Chapter 67 The Blood in the Valley
Aria POV
The driver in the garage hadn't even pulled the trigger before Grayson lunged forward with a burst of energy that seemed impossible for someone with a burning scar on his chest, and he tackled the man into a stack of empty crates while I scrambled into the driver’s seat of the nearest idling SUV. We didn't stay to see if the guard was getting back up, because Grayson dived into the passenger side and shouted for me to drive, so I slammed the gear into reverse and tore out of the parking garage while the tires screamed against the smooth concrete. The city was a blur of rain and emergency lights as we bypassed the main roads and took the service trails that led toward the hills, and the higher we climbed, the more I could see the orange glow of fires reflected against the low-hanging clouds in the distance.
We finally reached the crest of the ridge that overlooked the valley where the Nightfang estate was tucked away, but Grayson told me to kill the lights and pull over because the road ahead was choked with the wreckage of several pack patrol cars. I stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the edge of the overlook, and the sight below made my heart drop into my stomach, because the secondary pack houses where the younger families lived were engulfed in massive sheets of flame. The perimeter fences that were supposed to be electrified and reinforced with high-frequency sensors were completely dark and lifeless, and I could see dozens of Iron Fang motorcycles pouring through the gaps in the wire without any resistance at all.
"The fences are down and the automated turrets aren't even tracking the targets, which means that 'security update' Jax and Jess were bragging about was actually a kill-switch designed to leave the entire valley wide open for an invasion," I said, and I watched as a group of riders tossed firebombs through the windows of the communal dining hall.
"They aren't just here to win a territory war or steal our shipment logs anymore, because they’re here to erase us from the map and make sure there isn't a single person left to tell the story of the Nightfangs," Grayson said, and his voice was hollow as he leaned against the hood of the SUV to keep from collapsing.
He was staring down at the main courtyard where a handful of his brothers-in-arms were being pushed back toward the stone steps of the main hall, and I could see the muzzle flashes from their handguns getting fewer and farther between as the Iron Fangs closed the circle. It looked like a slaughter in slow motion, and the man beside me looked like he was watching his entire world crumble into ash while he was too weak to even hold a weapon steady. I looked toward the east side of the property where the infirmary was located, and I noticed a small group of people huddled behind a row of industrial laundry bins while a group of three bikers began to circle them with crowbars and chains.
"Grayson, look over by the medical wing, because that’s Martha and a few of the non-combatants from the kitchen, and they're trapped between the wall and those riders," I shouted, pointing toward the white building that was starting to catch fire at the roofline.
"We can't get down there in time, and if I go down there in this condition, I'll just be giving them another trophy to hang on their wall," Grayson replied, and he gripped the metal of the car so hard I thought he might dent it, because the shame of being sidelined was clearly eating him alive. "My duty is to get you to safety and then find a way to regroup with whatever is left of the council, so we have to stay on this ridge and wait for an opening to bypass the valley entirely."
"If we wait for an opening, Martha and those kids are going to be dead, and I’m not going to let you sit here and talk about duty while your people are being hunted like animals in their own backyard," I argued, and I grabbed his arm to turn him toward me so he could see that I wasn't joking. "You’re the Alpha and they’re looking at that main hall for leadership, but you’re up here acting like the fight is already over, so you need to get in the car and tell me exactly how to drive into that courtyard without hitting a landmine."
"Aria, you don't understand the risks of driving into a hot zone when the sensors might still be set to target anything that moves, and I can't let you throw your life away for a rescue mission that has a ten percent chance of succeeding," he said, but he was already looking back at the infirmary with a spark of that old fire returning to his eyes.
"I’ve spent my life being told what the risks are by people who don't have the guts to take them, so get in the passenger seat and start giving me directions before I decide to just wing it and drive off the side of this cliff," I told him, and I didn't wait for his permission before I hopped back into the driver's seat and revved the engine until the whole chassis was shaking.
He stood there for a second, looking at the burning houses and then at me, and I saw him make a choice that had nothing to do with the Syndicate or the corporate board or his sister’s plans. He climbed in and buckled his seatbelt with a grim nod, and as he reached over to shift the SUV into the heavy-duty off-road mode, I felt the weight of the situation settle over us like a shroud. I pulled the steering wheel hard to the left and sent the vehicle plummeting down the steep embankment, bypassing the main road and crashing through the thick brush while the headlights cut through the smoke-filled air.
We were halfway down the slope when a massive explosion rocked the main hall, sending a plume of black smoke into the air that blocked out our view of the courtyard entirely, and the radio in the dashboard suddenly crackled to life with a voice that sounded like it was coming from inside a tin can.
"Grayson, if you can hear this, don't come to the house, because the Silverfangs aren't just outside the gate," the voice of Miller screamed over the sound of gunfire, and then the signal was replaced by a high-pitched, steady whine that made my skin crawl.