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Marching back to the door, Ethan braced his foot against the doorjamb and wrapped both hands around the doorknob, pulling with all the weight he could behind it. The door wouldn’t move.
Voices could be heard through the door and Ethan froze. There was someone else in the hallway with Julianna. He didn’t know who it was, but there was no sound of gunfire. Was it Winter? Something in his gut said no.
Ethan released the doorknob and banged loudly on the door with both fists, trying to draw the person away from Julianna. He had no weapon. No way of effectively defending himself, but if he could just buy Julianna a few minutes, maybe they’d be able to last until Marcus or his brothers could reach them.
A scream pierced the air and then was cut short. Ethan cried out, backing away from the door. There were more sounds, deeper male voices. Voices in pain and angry. Ethan’s knees gave out and he found himself sitting on the floor in the center of the room.
Something heavy banged against the door and Ethan’s heart jumped. With a trembling hand, he pushed against the floor and climbed to his feet. He would face Julianna’s killer standing. The heavy weight pounded against the door one more time before exploding inward.
Marcus stumbled inside, his shirt soaked in blood. His face was pale, and tears filled his eyes. “Ethan,” he said on a relieved sigh.
“Oh God, Marcus,” Ethan gasped. He rushed across the room, wanting to launch himself at Marcus but at the same time he was afraid of hurting him. Marcus solved the problem by wrapping his arm around Ethan’s shoulders and pulling him in against his chest. “Julianna?”
Marcus shook his head before pressing his face into Ethan’s hair. “No. We didn’t reach her in time.”
“I’m sorry. She locked me inside. I couldn’t—”
“I know. She was trying to protect you.”
Ethan helped Marcus down the stairs and along the hall to where the other three brothers were standing around a man kneeling on the ground as he held Julianna’s body in his arms. There were three other dead bodies on the floor, but only one of them wore the body armor he saw on the men as they were coming through the back door. The other two appeared to be in regular street clothes, but wielding knives instead of guns.
“I’m taking her out of here. I have…I have a place for her,” the man murmured against Julianna’s hair.
“Go, Aiden. We’ll say our final good-byes later,” Bel said. He shoved one hand through his hair, pushing it from his face and smearing blood on his forehead in the process. “We’ll stay and arrange for the cleaner. Secure Marcus’s place for the day.”
Ethan watched as Aiden gently cradled Julianna against his chest as he rose to his feet. They watched him slowly walk away before their attention was turned to the other dead bodies littering Marcus’s floor.
“I don’t understand,” Rafe murmured. “Who did this? And why?”
“The humans were a part of the Humans Protecting Humans League,” Winter replied. He lifted his gaze from the floor, pinning Ethan with eyes so pale blue they almost looked white. “As for the why, I suggest we ask one of their members.”
Ethan’s heart lurched in his chest and started racing. He tried to retreat, but Marcus’s hand grabbed his and tightened, holding him in place. He looked over at Marcus, seeing the pleading there and he could barely breathe. “I can explain. I swear. I didn’t know about this.”
But with each word he spoke, the hope died in Marcus’s eyes and was replaced with rage. He wouldn’t be surprised if Marcus killed him that night, and he couldn’t blame him. It was what he deserved, but he wanted a chance to try to make it right.
Chapter Eighteen
Ethan found himself quickly hustled to the library, where he spent the better part of an hour tied to a chair with a rag stuffed in his mouth while the others handled getting what they called “cleaners” in the house to get rid of the dead bodies. Bullets were removed and other wounds were covered with gauze and tape. Supplies were also found to secure the front and back doors for the day.
He could hear them arguing with Marcus to go feed, but his boss refused to leave the house until he had the truth of what the fuck was going on. Ethan had a feeling that he was going to end up being Marcus’s meal when he didn’t supply them with the answers they wanted. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure they weren’t going to believe what he had to say.
Closing his eyes, Ethan dropped his head forward. He should have told Marcus weeks ago. Come clean. Maybe they would have been better prepared. Maybe they could have attacked the League instead of the other way around. He didn’t know, but his mind kept circling back to Julianna. If he’d done things differently, she’d be alive now.
