Knight approached and Kira gasped. Euan allowed her to pull herself from his embrace and stumble to her feet. ‘Matthew,’ she cried.
Legs still weak, she was only able to take two steps before Knight caught her. Strong arms wrapped her close, pulled her against his larger body. Like Euan, he was forced to bend around her so he could whisper words of comfort and celebration in her ear.
Their embrace was short. But it gave Euan enough time to find his own feet, draw his lagging strength to the fore, and to trap the torrent of dread that twisted with the strength of a tornado inside him.
‘Is this all who is left?’ Kira asked as she gripped Knight’s bicep for support.
Euan shook his head. ‘They hit the hotel along with the house. But there are some that survived. They’re waiting for our signal further up the valley, in case we need them.’
‘And Lily?’ Kira’s eyes were wide, her voice high, her blinking rapid.
Euan knew the surgeon would be Kira’s priority after Nick. He deferred to Knight with a nod.
‘Lily is safe,’ the tall man told her.
Her relief was physical. Kira slumped and Euan took her from Knight’s embrace to encase her in his own. Her chest expanded against his when she asked, ‘How did they know about us?’
Knight’s dark gaze briefly met Euan’s. He had never asked that question because he had always known the answer.
‘Betrayal,’ Knight stated simply as he broke their connection. ‘We were worth much to the right people.’
‘The right people being Parker and his men?’
Knight nodded, his eyes downcast.
Euan interrupted. ‘I’m going to kill them all.’
They both turned to him. Blue crystal and black onyx. Kira jerked in his hold. When he gazed down at her, she blinked as her lips pursed, hardened. ‘No.’
He narrowed his eye. ‘Once Nick is free, I will kill them, Kira. I will destroy everything that motherfucker has built. When I catch him, I will carve him up and burn his bones. I will annihilate every man that dared to follow him. Leave their bodies out in the sun to rot and feed the dogs.’
Kira shook her head. She pulled away and out of his arms. Her stance was rigid, her skin pale under the grime. ‘No,’ she said again.
‘Yes.’
Beside him, Knight shifted, the gravel under his boots crunched. The wind picked up. Kira wet her lips, bit the inside of her cheek. The dark fabric crackled as it stretched and separated the dried blood as she inhaled. She did not break eye contact. Neither did Euan.
It was Kira who broke the silence. ‘I won’t let you. I won’t let you do that to them, do that to yourself.’
His voice was cold when he said, ‘I’m not asking your permission.’
Her nostrils flared and her cheeks flushed. The glare she sent him sliced through his resolve. He had been determined, but under her scrutiny, her judgement, he questioned himself, his motives and his decision. He held out his hand in placation.
She bared her teeth at his offering. ‘You don’t get to decide the fate of the human race.’
Her fury triggered him. What did she know of sacrifice? Of suffering? She judged him when all he did, every move he made, every tactic and plan he put in place was to keep those he loved safe. And she threw it back into his face.
The sneer was instinctive. ‘You’re right, I don’t.’
When she blinked in surprise, he continued. ‘But hear me, Kira. I will not have these motherfuckers take from me what is mine. I will no longer fear them. Worry for your safety, for your lives. I want sanctuary, I want hope. I want you to be happy, in a house where you can plant your flowers and where Nick can work on cars and solar panels and whatever he wants.’ He paused, took a step forward until he towered over her and she was forced to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. ‘I want to put a baby in your belly. I want to see you grow with my child, Nick’s child. And I don’t want to be afraid that it will be taken from me. I want our children to run and play and grow. I cannot have that, any of that, if men like Parker and his hoard are on this earth. Because they will want it, they will steal it, and we will never be free.’
Kira’s chest rose and fell in time with his. Her eyes shone, her chin trembled. ‘You want a baby?’
When the soft smile touched his lips, he lifted the hands that had been clenched at his side and cupped her cheeks. He thumbed the bruises, the swelling. Over her head, he caught Knight’s gaze. The man nodded. Euan returned the gestured before he once again focused on Kira. ‘Yeah, sweetheart, I want a baby. But I want Nick safe and you happy more. Feel me?’
She reached up and wrapped her hands around his wrists. ‘I do. But you can’t kill them all. It’s not the answer.’
His hands tightened. ‘Then give me one.’
She held his gaze. Crystal blue turned cobalt. Her trembling jaw turned to granite.
Euan braced.
‘Help me and Lily lead them.’
He closed his eye. His fingers twitched as he held her face. The draw of air into his lungs was slow. ‘It’s suicide.’
‘I’m not asking your permission.’
His eye snapped open. She was an inferno encased in ice. In her face, there was a determination that would obscure the fissures in even his jaded heart. She could do it, he knew she could. It wasn’t a question of if, it was a question of how.
He bent, put his nose to hers and asked, ‘Why? They don’t deserve you. They don’t deserve anything.’
Her breath teased his lips. Her eyes flashed with blue flame. ‘They were once brothers, fathers, sons.
