Page 63 of Redemption in the Dark (The Righteous 5)
The guy he was fighting was highly trained, and they ended up in a series of punches, kicks, and knee hits that would’ve been crippling if they each hadn’t dodged out of the way. He jumped over the guy bleeding on the floor, hollered as he spun, and used a donkey-style kick to land a blow to the third man’s upper chest.
Wolf watched as the man did a backward summersault over one of the kitchen chairs. He hit the table, sending the small mason jar holding the wildflowers Maeve had picked crashing to the floor.
Once more, glass pieces were shattered all over the kitchen. It was a warning he didn’t want to analyze too closely.
He stared at the downed flowers for a moment before raising his boot and slamming it down on the guy’s hand on the floor. He’d been reaching for his gun. The bones cracked loud enough that he heard the slight crunch before the guy shrieked.
Reaching down, he grabbed one of the knives from the man’s belt at his feet and flung it at the man standing from his kitchen chair somersault. The man swore as the blade sank into his leg.
Wolf looked around the room, eyes scanning the living room for the fourth assailant, but he couldn’t be found.
Shit, he’d snuck off.
Fear for Maeve shot through him at the thought of her being hurt. Or worse, her being carted off, but he needed to finish this fight first. The third guy with the blade in his leg stood like a zombie who just kept coming. Wolf pulled his machete and dove low over the downed men. He rolled and finished in a crouch position.
He swiped the large blade against the man’s good leg, drawing a long line in the material. The man screamed as he went to his knees and grabbed for his leg. Blood was flowing out of his thigh in a thick stream.
Wolf jumped up, his kick catching the man across the jaw with a hard crack. The guy’s eyes rolled back into his head before he fell forward, knocked out.
Wolf ran for the bedroom and skidded to a halt as the last assailant fell backward out of the room with Duke latched onto his throat. The guy tried to scream, but Duke bit down hard and shook his head back and forth even as the man tried to fight the strong animal off. The man grabbed for the knife on his leg, but Maeve burst through the open door with a blade in her hand. The shiny silver flashed in the strobe lights a moment before it slammed into the guy’s leg. She pulled it out and slammed it home again with such ferociousness that he thought for a second that she was in the middle of another flashback.
The man only screamed a moment longer before he fell silent.
“Release,” he said to Duke, and the dog backed off.
Bending down, he peeled the mask off the intruder’s face and shook his head as he recognized the man. He hadn’t known him well, but he was a veteran. This was The Righteous, or the US Marshals had used them for their benefit. Either way, all his suspicions were confirmed.
“You okay,” he asked Maeve, and she nodded.
Her voice was slightly shaky, but her hand was steady. “Yeah, I’m fine. Duke did all the hard work.”
The dog was once more sitting tight to Maeve, but his eyes were trained on the man that had tried to hurt her.
Wolf rifled through the dead man’s things and found a few items that might come in handy. They were also items that couldn’t be traced. He pulled the little earpiece out of the guy’s ear and put it in his own.
“Delta Team, what is your status?”
“We are moving in from the east side. What’s with the flashing lights?”
“Charlie team, do you copy? What is with the lights? Did you secure the asset?”
Wolf tapped the mute on the earpiece and grabbed Maeve’s hand. He held a finger over his mouth, signaling for her to be quiet.
“We need to go right now,” he breathed into her ear.
The music should block out the sound of their escape, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He had no idea what other equipment they brought, but he had to bet on everything. She nodded at him, and he focused on the conversation that those in the house and still outside were having.
He ran into his room, and Maeve’s eyes went wide at the sight of all the guns and ammunition.
“Preparing for the apocalypse?”
“Something like that. Do you know how to use a gun?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t bother to question it and grabbed two handguns, loaded them, and handed them over to Maeve. Reaching into the closet, he hit the button to turn on the heat and looked at Maeve.
“It’s going to get really hot in here.”
