He was going to die here. Parker shifted so Euan could see Nick. Across from him. Nick grunted Euan’s name over and over behind his gag as tears dribbled down his cheeks to join the crimson puddles on the floor. Euan couldn’t stop the wetness pooling from his own eye as Nick struggled, bled, begged for Euan’s life with incoherent words.
It was happening again. Euan could see the script playing out as it had before. They would be tortured, they would be forced to watch each other as they screamed, as they bled, as they died.
But this time, Euan would be forced to witness the light haemorrhage from Nick’s jade green eyes instead of arctic blue.
The darkness around Euan’s vision thickened, while Nick pushed through his own pain and fought against his bonds in Euan’s direction.
Parker stood and moved to Nick, a terrible smile split across his face, his knife held high.
The screech that came next shocked them all. A feminine battle-cry drew all eyes to the ceiling.
He knew what it was. But he couldn’t accept it. The bellow in his throat was trapped there by rope. He pulled against his bindings, only for his vision to fade. His chest burned from the lack of oxygen. All he could hear was the beat of his heart.
The roof fell away. Plasterboard, fibreglass and dust rained down from the ceiling. Plumes of white surrounded them. Euan couldn’t see shit. He was hogtied, hampered. Beside him, a body hit the ground. Then another, and another.
The cloud of white powder parted and out of the plume of dust, the smallest of the Valiant emerged. In moments, the room was inundated by the well-armed, well-tended female force. They fired loaded weapons at their enemies, they were dressed in military-issued protective gear. Their hands did not tremble, their muscles were honed, strong and conditioned. They were an army that was small, but victorious.
Lily and Kira were their leaders in battle.
When Kira emerged, an inarticulate groan vibrated up through Euan’s chest. Covered in white powder, never in all his life, had Euan seen such spectacular splendour. Kira was a warrior, a battle-queen. Dressed in black, her weapon held high, she shot bullets into the dust without thought, without reservation. Etched in her features was such fervour, such determination that if that look had been aimed his way, he would have been afraid. As it was, he knew he was lucky to have her. She was brilliant. There was a shift inside him, even as he began to lose consciousness, Euan knew what he had to do.
She spotted him on the floor. She knelt beside him and worked efficiently to cut the ropes at his throat. Her tears created pink tracks down her cheeks. When the ropes loosened, he choked, gasped, spat. His tongue was thick and his skin was hot where too much blood had been trapped.
He pulled himself up onto his shaking knees. Somehow, he managed to gather the energy to snatch Kira and wrap her close. Her scent was obscured by the dust. Her body shook with all that she had done. He could offer her no words of gratitude. His throat burned, his eyes stung. Every breath was agony. Euan didn’t care. She was here, she was whole, she had saved him and he was thankful.
But across the room, Parker was held to the floor by two women. This was it. It was the moment that was the cataclysm for all things. Their sacrifices, their pain, the blood and tears that had been spilt. The lives that had been lost, the friends, the family, the ones that were borne of both blood and the heart. Every step, every heartbreak, every kiss goodbye was for this exact second. The woman from Nirvana, Lily’s brothers, Mickey-O. Benjamin David Wright, a boy who loved his mother. Knight. This was their moment.
He hoped they watched on.
In the dust, Kira found the Glock that Knight had taken from him. It was a weapon that he had claimed as his own since he’d sworn retribution for Nick. She pressed the gun into his shaking hands and said, ‘End it.’
Euan met furious brown eyes. ‘I will feel no remorse for this.’
He raised the gun, pulled the trigger, and was right.
Chapter 25
Euan
Nightmares still roamed, some of the worst had escaped. But they were leaderless and afraid. Euan had no time for them now.
He sat in the dirt outside a green tent that was used as a temporary surgery. Slumped in the only comfortable position he could achieve, Euan’s back rested up against a dusty tyre. The truck laden with medical supplies had been driven by the male members of the Valiant while Kira and the women that supported her had stormed the warehouse. His throat was still hoarse from the strangulation. His body was still coated in the white powder that had fallen from the ceiling. The fire that licked his skin from the rope around his throat, arms and legs was expected.
The tent flap parted and Lily emerged. How she was coping, Euan couldn’t guess. She had lost her brothers, her father and now, her lover. She had scrubbed herself clean and changed her clothes. A blue apron was smeared with blood, the fingertips of her latex gloves were stained pink. Her face was marked with both exhaustion and triumph. She showed the cost and the impact of the win today.
Euan staggered to his feet. He used the truck as support. He held his
