Page 98 of Glutton for Punishment

And then I see her—

Thrown several feet across the pavement, bracing herself on shaking arms.

My heart stutters as I sprint to her side.

“I’m okay,” she gasps before I can ask, already forcing herself to her feet. Relief hits me so hard my knees almost go.

A mocking laugh echoes through the smoke, making my heckles rise.

“I hate we have to meet like this. You should’ve followed Amaya’s advice and stayed in your own territory, brother.”

Chapter 28

Maddox

My blood goes cold as the smoke parts enough to reveal Kael standing in the wreckage with a grin split across his scarred face. Vex saunters up beside him, amusement on his tatted face.

I look to Kael’s left and find Teeth twitching with restrained excitement.

It feels like everything happens in slow motion as I shove Arwen behind me and draw my gun.

Gunfire erupts before anyone else speaks. I fire twice at Kael’s approaching team, while grabbing Arwen’s wrist and hauling her toward the nearest stack of steel crates.

Bullets spark against metal around us. One ricochets inches from her head. She stumbles with me behind cover as the dockyard erupts into full chaos.

Duval’s men pour from nearby buildings, weapons drawn. Kael’s forces answer with a barrage of gunfire. Workers scream and dive behind forklifts, shipping crates, vehicles—anything they can find.

The entire yard becomes a battlefield in seconds. I grab Arwen’s shoulders, forcing her to look at me. “Stay here.”

Her face is pale but furious. “You know I can help—”

“You don’t know the way they fight. Stay here where you’re safe, bonded. No arguments.”

I don’t wait for her reply before turning and charging back into the fray where my men are already engaging alongside Duval’s. I drop one of Kael’s shooters with a clean shot to the head before sliding behind a forklift for cover.

Then something strange happens. Bullets stop. They just… fall.

Enemy rounds flying toward our line suddenly drop to the ground midair like they’ve struck something solid and invisible.

A wall.

No—

A shield.

I turn and see Duval striding forward through the gunfire like a tank, jaw set, expression carved from stone. His men move with renewed confidence behind him as round after round pings uselessly against the unseen barrier surrounding our part of the battlefield.

So that’s his power. Absorption. Force meets his shield and dies there.

He catches my eye for half a second. A silent message.

I chose my side.

Good. Now I know he didn’t set me up. I can’t say it wasn’t in the back of my mind. There’s no doubting his loyalty now.

“Push left!” I bark to my men as they move to a more offensive position. Duval’s shield advances with us as cover while we press forward.

Teeth shrieks something manic and starts draining power from one of his own men—his guard visibly withering as Teeth glows with stolen strength.