Hunter - Blaire Drake Page 0,100

left to shoot the damn thing off unless Angelo appeared like magic to unlock the door. Even then, I knew shooting the lock off would be quicker. I needed quick.

I fired three more bullets, hitting my targets every time. I stepped over one of the bodies and kicked the gun in his hand away. Fuck it—I stepped back and grabbed it. If there was anything better than one gun, it was two guns.

I had a feeling I might need both.

“Quick.” The basement door opened, and Angelo Pontarelli's face appeared in the gap. “Gaige will be fine.”

I slipped through the doorway, tucking one of the guns inside my jacket. “Why is she still down here? And Gaige?”

“Gaige will probably run away.” Angelo reached around me and locked the door from this side.

I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

“And Adriana's still here because it was easier to let you come in and kill everyone than it was to have her killed trying to get her out.”

“I only shot three people,” I argued.

“Associates.” He snorted. “Nobody else was stupid enough to stay. There was a rumor you were headed this way.”

“My reputation tends to precede me, admittedly.” I shrugged a shoulder as I followed him down the basement hallway. “Where's Isaiah?”

“Waiting for Enzio's plane to land in fifteen minutes.”

Nothing like cutting it close.

I didn't say anything else as he fumbled with the ring of keys and put one in the lock of a door. It was solid, and I knew instantly which room she was in. “Did anyone touch her?”

Angelo shook his head. “I'm the only person who's been in the room. Isaiah tried, but I forced him to wait for Enzio. My bad cop act was convincing, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“Addy?” he said softly, pushing the door open. “I'm turning on the light, so cover your eyes.”

“'Kay,” she replied quietly.

My heart clenched.

She sounded so fucking broken.

Angelo clicked the switch at the top, and it was so bright that even I had to blink harshly several times before my vision adjusted. I knew how hard she'd be struggling to cope with the sudden onslaught of light, so I pushed past him to see her.

She was curled in a ball in the corner beneath a blanket, with her hand covering her eyes. Her face was turned into the wall, and I swallowed hard.

God.

I didn't even know what to say. A lump lodged in my throat as the sound of bullets echoed on the floor above us. I hoped Gaige was doing okay, but in that moment, I didn't care. I didn't even want to fight—I wanted to take this girl in front of me and hide her away forever.

“What's going on up—” She paused as she dropped her hand from her eyes and saw me. “Hunter,” she whispered.

“Hey.”

Hey. Fucking hey. What a fucking dick I was.

“What are you doing here?”

“Saving you. Although...” I looked down and noticed some blood staining my light blue jeans. “The armor needs a little work.”

“What's going on upstairs?” She shook off the blanket and stood. Her legs almost gave out, and I shot forward to grab her. She managed to steady herself by the wall before I could touch her, but she inhaled sharply when my hand wrapped around her arm.

“Sounds like Gaige is shooting everyone,” Angelo offered.

“Gaige is up there? Shooting people?” she questioned, her eyebrows drawing together as she glanced over my shoulder at him. “Wow. Why aren't you up there helping him?”

She had a point.

“I, er...” Angelo stopped.

“That was a get the fuck up and help him, Angelo,” she clarified. “Now.”

He left without a word, and reluctantly, I let her arm go. I didn't want to, but she looked like she might kill me.

“Is Enzio here?”

I shook my head. “He will be any time.”

“Okay.” Her voice is quiet, and she tugs her lower lip through her teeth slowly. Her tongue flicks out to wet it, and she meets my eyes. “Did you kill everyone yet?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Adriana

It was a reasonable question, given the blood that dotted his clothes. I wondered if he even realized that his pants were splattered with more than a few drops, and he even had one dripping down his cheek.

“Only three people,” he replied, his lips twitching upward on one side.

“What did you do? Slit their throats?” I reached forward and wiped the blood from his cheek with my thumb. Maybe I should have been horrified, but if I was honest, it wasn't the first time I'd seen him covered in blood that