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“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner,” Rive mocked. “Look at that. I thought you dragged him about because he was a great human shield and not bad to stare at, but he’s actually got a little bit going on between his ears.”
“Fuck you!” Max roared. He lunged toward his sister, slipping away from Ed’s first attempt to grab him. All the guns in the room clattered and clicked as they were lifted and trained on the enraged Egyptologist. This was a hundred times worse than the fierce temper they’d caught sight of in the living room. Max was about to tear his sister apart with his bare hands as he continued to spew curses at her.
Rive backpedaled until Ed caught Max on his second attempt. He nearly slipped away again, forcing Ed to wrap an arm around his waist and heft him off the ground.
And still Max spit wild curses at his sister.
Ed hadn’t thought much of her insult. God knew it was nothing he hadn’t heard in his life. People assumed that because he was big, he had to be slow as well. Besides, Rive had already proved that she was human trash. What did he care about what she thought?
Max did.
Or maybe he cared about how Ed felt, because right now he was hissing and spitting at Rive like a feral cat. If he wasn’t worried about one of them getting shot right now, Max’s temper would have warmed him straight to his toes. No one had ever lost their shit quite like this over him.
“Man, remind me to never piss off Max.” Kairo chuckled in his ear.
“Not helping,” Ed growled through clenched teeth.
“Fuck you!” Max shouted one final time, seeming to run out of steam. He hung limp in Ed’s arms. “You don’t know him. You don’t get to talk about him like that.”
“Oh, Maxie, I don’t remember you being so adorable. You definitely didn’t have this kind of fire when you were a kid,” Rive continued to mock. Clearly, this woman didn’t have that much going on in her head if she thought teasing Max was a sane idea.
A growl left Max, and he patted the top of Ed’s hand. “Let me down. I won’t try to kill her. I promise,” he said in a low voice. Unfortunately, Rive still heard it and laughed. They both ignored her as Ed placed Max on his own two feet again. The smaller man partially turned toward him, green eyes like wet spring leaves gazing up at him full of questions and worry.
Ed smiled. It was becoming harder and harder not to kiss him, but this was a terrible time. “I’m good. You just stay close to me.”
With a nod, Max turned to face his sister. “What the hell do you want?”
“What do you think I want?”
Max groaned and dropped his head back so that it rested against Ed’s chest. “The fucking Tomb of Kazemde.”
“Got it in one,” Rive replied.
“Good news!” Kairo crowed in his ear. “West is in position on the roof. He’s got a clear line for everyone on the floor. Charlie is in position in the yard. They’ll go on your signal.”
It was a struggle to hold in his grin. This was perfect. So very perfect. Max was standing on his left, hiding his hand and pocket just right.
“I’m going to tell you the same thing that I told Mironov,” Max began, and Ed’s heart stuttered when he saw Rive’s eyes widen at the mention of Max’s first captor. That couldn’t be good. Max didn’t seem to notice because he kept talking. “I’m not telling you shit. I’m not letting you steal shit. You’re not ruining my reputation or stealing more history from these people. Fuck. Off.”
As Max talked, Ed slipped his hand into his pocket, grabbed the small canister, and placed his thumb inside the pin.
Rive rolled her eyes. “You’ve got to know that you don’t have a choice in this.”
“Why don’t we ask Barry Allen?” Ed shouted.
“Go!” West barked in his ear.
Max turned partially to him, his features twisted up in confusion. Ed took advantage of the shift and bent low enough to toss Max over his shoulder. With his other hand, he withdrew the flash-bang from his pocket and pulled the pin. He tossed the thing right in front of Rive and ran.
“Cover your eyes!” he ordered, while partially shielding his own. There were two men from the taxi who had hung back. They lifted their guns toward them, but it was already too late.
A great blast of white light flooded the garage, accompanied by an almost concussive bang. Max jerked and Ed tightened his hold on Max’s legs, keeping him in place as he plowed through the last of the guards. Both fell to the ground and Ed kept running while shouts echoed through the garage.
