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But then things went really wrong. The lights came back up, and I saw that everyone was engaged. There were far too many of them, and I’d led the enemy straight here. It was one thing to set a trap for my brothers, but the team hadn’t been prepared for this.
Jonas was engaged in hand-to-hand combat as he fought someone in the kitchen, close to Noah’s body. Oskar now engaged Hans. Matthias was fighting someone in black. Where was Rafe? A quick scan of the rooms and I found him by the gym.
The look on his face was brutal, deadly. He meant business. As theguy he was fighting went down, Rafe spared me a glance and mouthed the word, “Run.”
And I was going to. I even turned around and headed straight for the panic room. But then I saw Jakob with his gun raised. A gunshot rang out, and my insides turned to ice. No. Not Rafe.
Rafe froze in his tracks before staggering another couple of steps. Jakob fired another shot. This time Rafe fell to the ground, even as he tried to fight.What was happening?
I was frozen, and shock rendered me unable to move. But I had to. This was my family, and I had to fight. Jakob fired another shot in my direction, and I ducked behind a pillar. Jonas elbowed the guy he was fighting in the temple. The guy went down. Jonas got him by the neck, then very calmly grabbed him by the top of the head and the chin and twisted.
I heard the crack, and my stomach roiled.
Matthias was shot but still fighting. When I peered back around the pillar, Jakob was on Rafe. He straddled him, raining fists on his face.
But Rafe was fighting off the blows. No. This was not how it ended. My child was not going to grow up without a father because of who my family was.
I had zero fucks left to give. And I was not giving up on my man.
In the kitchen, Jonas had Hans pinned down. In the foyer, Dylan was starting to stir. And then there was Noah. Thank Jesus, Noah was moving.
He and Oskar were the only ones still engaged in hand-to-hand combat. He took a kick to the sternum and flew back, but he was up in an instant. He looked savage and raw and lethal. Even as beautiful as he was, that man was nothing but deadly. Nothing but a stone-cold killer.
Rafe was fighting for his life, and I ran straight for him. I didn’t know where it came from, but a roar bubbled up deep inside and I screamed. My brother looked up with a sneer. I didn’t know where I gathered the strength, but I delivered a roundhouse kick so hard to his face he staggered back, then shook his head slightly as if trying to shake it off. While he was temporarily disoriented, I lunged.
Putting my full weight behind my body, I managed to push him back until he was off Rafe and on his back. I grabbed his ears and planted my thumbs in his eye sockets again.
I was not having it. I kept pressing as hard as I could. I was weak and tired, but I didn’t dare let up.
Behind me, someone wrapped arms around me and picked me up as if I were nothing more than a doll. “Let me go. I will kill you.”
“I’m glad to hear that, princess. But let me do this. You go to the panic room. Now.”
“Rafe?”
“Yes.” He put me down gently, and I turned in his arms.
“You’re okay? But you were shot.”
“I’m wearing a bulletproof vest. We all are. All except you. Now go. Let us deal with the rest of this.”
Jakobgroaned again. But this time Rafe just reached into his back holster, pulled out his gun, and fired a shot to his shoulder.
I didn’t even flinch.
“Baby, panic room. Do not watch this. Do not see the thing that I am. Please go.”
“I’m going but only because you need to stay safe and I distract you. But I’m not afraid of you. I seeallof you, and I love you.”
Iturned to head for the panic room as I was told, but when I looked around, I could see that all the other men had their assailants either down or dead. Hans, unfortunately, was still alive. Though groaning.
“Looks like it’s over.”
Rafe pulled me close. “Still, go back to the panic room. We need to move the bodies out of here and call the cops. You don’t want to be here for this. I’ll come get you when it’s time to make your statement.”
“Okay, I’m going.” But first I had to see. I lifted his shirt to see the thin fiber that might as well be vinyl for all I knew. Sure enough, there was a flattened bullet stuck to it. “Oh my God. Things like that exist?”
He nodded. “One day I’ll show you all the tech I’ve got. But in the meantime, please, let me do this.”
