“I don’t think my family would appreciate it,” Liam said.
“You would.”
“I’d prefer to be the one behind the scope.”
“I’ll be nice and let you borrow it, then.”
Liam huffed out a laugh. “Cheers, mate.”
Someone tried to catch his eye and pull him into a conversation, but Liam smiled apologetically and kept moving. Liam knew it was rude to ignore everyone hoping for a bit of time with him, but he had someplace to be. Having Kyle with him proved to be a useful excuse. A quick smile, a hurried explanation, and Liam got through the crowd with Kyle quicker than if he’d been alone.
“I can see why you would want to be back in the field if this is what you have to look forward to,” Kyle said.
“Is this supposed to be a pep talk?” Liam asked.
“If you wanted a pep talk, I’d send you to Jamie.”
Liam would’ve responded, except his comms crackled to life as Glenn’s voice cut through everything else. “We have movement on the track.”
Liam and Kyle immediately veered toward the nearest exit leading to the track, all humor disappearing.
“Report,” Liam snapped.
“Enemy combatants are coming out of the stables. I’m erecting a force field in front of the grandstand, but I can’t be sure others haven’t slipped through already. I need to hold position.”
Liam blinked in surprise, one part of him absolutely gobsmacked at the sheer arrogance of the Reborn IRA’s full-frontal assault. The rest of him was busy figuring out the best defense.
“Fuck,” Kyle bit out as he and Liam raced forward. “I’m heading for the Royal Box. Highlander, you’ll need to make some holes for me.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Apollo?” Liam asked.
“I’m with your family, Knight. I’ll keep them safe,” Jamie replied immediately.
Liam put his family out of his mind at Jamie’s assurance, knowing that he couldn’t focus on them while the threat was still active. They would be safe with Jamie, and that was all that mattered.
Liam parted ways with Kyle in favor of getting to the track. He shoved his top hat off his head, letting it fall behind him and get trampled by the panicking crowd. The crush of people was almost impossible to get through, but Liam still tried.
“Verity, I could use a little help clearing this crowd,” Liam said.
“I have your location,” the Union Jacks’ empath replied almost immediately.
The sudden shift in the crowd was immediately noticeable. Empaths couldn’t control thoughts, only emotions. In a crowd this size, emotional control was crucial. The panic on everyone’s faces around him disappeared as they lurched from a dangerous run to a walk. The bottleneck of people ahead of him shifted enough that Liam could push through them for the outside landing and the stairs that led to the rows of the overhang.
Then the gunfire started.
Liam swore as Verity lost control of the crowd around him and everyone started to panic again. Liam raised an arm and reached for his electrokinesis, pushing his power out of his nerves, through his skin, and into the air surrounding his fingers. The crackle of electricity resembled miniature lightning bolts, giving a mild shock to the people surging into his space. The crowd shifted around the threat of his power, giving Liam enough room to maneuver down the stairs.
He slammed against the railing overlooking the ground level seats and the expanse of open field in front of them. Liam peered over the side and estimated the drop to the section below as one that wouldn’t kill him.
In the field, scattered groups of heavily armed men and women were shooting at the grandstand, but the bullets never made it past Glenn’s invisible force field. Some of the shooters had quit aiming at the grandstand in favor of targeting the field workers trying to find cover and the handful of horses that had gotten loose.
“I thought security cleared everyone?” Liam snapped over the comms as he threw himself over the railing, landing between two rows of seats below. He yanked off his suit jacket and undid his tie, flinging both aside. His clothes were definitely not field grade and they were too restricting.
“They did. No one was exempt,” Samaira said.
“I want a list of everyone on duty manning the entrances. Someone let these bastards in. I want to know who,” Chapman said as he came on the line.
