Page 110 of Bound
The fucker took off.
I tsk them. “Not a very good leader if they abandon their men,” I mutter, still twirling the cable. The pulse of electricity down the wires is a gentle hum to my senses. I feed a little warmth into the line and want to sing Amoret’s praises to the fucking Gods as my fire responds in my gut. My lips curve. “But, then again, only mercenaries and hired killers go after innocent women.”
Another telltale wince on Wraith’s features.
Oh, he doesn’t agree with this shit at all.
“Take him,” the leader says simply.
Several of the soldiers dart forward, black asps in hand. I spin, sending the line out the same moment I force the heat inside of it higher.
The bulbs are inches from the soldier’s faces when they rupture in a shower of sparks and glass. Flames race down the cable, melting the insulation as the heat in the corridor ratchets up.
Dropping the cable, I meet the second line of men, fire wreathing my fists. Knuckle finds jaw and the male drops, his skin blistered. I duck under an incoming asp and drive an upper cut into the soldier’s midsection. There is an audible snap. He howls.
The stone walls seem to blur as I hurtle fire here, seat a kick there. Every whack with an asp leaves a raised welt on my body, the sting sharp and immediate. But I barely register the pain as my fire roars from my palms, down my shoulders.
Madness and rage mix in my gut.
“Stand down, damn it.” The voice is hard.
Several of the men still as others continue to advance.
From the rear of the group, a tall male, with dark hair and piercing steel-gray eyes, holds up his hand. He reaches with the other for the asp at his waist. Pulling it free, he lowers it to the ground. “I said stand down,” he repeats.
The leader stares at him, anger sparking through his gaze. “Steel. Pick up your weapon, soldier. That’s an order.”
Steel rights himself, but his eyes never leave my face. “Alpha, Ralf is gone,” he says. “The Fae males are running through the fucking forest and we won’t try to catch them again. Not now.”
The leader, Alpha, snarls. “I don’t give a damn what you want to do. We have our orders.”
“I didn’t sign up for this,” Wraith says, pushing to the front. He drops his weapon to the stone. “None of us did. We agreed to the enhancements to help our government remove therealthreats. Kidnapping Fae men and women … That isn’t part of my pay grade.” Wraith’s pale eyes flick to mine as a handful of the soldiers toss their asps at their feet.
Hands in fists, I can’t even nod. My eyes track over them all, waiting for the attack as I take a cautious step back.
Alpha paces closer to them. I watch as the ones who disarmed themselves draw closer into a tight formation. Steel and Wraith stand shoulder to shoulder.
“Alpha, it’s over,” Steel says.
“You don’t give the orders, Steel.” Alpha crowds his front and something inhuman slashes through Steel’s eyes a moment before the leader hurtles backward into the wall. His head hits with a loud crunch.
Half the men draw sidearms. The others, the ones with Steel and Wraith, face them, palms out.
Steel walks closer to Alpha, his head back and that faint sheen still coloring his eyes. “It’s over,” he says. “We’re done taking orders from you. The Night Stalkers are not murderers. We are not kidnappers. And you won’t use us for that end.”
Night Stalkers?
The name rolls through my mind with a hint of familiarity, but I can’t place where I’ve heard it.
Wraith turns his face in my direction. “Go.”
A few of the soldiers whip around, sidearms aimed at my chest. Wraith’s hands fly out and the men shudder in place. Slowly, oh so slowly, the weapons move from my body to point at each other. The soldiers pale.
Son. Of. A. Bitch.
Wraith looks at me and a trickle of blood spills from his nose to paint his lips. He smiles and the effect lacks sanity. “Go,” he says again.
I back up. Then take another step.
Without waiting, I pivot on my heel and sprint for the end of the hall as the first gunshot echoes through the corridor.
