against the ceramic bowl, before watching the water turn murky pink as it washed the blood away.
“She’s not Lexia’s. She’s Lucy’s. Lucy created her. Even if she’s been made from bits of Lexia, there is no telling what she will become.” Sarah pleaded with Lincoln, hoping he would understand.
“Lucy created Lexia. Not all born from evil are destined to be so.” Rocking Lola in his arms, he glanced down at her, then back at Sarah. “This baby is Lexia’s. I see it in her eyes and I smell it in her scent. It is her choice as to whether we’ll explore her origins, not yours.”
Walking from the room, Lincoln found his way blocked. Six men, dressed in black combat gear, looked through their scopes, guns trained at him.
“Don’t be stupid,” Sarah said from behind, standing in the doorway. “You are in a government facility. Most of the armed men and women in here are special ops. All I want are a few samples. I have no intention of taking the baby. Are you really willing to expose what you are over a few blood samples?”
Words hard to hear over the rumble of his beast, Lincoln looked at Sarah, the gleam in his eyes pure ruthless cat. “You have no idea what I’m willing to do.”
“You’re right. I don’t, but I’d love to hear how you plan to get both your mate and her baby out of here? You are all alone, Lincoln.”
She was right. Caden had gone to check in with Grey; make sure all the injured shifters were recovering, the dead taken care of. The hunters he’d left back on the battle field, presumably they were all being cured. Lincoln was alone, facing six men with guns and God knows how many more lay within the building. Yet as he stood staring at the impossible situation, he could hear Lexia in his mind. She’d tell him to run, to fight, to save her baby and leave her behind.
Pressing Lola securely against his chest, his free hand curled with deadly claws ready to strike. The first two fell without their fingers touching the trigger. Claws sharp and lethal across their throats, their blood sprayed hot and red against the white walls.
A bullet tore through the muscled flesh covering his shoulder. Burning as it ripped through him, Lincoln gritted his teeth and pushed on.
“Don’t damage the baby,” Sarah screeched from behind the door.
Slashing his claws, he tore through their gear but struggled to hit skin. Growling, he went for the throat when the man nearest to him dropped to his knees, hands clutching his chest in shock. The others followed in quick concession, a single bullet clean through their heads, blood pooling from the wound.
Lincoln looked down the corridor. A small group of hunters moved quickly toward them, rifles held ready to fire. Marcus and Belinda in the lead, flanked by two others Lincoln didn’t recognize, and Alice at the rear.
“Looks like we arrived just in time,” Marcus said with a grin.
“Thanks,” Lincoln replied a little shocked.
“Lincoln,” Caden gasped as he came through the doors at the end of the corridor. “What the hell happened?” He ran toward them.
“We’ve overstayed our welcome. Get Lexia. It’s time to leave.”
“You’re not just walking out of here. This place is full of military personal. I can have you surrounded in minutes.”
Marcus levelled his gun at Sarah. “I could kill you in a second,” Marcus responded. “I also have your son, or had that slipped your mind?”
“We are hunters, Sarah. We survived Lucy. Do not underestimate us,” Belinda added.
Face turning red with anger, Sarah shouted to the armed men who’d just burst through the door, “Let them go.”
“I strongly advise against moving her, Linc,” Caden said as they entered Lexia’s room. “She was flat-lining only ten hours ago.
“We stay here we’re all dead anyway.”
“We’ll take the bed,” Caden decided. “Find a vehicle capable of accommodating the bed,” he instructed Marcus.
“On it,” Marcus answered, pressing his earpiece and murmuring instructions.
Caden unplugged Lexia from the machines he couldn’t transport with him, instructing Alice to hold the IV lines up high. Leaving the building via the underground garage, the group met two more hunters from Lexia’s unit.
Having hotwired a van from the garage, they had it idling and ready to go. The back of the van was a tight squeeze. Zac, gagged and bound, was already inside. With everyone secured, they left the building without being followed.
“Where to?” Marcus asked, sliding the dividing window open.
“Give me a minute.”