Page 140 of Crave Me

“Wow… all right… can’t focus on that now. Later.”

“And as for Damien, he’s a beast in these sorts of adrenaline filled situations. Trust me, he’s got this.”

He went to reach for the door, but it flew open just before he made it, and another hostile barreled on through. The guy reacted fast, snagged Bastian’s gun wielding wrist, then jerked him around and aimed it at me and mine pointed the fucker’s way.

Another guy rushed in and took aim at Bastian’s skull.

Shit.

“Drop it, pretty girl. Your boyfriend here isn’t wanted by our bosses, so we’ve got authorization to put a bullet in his brain. Or you can lower that weapon and come with us. Wheeler wants some quality time with you.”

I suppressed a shudder at his words, his reference to that now proven maniac, Jeremy.

Bastian shook his head at me.

“Is he here?” I asked.

“Sure is,” the bigger guy responded with a sadistic smirk.

“Fine. Lower your gun,” I told the one who had his trained on Bastian’s skull. “I’ll let you take me to him.”

I saw Bastian’s eyes flash with realization as he picked up on my strategy.

And he most definitely didn’t like it, his disapproval all over his face.

But this was our chance.

Jeremy thought he could come here and overpower us, but he’d just walked into the lions’ den. And he wouldn’t make it back out.

“Together,” I mouthed to Bastian.

The guy aiming at his head lowered his gun.

I saw a flash of movement out in the corridor.

Just as I went to lower mine, it became more than a flash as Damien filled the doorway a moment before he grabbed the guy lowering his gun, snatching it from him, then putting a bullet in his back.

I fired mine at the one who had Bastian trapped. He screamed as it plunged into his thigh, then Bastian twisted out of his hold and hauled him at Damien who caught him easily, then threw him over the banister.

“Nicely done,” Bastian told Damien, who stood there in nothing but a pair of boxers, disheveled and barely dressed like the rest of us.

We moved out onto the landing, hearing the chaos reigning down below and I peered over to see Caspian’s guys battling it out with so many of the invaders down the corridor, some battles taking place inside the now open doors of the various rooms off the space.

I caught sight of Caspian with those crazy combat skills of his out in full force as he took on three hostiles at once, absolutely destroying them in rapid-fire fashion, culminating with him shoving a badly beaten one through the living room and straight into the coffee table, which he then slammed his head into, shattering the glass all around the guy and knocking him out.

He spun back to the fight, but stopped and looked right up at us.

Relief and worry played across his features and he called up, “Sub-level!”

In his haste to get his message across, another hostile came at him from behind, brandishing a blade.

Damien reacted lightning fast and fired the gun he’d stolen from the other guy.

It hit right on target, blowing into this one’s skull and dropping him instantly.

Caspian spun around and jolted, then looked up at Damien, giving him a chin lift.

As the three of us fired, picking off more of the hostiles, movement caught our attention, and we looked to see another half a dozen sprinting up the stairs and onto the landing coming right for us.