Behind Hans, Karmine and several of her soldiers enter the room. Two of them step over Gabriel’s corpse to check the room he came from, while Karmine and the others go to the three women who are still standing along the wall.
“Thank you,” Hans murmurs into my neck, holding me tightly. “Thank you, Cassandra. My Girl. My Butterfly.”
Over and over, he thanks me, and all I can do is cling to him while I cry against his shoulder.
Tears of relief.
Tears from the fear I felt.
Tears for all of the women who have been through too much.
I hug Hans tighter.
I don’t know how he’s dealt with so much on his own. But never again. Never again.
“I love you.” I choke out the words.
He squeezes me to him until it’s hard to breathe. “I love you so fucking much.”
A small laugh bubbles up in response to him cursing while telling me he loves me.
I lift my head so I can look at him.
Blood is spattered across his face and in his hair. His eyes are rimmed red. And I swear I can feel his heart pounding through the thick vest he’s wearing.
“Don’t ever fucking scare me like that again,” Hans growls, then presses his lips to mine. “Thank you.” He presses a softer kiss to my mouth. “I-I hate that you had to do that.” His eyes are so bright, so alive. “But…” He gives his head the smallest shake. “Thank you, Cassandra. What you’ve given me…”
I unhook one arm from around his neck and press it to his cheek. “I’d do anything for you.”
He nuzzles his stubbled cheek into my palm and exhales. “You thought I was obsessed before.”
I snicker, imagining a Hans even more obsessed.
He leans in like he’s going to kiss me again, then he stops, his brows furrowing. “I saw blood. Where are you hurt?” He starts to lower me as he asks it.
“My feet!” I tighten my legs around his hips so he can’t put me down.
Hans instantly rights himself and boosts me higher. “Your feet?”
He cranes his neck to try and look at my feet behind his back.
“While I was knocked out on the plane, that big asshole took my boots off,” I explain. “And the stupid marble floors were too slippery with my socks on, so I took them off. But then I stepped on—it doesn’t matter. It’s just my feet.”
He shifts so one hand is under my butt, and then he uses his other to gently brush the backs of his fingers against my cheek. “It’s not just your feet.”
My chin wobbles as I think about all the parts of me that hurt, including my butt, but I don’t mind that right now.
Hans wraps his arm back around me. “You’re going to tell me about every single bruise. Okay, Butterfly?”
I nod. “Okay.”
“If it helps”—he gives me a soft smile—“I cut the big asshole’s hands off after I shot him. Twice.”
I sniff and nod my head. “That helps.”
Hans turns his head to where Karmine is talking with the women. “You good?”
Karmine says one last thing to the women, then turns to Hans. “We’re gonna need to check the garages for a vehicle. I want us”—she tips her head to the three new bodies who will be joining our exodus—“to have our own ride.”
“Take the one we rode over in, and I’ll find out if Nero can fly a chopper.”
My eyes widen at that.
“Sounds good.” Karmine nods, even though it does not sound good. “We’ll triple check every room, but it won’t take us long.”
“Copy that.” Hans starts to turn, then stops. “I heard over the radio that someone found a store of gasoline in the garage, which is handy. All things considered, it’ll probably take about ten minutes to rig the place.”
Hans’s reply is so casual. And it’s a reminder that even though this was absolutely the worst day of my life, they’re used to this. It’s what they do.
He gives Karmine a nod, then turns and strides toward the door, me still in his arms.
I lift my gaze over his shoulder and lock eyes with one of the women.
I hate the reasons why Hans and Karmine are so used to this violence. But I am glad they’re so good at it.
The woman gives me the smallest smile. And I give her one back before Hans carries me out of view.
CHAPTER 123
Hans
With Cassandra plastered to my body, we step out of the stairwell and onto the main floor.
“I’d tell you to keep your eyes closed, but I’m certain you wouldn’t listen.” I rub my cheek against hers. “So just be prepared for the bodies.”
I don’t need to explain more. One glance toward the floor, in either direction, and she’ll see a dead man.
The place is a wreck, and over the scents of death and gunpowder, the distinct smell of gasoline is starting to permeate the air.
On the flight over from Dallas, we made the plan to level the estate to the ground after rescuing Cassandra and anyone else we found.
From the looks of it, it’s only those three women in the house. King was ripping fingernails off a man earlier, extracting information, and three was the number he gave too.
It’s three too many, but Karmine will take them out of here, and she’ll give them the same options she gives everyone else. She can pay to get them home. She can provide them with new IDs and money if they don’t want to go home or don’t have a home. Or they can join her crew. It’s not a perfect system, but they’re the best options outside of involving the legal system. And, of course, if the women want to press charges against the men responsible, they’re welcome to. The only problem is that those men are always dead.
“Found a live one!” Dom calls out from the corner of the massive living room.
Nero enters the room at the same time we do.
He nods to me. “You good?”
I nod back as Cassandra tries to twist around.
I squeeze her tighter. “Quit squirming.”
“Bring him here,” Nero tells Dom.
Dom grips the sniveling man by the back of the neck and forces him to walk.
Nero looks at the man. “What the fuck? There’s not a drop of blood on him.”
Dom snorts. “He was hiding behind the curtains.”
We all turn and look at the massive broken window and the heavy velvet drapes bunched up on either side.
Nero glares at the man. “Seriously?”
“You wanna kill him?” Dom asks Nero. “If my calculations are correct, I’m still two up on you.”
Nero rolls his eyes. “Your calculations are never correct. And I want to kill him just for hiding like a bitch in a cartoon.” Dom snorts, and Nero looks at me. “Can I borrow that sword?”
I narrow my eyes. “You gonna give it back?”
Nero lets out the most dramatic sigh ever, causing Cassandra to snicker against my chest. “Yes, I’ll give it back.”
Keeping my eyes narrowed, I draw the katana and twist my wrist so I hand it to Nero handle first.
The man in Dom’s grip starts to struggle, but a pair of Alliance guys step over to help hold him still.
Nero gives the sword a few lazy figure eights. “Hans, mind opening his shirt for me? I don’t want to fuck it up and accidentally gut him.” He turns his attention to the man and whispers like he’s sharing a secret, “I’m still learning.”