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“Zan—”
“I told you that I want you to be happy here. I’ve been patient, but you’re still keeping me at arm’s length, and I’m going fucking insane,” he said gruffly, his hand going to the back of my neck to pull me closer. “I can make you scream with pleasure in so many ways, Kali. Without having sex. All you need to do is say yes.”
Heat fluttered in my lower stomach, the cold rain doing nothing to dull the fire in my veins from his touch. I didn’t get a chance to respond, because a second later, he turned his head, looking toward the cliffs again. His stare was intense, and he tilted his head, as if listening for something.
“We need to go,” he said abruptly. “Something’s off. And I can’t hear as well with this rain.”
I let out a cry of surprise when he suddenly swung me around until he shifted to the spot I’d just been standing in. His hand dropped from my neck, and he lurched forward, nearly falling into me. A grunt of pain left him that had my fear spiking.
“Zan,” I said, alarm in my voice. “What’s going on?—”
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand, hauling me away from the stairs. Until he winced again, his steps faltering. This time I heard it. Something hit him. My eyes fell, and I searched his body until I saw his black blood running down his side. I whipped my head up, looking for where the shots were coming from.
“We have to get back,” he forced out, pain lacing his voice. “Fuck. If PARA is doing another raid during the day, I need to find my brothers.”
He stumbled again when another wooden bullet hit him, and he hissed out a curse as we crossed the road to get back to the tunnel.
“Shit.” He glanced over his shoulder before pushing me in front of him. “Go, Kali. I’ll meet you there. Get back to Impulse.”
I followed his gaze, my heart clenching when I spotted two large vehicles racing toward us. There was no way we’d make it back to the tunnel before they reached us. Especially when they kept shooting at Zan. He doubled over when he was hit in the stomach, and I grabbed his arm, trying to drag him with me.
“I’m not leaving you here,” I panted, dragging him only a few more steps before he let out a groan when his leg was hit.
“They won’t kill me,” he muttered thickly. “I’m a Kane.”
“Some things are worse than death,” I retorted, keeping the terror out of my voice. “If PARA gets you, then you’ll be wishing you were dead.”
“I’ll be fine.” His voice was sharp. “I need you to go. I can handle myself.”
But by now, one of the trucks cut in front of us, cutting off our route to the tunnel. The other one halted to our left, and two men wearing masks had guns pointed at us out of the open windows. They all had reflective goggles on, making it impossible for Zan to entrance them. They weren’t in military uniform, but that didn’t mean anything. PARA wore whatever they wanted if they weren’t in civilian cities.
“Don’t fucking move,” one of them yelled at us. “Or we’ll shoot.”
“It’s me you want,” Zan gritted out. “I’ll go. Just let her walk away.”
I barely swallowed my scream when one of the men shot again, hitting Zan in the shoulder. He let out a snarl, keeping himself in front of me. The rain was still coming down hard, and my body trembled from both the cold and this situation. I’d left my stake in the bedroom, and I hated that I didn’t have a weapon. Though a piece of wood wouldn’t help me against their guns.
“You’re in no position to make deals.” The masked man’s eyes cut to me. “Kill her. Bring him with us.”
My mouth grew dry, terror seeping into my bones. Zan went rigid, backing into me as if making sure my body was hidden from the men in both trucks. The way he was in front of me made it impossible for them to shoot at me.
“You want her, then you’ll have to go through me.” Zan’s voice was cold and deadly, vastly different from how he spoke to me. He sounded fucking terrifying. “Go ahead. Get out of your trucks and come get her.”
Two of the men had a whispered conversation that I hoped Zan could hear through the rain. I straightened up, an idea hitting me. Tim. He’d told me about the bag of weapons that they’d put on the beach under those rocks. If I could make it down there, then we might actually stand a chance.
Another shot rang out, and Zan hunched over slightly when he was hit again. I bit my lip. They wouldn’t come after me until he wasn’t a threat anymore.
“Zan,” I said under my breath. “Do you trust me?”
“Do not do anything right now,” he said between heavy breaths. “I can handle all of them. I just need you to find some place to hide so I can go after them.”
“I’m going back to the beach.”
He paused, his eyes staying on the trucks. “Why?”
“Because that’s the only place we stand a chance.”
“The woods are a better choice.”
