“I’ll f**king live,” Aaron snarled, his rough face tight with pain and fury.
He was stretched out on the floor as Brick fashioned a quick tourniquet around his thigh with a belt.
Cries, shouted orders and Breeds were filling the area. Cold, hard-eyed, armed and swarming through the hotel and onto the street before disappearing entirely as Diane turned, her gaze going to Lawe in narrow-eyed knowledge.
“They were shooting at me.” And she wasn’t armed. “Dammit, I told Jonas I needed that public weapons permit.”
Anger suddenly suffused her as she stared around at the wounded, weeping and shocked victims that had found safety inside the hotel.
“What the f**k is going on? What did you find, Diane?” Lawe was suddenly in her face, his canines flashing, and for once, his icy blue eyes weren’t icy.
They were burning. An inner blue flame flickered inside his eyes burning hot and furious as he gripped her shoulders and gave her a tight little shake.
“The hell if I know,” she yelled back furiously as she jerked away from him and scrambled across the floor to her men. “Where was my driver? If Jonas had his shit together and my driver had been out there, then I wouldn’t have been f**king shot at and my men wouldn’t be wounded.”
Aaron wasn’t the only one who had been hit. Brick and Malcolm were both bleeding, though Aaron’s wounds appeared to be the worst.
All three had taken rounds in their legs. Aaron’s hit was in the thigh, Brick’s appeared to be a flesh wound, while Malcolm was tying off a tourniquet on his lower leg. None of the injuries were life threatening, but they were definitely enough to ground them for a good while.
Lawe grimaced, his expression savage as he once again stared around the room while the sound of sirens outside grew shrill. “The hell if I know, but I promise you I will find out.”
The sound of gunfire had ceased, as though with the chance of picking her off with one of the bullets gone, the shooter had found better things to do than play with his gun.
“How bad is it?” she questioned Thor as she moved closer to check out her men.
“Bad enough.” Disgust filled the behemoth’s voice. “All three of them are out of commission. They’ll be getting that vacation whether they want it or not.”
It also ensured if any of the three were attempting to follow, or betray her further, that their efforts would be delayed.
Aaron, Brick and Malcolm didn’t look happy either. They were glaring at her, lips pressed tightly together, their gazes shuttered. “What the f**k is going on, boss?” Aaron growled.
Diane gave a quick shake of her head. “I don’t know, Aaron, but I intend to find out.”
“You won’t be doing anything,” Lawe snapped behind her as his fingers suddenly gripped her arm, pulling her to a stop. “The five of you are out of this. The rest of you go home.” Then he turned to Thor. “Take Diane to Sanctuary. A heli-jet will be here within the hour to transport you there, and then the pilot will fly you wherever you need to go.”
Diane froze.
Her gaze met Thor’s as Lawe began shouting orders to the Breeds still in the lobby. Most of those orders centered around protecting her.
Like hell.
She was aware of her men watching her. Brick, Aaron, Thor and Malcolm remained silent as she stared back at them.
She could feel the sudden distrust, see a glimmer of it in their gazes.
She wasn’t going to be protected. It had taken far too many years to prove to her men that she could lead them. That she could protect them.
Unfortunately, for the moment, she needed them away from her. Until she found out what was going on, it was for the best.
Lawe stalked away as though his orders were all that mattered.
“Boss?” Thor questioned her softly. “What do we do?”
“Sounds to me like we’re heading home.” Brick snorted as he shot her an accusing glare.
In that second, so easily, Lawe had damaged the very foundation of her life.
“Boss?” Thor asked again, his pale blue eyes narrowed.
“We haven’t found anything yet, Thor,” she stated, keeping her voice low. “If we don’t have more information before morning, then it sounds like vacation time.”
Her smile was tight. She felt icy inside. Frozen.
She knew where she was going. She didn’t have to turn over what she knew; it could wait. If she found who or what she was looking for, then she could call Jonas in. Perhaps by then she would know which of her men was the traitor. Not that there was a chance of gaining any help from them now. Lawe was another story.
How dare he think he could rule her life so easily? That he could make such decisions and force her to follow them.
“Since when do we obey Breeds?” Malcolm bit out furiously as Thor’s nostrils flared and Malcolm cursed under his breath, while Aaron laid back, his eyes closing in disgust.
She was very aware of their perception of her, but even more, Diane was aware of her perception of herself, and her determination to never be weak again. Let them believe Lawe could weaken her, for the moment anyway. Until she found out what she was dealing with and what the hell was going on, then it was for the best perhaps.
“Looks like we’re all taking a vacation,” she stated. “There’s nothing we can do with the three of you wounded anyway.” She nodded to the three stretched out on the floor.
“He’s weakened you,” Aaron muttered without opening his eyes. “Hell of a way to be taken out of the game.”