Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,51

find another chopper closing in.

“Run!” Phantom grabbed me, hauling me from the safety of Arran’s body and dragging me with him. “We have to run!”

Darkness blasted through the air, slamming into my back and pitching me forward before Phantom caught my fall with massive hands on my shoulders. I shot a glance over my shoulder, to find the bloody and pissed-off Unseelie staggering outside.

He lifted his hand, driving his body through the vortex of the rotors until he was beside me. He jerked his gaze toward me and, with one savage glare, his rough, vicious snarl tore through my mind, where’s your chaos now, special agent?

BOOM! A shotgun blast blasted free, smashing into the ground in front of us. Vitold curled his lips as the midnight blur of an Explorer catapulted toward us…two of them. Car doors were thrown open as they skidded to a stop. Phantom shoved me forward before I could think. I lifted my hand, desperate for that animalistic Unseelie power to rear inside me. Anything to save them…anything to save us—and the back window of the Explorer exploded with a crack!

I threw my hands up, protecting my face. But I didn’t need to, as Phantom moved in a blur, stepping in front of me as shards of glass sliced through the air. Slashes of blood bloomed across his face and arms.

More shots were fired…like the sky unleashed a hail of bullets. I was already lifting my hands as I met Phantom’s gaze.

“No,” he cried, shaking his head, as the two helicopters descended. Agony bloomed in those dark eyes as the helicopters hovered, effectively surrounding us.

“There’s no way out.” Tears blurred my vision as I took a step backwards. “Like you said before, I’m a liability.”

He gave a tortured moan as my gaze shifted from my Wolf to the shattered window behind him. Pain ripped through my chest, like I’d taken all those shards straight to my heart. He didn’t move, just stood there, watching me like this wasn’t happening.

Maybe it wasn’t. Maybe this was all just a bad dream. One fucking nightmare. I took another step, the wind from the rotors kicking my hair around my head.

“Carina…no!” Arran roared, and lunged for me.

But I caught movement in the hovering chopper as a sniper leveled his rifle on my Wolf at Harlan’s command.

“No!” I flung my arms into the air and stepped in front of Arran. Tears streamed down my cheeks, drying in an instant from the wind of the rotors. “I’ll go…I’ll go!” I screamed up at Harlan.

In the helicopter, my commander’s lips curled, baring his teeth in triumph.

“Find them.” I wrenched my gaze to Phantom. “Promise me you’ll find them!”

One nod was all he gave. He was broken, shattered…maybe it was the shards of his heart impaled into mine? My throat thickened as I stumbled backwards, my feet moving on their own as I turned.

Pain flared in the sole of my foot, but I barely felt it, just kept stumbling toward the looming chopper as it lowered to the ground. They were out in an instant, rushing toward me with jackets flapping wildly. Harlan was the first to reach me, reaching out to grasp my arm and haul me backwards.

Armed officers were beside him, training their weapons on the one I loved. “I’m here…” I cried, but my words were snatched from my lips as I was yanked backwards, and into the helicopter before I knew it.

Hard steel under my body, Harlan’s screams in my ears as we lifted from the ground. But I felt nothing…

I heard nothing.

In that moment, I was nothing.

Nothing but a liability.

15

“You’re safe now, Carina,” Harlan roared in my ear, holding a windbreaker around my shoulders as we raced from the chopper to the waiting four-wheel drive.

Others were there, men waiting for orders.

“I want the entire county searched,” Harlan barked. “Every goddamn rock…I want those Wolves in shackles by the end of the night!”

My heart shuddered with the words, but I didn’t lift my head, only looked at the ground before I slipped into the midnight four-wheel drive.

Run, I sent the plea through my mind. Phantom, you have to run!

His pain was palpable, a real thing burrowing in my chest, desperate to punch through flesh and bone and out the other side. But I kept it caged within my heart, desperate to hurt like he was hurting. The back door opened and Harlan climbed in before closing it. The weak interior light washed over his stony features. He wasn’t just my