Page 79 of What Doesn't Kill Us

I smile and lock eyes with Darius.

Then a bullet ricochets off the beam next to me, and I duck for cover behind the beam I’d stepped around to get a shot at Vincent. The beam is narrow and doesn’t exactly cover me, so I try to make myself as narrow as possible as Vincent’s men open fire in my direction.

I hear Matt and Tony returning fire, and one by one, bodies start hitting the ground. We didn’t have time for any type of COMs between the three of us, so I can only hope that none of the bodies falling belong to us.

I peer around the beam, and I see Agatha free from her restraints, attempting to help Darius out of his cuffs. Vincent’s men are swarming into the room like fucking ants on the march, and Agatha falls backwards as if she’s been hit.

She quickly rights herself, springing onto her feet and engaging hand-to-hand as the enemy moves in on her. Darius comes out of his chair like a wild animal, jumping into the middle of the fray like the savage fucking beast he is, and I have to force myself not to sit back and watch him.

This is not the fucking time.

I glance beyond them, noticing Tony coming up around on the other side behind them, so I fall back, preparing to loop around to help him. As I turn, more men run in through the same doorway where we entered. I shoot three of them before my guns are knocked from my hands, and then I’m pushed back as several try to overpower me.

I snag a knife, slashing and stabbing, as more people approach me. I’m holding my own, but more men come running in, and my strength is waning. I’m sweating, and my arms are screaming. Matt runs over, helping me cut down the swarm of men as he moves closer to me. Agatha shouts from the other side of the room, and the men suddenly stop coming in from our end and detour around toward Darius and Agatha. Matt looks at me and nods, then takes off back the way he came.

I bend over at the waist, my bloody hands resting on my thighs as I attempt to catch my breath. I look around at the carnage, assessing the situation for what it is. A fucked-up mess. Apparently, cutting off the snake’s head didn’t work, which most likely means the top snake is waiting in the wings.

Dmitri.

I glance around at the men on the floor in front of me, finally finding one who’s still breathing. I grab him, noting the knife stuck in his chest, then lean down close to his face and whisper, “Tell me where he is, and I’ll let you live.”

He laughs humorlessly, his words pained as he replies, “There are worse things than death.”

“We can protect you. If they’re so determined to take us down, you must know what we do. We can help you.”

He sighs heavily, then swallows a few times. “My life means nothing. I only ever did this to protect my family.”

The surrounding chaos is escalating, so I drag him further out of the line of fire. “Tell me where they are. We’ll get them to safety.”

“You’ll remember?”

I nod. “Yes, I will. Tell me.”

He rattles off an address, and I repeat it back to him twice, then ask, “What can I tell them to make them trust me?”

He smiles softly, the light in his eyes sparking. “Tell them pink is my favorite color.”

I snort out a laugh. “Well, that’s not one I’ve heard before.”

“Vincent’s father, Dimitri, never got over being duped by Lilith. Even though he ended up with the boy, he vowed to never rest until he had taken her down and stolen the entire kingdom for himself. So that leaves you.”

“So, he wants to kill me in order to take my birthright?”

He shakes his head. “No, he just wants you. You’re worth far more alive.”

“Then why allow Vincent to keep trying to kill me?”

“Because Dmitri didn’t believe he could ever pull it off, and he was right. And if Vincent had ever come close to pulling it off, he would’ve been in a world of hurt.” He raises himself up a bit, and I lean close until his breath is against my ear. “Don’t let him take you alive. No matter what happens. Don’t let them take you alive.”

A shiver runs through me as I move back, looking into his eyes. I nod, scanning him over. “What’s your name?”

“Erik.”

“Pretend you’re dead. Don’t remove that knife. I’ll come back for you.”

He nods his head, and I rise, slowly moving around him and edging close to the chaos. The chaos has lessened, leaving me with a more ominous feeling of dread, like the calm before the storm.

There are dead and injured people everywhere. Matt and Tony are still cutting people down, and the whole place feels like a fucking clown car with the enemy seeming to come out of the woodwork endlessly.

---