Page 165 of Barinov

Lex’s head snaps up. The pupils of his eyes have swallowed the blue entirely, leaving nothing but two ink-black pits of rage.

“Motherfucker!” Lex screams as he lunges in an off-balance strike fueled by agony.

Laing doesn’t even break a sweat. He sidesteps like he saw it coming a mile away, driving his elbow into the back of Lex’s head and sending him face-first into the dirt.

“Babe,” I gasp, the word dying in the air as Sabine pulls me back, warm fingers interlocking with mine. Her grip is the only thing keeping me upright as I stare down at Lex’s unmoving body.

“He’ll be fine, chéri,” she whispers, though I don’t believe her for a moment. “Knox? Vitals please.”

“One-eighty-one,” he says. “Breathing is barely within the limits you gave me, Sabine.”

She nods, rubbing her thumb in circles over mine.

“Get up, Barinov,” Laing grits, looming over him.

Lex’s attention jerks to the treeline again.

“B-bella?” he whispers, blinking hard as he pushes himself to his feet. He strides away from Laing, rubbing his palms into his eyes.

My jaw locks as Laing takes advantage of Lex’s distraction. A brutal shot to his bad shoulder that sends Lex tumbling to his knees.

“Hurry it up, Laing. We can’t risk much more of this,” Knox mutters into the comms.

“And watch that fucking shoulder,” Tex adds. “He has to be able to fight in Rome, you jackass.”

Laing reaches down and yanks Lex to his feet by a fistful of his sweat-soaked, black hair.

“The undisputed Hollow King,” he sneers. He rears a fist back and slams his knuckles to Lex’s cheek. Then another hit that splits Lex’s lip clean open.

He releases the grip on Lex’s hair and lets him drop to the ground.

“Get up, Lex,” Rez whispers through his fingers beside me. “For the love of God, get up.”

“I don’t see the hype.” Laing scoffs, cracking his neck. “Iz obviously chose the wrong fucking man. No worries, once you’re out of the way I’ll swoop back in like I always do.”

Lex scrambles to his feet, shaking his head to clear his vision. He’s already swinging before his feet are steady. Already stumbling before his fists connect. Laing dodges every hit Lex throws at him, laughing the entire time.

Lex falls to one knee, breathing hard as he aimlessly tries to swat at Laing’s legs.

“What can I say?” Laing shrugs, turning his back with arrogance. “Ladies love the dragon.”

The silence that follows is deafening. Lex stills. The frantic heaving of his chest stops. An eerie, glacial calm washes over him as he rises from the dirt like a damn revenant.

No more stumbling or looking for Bella.

Just glaring at the man who once dared to claim her.

In a blur, Lex is on him. He hits Laing like a freight train from behind, grappling his waist and launching him over his shoulder in a high-arc suplex that thrashes the breath out of the entire clearing. Lex is on top of him in a heartbeat. He locks his fingers around Laing’s windpipe, squeezing with a strength that isn’t human.

Laing’s face goes purple, his hands fumbling with Lex’s wrist. “Anytime… Rez…” he chokes out.

Rez moves like a shadow. He’s there in a flicker, plunging another needle into the side of Lex’s neck. Lex’s grip slackens. His manic strength drains out of him as the sedative hits his bloodstream.

The haze clears. Lex stumbles back, falling into Rez’s arms, blinking as the world comes back into focus.

“Vitals are leveling out,” Knox’s voice hits my ear. “Thank fuck.”

“Never doubted him,” Sabine says, her shoulders dropping.