Page 71 of War

Tugging my arm, we venture back into the hall.Callan races to his room, returning a second later with his knife and my gun.“Here.”He nods, taking the gun from me and replacing it with my own.

A spluttering of gunfire hisses through the air.The wailing alarm makes my bones rattle.

We pass a couple more doors, creeping around the corner.Both Callan and Jericho move like trained SWAT.Quiet.Precise.Alert.

“Tim’s in there.Georgina stabbed him,” I announce, pointing to the kitchen.

Two sets of dark eyes cut to mine.“She opened the garage door for the Devils.”

“Motherfucking fuck.I’m going to pull her spine through her back and hang her by it at the gate,” Jericho hisses.

A floorboard creaks to the left of the corridor, and all three of us spin, our weapons raised.Green faces us, his gun aimed.

“Fuck.What the hell is happening?”he whisper-yells, lowering his gun.

“We’re under attack,” Jericho grates out.

“Green, your brother is in the kitchen, injured.Go help him.”I jerk my chin toward the kitchen door.A severe scowl etches across his face, and he slips past us.

Footfalls sound behind Jericho as I turn.My heart stops.The world dips.The Devil raises his arm, a clear shot for Jericho’s head.

I’m faster.

My finger curls around the trigger automatically.

Pop.

Pop.

Pop.

The weapon’s power takes him clean off his feet.Small holes seep crimson rivets down his chest.I recognize the man’s face.I’ve known him for years.Now, he’s another name on my blood-soaked ledger.

A hand slams down on my shoulder, and I startle.“You saved my life.”Jericho’s wild eyes roam my face, his breathing ragged.

“You’re a King,” I say, nodding my head.

He mimics my movement.“So are you.”

A high-pitched scream shatters the air, and we push forward into the bar.Three Devil bodies lay strewn on the floor, one with a knife protruding from his eye and the two others beaten to a pulp.Cutter sits slumped in a chair, unconscious, with Kitty by his side, shaking from head to toe.

“Is he dead?”Callan asks, madness in his eyes.

“No.He hit his head.He saved my life.How the hell did this happen?”Sounds chase from beyond the entry to the bar, and Jericho grabs Kitty, dragging her to her feet.

“No Daddy, he needs me.”

“Shut up and get behind the bar.Stay low.”

“You go with my sister” Callan jerks his chin toward the bar.“You’ll be safer hidden.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I say incredulously.

“Rogue.”

“No,” I snap.“I won’t.We don’t know how many are still in here.I’m not leaving you to fight alone.”

“I’m starting to see why everyone’s so smitten with her,” Jericho grunts.

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