Knox released her and went to the windows, tugged the drapes closed to provide them with some cover. He went back to Skye and took hold of her hand again, and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“We’re moving again.” He looked at her, sure she would refuse now that her fear levels were dropping. She felt safe in this room, but they couldn’t remain here. He needed to reach his bedroom.
She surprised him by nodding, that determination flashing in her eyes again.
Knox kept low with her still, not trusting that the males wouldn’t shoot out the windows, taking potshots in the hope the bullets would hit a mark. He banked right, heading for a door there. Skye kept up with him as they reached the corridor beyond it, as he took a left and led her along the hallway that allowed access to the other four bedrooms of the lodge.
His was the only one on the left side of the hallway. They reached the door and he opened it, pulled her inside and released her. He was thankful he had left the drapes that covered the only window in the room closed this morning. It meant he didn’t have to close them, something that might have given their position away to the men.
“Wait here.” He glanced at Skye and then hurried across the room to the double bed. He opened the drawer on the nightstand and pulled out the gun he had taken from Karl.
Checked it was loaded.
“Do you know how to use that thing?” Skye hissed.
“Sort of.” He could pull the trigger and that was all there was to it, wasn’t it?
“Sort of?” Her voice gained pitch and she scurried across the floor to him, a scowl darkening her features. She held her hand out to him expectantly. “Give me the gun. I’ve handled them at ranges before and know what to do if it seizes.”
Hell no. There was no way he was giving her the gun. What kind of man would he look like then? He certainly wouldn’t look great in her eyes, having to rely on a female to do his fighting for him. He could handle this.
He glanced at the gun. How hard could it be? Point. Shoot. He had done just that back in the woods.
“Is this a matter of male pride? I’m not going to think less of you because you let me have the gun.” Skye rolled her fingers, a stern edge to her eyes now.
He pretended not to notice the hint to give her the gun or the fact she could apparently see straight through him.
“I’ve got this. Stay put and stay low.” He moved to the door before she could protest and closed it behind him, lessening the chances of her seeing him fighting and the chances of the men finding her.
He flexed his fingers around the grip of the pistol. Frowned at it. Was he meant to hold it in both hands? He tried to think of how the people held guns in the movies and TV shows that Lowe loved downloading to his tablet whenever he was in town. He shrugged as he reached the wall that the fireplace backed onto and tried holding it in one hand, aiming it at the wall, and then tried again with two hands. Two hands felt better.
Rather than heading back through the bedroom to his right, he eased towards the open door at the end of the corridor to his left, one that led into the living room. He quickly peered around the door when he reached it and ducked behind cover. Probably a mistake. If the sniper had noticed him, he would have just given his position away. He grunted and flattened himself against the floor, crawling out in a marine commando way.
The front door off to his right burst open.
Knox’s gaze swung that way.
Met Karl’s.
Knox kicked off, hurling himself behind the L-shaped couch just as the male opened fire. Bullets ripped up the floorboards where he had been and he kept on moving as the second male, Wade, opened fire too. The assault rifle the bastard had made fast work of chewing up the black couch, whittling down Knox’s cover and forcing him to move. He twisted and went to kick off again, his focus on the door of the larder directly opposite him, his thoughts on how the thick log wall would provide him with some cover.
A bullet ripped through the couch back and through his right arm, carving a hole in his biceps that felt like someone had just poured molten lava into his muscles and bones.
He grunted and moved the gun to his left hand, couldn’t hold back the growl that rumbled up his throat as his canines elongated, as the agony and the rage and his need to protect Skye had the urge to shift surging through him. Thankfully, the pain kept it in check a little, but only a little.
Normally, pain forced bears and other shifters out of their animal forms, but right now he felt as if he could shift if he wanted it. Because Skye was in danger? His primal instinct to protect her was strong, had dense brown fur rippling over his body despite the fire that burned along his arm.
Knox shut it down and kicked off, hurled himself into the larder and collided with a lot of metal pots Lowe had stacked on the lower shelves, completely giving away his position. Not good. He ducked behind the thick log wall as bullets tore into the door and several thudded into the tins and packets of food stored in the room.
When the hail of bullets halted, a thick silence fell, interrupted only by the steady dripping of soup and other liquid from the punctured cans. Knox glanced around the door and fired off a few rounds. All of them missed, but he got better with the gun with each shot. The last one he fired before Wade finished reloading his assault rifle and unleashed hell on him had come close to nailing the bastard.
Knox growled at the thought of taking him down, both the bear and the man in him hungry for it to happen. The human would pay for the way he had acted around Skye, for that twisted flare of interest that had lit his eyes from time to time.
He curled into the corner as bullets shredded more of the food, causing an unholy mess that he knew his twin wasn’t going to be happy about. If Knox survived this, he had one hell of a cleaning job ahead of him.
The gunfire halted again and Knox grinned and poked his head out. His turn. A bullet ripped into the doorframe right beside his head and he ducked back, his heart lodged in his throat. Fine. Not his turn. He growled and snarled as he realised he was pinned, that if he tried to look to aim, he was going to get his head blown off by the males who were waiting, biding their time.
A grunt sounded and Knox smelled blood. Not his.
He risked it, peeked out from behind his cover and really growled as he saw Wade and Karl both glaring at the door he had closed behind him and Skye, to the left of the fireplace. It was open. Fear sank icy claws into him as he looked at it, the relief that flowed through him when he didn’t see Skye there only taking the edge off it.
Wade gripped the small knife lodged in his bicep and tugged it out, glared at it and then cast it aside. When the male turned towards the door, looking as if he was going to go after Skye, Knox lost it.
He growled as he broke cover, as his vision sharpened and locked onto Wade and he lifted his gun. He squeezed the trigger as soon as he had it lined up, wanted to roar as the bullet nailed Wade in the back of his head and blood sprayed across the wall in front of him.
He swung the gun to the left, aiming it at Karl.
Pulled the trigger as he grinned.
The gun clicked.
Just clicked.
No bullet.
No incredible looking and somewhat epic moment that would have Skye swooning.
“Shit,” he bit out.
Karl smiled coldly and aimed his own pistol at Knox’s head.
Skye came blazing out of the bedroom and leaped on Karl’s back, throwing him off balance. He staggered backwards, his arm lifting as she locked hers around his throat and heaved. The bullet tore into the pitched ceiling. Karl regained his balance but kept moving backwards and slammed her into the wall.