Page 29 of Arch
Footsteps echo, heavy boots, too many for just Rico and Jinx. I signal Clay and Jace, and we shift, taking cover behind a stack of crates. The Vipers pour in—ten, maybe twelve, armed to the teeth, their supplier nowhere in sight.
Rico’s at the center, barking orders, and Jinx is there under the dim lights, his face pale but set.
“Now,” I growl, and we move.
The warehouse erupts in a blaze of gunfire, shouting, and bloodshed.
Clay’s first shot takes out a Viper’s knee, and Jace’s knife finds another’s shoulder before he can raise his gun.
I’m on Rico, tackling him to the ground, my fist slamming into his face before he can scream.
Keegan’s a blur beside me, his training kicking in as he disarms a Viper with a swift kick and a wrench he must’ve grabbed from the floor.
The kid’s fast, fearless, but he’s too exposed, and my heart lurches when a Viper swings a chain at him.
“Keegan!” I roar, shoving Rico into a crate and diving for the guy with the chain.
I take him down hard, my elbow cracking his jaw, but another Viper’s on me, a blade flashing.
I twist, the knife grazing my arm, and Keegan’s there, slamming the wrench into the guy’s wrist, sending the blade clattering.
We’re back-to-back now, moving like we’ve done this a hundred times, and despite the chaos, I feel a surge of pride.
He’s holding his own, my boy… in fact, he’s more than holding his own. Keegan’s fighting like a true Wolf Rider.
“Jinx!” Clay’s voice cuts through the gunfire, raw with betrayal.
I glance over, seeing Clay pin Jinx against a wall, his gun pressed to the kid’s chest.
Jinx’s eyes are wide, pleading, but there’s no undoing what he’s done.
“Why?” Clay snarls, and Jinx mumbles something about money, about debts, but I don’t hear the rest.
A Viper charges me, and I’m back in the fight, my focus razor-sharp.
The battle’s brutal, the warehouse a storm of fists, blades, and bullets.
Tank barrels in from outside, his pistol barking, and the Vipers start to break.
Keegan’s still with me, his breath ragged but his eyes fierce, and I keep him close, shielding him when a stray shot pings too near.
We’re outnumbered, but we’re Wolves, and we don’t go down easy.
I spot Rico crawling for a gun, and I’m on him, my boot on his wrist, my own gun at his temple.
“Call them off,” I growl. “Now.”
Rico spits blood, but he shouts, and the Vipers hesitate, their numbers dwindling.
Clay’s got Jinx zip-tied, and Jace is mopping up the stragglers with Tank. Keegan’s panting beside me, blood on his knuckles, a cut on his cheek, but he’s alive, and that’s all that matters.
The Vipers are done—most dead or down, a few scattering into the night.
The warehouse is ours, the fight won, but the cost is heavy… Jinx’s betrayal is a wound that will scar us all.
“Get him to the van,” I tell Clay, nodding at Jinx. “We’ll deal with him later.”
Clay nods, his face hard, and drags Jinx out.
