“Is she all right?” Micah asked.
Zael gave him a grim nod. “She will be once I get her out of here. Where are the rest of the teams?”
“Clearing out of the building as fast as they can.” Micah was still holding on to Phaedra, his arms unwilling to release her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “You saved my life.”
He cocked a crooked grin. “I still owe you one. Don’t make me have to pay it back.”
She smiled, reaching up to caress his face. Christ, it felt good to be holding her, to be looking into her eyes, even under shitty circumstances like these.
Tegan’s voice sounded in Micah’s ear. “You safe?”
“Yeah. I’m on the roof with Phaedra, Zael, and Brynne.” Micah cursed under his breath. “Things are fucked up ten ways to Sunday inside. That Red Dragon they pumped into the vents has turned all the hostages into Rogues.”
As if to underscore the grim situation, a loud crash sounded from the front of the theater building, followed by a burst of terrorized screams and general hysteria.
“Ah, fuck,” Tegan hissed. “Those sons of bitches let them loose. We’ve got Rogues pouring out of the building down here.”
“I’m on my way.” He glanced at Phaedra, reluctantly letting her go. “Stay here with Zael. I will come back for you.”
He took off before she could argue with him, which he was certain she was about to do.
Peering down from the rooftop at the front of the theater, he watched in horror as a mob of close to fifty Breed vampires rushed at the news crews and spectators.
Left with no alternative, Lucan, along with Tegan, Brock, Darion, and Jax had formed a line and were taking out the charging Rogues as they poured out and ran blindly to attack human prey.
A hail of 9mm gunshots rang out. Titanium blades flashed, spilling the blood of the Breed civilians who, only minutes ago, had been among the Breed nation’s most prominent citizens and dignitaries.
All of it captured on live video being broadcast around the city, if not the whole world.
Another goddamn setup.
Another direct strike on the Order from Opus Nostrum. One that had now painted not only the warriors, but the Breed as a whole, as savage monsters who could only be controlled by death.
Micah cursed as he watched the carnage worsen. Then he drew the hand-tooled titanium blade his father had given him when he first joined the Order, and he stepped off the edge of the roof into the fray.
CHAPTER 22
By the time it was all over, the stone steps outside the old theater looked like a battlefield.
Blood stained the ground and pavement. The bodies of dozens of dead Breed civilians lay where they had fallen in their elegant evening attire. Some of the Bloodlust-crazed victims had been taken down by Order gunfire, others felled by daggers like the one Micah still held in his hand as the warriors regrouped in the aftermath of the slaughter. The titanium bullets and blades were already devouring the flesh and bones of the dead. It would only be minutes before the corpses would be gone completely.
Lucan’s eyes blazed as he pivoted to the news crews, their spotlights still shining over the carnage, cameras still broadcasting the grisly scene all around the world.
“Haven’t you got enough fucking pictures? Get out of here.”
The snarled command sent the reporters and video crews scrambling to collect their equipment and race to their vehicles.
Micah glanced across the way where Darion and Jax were holding one of the Opus gunmen. The group of humans had scattered like rats after they sent the Red Dragon into the theater, but they hadn’t gotten far. Micah’s comrades had killed all but one. Scarface didn’t look so smug now that he was caught between two Breed warriors and left to answer to the Order all by his lonesome.
As for Micah and the rest of his team, it was only by some miracle that none of the warriors had inhaled enough of the heinous narcotic to turn them Rogue. If not for Brynne’s early warning, this bad night could have ended up even worse.
And then there was Phaedra.
Micah could hardly contain the urge to run to her. She stood beside Zael, Brynne, Nathan, and Jordana as he and the rest of the Order rounded the building to meet them at the vehicles. Her private smile as she watched him approach cracked something open inside him. He had been telling himself he could hold her at arm’s length, but all of that fell away now.
She took a halting step toward him, then paused, uncertain. He had no such reservations. Closing the distance in a few swift strides, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight.
