They rounded the side of the limo.
Daniil immediately lifted me from the ground, holding me like a babe in his arms against him, asking quickly in Russian something I couldn’t understand. I blinked up at his face that was covered in sweat and blood and soot, allowing my head to fall against his chest, and just held him. He gripped me tighter, repeating what he said in English, “Were you hit? Are you all right?”
“No, I wasn’t hit. Roman took nine of them out back there.”
He started rubbing my back as Grigori moved around us, knocking on the window of the limo, and crawling inside when the door opened.
I lifted my head, staring into his dangerous eyes. “How badly are you injured?”
He kissed me outright. His lips landed on mine as he crushed me to him, grabbing the back of my head, and thrusting his tongue into my mouth. I had never felt anything better. I grabbed his neck, my wounded fingers digging into the damp skin there, and pressed into him, kissing him back with all I had to give. He growled, and I felt it against my breasts that were crushed against him as he held me tight. It was perfect.
Until Artur nudged us, asking dryly, “Think this can wait until we’re back at the house?” He was holding his bicep where he was bleeding, looking at us a little exasperated. “I didn’t know dead bodies were a turn on for you, Papa.” He glanced around. “We need to get back and have a crew come out here and clean this shit up before anyone drives by. We’re lucky this area is deserted like it is.”
Daniil sighed, and kissed my forehead, slowly releasing me. “He’s right. We need to go.”
I nodded, scanning his body as Grigori got out of the car, holding a limp Ember. “Are your injuries bad?”
He shook his head. “The worst is a minor flesh wound.” He lifted his shirt, showing me what appeared to be where a knife had skimmed his lean hip. He asked Grigori, “Is Ember okay?”
Grigori nodded. “She was awake when I went in. She’s only passed out again when I moved her. I think her right hip is bruised badly. Nothing new.”
Artur stated, already walking away, “Let’s go, then.”
The driver crawled out of the car, his gaze scanning the area as we made our way through the wreckage, shaking his head and muttering something as he got on a cell phone. From what I understood from the conversation, he phoned someone to tell them a ‘crew’ needed to be sent to this location. He didn’t seem fazed by what we were wading through, only factual. Guess he had seen this before.
I slipped…in someone’s guts…and Daniil caught my arm, steadying me, watching my face as I lifted the shirt back over my nose, holding it there and swallowing repeatedly. I pushed forward, trying hard not to step on anyone’s anything again. Daniil kept me close, guiding me through it all, like a sound foundation to the disgusting quicksand all around.
I kept my feet moving quickly, and we hit the road, turning toward where the SUVs and trucks burned or lay on flat tires from the limo’s spray of bullets. Nothing was drivable. It was as if we all took a large breath in, right before we started a slow trot toward the house. Though Daniil chucked my gun to the side and lifted me into his arms almost instantly. The faster we got there, the faster we could wash the death from us.
Three minutes into our run, a limo pulled up. It was the rest of Lion Security. They were a little late but much appreciated. I would take the ride willingly.
Zane muttered, “You had all the fun without us.”
I was sure we weren’t very pretty. Blood, soot, dirt, sweat. The only ones who were halfway clean were Ember and the driver. The rest of us looked like we had just come from war.
Grigori grumbled, “You’re late.”
“Well, we had a house to finish blowing up.” Zane nodded toward Ember. “She injured?” He started walking toward us, and I was pretty sure we all stepped back, each of us a little trigger-happy at the moment. Zane stopped in his tracks, his gaze quick and intelligent before darting back to where we had come from. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He was still staring down the road. “How many?”
Daniil sighed and started moving toward the limo. “All in all, one gunship, and approximately a hundred men and fifteen vehicles.” Funny how he put them in that order.
Zane blinked at us.
Stash asked into the silence, “Anyone get any video of that?” He seemed hopeful.
Roman started chuckling as we moved toward the SUV.
Grigori muttered, “Sick bastard.”
We all entered the limo in a calm fashion.
Stash shrugged. “It would have been good for our introductory videos.”
I sat on Daniil’s lap, and Artur sat on the floor in front of us, resting his head against the side of the car, closing his eyes. He looked a little pale under his tan skin.
I nudged him with my foot. “You all right?”
“The bullet didn’t exit,” he muttered.
