Because Angel and myself were already running out of ammo.
“You stupid fucks!” someone exclaimed down the hallway.
One by one, the men dropped, and the second Fangs and Goose peeked around the doorway, I breathed a sigh of relief. Reaper had found a way to get the girls out of their shackles, so one by one they were ushered up the steps. A couple of them had to be carried, so I tossed one over each shoulder and barreled my way back up the steps.
Only to find more women running for the hills as bodies dropped all around us.
“Here!” I heard Aria exclaiming. “Over here, girls! I’ve got you!”
“Jesus,” I hissed.
“Don’t worry,” Fangs said as he walked over to me with a woman in his arms, “I told her to be loud and proud. The second we downed the bodyguards standing at one of the back doors, they started pouring out.”
Chaos rained down around us as the girls hoofed it on bare feet toward Aria. Some of the girls scrambled away from us, while others clung to us for dear life. It broke my heart. It made me sick with fury. And with every body of every Devil’s Rage fuck twat that I stepped over, pride flushed its way through my veins.
“Men?” I asked into my microphone. “Kill as many of them as you can.”
Just as quickly as the gunfire started, it stopped. We put the girls down and it took them some convincing before Aria was able to get them on the backs of our bikes. They were shivering, and shaking. Their stomachs growled out in a chorus of protest. And with most of us saddled up with a woman behind us, I wrapped my arm around Aria and pulled her close.
Before I planted a kiss on top of her head.
“You did fantastic,” I murmured.
She patted my chest. “Come on, we have to get these girls to the shelter. I already sent a text to Nadia to expect us. She’s getting food and clothes rounded up.”
The rest of the night was a blur. Between Aria taking the reins with the girls and coordinating with her sister, all we had to do was get the girls into the shelter in the first place. But beyond that, we weren’t even allowed to step foot into their main common area. It infuriated me that there was a place where women could go that men couldn’t touch them. It made me sick with anguish that there had to be such a place to begin with.
But as Fangs patted my shoulder, I heaved a heavy sigh.
“You did good back there, Bender. And so did she.”
I nodded softly. “She’s something, isn’t she?”
He chuckled. “You going to wait around for her?”
I licked my lips. “Yeah. I’ll see you guys in the morning. I just… kind of want to make sure she’s all right after tonight.”
He squeezed my shoulder. “Call me if you need anything.”
I wasn’t sure how long I waited outside the doors of that shelter, but when Aria finally came out her shoulders were slumped. She yawned deeply and wiped at salted tears that had graced her cheeks, and when I reached out for her, she yelped.
“Ah!” she exclaimed.
I pulled her against my body. “It’s just me, gorgeous. Just me.”
She sank against me at the sound of my voice. “Why?”
I shook my head as I kissed the top of hers. “I don’t know.”
“Why are men?”
I chuckled softly. “I wish I could tell you.”
She sighed heavily. “Can we go back to my place? Just—just for a bit?”
I nuzzled my nose into her hair. “You were a hell of a force to be reckoned with tonight.”
“Yeah, and now this force needs a fucking shower.”
