Page 37 of Viking
“Let them run,” I decided.“Focus on securing the perimeter and tending the wounded.”
The gunfire had already begun to taper off as the attackers withdrew.Within minutes, an eerie quiet fell over the compound, broken only by the groans of the injured and the barked commands of brothers organizing the aftermath.The battle was over.We’d held our ground.
I moved through the chaos with mechanical efficiency, directing brothers to secure the perimeter, check for any remaining threats, gather the wounded.Doc, our medic and newest patched member, was already working on the more seriously injured, his hands steady despite the carnage around him.The dead -- both ours and theirs -- would wait.
“You all right, Doc?”I asked, as I drew closer to him.
He gave a brief nod.“Nothing I haven’t seen before.”
He’d come to us from Birmingham and a club that was now long gone.When he’d approached and asked to prospect, Savior had immediately put in a vote to patch him in as the club medic, and it had been a unanimous decision.
When I was certain the immediate danger had passed, I returned to where Lincoln lay.Someone had covered his face with his Prospect cut, the leather bearing our colors a fitting shroud for a brother who’d died defending them.I knelt beside him, gently pulling the covering back to look at his face one last time.He looked younger in death, the hard edges of trying to prove himself softened into an almost peaceful expression.
“I’m sorry, kid,” I murmured, closing his eyelids with my thumb.“You deserved better than this.”
I replaced the cut over his face, then stood, my body suddenly heavy with the weight of command, of responsibility, of loss.Around me, brothers moved with the subdued efficiency that follows battle -- checking weapons, treating wounds, securing prisoners.We’d won, but victory tasted like ash in my mouth.
There would be time later for grief, for vengeance, for sorting through what we’d learned about Operation Ghostwalk and the men who’d come for Kris’s family.But right now, there was only one place I needed to be.
I crossed the compound at a jog, ignoring the pain in my side where a boot had connected with my ribs, the sting of split knuckles, the bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to overtake me now that the adrenaline was fading.My house looked untouched from the outside, the barricaded windows and multiple locks having done their job.
The key trembled in my hand as I unlocked the door, then used a trick only I knew to shove aside the security bar Karoline had put in place.Inside, the house was dark and silent.For one horrible moment, I feared I’d find it empty, that somehow they’d been taken despite our defense.
“Karoline?”I called, my voice rougher than I’d intended.
No answer.I moved down the hallway, checking rooms as I went, heart pounding harder than it had during the firefight.The bathroom door was closed.I tried the handle.Locked.
“Karoline, it’s me,” I said, forcing my voice to gentle despite the fear clutching at my throat.“It’s over.You’re safe.”
I heard movement inside, then theclickof the lock disengaging.The door opened slowly to reveal Karoline, her face pale and tear-streaked, Athena clutched against her chest.For a long moment, we simply stared at each other, the reality of survival sinking in.Then Athena reached for me, one small hand extending from the safety of Karoline’s arms.
“Viking,” she said, her voice small but clear.
Something broke inside me at the sound of my name on her lips.I stepped forward, gathering them both into my arms, feeling Karoline’s body shudder against mine as she finally allowed herself to release the fear she’d been holding at bay for Athena’s sake.The child wedged herself between us, one arm around my neck, the other still clutching her stuffed rabbit.
“You’re hurt,” Karoline whispered, her fingers hovering over the cut on my cheek, the blood on my shirt.
“Not mine, mostly,” I assured her, though it wasn’t entirely true.“We stopped them.They’re gone.”
“For good?”she asked, her eyes searching mine for the truth.
I couldn’t lie to her, not now, not after everything.“No.But we’ve bought time.Time to figure out what Kris found, what they’re so afraid of.”I tightened my hold on them both.“Time for us.”
Athena’s small hand patted my cheek, drawing my attention.Her solemn eyes studied me with that unnerving perception that made her seem older than her years.
“Stay,” she said, just that one word, but it carried the weight of a question, a hope, a fear.
“Yes,” I promised, meeting first her gaze, then Karoline’s.“I’m staying.We’re all staying.Together.”
Karoline’s eyes filled with fresh tears, but there was something else there too -- determination, strength, and something that mirrored what I felt in my own chest.
“Together,” she echoed, and in that single word, I heard the answer to the question I’d asked in the hallway before the world exploded around us.
I held them both tighter, my family found in the aftermath of violence and finally allowed myself to breathe.
Chapter Ten
Karoline
