Nikhil lets out a shout behind me, and then his full weight hits Hana, slamming her into my back. I swing around and watch as Sacha takes down a rogue shooter that came from our right, then he grabs hold of Nikhil, who took a bullet to the shoulder, yanking him back to his feet.
My gaze locks with Nikhil’s for a split-second. Thank you.
Nikhil stays behind Hana and Sacha next to her as we begin to move again. I have to let go of her hand to reload my Glock, and feeling her place her hand on my back, I focus on taking as many men down as I can while they close in on us.
When we get to the trees, I grab hold of Hana’s hand and break out into a run, dragging her behind me. When she stumbles, I turn around, and ducking, I throw her over my shoulder. I hold her thighs with one arm as my body powers forward, only stopping when I reach the SUV. I yank the door open and throw her inside the bulletproof vehicle. “Stay,” I snarl, and then I grab the bag with the extra weapons.
Slamming the door shut. I stalk to the front of the car, and opening the bag, I take out a machine gun.
My eyes lock with Nikhil. “Stay with Hana.” He nods as he leans his good shoulder against the passenger side. Taking my spare Glock out, I hand it to him. “Keep her safe.”
Demitri grabs a rifle, while Alexei and Sacha each take a machine gun, and then we form a line in front of the SUV, waiting for the enemy to catch up to us.
As the men begin to appear through the trees, Demitri picks them off one at a time. Eventually, I mutter, “Don’t mind us.”
Demitri lets out a chuckle right before he buries a bullet in the head of another man. When the majority of what’s left comes through the trees, opening fire on us, we return the favor, and feeling the machine gun shaking in my hands makes the corner of my mouth lift. Watching them fall like flies has adrenaline rushing down my spine. It tastes like the sweetest blood to the darkness in me.
“Stop!” one of the Albanians shouts.
Alexei holds his hand up, and it takes all my strength to not keep firing.
“Prifti,” Alexei calls out, “Something tells me you’re unhappy.”
Prifti steps forward, and in his immaculate suit, he looks out of place between the fallen bodies and the remainder of his men. “You shouldn’t have moved into my territory.”
The man took Hana.
He had his men beat her.
He almost fucking killed her.
Before another thought can cross my mind, I pull the trigger. The high of watching Prifti’s body rattle as the bullets hit him makes it feel like I’m fucking soaring.
“Fuck!” Alexei spits out, and then we’re back to waging war.
I feel something bite at my bicep, and a round to the bulletproof vest makes me stagger a step back, sending a wave of pain through my chest and ripping the air from my lungs.
When my machine gun runs empty, Alexei pushes me behind him. Between himself, Demitri, and Sacha, they finish the last of the living off.
I gasp for air as the destruction comes into focus.
Death.
So much death.
My top lip twitches, and my chin lifts as I drink in the bloody mess.
Taking both K-Bars out, my body moves forward, shoving the residual ache in my chest back. As I move between the corpses, I search for any sign of life.
A groan makes my head snap to the left, and crouching, I stare at the light fading in the man’s eyes. My lips curve up as I strike, slashing his neck open. I’m rewarded with a gurgling sound, and then I watch the light fade to nothing.
Rising to my feet, I watch as Sacha shoots another in the head. It takes us a while to work through the bodies, and finally, satisfied that no one is left breathing, I walk back to the SUV.
I yank the back door open, and when Hana doesn’t move fast enough, I grab hold of her arm and pull her against me. My arms wrap around her, and when she grabs hold of me, my body shudders from the relief flooding me.
“We need to go,” Alexei says as he climbs into the passenger side with the duffle bag. Demitri takes the driver’s side, and it makes me push Hana back inside. I get in next to her then pull her onto my lap. My fingers wrap around the back of her neck, and then I fucking smother her bruised and bloody face with kisses.
HANA
The tension only leaves the car when we park in front of a mansion.
We all climb out, and then Alexei turns to me with a warm smile. “Welcome to my home.”
I move forward and wrapping my arms around his waist, I hug him as tightly as I can. “Thank you for coming for me.”
Alexei rubs a hand over my back. “Of course. No one takes my sister.”
Hearing the words, I grin up at him. He presses a kiss to my forehead, then mutters, “Let's go in so we can get cleaned up.”
Alexei pulls away only to grab hold of Tristan’s shoulder, yanking him to his side. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
I turn my gaze to Demitri, and when his lips curve up, I figure it’s okay to hug him. “Thanks, Demitri.”
“You’re welcome,” he murmurs before following close behind Alexei.
“Hana,” Tristan growls, holding his hand out to me. I rush to him, and linking our fingers, we walk into Alexei’s home.
I hear the door shut, and glancing over my shoulder, I watch as Demitri arms the alarm system. He walks to Nikhil, and it makes me tug at Tristan’s hand so he’ll stop.
“Nikhil,” I say to get his attention. When his dark eyes meet mine, emotion pushes up my throat. “Thank you.”
His mouth curves up as he nods.
My gaze goes to Sacha. “Thank you.”
He nods with a smile, making me grin back at him.
Tristan leads me to a luxurious bedroom. I let out a relieved groan that we all made it back alive.
Then I’m swept up against Tristan, and his mouth claims mine in a biting kiss.
We break apart so he can yank my sweater off, and then our lips knead and nip at each other again.
Tristan unzips my pants, and when I struggle with the damn bulletproof vest he’s wearing, I break the kiss and frown at it. “How do I get it off?”
Tristan removes the vest, and when it drops to the floor with a heavy thud, I begin to unbutton his shirt. When I push the fabric over his shoulders, and my eyes lock on the blue bruises over his chest, I still. “Tristan,” I gasp, a deep ache spreading through my heart because he got hurt.
“I’m okay,” he murmurs.
When the shirt drops to the floor and I see the blood on his arm, I shake my head. “You’re not! You got shot.”
Tristan grabs hold of my neck and forces me to look at him. “I’m fine, Hana. It’s a flesh wound.”
His eyes lock on my face, and it’s as if he’s seeing me for the first time. He sucks in a strangled breath, and pain tightens his features. His fingers brush over my jaw and busted lip, and it looks like each bruise causes him physical pain.
“I’m okay,” I whisper.
Slowly he shakes his head. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
Lifting my hand, I press it to his jaw, and he leans into my palm. “I’m okay, my love. You came for me. We all made it out alive. It’s all that matters.”
Tristan sinks to his knees, pulling me down with him. Holding me in a death grip against his chest, I feel his body shudder. I bring a hand to his head and press his face into my neck as I whisper, “Shh… we’re okay.”