Page 156

ARKANE

The once silent tunnel has now turned into a scene right out of a savage bloodbath.

Bella was over Heath Glen’s body, covered in blood, her eyes wild as she drove her blade into him over and over again. Like an unrestrained rage of a goddess.

Although she remained transfixed, something raw and vulnerable in her eyes hurt my chest. It was almost as if I could feel everything she was, and that heightened sense was killing me from the inside out.

My eyes shifted to the other side, where Jon was shoved to the ground by one of the heavier Surman. But my brother, being my brother, simply grinned and jumped to his feet, going at him again like a madman with his bare fists.

My head snapped ahead just as a grunt slipped past Mikhail when he received a heavy blow to his gut, but he quickly recovered and gained the upper hand in a matter of seconds, twisting his blade into Jock’s ribs.

“Fucker,” Jock howled, but that hardly seemed to faze him, as he went at Mikhail again.

The other Surman came at me, swinging his fist at my face. I loosened my grip on the White Hand and pushed the Surman aside. By that time, the White Hand clocked back with a growl, sending a sharp punch to my jaw.

My teeth clattered at the impact, but I quickly came to my senses and punched him with twice the force. He let out a cry of pain and made a run for it.

Like hell he was fucking running.

I leaped forward, flattening his face on the ground. After drawing a pair of handcuffs from my vest, I secured him to the steel pipe on the wall.

“There,” I seethed, squeezing my fingers around his neck. “You can’t fucking escape now.”

“Fuck you,” he grunted, rattling his wrist against it, but it wouldn’t budge.

By then, the Surman was back on his feet, lunging at me. Before I could counter him, he threw me aside like I weighed nothing and sent a sharp kick to my injured leg.

Jon caught me, and I quickly gained my footing, and a hiss slipped through my teeth. The burn in my leg was nothing compared to the burn in my chest. All I cared about was making it to Bella and getting her the fuck out of here.

Jon gave me a sharp nod, his cold eyes hardening like steels of determination. “Let’s ship these fuckers to hell,” he hissed under his breath. We stood back-to-back as the two of them surrounded us with an ugly scowl.

“Fucking kill them,” the White Hand ordered, a desperate edge in his tone. He was trying hard to break free from the handcuffs, but he was failing terribly.

My eyes flicked back to the Surmans who came at us in full force, and in a blur, fists and knives went flying everywhere. But Jon and I worked together, tackling them both within minutes, ripping open their throats from ear to ear.

From the corner of my eye, I saw that Mikhail had also finished off Jock but was heavily injured, clutching his side. He nodded to me that he was fine.

But all I could focus on was the sight just behind that. Tunnel-visioned, I ran, my heart pounding with every step, and fell to her side, my eyes raking over every inch of her to see if she was hurt. But no, it wasn’t her blood.

“Bella, baby, it’s okay,” I said softly, slowly tugging her away. “It’s over. He’s gone.” She had been going at Heath Glen’s body with her blade for the past three minutes, almost as if she had been possessed in a violent daze. He was unrecognizable now, a bloody, sloppy mess on the ground.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s over,” I repeated, my arms embracing her. I gently brushed her hair away and wiped the blood from her face with my sleeve. “Look at me, Bella,” I whispered.

She paused, her arm raised midair.

“Arkane?” She blinked back those wide brown eyes like it was only now she was noticing me.

“Yes, it’s me.” I gave her a soft smile. “It’s okay. He’s gone.”

Her eyes flew to the bloody mess in front of her before bringing them back to me. “Heath Glen is dead,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Yes.”

For a second, she almost looked dazed before jumping into my arms, her knives falling to the ground. I held her tight for what felt like seconds, minutes—I didn’t know—but slowly, the confusion faded, and life returned to her eyes.

“I’m okay.” A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I’m okay now.”

“You sure?” I extended my hand, helping her to her feet.