Page 70 of Cruel Salvation

“One at a time or she dies.”

Hurricane moved to drag Bein away as Reaper stepped up to fight his friend. The magnitude of it was etched on his face.

Andrea slipped out through a side door, and it was the first good thing to happen since this nightmare began because it was something he’d foreseen.

Andrea Peston wasn’t a criminal mastermind, and he knew his brother Carter had been just that.

Moments later, Titan’s voice came over the radio. “We got her,” he said with a satisfied tone in his voice.

Val, with Scout and Monty, must have seized Andrea while Titan led her away to secure her.

His relief was short-lived as Damon watched in horror as Lotus charged forward, her body a blur of motion and rage as she hurled herself at Reaper and Duchess, who was slightly off to the side. His sister-in-law was tall and strong, but Lotus was faster and more agile than Duchess expected, and she didn’t want to fight her. She managed to pin her arms behind her back in a split second, using all her strength to force Duchess onto her knees.

Gideon jumped in and dragged his wife away, his eyes locking on him, begging him to do something.

Reaper, however, wasn’t so easy to take down. He was bigger than Lotus and seemed to be holding back from fighting with full force, obviously not wanting to hurt a pregnant woman. He saw her as a sister even if she was under mind control. His hesitancy cost him dearly though as Lotus used it against him, delivering powerful blows that eventually knocked him off balance and onto the ground with an audible thud.

Lotus descended on him like a feral beast, her fists pounding and legs thrashing as if driven by an inhuman rage.

“Damon, you need to talk to her, try and get through to her.”

Damon looked at Bás who had edged toward him, a look of powerlessness on his face that he knew didn’t sit well. “You think she’ll listen?”

Bás shrugged and shook his head, his hands completely tied even as he edged sideways again trying to get closer to Tim so he could take him down. “Just fucking try or she’s going kill herself or someone she cares about and that will be a different kind of death for her.”

Damon could only watch, helpless to his own terror until he remembered the person she was beneath that mask of hatred. A woman who loved so hard she almost broke herself in two. Clearing his throat, he cried out for her to stop. To his shock, she diverted her wrath in mid-swing, turning towards him, stalking him with eyes so cold and empty they left him broken inside as she stopped mere feet in front of him, leaving Reaper forgotten on the ground. “Baby, please. It’s me.”

Her head tilted slightly in what looked like confusion and then she continued her attack with a fist so powerful it made Damon see stars. He scrambled away just in time for Naz to miss her follow-up kick and jumped back as she advanced again. Blood dripped from her lip and brow, but there was no fatigue on her face—just pure destructive energy. Damon circled Lotus, desperately trying to salvage something familiar in her deadened gaze. She was a soldier now; no longer the woman he loved, only a merciless weapon the drug had taken control of. His heart pounded like drums against his rib cage as he searched for any possible way to save her from this hellish trance. “Naz, baby, it’s me. It’s Damon,” he begged even though he knew it might cost him his life.

He knew he had to be careful, one false move and she’d be on him again, but he had to do something before it was too late. “Naz, listen to me. You have to fight it. You have to remember who you are.”

Lotus’ eyes flickered for a moment as if she was trying to focus on his words, but then they went blank again and she charged at him, fists flying. He could see Tim Cooper hesitating in the background as if he wasn’t sure what to do, the drugs were clearly wearing off or not as effective as Andrea had hoped, but he kept his weapon aimed on Lotus the red dot bouncing around her body the only thing keeping this team from taking him down and keeping him alive right now.

He managed to dodge her blows, backing away slowly as he tried to think of something else to say. A memory flashed in his mind of the first time they’d kissed. They’d been bickering about him paying for her drink at the bar and he’d been smiling like a loon, just enjoying every second of his interactions with the contrary woman when she’d gone on her tiptoes and kissed him hard, biting his bottom lip and turning his dick to stone. She’d stepped away before he could lean into her and told him they were equal now because a man would never buy a drink for a woman without wanting something in return. He’d told her she was wrong and thus begun another heated debate.

“Do you remember the first time you kissed me?”

He watched her gait slow as she came at him, a flicker of something flashed in her eyes before it was gone. “I bought you a drink and you kissed me because you said I’d never do it without wanting something from you.”

She was in his face now, breathing hard, her chest heaving.

“You were right. I did want something, I wanted you. I wanted your today, your tomorrows. I want a life with you and me together in whatever format that takes.”

“Nazareli, finish this.”

Damon glanced at Tim who looked cold but less sure than he had, hesitant almost, confused by his own words. His eye caught on Bás from his peripheral as he moved towards Tim slowly, waiting for the right moment to strike. It made him wonder at the effectiveness of the drug because he didn’t think fear was possible in this state.

Before he could decide, his legs were taken from under him and his body hit the ground with a bone-jarring shudder, his head smacking the edge of the door. Lotus straddled him, her knees digging into his shoulders as her hands came around his neck.

He could hear the team shouting at her, trying to get through to her, their hearts breaking too, as Bein cradled his arm, Duchess was in Gideon’s arms, Bás looking fit to be tied, and Reaper bleeding from a wound on his face as he held his ribs.

Yet he focused on her as her hands squeezed and his breaths became harder to draw into his body. “I love you, Naz. I won’t fight you. I love you so much. You’ve made my life complete. You and our baby.”

Each word was scorched and jagged, torn from him as he tried to make contact with her through the drugs. Lifting his hand, he laid it against her lower belly and she stilled, her arms relaxing just enough to allow oxygen into his burning lungs.

Scalding hot tears cascaded down his face as he watched her. “I love you, baby. Now and forever, I’ll always love you.”

Naz blinked once, twice, and then slowly, oh so slowly, he saw the spark of life return to her eyes, a spark that brought with it an indomitable hope. Her body went limp as she let all the pain and anguish she had been suppressing for years come pouring out of her in rivers of tears. He rolled her to her back, his body coming over her’s, ready to protect her from the bullet that would surely kill him when Tim fired.

“I love you, baby.”

A deafening roar ripped from her throat as if the torment and heartache were too much to bear any longer. Around him, Shadow was moving, taking out Tim, with a lethal efficiency, but his sole focus was Naz as she clung to him and wailed like her soul was being ripped apart.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Her broken whispers echoed around them as he embraced her. He caressed her hair and kept repeating it would be alright over and over, though deep down he knew there was no guarantee of anything anymore. He just knew whatever happened, whatever future awaited them, he’d be beside her every step and he’d never let her go again. If she ran away one more time, he’d follow her to the ends of the wilderness and back.