To hurt the enforcer as much as he could.
In short, Mac was the asshole of assholes. I was glad I’d killed him—and even happier I’d made it hurt. As soon as he was dead, I checked his body for weapons. I took his gun and the spiked club. It was smaller than I’d thought it would be, just a black club the size of a police baton studded all over with half-inch silver stakes. I held it up, looking past it to Calvin. He blanched.
“I’m on your side, Lea. I’m fighting with you.”
“You tackled me.”
“If I hadn’t, his blow would have embedded you with more of the stakes in that club.” He pointed. A part of me knew he was right, I’d seen Mac’s memories of that incident too.
“Three strikes and you’re out. You’ve had two, so in other words—” I tipped my head to the door, “—don’t fuck up again.”
CHAPTER 32
RACHEL
All hell had broken loose, keeping me busy enough not to think about what Stravinsky had said about me being Lea’s servant. I knew she’d played the situation to grab an edge—and I had played my part—but deep inside, I also knew he was right.
But I had to focus on getting out of this melee. I wouldn’t be anyone’s servant, least of all my own, if I didn’t survive.
While General Hamm was here, it was obvious the men he’d brought with him weren’t real soldiers. They were poorly trained, poorly coordinated, and out of their element against a vampire, a werewolf, a Cazador whose hands were still bound, and me.
We were making good progress, but I noticed a group of men moving toward an open garage door I hadn’t noticed in the back corner—and an armored vehicle, specially equipped with nozzles and hoses attached to big tanks. The engines revved.
I was fighting off two guys, but Antonio was closer to the tank. “Stop them!”
“Busy, mi amor!” he shouted as he fought off two men with several good kicks since his hands were still bound.
Lea cut a path of blood and destruction as she made her way across the room, getting closer and closer to Stravinsky. After disposing of my two attackers, I got close enough to Antonio to cut his zip tie.
Lea finally made it across the room to Stravinsky, but I didn’t hear what she said—I was too busy watching Calvin tackle her just as a tall guy with arm muscles the size of my thighs swung a thick silver club covered in spikes square against Lea’s head.
I’d seen her take many hits before, but this was different from all the others. Her body went limp and I released a scream as Ivan roared in anguish. I started to rush toward her, but Antonio grabbed my arm and held me back as a new wave of guards rushed through the open garage door.
The muscled man scooped up Lea like she was a rag doll, her bloody head drooping over his arm. Ivan hesitated, torn between wanting to go to her and staying to fight, and released another roar.
I lost sight of her as we fought off the fresh guards, not an easy task since we were out numbered five to one. I fought off my rising panic. Lea had looked dead. I reminded myself vampires were hard to kill, but she was defenseless. Calvin had followed them and he wasn’t to be trusted. If she wasn’t dead, she would be soon. I had to get to her.
Especially before the bombs went off.
Oh shit. How much time did we have left?
We also needed to stop that tank, but I couldn’t do it with this gaggle of asshats in my path.
A new burst of rage channeled into energy, and I took out three men as Antonio and Ivan cut down the men surrounding them.
I had a clear shot to both the garage and the hall Lea had disappeared down, but who to follow? My head told me to try to save the village, but I felt a strong tug toward Lea.
Was it because of our friendship, or did I really have a supernatural bond to Lea that superseded everything else? It pissed me off to think she’d tricked me into something so permanent without my approval, but I’d deal with it later.
I had to get to her.
I heard the first explosion as I bolted across the room.
I gasped and shot a glance toward Antonio and Ivan.
“Time to go,” Antonio said after his fist connected with his last attacker’s temple, sending the man crumpling to the floor.
“I have to go after her,” Ivan said, but I grabbed his arm.
“This whole place is going to blow, Ivan. We have to get out now.” But even as I said the words, I felt the same urge.
“Lea…”
“Is a vampire. She’ll survive this too.” If she was still alive, but I had this weird sense that she was. “We’ll come back and find her.”
He started to protest, but another explosion shook the building and sent a chunk of the ceiling crashing to the floor.