“You want it? Crawl for it, bitch,” Ellery snarled.

I shoved into crouch and freed the blade tucked along my ankle. “Don’t need

it that bad, asshole.”

This time when I threw, my aim hit true. Ellery toppled over with a howl, my knife sticking out of his thigh.

“You bitch!” He wrapped his hands around his leg as he lay on his side. Fury

twisted his face, revealing the monster under his skin. Another lash of flame appeared, but his aim sucked.

“Temper, temper.” Hidden behind the sedan, I bent over to pick up my gun. I

clicked off the safety as I straightened. Then, as I walked toward him, I raised the barrel and sighted between Ellery’s hate-filled eyes. Someone was yelling in

my ear, but I there were more important things to worry about.

Ellery lifted a bloody hand, probably to reach for one of his stolen abilities. I

kicked out, my boot connecting with his hand. Hard. Then I stomped on the knife still stuck in his thigh, sending the blade deeper. His hoarse scream drowned out the noise in my ear. I sank to a squat and pressed the Sig’s barrel

into the skin of his forehead. “You should’ve killed me the first damn time, Ellery.”

“Why?” he spat out. “It was much more fun taking you apart piece by piece.

You remember how prettily you begged in that alley? I do.” He licked his lips.

“Must be a family trait, your sister did it too.”

Ice-fucking-cold-fury froze everything into crystalline clarity. I rose, gun steady in my hand, and looked down at the twisted piece of shit at my feet. I could feel my mouth stretching into an ugly smile.

I pulled the trigger.

CHAPTER 26

“Cyn! What the hell are you doing?” Kayden ran toward me, his voice

harsh and panicked.

Still caught in that horrific blizzard of fury, I turned, gun raised, and felt a one-two punch that knocked me on my ass back behind the sedan. For a

moment, I lay there, trying to suck air in without success.

Kayden skidded to his knees next to me. “Ah, hell! Bishop, Wolf, get your asses over here.” He tugged my T-shirt up. “Goddammit, I said not to shoot!”

I couldn’t hear the reply because the lack of oxygen was starting to have some serious repercussions.

Kayden’s gaze met mine and he gave a slight shake of his head. Then the tightness banding my ribs lessened. He put a hand over my mouth, muting my gasp.

Bishop and Wolf dropped down beside us. Bishop spared a glance at Ellery,

then turned and gave both Kayden and Wolf a quick nod. Meanwhile, Wolf

helped Kayden undo the straps holding my Kevlar vest in place.

“Jinx,” Kayden barked. “Hold the perimeter. Rabbit, get me an ambulance,

stat.”

“Shaw, she’s flat lining.” Bishop’s strained voice was at odds with the

amused glint in his eye.

Kayden cursed a blue streak, but his hands were gentle as he massaged my

diaphragm so it would stop seizing. I moved my head and got him to release my

mouth. Careful to keep my breathing soft, I handed my gun to Bishop, who

swapped it with an identical one, except these bullets weren’t tranquilizers. With a little help, I tucked it in the small of my back. Wolf was smearing a russet red

over my T-shirt that left a gory abstract behind. The three men hovered around

me, keeping up the charade. Each one added a little realistic color to their clothes and hands.

Finally, Kayden’s leaden voice said, “Call it.”

“Sixteen twenty-five.” Bishop’s response was equally somber.

Kayden squeezed my hand, then rose to his feet, running what appeared to be

a blood-stained hand through his hair as he stared around wildly. “Fuck it all.

What the hell happened?”

Behind him, Bishop stood and placed a big hand on Kayden’s shoulder. “You

saw her, Shaw. She shot Ellery at point-blank range. She was going to shoot you.”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe that.”

Wolf gave me a wink. He arranged his face in somber lines before joining the

other two. “She broke, Shaw. Sorry, man.”

Kayden shrugged off Bishop’s hand and snarled at Wolf, then dropped back

down beside me.