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Fuck me.
“If you think for a single second that you are getting within an inch of Hayley or planning on making some sort of deal in regards to her, you can fuck off. She is ours.” Knox growls with his words, his body rippling with his muscles.
“Even if I offered an alliance to the Bella Crew? Even if I stood against the leadership and helped you slaughter each and every one of them, giving you power over the city alongside me?” Narcisa click-clacks forward, closing the distance, but the guys don’t back up.
I take an automatic step away, hitting Monroe.
“Like Knox said. Fuck off. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is worth more than Hayley.” Sawyer’s muscles ripple, the tight chords in his arms flexing and bunching.
“And to think I believed you gentlemen wanted to be heroes. You would rather jeopardize all of La Vega and the human population than show some reason and allow me to help care for Hayley and teach her how to be a truly powerful woman? No wonder you’ll never get far.” Narcisa’s eyebrows peak on her forehead.
Sawyer leans forward, getting in to Narcisa’s face. “There are no fucking heroes anymore. You know this. We just want to stop the leadership from dominating the whole donor population and prevent others from destroying everything. We aren’t heroes. We are selfish bastards. Hayley is the most important woman to us, but so is our crew and the donors who ally with us. We made them a promise that we will keep. You will not touch our hotel. If you even try—”
“You’ll what? Kill me? Take over my hotel? What exactly do you think you can do, Mr. Noble? I have come only to offer you an opportunity. You know that the leadership makes decisions based on the majority. I am not in the majority, and it seems that you have pushed the others a bit too much, attacking their personal property, stealing pregnant donors, pitting hotel against hotel. And for what? You will lose regardless. This is your one and only chance to make the right decision.” Narcisa steps back and glances around Sawyer at me. “Perhaps you should let Hayley decide. Do you really want to be known as the one person who destroyed an entire donor population?”
I don’t respond, pursing my lips. I’ll not take that kind of responsibility onto myself. Her manipulation doesn’t make me a bad person if I choose not to sacrifice myself. I have far better things than to carry that kind of burden. She’s right about us not being heroes. I don’t care about the world. I don’t care about anything except for my future child and what life they will have. That’s the reason I would fight for the world. I will not bring new life into chaotic destruction.
Narcisa sighs and spins on her heels. Her annoyance declares from every tight muscle on her body as she click-clacks stiffly away. Peering over her shoulder, she looks at us again. “Very well. Follow me. You’ll be going in front of the leadership. You can try to leave now, but I guarantee not all of you will make it out alive.”
I breathe evenly, counting each inhale and exhale, keeping myself composed. She is attempting to get to me, and we all know it. What she doesn’t realize is that threatening me only makes me stronger. It makes me more wild. Lethal. Threatening me turns me into the most powerful person. It’s something I didn’t realize until this moment, feeling the strength of my nature coursing through me, peering through the red haze from my blood hunger and pushing past the annoying ache from the venom bite Cooper gave me. All of these things will add up to turn me into the leadership’s worst nightmare. And I’m about to show them that they can’t wake up from this. The only thing they will face is death by my hands, by my teeth, by my very nature.
“This is your last chance to let us go without fight. If you put us in front of the leadership, I can promise you that they’ll no longer be a majority.” Knox stands beside Sawyer, proving that he is also one of our leaders. The only reason Sawyer would take coven head is because Knox doesn’t want the formality. But they, and the rest of the Bella Crew, always take a vote. No one’s opinion is worth more than another’s. It’s what makes them work so well. Everyone has their purpose, including me.
Narcisa ignores Knox, heading toward the elevator. Several security guards materialize behind us, aiming their guns and commanding us to head toward the stairs. They must be stupid to think that they will keep us from running.
“Just do as they say,” Sawyer says, peeking over the shoulder at Monroe and Walcott. “You know the drill. They’re only doing what they are told.”
Sawyer cracks his knuckles and enters a stairwell first, followed by what might be the head of the security personnel. We file into the stairwell, each of us with an escort, except for me. Knox holds me close, flashing his fangs at anyone who tries to get within a foot.
Sawyer slows, taking each step one at a time, purposely not rushing. The head of the security jabs him in the back with a knife, sending blood blooming through his T-shirt. I tense, my whole body spasming as I shake and try to control my dhampir nature. My anger. How the fuck dare he stab Sawyer like that. He could’ve just shoved him or something, but instead he’s trying to capture a position of power with violence that he clearly could never hold over any of us.
“Keep moving,” the man says, holding his blade up and aiming at Sawyer’s back again.
“Careful, asshole. You’re about to set off our girl, and if that happens, I’ll pin you while she drains you dry.” Sawyer peeks over his shoulder at me.
Knox holds me tighter. “It’s okay, Hayley. Sawyer can handle himself. We don’t want a massacre. We want to give these fuckers one chance to leave.”
The front man spins around on the stairs and points his knife at Knox. “Shut the fuck up and—”
Sawyer swings his long knife through the guy’s throat, severing his head, stopping him from trying to threaten us. Narcisa never took the Bella Crew’s weapons, and I don’t know if that was purposeful or accidental. Maybe this is what she wants. Maybe everything was a show. Does it matter? Absolutely not.
“This is your last chance. Leave and we won’t slaughter you. Stay and fight for the leadership, and this will be your end.” Monroe doesn’t give the security guard next to him a chance to fire his gun before he shoves him against the wall and cracks his sternum, slamming his hand through until he yanks it out, holding the man’s heart.
Everything happens so fast that I can barely keep up as blood splashes around me and bodies fall. This isn’t the first time the Bella Crew has been retained. They truly were giving the security guards an opportunity, but they were too obedient to the leadership to take advantage of it.
We are in a world where if someone isn’t with us, then they are against us. It’s a simple fact.
“Walcott, Tate. I want you two to get out of here and summon the others. We’re going to need a quick getaway. We need you to detonate one of the bombs in the parking garage. This building will go down. We are done playing.” Sawyer motions to Tatum. “Grab some donors on the way out if you see them. They will happily assist you, I bet.”
Walcott grins, showing off his fangs. “This is what I’m talking about. It’s about fucking time.”
Sawyer smacks him on the shoulder. “Take care of yourself. I expect you to watch Tate’s back.”
“Yeah, Walcott. You know they need me more than you. The donors barely tolerate your ass.” Tatum smacks him on the back of the head. “You’re just lucky I like fucking you. That’s the only reason you’d end up getting out of here with your life if it came down to it.”
He play-growls at her. “I knew my fucking cock would save me.”
The two of them vanish, hopping back down the stairs, jumping down one flight and turning until we can’t see them anymore. My guys surround me, caging me within their muscular bodies. Monroe tugs his com device out and touches the screen a couple times, flipping through different security feeds.
