Page 76 of The Devil's Conflict

I feel like I’m back in the middle of a war zone. There are men everywhere, bullets flying, and the bad guys just keep swarming. We’re missing the desert heat and the bombs, but it’s definitely the same feeling. Crypt and I manage to get back to the rock wall, where the other women are huddled down. Rose looks grim and determined, as do the others, but I don’t miss the fear on theirfaces. Especially Sadie’s. She looks seconds away from breaking down.

“We’re going to get you to the clubhouse,” I bark at them. “Sadie, Izzy, you’re with me. Rose, Sage, you’re with Crypt. You’re going to stay on our left sides, perfectly in line with my body so you don’t give them an open target. Understood?” All of them nod. “Good. None of you are dying on my watch today. Let’s move.” They scramble to their feet, get into position just like I told them, and then we make our break.

I don’t slow my pace until we get to the side of the clubhouse and manage to get to the door. “Inside,” I yell to Izzy and Sadie, who quickly rush inside.

I turn to see the others right behind us, but just as Sage clears the door and Rose rushes forward, a masked man comes turns the corner, gun already raised. And it’s aimed right at Rose. “No!” I scream, already lifting my gun and firing, but I hear the gun go off.

There’s a loud scream, and my heart sinks, but it’s then I hear the grunt of pain as I see Crypt tackle Rose to the ground, and the bullet hits him in the side. He falls to the ground with a grunt of pain, and Rose is scrambling, trying to get out from under him even as I rush forward to roll him off her. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I curse as I put pressure on the wound.

Crypt’s face is twisted in a grimace. “I’m good,” he tries to get out, but then his body shudders with pain, and it’s sticky and flowing under my fingers.

“Like fuck you are,” I snap, looking desperately around.

“Medic!” Rose screams, moving to help me put pressure on the wound as well. The sound is loud, shrill, and I’m sure the entire field hears it, even over the chaos. “Don’t you dare die on me, Crypt,” she tells him then through gritted teeth. “I want to know what books you modeled for and you are damn well going to tell me.”

I’m too focused on trying to keep the pressure on his wound to figure out what the hell that’s all about it. Where the hell is Medic?

“I’m taking that one to the grave, Rose,” Crypt tells her, pain filling his voice.

“Yeah, well, you’re not going to the grave today, so that means I’ll have to figure it out,” she snaps at him, but I can see the terror in her eyes.

Thankfully that’s the moment that Medic runs out. “Fuck,” he curses, as he quickly drops to his knees and moves our hands to assess the damage. “We need to get him inside,” he says grimly. “I need to get the bullet out as quickly as I can before he bleeds out or it goes any deeper.”

“Let’s go,” I say, already moving. Medic looks at me, as if to argue, but he must change his mind when he sees the look on my face.

“Rose,” he tells her, looking at her with a fierce determination. “Thea and I are going to get him up, but you need to stay with us and I need you to try and keep pressure on that wound as much as possible. Crypt, can you hear me?”

“Yeah,” he rasps out, his eyes already going glassy with shock.

“I need you to try and help us get your big ass up and to the med bay, okay?” Medic says firmly. “Give us your weight, but you need to help us or you’re going to die. Do you understand?”

“I got you,” Crypt grits out. “Help me up.”

It takes a moment, and the groan of pain I hear escape him is one that I won’t forget for a long time, but we get him up. The walk through the kitchen to the med bay is long, and I’m covered in sweat by the time we get him in the bed from his weight, but the relief of getting him there is huge.

“Get down to the safe room while I work on him,” Medic barks as he’s already moving to cut off Crypt’s shirt and Prospect cut.

“No,” we both say immediately. Before he can argue, Rose barks, “I’m staying and I’m going to help.”

“And I’m not staying in here when I can fight,” I tell him. Then I’m leaving the med bay and heading back out into the common room. I see guns and everything else lying around from the men moving to get outside, and I make quick work of grabbing more ammo before I head toward the door.

The moment I clear the door, my gun is up and I’m firing, killing a man that’s sneaking up on Timber. Timber whirls, staring at the man on the ground and then looking back up at me. I just nod at him and keep moving, taking down man after man as I go, trying to make sure I don’t hit any of the Misfits or the Devil’s Soldiers in the process.

God, did Vlad send every single one of his men? Because more and more keep showing up. The ground is littered with bodies, but I don’t pay it any mind, as I stay down and rush to get to a covered spot on the edge of the building. The same spot that Theo is now hunkered down. I move to his side and he does a quick double take. “Sniper is going to kill you,” he yells, even as he peers around the corner and shoots another man emerging from the woods. “You need to get in there with the women.”

“No,” I say simply, checking my clip. “I’m not going to hide away, you know that.”

“Thea, now is not the time for women’s power and all that bullshit,” he snaps at me.

“And this isn’t the time to fucking argue with me,” I snap back as I lock the clip back in place. “I’m trained to handle this shit.”

“And if you die?”

I look at him, deadly serious. “Then I die knowing I wasn’t hiding away and wasting all the talent the Forces gave me.” Then, I’m moving away from him and head around the other side of the building, even as he yells after me, cursing.

He’s going to be pissed, but I don’t give a damn.

When I make my way around the building, I see that most of the men that have come through the trees are dead, or in the case of a couple, trying to flee, but the MC guys make quick work of them. I watch for a moment, and that’s when I see a man climbing into the trees, rifle in hand. My blood goes cold as I see him quickly start to set up and aim his gun right at Bullet, who’s in the middle of the field, barking orders for people to search the woods to find any stragglers.

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