Page 200 of Steel

Wraith calls an end to Church, and we all clamber to our feet and march out to strap up.

The war is here, and I’m ready to get dirty.

Chapter fifty-one

We’ve set up arendezvous point near Killer’s new clubhouse for everyone who’s chosen to join us in this fight. Our numbers are astounding, and the gratitude that fills me at the sight of them all chokes me up a bit. There’s always been power in numbers, and Wraith is proving how worthy he is of that President patch as I take in ours. He’s gained us allies instead of enemies in his quest to turn us toward more legitimate means.

I’m not sure Killer understands how much blood is about to be spilled on his doorstep.

We stand in a circle around the huge blacked-out SUV in the middle of the abandoned parking lot. Pages are spread out on the hood as Phantom and Blade point us in the directions we need to go to have surprise on our side.

The chopping of rotors in the air above have us stilling and turning our attention to the blacked-out helicopter lowering to an empty space in the lot. Weapons are drawn and aimed as we wait tensely. The engine is shut down, and when the rotors slowly come to a stop, the door slides open and men fill the space.

Fucking men in blacked-out gear and wicked-looking masks.

Holy fuck.

Power runs through them as they climb out. It licks against our skin, a heady knowledge that these men are not ones we want to find ourselves enemies of. Once they’re outside the helicopter, they stand in a line, arms crossed behind their backs as they stare at the crowd we have. Then they move toward us in sync.

I’m not a man who fears much, but I’d be a goddamn liar if I said these men don’t terrify the hell out of me.

“Venatori Nocturnus” is whispered in awe through our crowd.

They stop before Wraith, already knowing who is in charge, and bow their heads respectfully. We do the same in return.

“Gentlemen. We’ve heard rumors that we have a common enemy. We do not normally operate outside of our boundaries, but we also seem to have common allies.” The man speaking finds Crow and Kaito in the group before turning back to Wraith. “We have come to offer our assistance. We do not offer it lightly. If you choose to turn it down, know the offer will never be made again nor will you be allowed to seek us out.”

The voice behind the mask is modulated, unable to betray any detail about who is behind it. They’ve made themselves as unidentifiable as possible with the masks, black gloves, black boots, and black outfits. There’s even some fucking piece of black material under the mask that comes down their neck and tucks into their shirts. There’s literally fucking nothing we could tell you about them except their physical sizes.

I step forward and hold my hand out. “My woman they’ve taken. Your assistance is accepted.”

They ignore my outstretched hand until Wraith steps up next to me and nods to confirm my words.

They respect positions of power.

One by one, they slide their gloved palms into mine.

They stand out of the way, listening intently as Phantom and Blade continue to go over our plan of attack. They break our people up into groups and give one person in each group an earbud, dedicating them as point person.

Except the Ventori Nocturnus.

Those fuckers are ghosts in the damn night anyway.

As Blade and Phantom wrap it up and we all prepare to head out to our positions, my phone pings with a message.

UNKNOWN

I’ll be sitting pretty in the trees ready to help your little birdie fly away. Meow, Kitty Kitty.

It’s the last sentence that tells me who it is, and I relax. My gut is telling me which Killer Kitty it is, but I honestly don’t give a fuck as long as she helps get my girl out.

“Everyone understand their assignments?” Wraith calls out.

A chorus of confirmations rings through the air and then we all start rolling out. Our bikes stay in the lot along with the helicopter as we all take off on foot or in the quiet SUVs. Their compound is big, and from what Jagger was able to pull up on satellite, there’s a lot of fucking heat signatures roaming around the grounds. We’re only going to get a moment of surprise before all hell breaks loose. We have to make sure we’re inside those gates before that happens.

Wraith wanted to task the Bourbon Falls men with getting Bailee out because they have less experience in these fights than we do, but there was no fucking way I was letting that happen. She’s my woman, and I’m getting her the fuck out no matter who I have to go through to do it.

I pull my tomahawks from their holsters and twirl them around as I march up to the gates. I lift one to prepare tohit the throat of one of the guards, but a shadow flits through the opening, wraps gloved hands around the head of the single guard and twists, snapping his neck and dropping him to the floor. He opens the gates for us before disappearing into the night again.

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