The Protectors Series Bundle - By Nana Malone Page 0,99

downhill, around the other side of the house. Fantastic. That was just too risky. They could just stay hidden here in the shadows until most of the troops went inside, but after their ambush, everyone would be on high alert and on the hunt for stragglers. It wouldn’t take them long to realize not all of them had made it back through the portal. Especially with Garrett bleeding all over the place.

“That’s not going to work. Total suicide mission. We’ll have to travel on foot once—”

An engine in the distance had her shoving Garrett’s body further into the alcove. He groaned in response. A Jeep pulled up to the barracks, and two men got out. One with a shaved head, bulging biceps and a no-nonsense mug. The other, with his dark hair and patrician nose, would have ice green eyes, just like his sister. Peter Reeser. A shudder of revulsion overtook every cell in Symone’s body. This was the man who’d stolen her childhood. Rage followed the nausea, and her body wrestled with her mind’s decision to stay put.

She’d kill Peter eventually. For now, her priority was Garrett.

“Can you morons kill the flood lights?” Peter shouted. Immediately the bright lights turned off, casting an even greater shadow on Symone and Garrett’s hiding place. “Someone want to tell me what the fuck happened here?”

One of the soldiers stumbled forward. Or maybe he was shoved. “They came looking for something, sir. The Terrorists we’ve been chasing. They came in hot with heavy artillery. And sir, they had powers like we do.”

Peter stared at the soldier like he was an insect in a petri dish. “How many casualties?” His voice was cool.

The soldier stuttered. “N-none, sir. Their leader, she didn’t want any of us killed.”

Peter closed his eyes and sighed. “Not us, you moron. Them. How many of them did you kill?”

The soldier blinked, not realizing now would probably be a good time to plead the fifth. “None, sir. Michael, the kid, clipped his brother. Arm, maybe chest. They had a human with them. He was hit before they disappeared.”

“What the fuck do you mean disappeared?”

“L-l-like he walked into thin air. But he was definitely hit.”

Peter closed his eyes and muttered a curse. He glared at the bald man. “I want them found. I don’t care what you have to do. I want them at the facility by sundown tomorrow.”

The squirrely soldier cleared his throat. “Um, sir. There’s one more thing.” He visibly swallowed. “They have your enhancer.”

Peter’s shoulders shook, and for a moment, Symone would have sworn he was chuckling. But he reached for his holster, unsnapped the restraint on his gun, and shot the soldier.

Symone gasped and covered her mouth. If he was willing to kill his own enhanced soldier to get to them, there was no stopping him.

The remaining soldiers scattered to their posts. Symone looked up at Garrett. His labored breath brushed her skin. “How are you holding up?”

“You mean besides being shot? I’m great.”

Sarcasm was a good sign. At least he had some fight. But she didn’t like how much blood there was. He couldn’t heal himself, and they needed time for her to be able to heal him properly. “Let me see if I can help. Maybe just stop the bleeding.”

She unzipped his fleece and tucked her hand into his shirt. When she touched the wound, he shuddered and bit out a curse. His eyes popped, and his mouth fell open. She could feel his agony. The electric charge going through him. He was getting a small dose of what everyone else felt when she touched them.

Snatching her hand back, she stared up at him as his body still trembled. “I’m sorry. I was trying to help heal you. I—”

He blinked rapidly. “Shit, is that was other people feel? You pack a doozy.” It took several moments, but his trembling stopped. The blood flow stemmed. “That hurt like a son of a bitch, but I am starting to feel better.”

“Good.” She didn’t want to think about what would happen in the several hours it would take him to get his powers back. If she couldn’t touch him, she couldn’t heal him. Every time she tried, it would be like electroshock therapy.

When the remaining soldiers shuffled toward a side door, she assessed the distance between them and the Jeep. “What’s down there?”

Garrett leveled a gaze on her. “Cars and the war room.”

She raised an eyebrow. “War room?”

“Yeah. Peter will have to spin some story about why you guys