Page 148 of Lamb

Maximus Rothwell had not even been a shadow. He was like the wind—unseen, unstoppable, and powerful enough to move whatever powers he pleased. The only evidence he left behind was the destruction and carnage in his wake. And it was impossible to predict which way the wind would blow next.

I didn’t know what drove him. Nor what his goal was. I didn’t know what leverage would work against him.

I was powerless.

“That’s why I have to get to her.” I stared hard at Jax and at Mint. “Now, if you’ll stop asking me stupid questions, I have work to—”

“INTERPOL! OPEN UP!”

I froze.

Interpol?

I spun on my heels, and the world disappeared around me. One second, I was talking to my brothers; the next, I was throwing my head around the corner.

Two meaty paws clamped onto my shoulders, the sheer weight tackling me up against the wall. A painting cracked behind my head, but I didn’t care. Couldn’t care.

“Don’t stop me!” I hissed, shoving off the glass.

“That’s Interpol! You’ll get arrested!” Hunter snapped, throwing me forward, my chest pinned between him and the wall.

“I know,” I snapped, shoving at them both, my lack of physical prowess bogging me down. “But they’re not supposed to be here! It was just supposed to be the FBI, not Interpol! That wasn’t the plan. The second Interpol sees her, she’ll be dragged overseas before any of my contacts can stop it. I need to get there. I need to get to her!”

Jax frowned, his brow a tightly knitted line. “What type of plan did you come up with?”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Mint’s expression was fierce. “You go in there now, and you both will get arrested! You won’t be able to help her from the inside.”

“But—”

BANG.

Iwasn’t thinking. I wasn’t breathing. But the world around me moved. Pure instinct took me over as I raced around the corner, toward those pearly white doors, and—

Pain burst across my neck, the wind snatched from my lungs as my body came to an abrupt stop. I was lurched back by my collar, my hand extended as those white doors were yanked away from me. One moment, I was reaching for her; the next, I was pinned flat against the wall, Mint’s forearm braced against my throat.

“Get off of me!”I growled, shoving all my strength into my hands as I lunged for the large bastard.

“Lamb, stop!” Jax growled, joining the effort to hold me down.

“She’s in there!” I snapped, my brain firing every neuron at once in a tangled mess of thoughts all overlapping each other. “I have to get her!My plan—I promised.”

“Lamb!” Hunter growled, his meaty paw grabbing me by the scruff as he easily hauled me back to the corner, his strength outclassing Mint and Jax together. “Look.”

He shoved my head just enough around the edge to see. And see them, I did.

Over four black SWAT tactical units were funneling in through the door. Bold white letters blocked “INTERPOL” across their backs. Dispersing smoke poured through the door in low tidal waves as several disappeared into the fog, a mixture of shouting and commands rising from the air like howling ghosts.

I’d failed to hear their shouts nor see their presence at my initial start, but even seeing them now, that fire to escape, to run through the fog, consequences be damned, only burned brighter. I’d get arrested the instant they spotted me, and it would take only a few to grab me.

But I couldn’t stop it.

Maggots ate through my stomach as my heart rattled in my ears and a thick lump knotted at the back of my throat. The pain burned in every muscle, nerve, and fiber of my being as the images rolled through my mind. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong, like raining gunfire in my brain.

Ash only had a knife, small and thin, good enough only for close quarter self-defense. So, if someone had shot …

A different man stood in the doorway, the smoke rolling in plumes around his ankles, staring into the dense cloud. He had no gun in his hand, but a large radio blasting through the air. “ALPHA APPREHENDED TARGET. CONFIRM, WE HAVE TARGET IN CUSTODY.”

Someone was arrested.

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