“You know that’s not true.” She shook her head. “Say the words.”
“They’re trading you.” He focused back on the screen.
Hurt exploded into fury inside her. “You’re too much of a fucking coward to even say the words.” The bastard, her actual father, would just bury his head and then let her murder happen. “You stopped being my father years ago, you fucking loser.”
He hunched over his phone.
Minutes ticked by, and then an hour. Yuri and Masterson finished talking, and Yuri spoke on the phone to someone for a while, but Lex couldn’t make out the words. She angled her body away from him and imagined the oxygen around her, focusing narrowly on the zip ties around her wrists. Heat flared, and she methodically burned sliver by sliver away.
Finally, Yuri loped her way, a man with a strange glint in his eye, a guy ready to kill. “We have the meeting area almost ready.”
Lex raised an eyebrow. “You’re really making a show of it, huh?”
He shrugged.
She sucked in air. “You sent soldiers and Duck to my home.”
“Yes. I needed the letter from your father with the coded directions of how much product he’d sold and where to deliver it.” Yuri almost sounded bored.
She shook her head. “Why did you kill Duck?” Who else could it have been?
“Ah.” Yuri tisked his tongue. “Duck had the unfortunate fate of working with Spike, and Spike made the terrible mistake of telling Duck about me. So Duck and then Spike both had to die.”
What a complete asshole. She needed to get free and put him away for life. Could witches escape normal prisons? She’d have to find out. One of the bands slipped loose. She was so close. “How are you getting the planekite here from Russia?” she whispered.
Yuri smiled, revealing perfectly white teeth. “Phenakite.”
“Whatever.” Another sliver loosened.
“Let’s just say I have good friends in the Port of Seattle,” he said.
Ah. Good tip. As soon as she arrested his ass, she’d trace his contacts at the Port.
The hair on the back of her neck stood up. Awareness hinted in the atmosphere—no breeze, but a sense of home. She stiffened, ready to move.
Yuri stopped moving, and his shoulders rolled back. His gaze darted around the quiet room, and he opened his mouth in a hiss of anger as all hell broke loose.
The massive wall-door burst open and folded in on itself, spiraling smoke and fire up to the rafters. Lex leaped for her mother, knocking her to the ground and covering her as the small door crashed in.
Lex looked to where the door had been. Kell stood there in full combat gear. His gaze caught hers, full and intense.
She shifted to her knees, taking her mother up with her.
Her father roared and grabbed her hair, pulling her to her feet as Yuri ran forward, shooting darts toward Kell. Several found their mark as he pivoted to fire a green laser at Yuri. Jumping toward the bastard, Kell put his body between the shooter and Lex.
A firefight echoed behind her, but she concentrated on her mother. Balancing herself, Lex leaned a hip back into her dad, and dropped to a knee. He flew over her head to land on the pavement. Hard.
Not missing a beat, she grabbed her mom’s arms and pulled her to upright. “Run,” she hissed.
Jennie, her eyes wide already with shock, hitched on her damaged legs toward the door. Lex covered her mom, shoving her along, until they reached the opening. She glanced frantically around at the quiet area and spotted a truck down the way. “Go get behind that. If you see anybody, find a phone and call 9-1-1.” She turned to head back into the warehouse.
Jennie grabbed her arm. “Lexi, wait. Don’t—”
Lex turned. “It’s my job, Mom. Now go.” She turned, and ducking low, ran back into the building.
The Dunne brothers fought the many soldiers across the warehouse, spilling the firefight and hand-to-hand outside. Bear, Garrett, and Logan jumped into the fray, creating pandemonium in an oddly graceful fight to the death.
Kell broke the neck of a witch streaming fire, only to turn and have Yuri plug him in the neck with another dart. His eyes widened, and he went down.
“No!” she screamed, scrambling for him and dropping to her knees.
Garrett roared in fury and tackled Yuri into the Mercedes.
Logan grappled with Masterson, and in front of her eyes, punched through the dirty cop’s throat to the wall. Masterson’s eyes closed in a harsh death.
“Kell!” She crouched before him, looking for a threat. They went unnoticed as the battle waged on. She grabbed the top of his flak vest and dragged him to a corner.
He groaned, and his body convulsed.
Dropping to her knees, she lifted his head to her lap. “How bad?” she whispered, yanking out the darts. She patted his face. “Don’t go. Don’t fucking leave me.”
His eyes opened. Real flames danced in their depths.
She shook him. God, he couldn’t leave her. Not just when she’d found him.
“Stay with me.” Her heart expanded with pure terror. “I love you. Please stay.”