Page 266 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

The tungsten blade slides cleanly into his hand.

The shield didn’t touch it.

‘Blaire, take cover with the boys.’

‘Lachlan,’ she croaks from somewhere behind. ‘Be care—’

One of them throws her coffee table at Lachlan, who deflects it easily, but the move marks the tone, and chaos breaks out instantly.

The first baton strike across Kade’s shoulder flashes vicious blue, digging shards of disorienting electricity into his skull.

‘Motherfuckers,’ he gasps, his heart kicking up a notch to adjust.

Some part of him smiles.

God, but he wants a good fight.

He repays the blow with Kestrel, swings his full weight around into the slice and doesn’t wait to see the results.

The first Reset comes in high.

Kade goes low.

He slips beneath the baton swing to expertly cut across the inside of the man’s thigh. The second attack comes from his blind side, but Kade trusts his instincts; his elbow finds a throat, and Kestrel finds the chest.

Two others throw a series of brutal blows at him faster than he can process. Kade adapts, reacts so fast he’s not even deciding to, it’s all muscle memory. When one of them tries to grab him from behind, he traps the arm across his chest, drops his weight and turns hard enough to dislocate the shoulder. Kade tears free, catches him behind the neck and drives him face-first into Blaire’s kitchen table.

The man, and they are all men, rebounds.

Kade drives him into it again and again.

The third impact makes a loud, satisfying crack.

Another baton whistles past Kade’s ear.

He pivots around the strike. The man feints towards Kade’s knife hand and attacks his knee. Kade withdraws the leg, cuts over the top and meets the baton shaft. Ceramic screams against tungsten.

Kade steps into him, palms his chin and drives a knee into his middle.

The man folds, and Kade drives Kestrel right into the crease just as a fist slams into his right ear. Light bursts across his vision as he staggers, but he’s twisted and driven face-down into the ground.

The man wastes no time trying to wrench Kade’s arms behind his back, so Kade doesn’t waste time either. He throws his head back as hard as he physically can, the back of his skull colliding with a face. The Reset’s grip loosens. Kade tears Kestrel sideways and slams it home over and over until the body collapses on top of him.

He shoves it off, gets out, gets up.

Movement flashes at the edge of his vision.

Riley and Lachlan.

And while Riley is holding his own, Lachlan just seems to be…

Having fun.

Kade watches while Lachlan quite literally rips a man’s arm out; the shoulder leaves its socket with a deep, ugly pop, managing to split skin too.

Two Resets attempt to fry Lachlan with their batons, the electricity flashing through his body, illuminating every tendon beneath his skin.

Lachlan doesn’t even pause.