Oberi barked loudly. I couldn’t help but crack a smile beneath my ski mask as every patron in the room followed my orders.
Well, almost everyone.
Something clicked, and I felt thewhooshof a dart fly through the air. A sharp pain entered my leg, and a magical substance emptied into me.
I yanked on the dart and tossed it aside. Laughter bubbled up in my throat. “Noxite? Please.”
I aimed my gun forward.
The guard’s at three o’clock, Oberi told me.
I pulled the trigger. A blast of Air shot with such clear precision that it went straight through the guard’s leg. He let out a pained cry that echoed off the wall of the lobby. Athudsounded as he landed on the ground, writhing.
I could sense his magic. He was the dragon shifter from earlier, and I could feel it as he started to shift.
I hauled Ava out of her chair roughly with one arm, and held her body to mine as I pressed the end of the gun into the side of her temple. “Change, and I’ll blow her brains out,” I snarled to the shifter.
Ava began to sob loudly. “For the gods’ sakes, do as he says!”
The guard hesitated, then came forward. Oberi growled, warning him to stay put.
“One step closer and she’s dead!” I warned. I tangled a hand in her hair and yanked it to the side. Ava cried harder.
“Please! He’s not fucking around!” Ava wailed.
“Let him do what he wants, so he lets the girl go!” a woman in the bank shouted. I heard the guards begin to back off.
You okay, pidge?I asked through the bond. I worried I was going too hard.
Perfect,she replied.We’ve got to put on a show, right?
She pressed her ass against me, and I got hard immediately. Her seduction called to me through our bond, telling me how much she was enjoying this— like this was one of the scenarios we played out in our bedroom and not life or death. We were playing it up, not just for the guards, but for each other.
This was hot. More than that, it was fucking thrilling, living on the edge like this with everything on the line, and both of us were getting pleasure from this sick performance. I would’ve thrown my wife on the floor and fucked her right there in front of all these people if we didn’t have a job to do, but we did, so I just held Ava closer to me and pressed my dick against her so she knew it was there. She barely held back a moan of delight.
“Anyone else want to be a hero?” Marcus shouted, and he fired a few more shots.
People whimpered, but nobody moved.
I cocked my head to Marcus. “Clear out the offices.”
Marcus disappeared into the hallway, while I continued pointing the gun at Ava’s head.
“Ivy, an update,” I ordered.
“I’m getting the feed back now,” they said. “Aaaand… I’ve got visual on you in the lobby.”
“Kallie?” I asked.
“I’m working on cracking the combination, but I need more time,” she insisted.
The sounds of frightened people increased in the room as Marcus returned. “I found a couple of employees hiding, including this big wig.”
He pushed someone to the ground in front of me, and the man gave anoofas he fell at my feet. My Elven magic told me he was a vampire— probably the head of the bank.
I raised my voice as I said, “We need somevolunteersto help us get what we came for. Anyone want to be kind enough to help us into a vault? We’dsoappreciate the hospitality.”
Not a damn soul stepped forward. The vampire on the floor let out a raspy chuckle. “You’re dreaming if you think you’re getting anywhere near that vault.”
