That’s Jules, he’s positive.
God, he hopes Blaire is keeping Mimi safe.
When they get close to the entry points of the East Wing, Lachlan finally sees some of his own people.He pulls them into a quiet corner.Only five, but better than nothing.
‘Tell me everything,’ he says, and three talk at once but he can track all three conversations, takes the pertinent information and discards the rest.Several of his people are dead.They confirm it’s more than a random snatch and grab.
‘They want him alive,’ Lachlan agrees quietly.‘Do we know if the thermal interference held up?’
‘I think so.We moved right by them, and they didn’t see us in the dark.’
‘Good.’
‘Sir, what about the vents?’
‘Mimi is terrified of them ever since…’ Lachlan doesn’t finish his sentence, doesn’t want Jules feeling worse than he does.‘Blaire wouldn’t risk getting caught there for anything less than an emergency.The Cove is well reinforced.The doors, walls and windows all close in the event of an emergency breach, and they have their own oxygen supply.’
One of his people glances at Jules.‘Sir, ifShimmeris secure, wouldn’t it make more sense to draw them away and get these kids to safety?’
‘Once we get into the Cove, I can get us all out through the vents.Mimi won’t go in there without me and it’s a labyrinth.’
He assigns each of the new people to a child, puts the best one on Jules and goes ahead alone to assess the assembly in the East Wing.As he expected, it’s heavily concentrated around the Cove which, thus far, hasn’t been breached.Lachlan’s insides tighten when he sees Bennett dead on the floor from a distance, but he shuts down that part of himself, stays in Focus Mode.
When he returns, he has a plan in mind.
But before he can open his mouth to speak it, gunfire explodes.Vasily and Savannah scream as they’re pulled around a corner to get away.Lachlan grabs Jules and whirls around to cover him before flattening him against the wall.He reaches back to grab Roman but he’s already low to the floor, smart boy.
One of Lachlan’s people is dead.
The white lights move closer.
Lachlan drags Jules into the room with the two kids, Roman following.
‘Anyone hit?’he asks, feeling Jules all over then the girl.
‘Lachlan,’ Jules says, eyes wide.‘You.You’re.’
Oh.
Right.
His own arm is wet with blood and hurts like hell.
He’s been shot twice.
Once in the shoulder, once in the meat of his bicep.That’s going to be really fucking painful once the adrenaline wears off.
‘Fuck’s sake,’ Lachlan mutters, rips open his shirt, tears it in two and ties a thick, tight strip that cuts off his blood flow at the armpit.He’s going to lose feeling in his right hand, and the ability to raise it soon after.
Fucking hell.
‘Oh my God, are you going to die?’Savannah cries softly.
‘No, honey, I’m fine,’ he tells her.‘Just a flesh wound.’It’s really not, definitely arterial, but he has a little time before it gets serious.‘Here’s the plan.You, you and you, you’re with me,’ he directs to his units.‘Youstay with the kids.Us four will take out the surrounding forces, then once we get inside, we all get out through the vents.’
‘What if they’re waiting for us on the other end?’
‘There’s emergency supplies in the vents, including weapons.’
