Page 56 of Dodging Bullets

He screwed up his nose. “Paloma. That fucking littlebitchwas always trouble. I should have had her killed instead of—” I kicked him in his pudgy stomach for even saying her name.

Behind me, the door to the bathroom opened and closed. My Alpha was acutely aware that it was Kross. I looked over my shoulder at him, and as if he could see how close the Alpha was to taking control, he gave me a wide berth.

Malakai looked up at the man. “You?What the… You double-crossing son of a bitch!”

Kross squatted down in front of him and pushed away the stringy gray hair that was across the old man’s face. It would’ve almost seemed gentle, if the other Alpha’s eyes weren’t promising death. “Not the son of a bitch, actually. The son of Robert and Leslie Kross.”

The Leader frowned. “Christopher?”

I raised a brow at the Alpha beside me. “Your name is Chris Kross? No wonder you just go by Kross.” I couldn’t wait to tell Max. He’d get a kick out of that.

Ignoring me, Kross nodded. “You do remember me. I’d almost feel honored, if I gave even the smallest shit about your opinion.” He rocked back on his heels. “I’m going to level with you, Ken. You’re dying tonight. However, the amount of pain you’ll feel beforehand will be dependent on your answers to my questions. Answer everything, and this guy here”—he indicated me—“will put a single bullet between your eyes, and that’s the end.”

He leaned forward, the expression on his face menacing. “If you don’t answer, I’m going to remove a limb for every broken Alpha teen that I had to scrape up off the side of the highway, or nurse back to health from an overdose, or had to watch spiral into depression in a world they didn’t understand. And there were a lot. In the end, you’ll either tell me what I want to know, or you won’t. But the outcome is the same. You’re dead, and everything you’ve built is gone.”

The old guy had nothing but hatred in his eyes, but I knew the face of a coward when I saw one. I was quickly proven right.

“What do you want to know?”

Sighing unhappily, I turned from the bathroom door. “I’ll go help the others. But Kross? His death is mine.”

Kross nodded, but didn’t take his eyes from the guy in front of him. I grinned at Malakai—or I guess his real name was Ken—and it was a demonic expression. When Kross was done, my face would be the last one he’d ever see.

Thirty-Two

Max

Teamed up with Pieter, we made quick work of two of the houses, clearing them out and ushering people to the central building. I let Pieter deal with the Leader of the second house, and if I wasn’t incorrect, the guy looked like his father. The similarities were too prominent to be anything else. How could a man order his son to be killed, just so he could maintain his own power?

I left him to it; they were his demons to appease, and no matter what the outcome, it’d be the right one.

Moving from room to room, I woke up the people inside. Some looked at me with fear, others with anger, and honestly, it made it easier to sort them. I rounded them up into the living room.

“Evil!” an old woman shrieked. “A test from Izuny—that’s what you are.”

Smiling at the old battle-axe, I smirked. “If I was the vengeful tool of any of your fake gods, it would Melize. You chose the wrong fucking god to follow, and I’m your retribution.”

Preaching back at her about her own fucked-up religion seemed to shock the old bat, because she shut up. I left her withtwo other guys, their faces covered by masks, and went to the last bedroom.

A girl launched herself from the shadows, and I spotted at least three children in the corner behind her. “You can’t have them!” I pulled her off me gently, watching her swinging fists, though one still clipped me in the ear.

“Woah, I don’t want anyone. Calm down.” Gripping her hands, I pried her off me with as much care as I could. She was a Beta, that was obvious, and also undernourished. It didn’t take much to hold her. I looked closely at her face, with the almond-shaped eyes and olive tone of her skin. “Shit, are you Nim?”

The girl froze, her eyes going wide and her lips parting. “What did you say?”

“Are you Nim? Nimah?” It had to be her, right? “Polly sent us.”

All at once, every ounce of fight left her body, and she slid to the floor before I could catch her. “She’s okay? Paloma’s okay?”

I smiled, crouching down in front of her. “She’s better than okay. She’s happy. She’ll be even happier when I tell her you’re okay. I can take you to her, if you want?” The woman looked back over her shoulder at the kids, and I could tell she didn’t know what to do. “They can come too. We aren’t leaving anyone behind.” I paused. “Actually, there’s someone else I think you’d like to see.” I led her from the room, ushering the kids along with her. There was a preteen boy holding a toddler, and a little girl around six. “Do these guys have parents?”

Nim shrugged. “Somewhere. But I wouldn’t know who. They have babies in… well, batches I guess, and then disperse them across the different houses. No one ever really knows who belongs to who.”

I ground my back teeth, glad there was no one in punching distance. “Anyone you’d trust them with while I take you outside?” Her hesitation broke my heart. “It’s okay. They cancome with us.” I looked at the boy. He had to be around twelve, with soft features. “Are you okay carrying the little one?” He nodded, his eyes still wide and fearful where they landed on my gun. “It doesn’t feel like it, but I promise everything will be okay now.”

We walked up to the house that Rio and Henry were meant to breach, and I could see people being ushered out of there, into what I assumed was the ceremony room, which had an exit that we could direct emergency services toward.

I knew the moment that Nim spotted him. “Henry,” she breathed. “But he’s…”

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