Page 52 of Stolen By The Beast
If this was my time to die, so be it. Lifting my chin, I stared defiantly into Enzo’s flat, cruel eyes.
“Looks like there will be no happily ever after for you, beautiful.” Enzo’s finger tightened on the trigger.
“Get on with it, Enzo. If you’re afraid to get blood on your hands, I’ll do it.” Ty leveled his gun at my forehead.
CRACK! CRACK!
The double pop of gunfire deafened me. Time slowed as I waited to feel something, or maybe I’d be dead before I had time to feel anything?
Two bodies fell to the ground in front of me. Enzo and Ty’s lifeless eyes stared unseeing up at the blue sky. A single bullet hole in their foreheads.
My jaw dropped as I turned my head to find Matt holding his gun.
HOLY CRAP! That was a plot twist in my fairytale that neither of them had seen coming. I might get my happy ending after all. I glanced back at the bodies, unable to believe what I was seeing.Take that, suckers!
“Why?” It was the only word I could get out.
Matt holstered his gun and scrubbed a hand across his face. “Because I swore to protect and serve. Just because they didn’t care about their oath, doesn’t mean I would look the other way.”
A seed of hope began to grow in my chest. “You believe me?”
Maybe he would help me stop this.
“I don’t know what to believe.” His gaze flicked to my bonded mate. “I thought I was tracking a rabid bear or a pack of wolves. The last thing I expected was to find… him.”
Matt toed Enzo away from us with his boot. “But I’d always suspected that Enzo’s cousin, and the cops who hung with him, weren’t on the up and up. Someone always seemed to cover their butts though, and now I know who.”
Kneeling behind me, Matt unlocked the handcuffs. Grabbing my hands, he helped me to my feet.
“I won’t make you leave with me, but it’s not safe for you here. It’s a miracle we aren’t riddled with bullets already. Let’s take shelter in the woods and I’ll protect you until the fight dies down.”
I watched Karvik continue his rampage, unaffected by the bullets. There was nothing I could do to help him… and he’d probably kill me if I died.
“Then what?” I asked, watching Matt’s face for signs of deception.
“Then you can choose. If you wish to stay, I won’t stop you.”
He was telling me the truth, and I nodded my agreement. We’d lie low until the fight ended, and I’d have him to warn off any officers who tried to take me away.
We didn’t have the chance to take a single step before a hair-raising roar nearly brought us to our knees.
Turning in unison, we found Karvik stalking toward us, blood dripping from his claws and mouth, and his eyes glowing brighter than all hellfire.
He’d once told me he was death… and boy oh boy, did he live up to his claim.
Chapter Sixteen
Karvik
Thetranquilityofoursecluded wilderness sanctuary shattered in an instant. The intrusion was abrupt and jarring, like the thunderous crash of a falling tree.
One moment, Juniper and I were basking in the serenity of a quiet world, surrounded by the harmonious symphony of nature, and the next, the forest exploded into commotion.
Fear crashed through me like an avalanche of snow. Juniper’s hand tightened around mine, her eyes wide with dread.
I had been so lost in my mate that my keen senses hadn’t detected the unmistakable scent or sound of approaching humans.
The darkness twisted inside of me, guilt nearly eating me alive. Juniper was in danger—because of me. It was the very thing I had vowed would never happen.
