulled her into his arms and kissed her right then, but she was already dragging Addy and her mom up off the floor and down the hallway he and Diego had arrived from. They barely made it a few feet before they heard the stomping of feet coming toward them. Theo was coming back and he had help.
Shit.
“Diego, get Jennifer and Addy out of here,” Rachel shouted. “Knox and I will slow Theo and his buddies down and give you time to get out.”
Knox was prepared to argue his ass off, ready to tell Rachel to get Jennifer and Addy to safety herself while he and Diego stayed behind, but Diego was already hustling mother and daughter down the hallway.
With a growl, Knox turned to cover the hallway Theo’s group had reappeared in, while Rachel handled the other corridor. Their position wasn’t very defensible, but they held out as long as they could, knowing every second they delayed their attackers was another second Diego had to get Addy and her mother out of the house.
He and Rachel lasted another forty-five seconds before they had to fall back. But even then, they made Theo and his band of gun-toting dickweeds earn every inch of floor space they gained. As he passed the three dead men on the floor, Knox leaned down and scooped up one of their weapons and a magazine full of bullets. The gun was a Glock—that was good. The 10 mm rounds, on the other hand, weren’t his preferred caliber. But when his own weapon locked back on an empty magazine, he was damn glad to have it.
A few moments later, after both he and Rachel had been clipped by one of the dozens of bullets ricocheting off the floor, it seemed like their careful retreat was about to dissolve into an all-out withdrawal. That’s when Knox looked over his shoulder and recognized the library was behind them. The first floor didn’t have any windows, and he was hesitant to trap the two of them in there, but it wasn’t like they had a shitload of options. He’d discovered that getting shot hurt, and he’d prefer not to have it happen again.
Grabbing Rachel’s shoulder, he guided her backward, letting her cover them as they slipped through the doorway. He didn’t stop moving until he reached the conference table near the glass-enclosed fireplace with its roaring flames. Momentarily taking his hand off her shoulder, he flipped the table on its side, then dragged her down behind it.
He heard Theo order some of the men to keep going after Jennifer and Addy, but he wasn’t too worried about that. They’d easily given Diego enough time to get Jennifer and her daughter out of the house, if not over the wall and completely off the property. Now, he and Rachel had to keep Theo and the other men occupied until the cavalry arrived.
“I can’t fucking believe you turned your back on your teammates!” Theo called through the open door. “All for a piece of ass. Then again, that’s your MO isn’t it, running out on your team?”
Coming from someone he respected more, those words might have stung. “I only bail on people when they give me a reason to,” Knox shouted back. “Like when I found out you’re an asshole willing to kill women and children for profit. I have a strict policy against working for douche canoes, so I guess that means I’m going to have to quit your crap-hole organization.”
That must have pissed Theo off because he leaned in the door and began peppering rounds into the thick oak of the table they were hiding behind. Thank God the Lloyds had a thing for quality antique furniture. The bullets weren’t making it through that wood no matter what. Unfortunately, the moment he and Rachel ducked down, Theo and several other men took the opportunity to slip into the room, spreading out to get around the table. It was a foolhardy tack to take, but Knox had no doubt Theo was aware their time was running out. They had to kill everyone who knew what had happened here before the place was crawling with cops.
Beside him, Rachel nodded. A moment later, they both popped up and started shooting as fast as they could, no longer able to think about waiting for backup. For a few seconds, it looked like they had a chance. Until he and Rachel ran out of ammo.
Silence filled the room as their attackers realized he and Rachel were essentially defenseless. Then Theo stepped around the table with a superior smile. Lifting his gun, he pointed it at Rachel.
“Her first,” he said to Knox. “Then you.”
Knox didn’t even think—he just reacted. His fangs and claws extended so hard and fast it actually hurt, but he ignored the pain as he went for Theo. He had no idea how to fight with these new weapons he possessed, but that didn’t seem to be a problem, as his wolf instincts took over.
He didn’t count on one of Theo’s employees getting in the way. Knox slashed the guy’s face with his claws, then picked him up and tossed him at Theo, messing up his aim and sending the bullet into the floor instead of Rachel’s chest.
Something smacked Knox in the stomach, but he ignored the flare of pain as he reached out and tossed yet another man across the room. He hadn’t been aiming, but from the corner of his eye, he saw the guy smash through the glass enclosure of the fireplace. He couldn’t help cringing as the man’s fire-engulfed body tumbled and rolled across the floor until it slammed into one of the bookcases, sending flames everywhere. The man tried to get up and run, but that only spread the fire more, and Knox was stunned at how fast flames roared up the wall of books the dying man finally stumbled into.
Knox was a little worried by how fast the fire spread across the room, but a scream from behind him made him forget all about it. He spun around to see Rachel with claws and fangs extended, staring straight ahead in total panic at one of the DAPS guys, who had turned into the clown.
Shit!
Everything went to hell then, as the rest of Theo’s other guys all moved at once, either trying to escape the rapidly spreading fire or fleeing thenachtmahras it savagely ripped into anyone it could reach.
