Chapter 36
Lirael
"Miss Fish, I want to assure you that protecting your investment is our top priority," Dr. Vance was saying as he led us down the eleventh-floor glass corridor. "Despite this unfortunate incident, our security protocols remain—"
The window exploded.
Glass shattered inward as the bullet punched through, missing my head by inches. Sebastian's body slammed into mine before I could process what was happening, driving me to the floor. His weight crushed the air from my lungs as more bullets tore through the corridor, each impact sending spider-web cracks racing across the remaining windows.
"Stay down," he growled against my ear, one hand cradling my head while the other went for his weapon. His heartbeat was steady against my spine—controlled, calm.
Through the broken windows I saw them—black helicopters rising from below, at least a dozen military-grade gunships forming a perfect perimeter around the building.
"Target locked—Sebastian Blackwood. Execute clearance protocol."
The amplified voice boomed through external speakers, cold and mechanical. They're here for him.
Sebastian shifted above me, drawing his pistol in one fluid motion. Three shots, three kills. Somewhere below, a helicopter's engine screamed before plummeting into the ocean.
"Marcus." His voice into the comm at his collar, still infuriatingly steady. "Status."
"Onyx Guard has the pad secured, sir. Jet's ready. But—" Marcus's voice carried genuine alarm. "Ground sensors are detecting C4 throughout the building. They've wired everything."
The sample container on a nearby cart exploded, precious lunar protein spilling across the floor in a faintly glowing pool. Vance made a wounded sound, reaching for it, but Marcus materialized and hauled him back.
"The entire building is rigged. Move now."
Sebastian pulled me upright, his hand closing around my arm. "We're leaving."
Ethan stumbled toward us, his suit torn and bloodied. His eyes found mine through my prosthetic mask, and I saw him make a decision. He extended his hand. "Fish—come with me. My yacht—"
Sebastian's grip tightened until bone ground against bone. He pulled me against his side. "She's coming with me."
Not a question. A fact.
My hand gripped Sebastian's sleeve. "I'll go with you."
Ethan's face cycled through emotions before settling on grim acceptance. "If you need help—anything—contact me."
Another explosion. Sebastian was already moving, dragging me toward the stairwell. "Marcus, clear the path. Ethan, get your people out."
We ran. The door above us exploded inward. Three figures in black tactical gear poured through, but they moved wrong—too fluid, too fast. Hybrids.
Sebastian opened fire. One lunged at me, clawed hand reaching for my throat. I dropped low, grabbed broken railing, drove it upward into the creature's exposed armpit. It shrieked and Sebastian put two bullets in its skull.
The other two closed in. One flanked Sebastian, knife coming at his blind side.
"Left!" I shouted, grabbed the fallen hybrid's combat knife and threw it. My aim was off but it made the attacker flinch, bought Sebastian the split second he needed to turn and fire.
The hybrid went down. The third was on him, too close for guns. They fought brutal and close, and it was driving him back toward the railing. I saw its gun hand coming up, aiming for Sebastian's head—
I slammed into it from the side.
We went down together, rolling across concrete. Up close I could see the modifications—scales grafted onto human skin, eyes that reflected light, teeth filed to points. It snapped at my face. I jerked back, brought my knee up hard into its ribs. Something cracked.
Then Sebastian was there, hauling it off me with one hand, gun pressed to its temple. "Big mistake." He pulled the trigger.
He pulled me to my feet, his eyes raking over me—checking for injuries. "You okay?"
"Fine. We need to move."
He nodded, but I caught something in his expression. Approval, maybe. Or surprise that I'd fought instead of running. His hand found mine as we ran down the remaining flights, fingers threading through mine, and this time it felt less like ownership and more like partnership.
The ground floor exit opened onto chaos. The jet sat on the landing pad two hundred yards away, engines screaming, Marcus waving urgently from the stairs.
Between us and safety lay open ground.
"Stay close," Sebastian said, his body angling to shield me. "When I move, you move. Don't stop. Understand?"
I nodded. "Understood."
We ran. Bullets kicked up concrete around us. Sebastian's hand never left mine, and we fell into rhythm—when he dodged left, I followed; when I saw a shooter lining up, I pulled him right. Moving together like we'd done this a thousand times.
A hybrid burst from behind a burning vehicle, weapon raised, aimed at me. Sebastian saw it the same moment I did. In that split second I saw him calculate—too far to intercept, too far to shoot, but close enough to—
He threw himself in front of me.
The bullet caught him in the left shoulder instead of my chest. The impact spun him halfway around, blood blooming across his white shirt, but he didn't go down. Just grabbed my arm with his good hand and kept running, kept pulling me forward even as his face went gray.
"Sebastian—"
"Move. Don't stop."
Three more figures materialized near the jet. Sebastian raised his weapon but his left arm wasn't working right, his aim off. I grabbed twisted metal from the ground and hurled it at the nearest shooter's face. He flinched, ruining his aim. Sebastian's shot took him in the throat.
The second came for me. I ducked under his grab, drove my elbow into his solar plexus. Sebastian finished him.
The third was smarter, faster. Suddenly there was a knife at my throat, an arm around my waist. I was being used as a human shield. The blade pressed into my skin, warm blood trickling down.
"Drop it," the hybrid said, voice layered and wrong. "Drop it or I open her throat."
Sebastian froze, his weapon raised but blocked by my body. His eyes met mine and I saw the calculation—angles, probabilities, whether he could make the shot. Then I saw something else. Something that looked like fear.
"Don't," I said quietly. My hand found the hybrid's wrist, felt where grafted scales met human skin. "Don't make me do this."
The hybrid laughed. "Do what, little—"
I twisted, sank my teeth into the exposed flesh at the junction. The hybrid screamed. Its grip loosened. I drove my head back into its face, felt cartilage crunch, and dropped low as Sebastian's gun barked twice.
The hybrid hit the ground. Sebastian was there immediately, his good arm pulling me against him, checking the cut on my throat. "How bad?"
"Shallow. I'm fine." I pushed his hand away, saw the blood soaking through his shirt. "You're not."
"Later." He was already moving, pulling me toward the stairs. "Come on."
We made it into the jet, the door slamming shut as the pilot gunned the engines. Through the window, I watched the facility collapse in fire and steel.
Sebastian collapsed into a seat, his face pale, left arm hanging useless. Blood dripped onto expensive leather. Marcus appeared with a first aid kit but I could see from his expression it was bad.
"Sir, the wound—"
The jet shuddered violently. Warning lights flooded the cabin red. Flames along the wing edge, spreading fast.
"We've got company! Three hostiles on radar—they followed us—"
The aircraft banked sharply. Another impact, and something screamed in protest.
"Hydraulics failing. There's an island below—uninhabited—"
"Do it," Sebastian said, his hand finding mine, grip crushing.
The jet dropped like a stone. Sebastian pulled me against his good side, his arm locking around me. "Hold on."