Page 27 of To Claim A King
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Stupid, fucking cu-
“To your left, Kellan!”
Aaron’s warning came just in time and I leaned into my years of training, hand blindly shooting leftward while pivoting my torso to the right. A bullet smashed through my driver’s side mirror, just as my own bullet sunk between the eyes of the man who’d shot at me.
One down, five to go. Resolve flooded into my bloodstream like a potent hit of the many drugs my father sold. We would not let ourselves get killed here tonight. Aaron, Lauchlan, and I would make it out to hold Hillary in our arms once again, and hopefully we’d be wearing the blood of my brothers as a trophy.
Pulling open the center console, I grabbed the cartridge stockpile to reload my weapon and tossed two back at Aaron to do the same. I caught Lauchlan’s head bobbing between the Jaguar and another one of Hillary’s vehicles, what looked to be a clear plastic hose dangling from his mouth.
When we made it out alive, I was taking a page out of Aaron’s book and skinning the fucker alive for this stunt.Stupid, fucking cu—
Sirens pierced the night air, barely making a dent in the chaotic sound of the parking garage, but loud enough to know they were close. We needed to get the fuck out of here now. I no longer had FBI protection, and I had no desire to test my morals on whether I’d be willing to kill a firefighter to save my skin. My brothers wouldn’t lose a second’s sleep over killing an innocent, but I had enough fucked-up shit on my conscience.
Aaron’s bullets continued to fly behind me from the rear passenger window, protecting Lauchlan while I continued to shoot at Mical’s vehicle, which still had three men defending it. I shot the hand of the goon who was firing and the blood spatter ruined the pristine white paint job as he fell to the ground in agony.
“We must leave,compañero!” Aaron’s normally stoic voice had risen two octaves. Was he hurt? I couldn’t pull my attention from the battleground in front of us long enough to see. My stomach curdled at the thought of him surviving Carmen’s attack, only to be killed by my brothers instead in a cruel twist of fate. I would not let him die.
Another hail of bullets embedded in the glass. It wouldn’t hold for much longer.
Lauchlan’s head bobbed between the Jaguar again, his voice muffled but urgent as our enemies reloaded their weapons.
“Alright, fuckers, when I say three, I need yeh to trust me. You’re going to move out on this side of the vehicle, stay low, and get into that Benz over there.” He dipped his head toward the silver Mercedes GLS, which had a few errant holes, but was still intact. “Get in the backseat. I’ll take it from there.”
Another stream of bullets came our way, this time into the Jaguar in an attempt to take out Lauchlan.
Mother-fuckingcunt. Who the fuck did he think he was, risking his life—our lives—for this stupid little show? I channeled my compounding fear into unbridled rage and turned to return rapid fire through the open window. My raw anger at him, this situation, my brothers, and my father spilled out into a blood-blistering ball of fury. I shouted at him over the din of the gunfire.
“I’m going to fucking kill you with my bare hands, Lauch—”
A trail of blinding fire interrupted my tirade and lit up the garage as a glowing orange snake moved toward the vehicles of our attackers at a rapid pace. Shock registered on their faces through the splintered glass of the windshield, the men retreating into the vehicles as the fire burned closer and closer.
What in the fuck—
“NOW!” Lauchlan shouted, racing toward the escape vehicle himself. Aaron let out a curse—of pain or of exasperation—as he pushed open his door and crouched low, weaving through the vehicles after him.
There weren’t enough expletives in the world to filter my rage, but I said every word I knew and forced my large body over the center console and into the passenger seat, crouching low as Aaron had and tucking myself behind the destroyed Jaguar before following the two men in front of me. Surprisingly, no sound followed me, the symphony of gunfire deadened by the sizzling of dangerous flames.
Lauchlan gunned the engine as I climbed into the backseat next to Aaron, the two of us crammed like sardines in a space designed for small women. Aaron’s grimace told me all I needed to know about his pain, and I swore again. If we made it out of here alive, I was going to deliver a lesson Lauchlan would never forget. He wouldn’t be able to sit down for a month without shedding tears, and I would make the marks so deep, he’d have the scars of my palm forever imprintedon his cheeks.
Screeching the tires, our crazed Irishman drove straight through the blaze he’d created, veering through the tight space to the right of the SUV blockade my truck would have never fit between.
Panicked shouts in Spanish followed, but the flames had already caught up to one of the vehicles. My brothers were too preoccupied with their own mortality to follow us. We left the brilliant colors of well-fed fire behind in the rearview mirror, as the flashing red and yellow lights from emergency vehicles greeted us on the other side.
Lauchlan didn’t stop, maneuvering the sleek car through the newly erected barrier and down the sidewalk of the condo building, evading the firetrucks and the many condo residents who watched in confusion. Without a word, he tore out of the parking lot and sped into the night, pulling off an escape I’d never have accomplished. He smoothly switched lanes and took side roads often. The three of us remained on full alert for followers. Finally, he pulled into the chain-linked lot of a small mechanic’s garage on the other side of town.
Sliding out of the cramped seat, I slammed the door shut and stalked around to Lauchlan’s driver side, yanked him out of his seat by his shoulders, and shoved him against the metal door.
“You fucking cunt,” I growled, unable to see anything but his widened eyes through the now soaked cotton of his mask. Blinded by my ire, a dark crimson colored my view, the relentless rage taking over my body as its own demon. “You fucking cunt!”
Lauchlan shuddered within my hold, a tight grimace entering his eyes as he uttered a sharp breath of pain. Releasing him, I let his body fall to the ground, where he landed on the cracked pavement in a heap. My palms felt sticky and wet. I squinted in the muted light of the street lamp at the blood coating my fingers.
“Kellan.” Aaron’s stern tone broke through my examination. “Rojowas shot, and saved us from a very unpleasant situation.” He gingerly bent down to guide the man back to standing, his own pain flickering through his eyes. “Perhaps you should thank him for his quick thinking instead of adding insult to his injuries.”
My fists clenched at my sides, mimicking the fierce pump of blood through my limbs. Aaron was right. This man, this infuriating, irritating man, had saved us tonight with his particular brand of crazy. He was not the source of my anger, not the dominant source. Antonio was.
My resources were tapped, my relationships dissolved, and I could no longer keep the people I cared about safe. Where I was once the protector, I was now the biggest liability. A fallen king.
“Are you all right?” The words burned on my tongue, but I pressed on, moving toward Lauchlan and examining the bloodied tissue of his upper arm, the darkened blood blending in with the black fabric of his sweatshirt.
