He lunged for her just as an explosion rocked the lodge, scattering the papers off the table. Then the entire world lit up outside.
Karma turned to run.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Pure panic and raw rage had Benny jumping out of the helicopter before the thing had neared the ground. He hit wet pine needles and rolled, coming up firing. Karma was in the hands of the enemy. By herself. The beast at his core roared in fury, and the mating mark on his hand pounded as if he’d just been branded with a hot poker.
She. Was. His.
If this was love, it wasn’t at all what he’d thought. He turned and fired into the neck of the nearest soldier and then ducked as a series of knives flew over his head. Grizzly bears careened from the forest, the lead bear creating a zigzag pattern as he identified the areas of land mines without glasses.
Impressive.
Benny ran toward what appeared to be the main lodge with Sam and Logan flanking him. A trio of Cyst soldiers barreled out of the smaller building next to the lodge, firing rapidly. Ducking, he turned and tackled the first Cyst to the ground while Logan and Sam engaged the other two.
Garrett leaped over Benny’s head to take down two Kurjan soldiers who’d run out of the main lodge.
The Cyst soldier beneath him punched Benny’s neck and scraped his claws across Benny’s jugular. Pain flashed, and his skin gaped open.
He punched down several times, cracking the soldier’s nose and eye sockets. The Cyst wrapped both legs around Benny’s torso and squeezed, twisting to the side and punching Benny in the hip, right below his shield. Agony flashed hot and deep inside his body, and he sent emergency healing cells to keep him moving.
“Get off me,” he growled, grasping a knife from the sheath in his boot and stabbing it through the soldier’s thigh. The hold loosened. He had to get inside the lodge before Terre could kill Karma. Benny knew enough from his research and few torture sessions with the asshole that he would kill Karma before he’d let Benny take her back. He twisted the knife up the thigh and planted the blade in the Cyst soldier’s groin.
The guy let out a high-pitched scream and grabbed the handle, rolling to the side.
Benny struggled to his feet and contained his own pain in a box to be dealt with later. His right foot had gone numb, but he ran through soldiers fighting hand-to-hand and tried to dodge the lasers shot at him. Several hit his chest and fell useless to the ground. One whizzed by his still-injured neck and singed the skin.
He kept running.
Two Cyst soldiers dropped from a tree near the entrance to the lodge. Before Benny could engage them, an enormous grizzly bear took them out from the side.
“Thanks, Bear,” he yelled, ducking his head and running faster toward the lodge. Smoke billowed from the side, and it looked as if fire was rapidly spreading throughout.
The front door opened, and Jaydon calmly stepped outside, weapons visible across his chest. He shut the door and smiled. “You’re not getting past me.”
“Wanna bet?” Benny ran full-bore for the general as the soldier yanked a small sword free and held it in front of his body. At the last second, Benny dropped into a slide and took the bastard out at the knees. Jaydon dropped, and Benny grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him into the door, smashing the entire thing inward.
Jaydon caught himself just inside and backflipped to his feet. “You’ll pay, hybrid.” Blood dripped from his mouth and fangs.
“Karma!” Benny bellowed, kicking shards of wood out of his way as he approached the general.
No answer came from within the lodge. Dangerous gray smoke billowed from the hallway, and the crackle of fire could be heard over the fighting and rain outside. Maybe Karma was in one of the other buildings. Roaring wildly, Jaydon lowered his chin and rushed Benny.
Benny pivoted and kicked the general in the gut. Pain ricocheted up his leg to his already-damaged hip, and he fell back into the damaged door frame.
Jaydon manacled him by the neck and lifted before dropping onto one knee. Benny partially turned in the nick of time to keep his neck from being broken. He shifted and elbowed Jaydon in the gut, groin, and finally neck. Then he followed up by flipping around, landing on his feet, and yanking Jaydon over his shoulder.
The Cyst soldier flew across the room to land on a hard wooden chair, smashing the entire thing to the ground.
Benny paused. The scent of wildfires by a river filled his head. Karma. She’d been there. He kicked another chair out of the way and stomped over to Jaydon, who was struggling to get up. Benny stole a knife from the back of Jaydon’s waist and shoved it in the male’s nape.
Jaydon gasped and went down.
Benny straddled him and gently pulled the knife to the left. “Where is she, General? Tell me now.”
Jaydon groaned and struggled beneath him, facedown. He planted his hands and pushed up, nearly dislodging Benny. “She’s gone, asshole,” Jaydon grunted. “Terre killed her the second you landed.”
Benny twisted back and forth, nearly decapitating the monster. “Last chance. Tell me, and I won’t cut off your head.”
Jaydon kicked up, bending his knee. The force of his boot hit Benny square in the back. Fortunately, his shielded torso protected his internal organs. Jaydon cried out as the sound of his foot breaking filled the room. Then he struggled wildly, nearly dislodging Benny.
Benny viciously wrenched the knife back and forth, effectively knocking out the big bastard. Fire rushed in from the other side of the room. He had only seconds to find her. Cutting off Jaydon’s big-assed head would take too long. “We’ll meet again,” Benny growled.
Then he stood. “Karma!” he yelled.
There was no answer.
* * * *
Karma struggled against Terre’s hold as he dragged her down rough stairs through a hidden hallway, his tablet in his hand. “Stop,” she said, pushing against him.
He backhanded her and kept going.
Pain exploded in her face and through her skull. She tried to look behind her, but he’d closed the door against the fire. Her girls were up there. She fought him, punching and kicking, but he didn’t relent. “The kids are up there. We have to get them,” she hissed, trying to find purchase with her boots.
They reached a dirt floor, and Terre pulled her through a doorway and pushed her inside. She flew across a small room and caught herself at the far wall before turning.
Terre shut and locked the door by using a keypad to the right of the knob. Lights were already on across the ceiling, and he strode toward a computer console in the room next to another doorway that appeared locked. “Sit down and shut up.” He leaned over and punched keys on a keyboard before grasping a phone from beneath the desk and dialing. A gun was stuck in the back of his waist. “Dayne? Where are you?”