Page 112 of Fanged Embrace
Laurie flushed bright red at what they were implying and angled her body out of view of all six of them. She looked up at me, searching gaze still timid, like she couldn’t wrap her head around my presence. “How’d you even get in?—”
Her words were cut off abruptly by garbled static emanating from the chest pocket of one of the guards. I hadn’t noticed the walkie-talkie or the blinking green light signifying that it wason.
“Shit.” Laurie and I spoke in unison, exchanging frantic looks as the radio voice sharpened and the words came through clearly.
“Breaches confirmed. Sounding full alarm.”
“Shit,” Dylan echoed.
We all winced as alarms began to blare overhead—all of us except Amara, who looked confused at our sudden shift in expressions. Dylan signed a few wild gestures to explain the situation and Amara’s eyes widened in response.
“All right.” Hunter elbowed Maxine forward an inch and yelled over the roaring cacophony, “As touching as this reunion is, I think it’s time we get moving!”
“Yeah.” Laurie unraveled my arms from her waist and stooped to slip her gun from the guard’s belt. “I know where their leader is, I’ll take you to him.”
“What?” I stalked after her, shouting to be heard over the sirens, “What are you talking about? We need to get out of here!”
Laurie was trembling, eyes wide and wild, exhaustion etched deep into her features. I’d seen her running on fumes before, but this was different; she looked seconds from collapse, held upright only by adrenaline and sheer stubborn will. But when she raised her chin, her jaw set tight, there was a steel in her voice that made my stomach drop.
“No.” Her tone brooked no argument. “I’m not leaving.”
I stared at her incredulously, clamping hands over my ears to drown out the wailing alarm. “Laurie, look at you—you can barely stand!”
Her fingers tightened around the gun and she shook her head. “River, we’rehere!We’re so damn close. If we back out now, all those attacks, all those sacrifices—it’ll be for nothing. We have to finish this.”
“But–” My heart clenched, and my protest stuttered to a halt. God, she was brave. And infuriating. And, unfortunately, she made a compelling argument. I glanced over my shoulder to the others for backup.
All Hunter offered was asorry-can’t-help-youshrug, and Maxine cracked her knuckles with a wide grin. “She has a point. This might be our only shot.”
Dylan looked to Amara, who gave a short nod and signed the words as she spoke them. “We’ve come this far…”
Jordan looked between them and sighed dramatically, talons already lengthening on the tips of her fingers. “All right, guess we’re doing this.”
“Goddammit.” I heaved in a breath, fighting down panic while Laurie’s eyes locked onto mine. I saw the determinationthere—the absolute conviction—and beneath that, a heartbreaking vulnerability. She needed this.
I knew what this meant to her. I’d promised her from the very beginning that I would help her end her enemies, and I had to stick to that promise. I couldn’t let her down now. And so, I held her gaze for a beat, eyes flickering over every inch of her beautiful face, and gave a tight nod.
“Okay.” I breathed out, throat closing as my mind ran through all the terrible ways this could end. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
56
Laurie
We made it exactly three steps out of that goddamn laboratory before the corridor ahead erupted into chaos. An entire squadron of armored security personnel swarmed in like beetles, glossy black combat gear standing in stark contrast to the clinical white of the walls.
They wore riot shields, body armor, and evil-looking hybrid weaponry that told us they meant business. The sirens blared unbearably loud overhead, and these guys shouted louder still, demanding we get on the ground. Unfortunately for them, I’d scored myself seven capable vampire companions, and all of them were ready to bash some heads.
I glanced at River, still completely baffled by the fact that she was here and even more baffled by the fact that she was herefor me. But there wasn’t much time to get teary-eyed about that now.
River looked back at me with steel in her eyes, pupils narrowed to predatory slits and fangs protruding under pursedlips. She unsheathed two cutlasses from the scabbards at her back and held both blades at the ready. “Get behind me.”
I melted a little—and had to firmly remind myself that now was certainly not the time for furious blushing. Maybe it was the adrenaline that made me a little loopy, but the first thought that shot through my mind when I looked her over was ‘hot.’ Had we not been about to dive headfirst into battle, I would have thrown myself at her right then and there. Instead, I cocked my gun and did what she asked, slipping behind her while the rest of the Leyore vampires swept forward in a rush of fangs.
Dylan blinked into being beside the first line of guards, wielding living shadows that swallowed the overhead lights. The sight of it still terrified me, but those curling tendrils of darkness were on my side now. I watched in both awe and horror as that darkness billowed outward. It shielded the massacre happening within, but the rampant gunfire and panicked screams of the guards painted a gruesome picture of what Dylan was up to behind that cloak of shadows.
Hunter entered the fray next, confronting a few of the armored men who managed to slip through the dark mist. She didn’t even need to use her fists; I watched her clasp a hand around one man’s throat, and one spoken command from her mouth had him crumpling, eyes blank, weapons clattering uselessly to the floor.
Maxine cackled beside her and grabbed the stunned guard by the forearm. She let out a whoop that could have rattled the rafters and swung him backwards, sending him crashing into two of his buddies who came running over to help. They both went down, and when they reached for their weapons, Amara blurred past us to intercept them.
