Page 87 of Serpent King's Revenge

Abby and I exchanged a glance. Lily was right; we had more pressing matters to deal with.

As we continued through the warehouse, every nerve in my body screamed at me to hurry up, to get us out of this dangerous situation. But I had to be cautious, careful not to make any mistakes that could cost us everything.

"Stay close," I whispered to the others, trying to keep my voice steady and calm. "And whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourselves."

"Got it," Abby murmured, her grip on my arm tightening as we crept forward.

I couldn't help but worry about what would happen if we didn't make it out of here alive. What would become of our unborn child, our future? The thoughts swirled in my head, threatening to consume me.

The sound of our own breathing seemed deafening in the dimly lit warehouse as we carefully made our way through the maze of crates and machinery. My heart pounded in my chest, each thud echoing through my ears like a warning signal.

"Over there," Abby whispered, pointing to a group of workers crouched behind a stack of pallets. "We need to get them out, too."

"Right," I nodded, carefully leading the group toward our allies. We moved like shadows, trying to avoid any attention from the federal agents swarming the place.

"Hey," I hissed quietly to the workers, motioning for them to follow us. They hesitated for a second before nodding and falling into line with the rest of us.

"Any idea where Alex and Knuckles are?" Lily asked, her voice barely audible.

"No," I replied, trying to keep my frustration in check. "But they’ll escape and we can regroup later. We need to focus on getting everyone else out."

As we neared the back exit, my nerves were stretched thin. The distant sound of shouting and footsteps kept me on edge, the knowledge that Hayes was here, along with her federal agents, only adding to the pressure.

"Almost there," I murmured to the group, hoping my words were enough to keep them going.

Suddenly, a figure stepped out from behind a large crate, gun raised – it was Diane, flanked by a few federal agents. My heart dropped into my stomach as I realized we had been cornered.

"Going somewhere?" she sneered. "I don't think so."

"Shit," Abby muttered under her breath, her hand instinctively gripping mine tighter.

"Go, now!" I shouted to the others, trying to buy them some time. “Abby, you need to run—”

“No fucking chance,” she said. “I’m staying.”

“What was it you said about being a white savior—”

She shot me a glare that would have silenced anyone. “Not now, Nathan.”

“You two are fucking slippery, I’ll give you that,” Diane muttered. “Now—I think it’s high time we put both of you away—”

I didn’t fucking hesitate.

I raised my gun and shot, sending the agents scattering. Diane fell to the side with a huff, but she was back on her feet in seconds, aiming the gun at us. She seemed intent on killing us both, and I threw myself in front of Abby—

Then a shout came from behind, and gunfire. A few agents went down.

Knuckles came up from behind them.

He’d always been a tough fighter, taught me damn near everything I knew about how to use my fists. Right now, he was putting those skills to the test. He came up behind the agents like a demon, teeth bared, flinging himself at them. He had a shotgun in his hands and he used up all the shells inside before tossing it away and laying into them.

“Run!” Knuckles shouted. “Go!”

Abby took my hand, jerked on me…and I was running. I didn’t want to leave him behind, but I knew we didn’t have any choice.

And just as I turned, I heard a shot.

Heard Knuckles cry out in pain.

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