Page 194 of Barinov

My wrist vibrates again.

I know Knox!

“I’m fine, babe,” I force out, my eyes rolling. “I’m just—”

BANG! BANG!

Luca shoves upright. “What the hell?”

BANG!

“Finally,” I breathe. A jagged laugh rips from my throat as I reach for the nightstand.

“What did you say, Izzy?” he mumbles, his fingers dig into my hip as another shot ricochets through the house.

My fingers lock around the cool, red glass. “I was just saying…” I roll, swinging my body around to face him. The moonlight catches the lethal edge of the swan’s pointed beak. “That’s not my fucking name.”

“Izzy—”

I don’t let him finish. I put every ounce of my adrenaline into the arc and slam the glass into his temple. The force sends his head snapping to the side. Luca’s body goes limp, collapsing back into the pillows as a dark streak of red trickles down his cheek.

“My name,” I hiss, scrambling off of the bed. I rip the diamond ring off of my finger and hurl it at his unmoving body “Is Isabella Marie Blackwood-Russo. Remember it when you see your buddies in hell, you psycho.”

My bare feet slide on the hardwood. The cool air in the hallway sends goosebumps prickling over my skin. I hit the stairs at a sprint, my breath coming in shallow hitches. I swing around the banister at the bottom, aiming for the door, but the world jerks backwards.

Zeke’s swan falls from my grip as firm hands lock around my waist. A man yanks me off my feet and slams my spine into the rock-hard fabric of a bulletproof vest.

I suck in a breath and open my mouth to scream. But a tatted hand clamps over it, smelling like gunpowder.

“Shh, Iz,” a familiar voice vibrates against my ear. “It’s me.”

“Laing?” I sob against his palm, my fight collapsing all at once.

He slides his hand off my mouth and taps his comms. “Lex, I’ve got her.” He pauses, jaw tightening. “No, not yet… Left of the stairs.”

Laing turns me around cups my face with his hands. “You hurt?”

I shake my head, tears blurring everything. “N-not really.”

“She’s okay,” he tells Lex. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

My hands won’t stop shaking. My knees neither.

Laing notices.

“Shit, Iz.” Laing undoes his vest and lets it fall to the ground. “You’re freezing,” he says, unbuttoning his shirt and yanking it off. He wraps it around me, dragging me into his warmth.

“IZZY!” Luca’s scream rips through the house. “Where are you?!”

My body locks as a jolt of electricity surges through my neck, rippling all the way through my extremities.

“Ahh!” I fold into Laing, my nails digging into his bare chest.

“Iz, what is it?”

I try to speak but all I can do is screech as the collar revs up again.

“Holy shit,” he grits, his hands shaking on my back. “I can feel it.”