Page 21 of Collapsed

It takes me about thirty minutes to reach the storeroom. I had to stop numerous times when I thought I heard voices or movement from below, but I made it. Still cramped in the vent, I wait a few minutes to make sure there is no sound coming from below. When I feel it's safe enough to move, I wrap a bandage through the vent so I can keep hold of it when I pop it out. The last thing I need is for it to come crashing to the ground. I get the bandage tied through and give a hard push. The vent pops out, dangling from the bandage. This vent is in the far back corner of the storage room, and my hope is that no one sees the missing vent.

Below me are stacks of wooden boxes which are used to conceal guns. First, I drop the backpack on the stack with a soft thud. I wait a minute to make sure no one heard before lowering the vent great and letting it drop a shorter distance as well. Once I’m sure no one heard anything, I move my feet through the opening and then the rest of my body until I’m dangling by my hands. My arm is screaming in pain, so I let go quickly and drop onto the stack of boxes. The fall reminds me of what I put my feet through the day before, but there’s no time to bitch and moan. I need to get into a good spot.

I decide to conceal myself behind the stack of boxes I dropped onto. This won’t be where I stay the entire time, and I will move toward the loading docks when it’s time. There’s no point in trying to get into any of these crates for more weapons because I don’t have a crowbar. I already have two guns and can’t risk being heard for whatever is hidden inside. For now, I wait again and mentally prepare myself for the fight ahead. I know I’m going in alone, and the odds of coming out are against me.I did always root for the long shot.

BANG!Something is wrong. It isn’t time yet.BANG! BANG! BANG!Shots are ringing out with little pauses between them. I need to move now. I race to the storage room door and open it just a crack. Once I leave this room, I won’t be able to return because it locks from the outside, so I have to be smart about leaving at the perfect time. Through the tiny crack, I can see three men running past in work uniforms.Those must be Ivan’s men.Come to think of it, I don’t know who the other people are. I could be fighting two different sides when I get in there. Hopefully, whoever Ivan lured here, will turn out to be someone who doesn’t try to kill me too.

Once those men round the corner, I make my move out of the storage room and follow the path the three men took. They are running toward the gunfire at the loading docks. When they reach the open space, they start shooting straight ahead. I can’t see who they’re shooting at, and it appears they are shooting just to shoot.These guys are worse shots than Stormtroopers.They dive to the side behind a stack of pallets. This is my chance to take out some of Ivan’s men before making my way to him. I have a gun in one hand and a knife in the other, but I’m not worried about making any noise. I pull out my gun and fire a shot into the back of the first guy’s head. The other two men turn and start unloading shots in my direction, but I duck low, and it takes only two shots to take them out. Two clean shots, right to the head.Fuck, I’m good.

I move behind the stack of pallets they thought were safe for them, but I make sure no one is coming up behind me. Peering around the corner, I still can’t see who everyone is firing at, which means Ivan’s crew could be out of their league on this one. A few feet from the pallets are some metal drums that will make a better cover so my back isn’t to the hallway I came from.

I make a break for it, not wanting to shoot toward Ivan’s enemies because I don’t know if they’re out for me.Hell, they probably have no idea why a woman wearing oversized pants and no shoes is running through the warehouse.The thought of what someone must think when they see me cheers me up a little. I don’t have to wait long to see someone’s reaction. Around the stack of drums is one of Ivan’s goons. He looks at me and is stunned for a moment. His hesitation is to my benefit as I lunge at him and stab the knife into his side. He falls back with me on top of him, and one of his hands flies up and clips the bottom of my chin. I can taste the metallic flavor in my mouth, letting me know I’m bleeding. Drawing back the knife again, I slam it right through his mouth to the back of his throat.That’s for making me bleed, you fucking fucker.

When I pull out the knife, he lies there gurgling blood out of his mouth like a fountain for a few moments while his body spasms. I decide to finish him, leaning down and slit his throat. Something seems very odd about this situation. Ivan prefers to lurk in the shadows until he strikes. A good old-fashioned shootout is not his usual plan. Whoever is on the other side must have really messed up his plans.I like them already. I just hope they are a friend and not another foe. Those odds are against me too, since I don’t have many friends.

