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Just as I lunge away, the van beside me suddenly morphs into orange, bubbly liquid. I don’t think. I just whirl, tackle Takeshi, and slam him behind an empty pew just as the whole fucking van detonates with the force of the sun.
It feels like getting hit by a freight train at top speed.
The impact of the blast shatters and splinters the pew Tak and I are crouching behind, punching into me hard enough to lift me off my feet and send me flying backward as the air is sucked from my lungs.
For a moment, the world is still and quiet except for a high, whining sound ringing in my ears—but muffled, as if coming through cotton balls.
I blink, choking gray dust from my cracked lips as I raise my head, only then realizing that I’m on the ground.
Holy. Fuck.
Dust and debris fill the air, choking the church with smoke. I can vaguely hear screams and people scrambling for cover, but it all sounds distant, muffled by the ringing in my ears.
For a moment, my vision swims, my mind struggling to catch up with the chaos around me. But then, through the haze of smoke, I force myself to sit up, my gun still held tightly in my hand.
The van is engulfed in flames, the heat scorching the air around it. Smoke billows out in thick, black plumes, and I can hear the crackling of flames as they consume the wreckage. I push to my feet, ignoring the pain in my side as I scan the room for any sign of the attackers. Tak crawls out from under a shattered pew, flashing me a thumbs up sign as he coughs violently.
All I can think about is Freya.
I can’t see her through the smoke.
I need to find her.
Takeshi is suddenly at my side, grabbing my arm, trying to pull me toward the exit. “Come on!” he barks into my ear. “We gotta go!”
I shove him off, my eyes still scanning the room. I won’t leave until I see her. Until I know she’s safe.
Then, through the smoke, I spot her through an open side door—crouched behind a car outside, Kir and his men forming a protective circle around her. Her face is pale, her eyes wide with shock and horror.
But she’s alive.
I’m not sure how to process the feeling of relief that floods through me.
I shouldn’t care this much. I shouldn’t feel this need to protect her, to make sure she’s okay, but I do. And it’s pissing me off.
“Mal!” Tak roars. “Let’s fuckinggo!”
I nod, grimacing as he helps me to my feet and out the side door. Hana rushes over to me from where she’s been standing with Sota and his men. She hugs me fiercely, sobbing into my chest as I wrap a bloodied arm around her.
“All good, sis,” I grunt. “All in one piece.”
She pulls back and winces when she looks up at me. “Fuck, Mal, you’re bleeding.”
I frown, bringing a hand up to touch my temple. It comes away red and wet.
Oh.
“I’m fine,” I say. “I’ll get it checked out.”
Hana still wants to fuss over me, but I’ve got other things to worry about besides a cut on my head.
Kenzo and Annika are both unharmed, though Kenzo looks dazed and slightly fire-blackened. Sota is okay, too, and I grin when the tough old bastard tells me that in his day car bombs “were a lot more effective”.
I glance around the flaming wreckage as approaching sirens wail in the distance.
Whoever was behind this knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn’t just an attack—it was a message.
My head instinctively whips around to look at Freya. She’s still with Kir, joined now by Annika. She’s hugging her friend, shaken and terrified, but when she looks over Annika’s shoulder and sees me, she stiffens. I watch her marked, bruised throat bob as she swallows. I watch that furtive fire flicker in her eyes as they lock with mine.
