“X.” Birdie was covered in wounds and blood, looking like a warrior princess with her long white-blonde hair and angel face. She flicked her head between Warwick and me. “Legend.”
Warwick snorted, dipping his head in response to her.
Seeing Birdie, Scorpion, even Maddox and Wesley, I felt another puzzle piece click in. I didn’t know how it all fit together; I just felt in my bones. These people were meant to be in my life. I had known them for barely a day before we had to part, but it was already there. Like they were an extension of Andris. My true family in this fucked-up world.
“HDF has retreated,” Maddox told us, his glance dancing between the form on the ground and the terrified one in Ash’s grip. “But you know it will only take them a moment before they regroup and return. Especially for him.” Maddox pointed at Caden. “Kill them, because we need to go.”
“Kill them? No!” Panic fizzed in my lungs like lava.
Maddox looked back at me like I was insane. “Yeah. We don’t take prisoners out here, and we don’t let people trying to slaughter us go free. They will turn around and kill us without blinking. This isn’t training camp. This is real life. It’s kill or be killed.”
No one disputed his claims. Wesley cocked his gun, heading for the body lying on the ground next to me.
My best friend.
My first love.
The person who curled up next to me after my father died and held me at night when I cried. The one who would sneak into my room and share his dessert with me because Rebeka thought it would ruin my figure. The boy who had always been by my side through all my pranks and mischief.
“No.” I moved defensively in front of Caden, blocking Wes, a snarl on my lips. “You will not kill him.” I ground my teeth, ready to fight if I had to.
“X, get out of the way.” Wes tried to move me.
“You will have to go through me first.”
Wes stopped, glancing back at Maddox then me, wondering what to do.
“You willing to fight me?” A snarl snapped off my tongue, my body rolling in a threat. I would fight to the death for those I loved.
Wesley took another step.
In a blink, Warwick moved in next to me, a deep growl penetrating the walls. Low, but the threat was felt down to your toes.
“Your guard dog can muzzle it.” Scorpion stepped forward. “We take them alive.”
“But—” Maddox started, but with one look from Scorpion, he shut up.
“Let’s move out.” Scorpion motioned for us to exit the alley, signaling for Warwick to get Caden.
Warwick’s nose wrinkled as if he were about to attack Scorpion.
“Either it takes three or four of us to carry him, or just you.” Scorpion motioned down Warwick’s frame.
Warwick inhaled deeply, his eyes darting to me before he huffed. Walking over, he roughly grabbed Caden, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack, which was better than I was expecting. Ash hauled Hanna behind us.
We all traveled back to the main road, spotting more of Sarkis’s army moving around, picking up dead soldiers’ weapons and items that could be sold.
“Hey!” A man crouched over Luk. “I think he’s still alive.”
“What?” I sputtered. Taking off, I bolted toward where Luk lay, my knees scraping the pavement as I hit the ground.
“Luk?” I bent over him. “Oh gods... Luk...” Hope danced in my chest with the chance he might still be alive, ready to do anything.
Bring him back to life?A voice slithered into my head.
“Take her!” Ash shoved Hanna at Scorpion before elbowing me out of the way, his ear going to Luk’s mouth, fingers at his pulse, trying to find a sign of life. “Shit! It’s barely there, but he’s still breathing.” Ash sat up, ripping the backpack from his shoulders, tossing it onto my lap as he ripped off his sweater. Using it as a tourniquet, he wrapped it around Luk’s torso, pressing down on the wound, trying to slow the bleeding. “I need to get him to a place I can clean this out and heal him.”
Maddox whistled at two bulky guys pinching shiny objects nearby, waving them over. I stood, pulling Ash’s discarded bag onto my shoulders, watching the guys run to us. They looked like they were half pig or something, with flat noses and no necks. They weren’t ripped or tall, but you could tell they were strong.