Standing back up, I can hear someone moving on the other side of the drums. Gun ready in one hand and bloody knife in the other, I’m ready for whoever rounds the corner. I press my back against the drums because I want to see who it is before I shoot. If it's one of Ivan’s men, then it’ll be an easy shot, but I still don’t know who they’re fighting against.I’m not sure I could even distinguish between them, so this could be some collateral damage.

Something knocks against the drums to my left, and I ready my position and face that direction. Suddenly, giant arms clamp around me from the back, pinning my arms to the side. I start to kick and flail my legs as hard as I can, but it feels like I’m kicking a wall. I swing my head back, hoping to slam into their face, but I only hit what must be their chest.So this fucker is tall.Finally, I tilt my knife slightly up and slice it into their forearm.

“Calm the fuck down, Luci,” the man behind me whispers.Luci!?My body goes limp as all the air escapes my lungs. His strong arms release me, and my feet land on the ground. I can’t even turn around because I’m so afraid when I do, it won’t be real. This is all a dream. Maybe I’m still tied to the bed, and this is all a dream.

“Nat?” his voice is smooth and questioning. Slowly, my body starts to turn. My eyes start noticing the sheer size of the man in front of me, but my eyes don’t look up. They can’t. I won’t let myself be tricked. A tattooed hand moves under my chin and lifts it gently. I can barely see him through the tears filling my eyes. “Baby... you’re safe.” He wraps his arms around me again, but this time I welcome them. “I got you.”

I melt into his embrace. Inhaling his scent, reality hits me.King! He’s alive!My hands press against him, and I push myself back. He looks at me, puzzled, but I need to see him. I need to make sure this is real. I look at him for just a moment before I jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. In one motion, his hands move under my ass and lift me to sit against his hips. My legs respond by wrapping around him. Our mouths crash together, and I waste no time pushing my tongue between his lips. He reacts, doing the same. Everything around us seems to fade away. This moment is one I thought was lost forever. I thought I had lost them forever.Them!

Pulling myself away again, King groans his disapproval of my movement. “You’re alive,” I gasp. My breath still has not fully returned to me.

“Of course I’m alive. I’m never leaving you,” King responds.

“Stryker? Alexie?” I ask.

“They’re here,” he says. “We came for you.”

My lips slam back into his. I can’t believe they’re alive. My heart has been breaking over and over since I was taken from them. Ivan made me believe they were gone forever, but it was another way to try to break me down. I’m savoring every moment with King when I feel my feet touch the ground, forcing me to stretch my neck up to keep our mouths together.

King walks me backward until my back is against the drums. One of his hands starts to slide down my side, then moves towards the front. I let out a hissing noise when his hand moves over my wound, and he pulls back slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just a minor gunshot wound. Nothing to worry about,” I try to assure him.

His face tells me he’s not going to stop worrying about it. I lift my shirt slightly to show him the bandages. His eyes go feral, and I look down to see that I must have busted some stitches because I’m bleeding through the bandage.Shit.

“King,” I bring his attention back to me. “I’m fine. Don’t ruin this moment. I'll stitch it back up later.”

He brings his face close to mine, and I hope he kisses me again. “I will destroy him for this,” he says.

“You need to get in line behind me,” I retort.

A smirk grows on his lips, and he presses them against mine again. His hand continues roaming until it reaches the top of the oversized sweatpants. He pushes his hand down the front and pauses. I’m not wearing any underwear, and I know he’s wondering what has happened for me to come to this situation dressed the way I am.

“King, please,” I beg him to continue.

King

Gunfirecontinuestosoundaround us. “You need to come, Luci. Come now, or you risk dying with lady blue balls,” I growl at her while flicking my finger quickly back and forth on her little bundle of nerves. She mewls into my mouth, and just as she starts to moan her release, she lifts her gun and fires behind us. “Fuck, baby, did you just kill a guy while I finger fuck this tight pussy?”

“Yes,” she gasps as she rides my fingers through her climax. That’s so fucking hot, but also, she’s going to get a punishment for it later. No one sees her in the throws of passion but me and our team. Growling, I nip the tip of her nose before pulling my hand from her pants and sucking the fingers that were just playing with her pussy.

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