The asshole ran straight into Kane.
The impact knocked the breath out of him. He staggered back, this time into Convict, who grabbed him around the shoulders.
“Nowhere to go, sunshine.”
Jacobs twisted, desperation in an elbow jab to Convict’s ribs. Convict grunted but held on. My brother stepped in, calm as death, and drove a fist into Jacobs’ midsection.
Air left him in a broken gasp, but Jacobs didn’t quit. He dropped his weight, freeing an arm, then swung for my brother. His fist came millimetres from Heretic’s face.
Never. Not my kin.
I launched at him, snatched his shirt at the neck, and smashed my forehead into his face.
The auctioneer sagged, out cold.
Convict shook his head and laughed. “That’s what you get for coming home uninvited.”
Heretic zip-tied his wrists with efficient movements, no wasted motion. Kane checked the street, then nodded once.
“Clear.”
Convict and Kane went ahead, concealing our prisoner in a car boot.
Heretic slowed his steps, falling back with me. Out of earshot of the others, he released a quiet question. “Hurt?”
I snorted. “No.”
“Proud of you.”
I didn’t answer. Didn’t trust my voice not to ruin it, even if my heart ached something fierce.
And we kept moving, another monster in our grip and plenty more waiting.
Chapter 33
Dixie
Anxiety crept into my sleep. All my dreams twisted into nightmares. I skipped down a quiet road, and a car mowed me down. I ambled along a sunny hillside, then a drunk man snatched me into the pretty bushes.
Tyler was facing demons I’d run from years ago. I hated him being in their line of fire. Even if he was more than capable of handling them, he wasn’t invincible. No matter how much I wanted him to be.
I moaned, trying to break out of the dreams.
It was only his quiet hushing that finally had me surfacing.
I jerked up in his bed. Ran my hands over him in a panic. “You’re okay?”
“Perfectly fine, doll.”
Light streaked the sky outside the arched window, dawn approaching. He was warm to the touch and not hurt.
I hugged him. Tyler hauled me onto his chest and settled in the pillows, the scent of the night on him. He held me just as tight.
“Terrence Harford is locked up in a dark place he’ll never walk out of.”
OhGod. A cry flew from my lips. All the pain that had shaped my dreams surged to the surface, and I heaved a sob. For a long minute, I became a crying mess in Tyler’s arms. The big emotions had to come out somewhere. Poor guy that it always seemed to land on him.
At last, I wiped my eyes. The tightness inside my chest had eased. “He’s really locked up?”
