Page 126 of Requiem
“Back off,” Rafe snaps, his own command clicking into place.
Darkness crowds the edges of my vision until all I can feel is the pulse fluttering wildly beneath my fingers and the sound of her breathing turning panicked. But her eyes stay locked on mine. And they aren’t afraid of me. That realization cuts through the conditioning like a fucking gunshot.
“Back off!” Rafe’s command is louder.
The sound of it shatters something open inside me, ripping straight through the conditioning, through the violence, through every goddamn piece of Alexei’s programming trying to drag me under.
Iseeher. She’s not a target. She’s Emma.
MyEmma.
My grip falters before I rip my hands away from her. A fierce, strangled sound tears out of me as I stagger backward, dragging both hands through my hair while panic crashes into me all at once.
“No,” I breathe shakily. “No, youmotherfucker.”
Then I turn back toward him. And this time, there’s no hesitation left in me at all. I hit him hard enough to snap his head back against the wall, my fist slamming into his jaw once, twice, again, each impact splitting skin and spilling blood across my knuckles until something cracks beneath my hand.
“You don’tfuckingown me anymore,” I snarl, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and dragging him toward the chains. “You don’t get to use me against the people I love.”
He tries to speak again, probably another fucking command, but I don’t give him the chance.
The cuffs snap shut around his wrists with a sharp metallic click, the chains jerking tight as I shove him hard into the wall. And for the first time since I’ve known the monster, Alexei Morozov is restrained.
Emma reaches me before I can even fully turn around, her hands grabbing onto me like I didn’t just hurt her, and I pull her against my chest, my entire body shaking as I bury my face against her hair.
“I’ll never let you go again,” I whisper hoarsely. “I’llneverforget you.”
Across the room, Rafe has Adela in his arms, one bloodstained hand cupping the back of her head while he kisses her like he was moments away from losing his fucking mind without her. Which he was. Nearby, Heather is crying against Micah’s chest while he holds her tightly with one arm, his gun still raised in the other as his eyes remain fixed on the room around us.
“Kieran and Nico are upstairs,” Rafe says roughly as he pulls back just enough to look at Adela. “They’re watching the perimeter.”
Emma’s fingers tighten in the fabric of my shirt as she looks up at me. “Vlad is coming,” she says quickly, fear threading through her voice now. “He’s on his way.”
The words barely settle before shouting erupts overhead.
“Rafe!”
Rafe’s head snaps upward immediately. “What, Kieran?”
Footsteps thunder across the floor above us before Nico’s voice cuts through the house with urgency. “Multiple SUVs pulling up now!”
Chapter thirty-five
EMMA EASTON
The entire house erupts into motion the second Nico shouts from upstairs. Rafe is already moving, shoving Adela behind him while he reaches for another magazine with blood-slick fingers. He hands her a gun, and she loads it expertly. Across the basement, Micah grabs Heather’s hand and pulls her tight against his side as Kieran’s footsteps thunder overhead.
And beside me, Jude goes terrifyingly still. He’s not frozen…he’s focused. His hazel eyes sharpen beneath dark strands of damp hair as he turns toward the basement stairs like he’s calculating every possible exit, and every weapon between us and freedom.
Alexei laughs weakly from where he hangs chained against the wall, blood dripping from his mouth. “You should run,” he rasps. “Vlad will leash you, and I’ll put you down like the fucking dog you are. Only death awaits you, now.”
Jude crosses the room in two strides and punches him hard enough to snap his head sideways against the concrete. “I’m not done with you yet,”he says coldly. Then he grabs the side of Alexei’s jaw and slams the back of his skull into the wall with brutal force. Alexei’s body goes limp.
The key disappears into Jude’s pocket.
“Move,” Rafe snaps. Everything happens at once after that.
We rush upstairs to see the house above us dimly lit, filled with the sound of distant shouts from outside. Snow blows through the shattered front windows near the foyer, icy wind draining the house’s warmth, while headlights flash across the walls from outside.
