Page 87 of Blood Bonds
It’s fucking incredible.
I’ve got them, just focus on the net. Take them out, Sweetness. The faster you do it, the safer we all are.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to focus, asking my bond to kick in just a little and help out with this, and even through the deafening sounds of the fighting, I hear the click of a hammer pulling back on a handgun a few feet away from myself.
I turn, but then there’s a hot spray of blood over my face as a bullet hits the woman directly between the eyes, instant lights out for her. It’s a little bit traumatizing, just a smidge, but only because the death I would’ve given her was less messy.
Harrison grabs my arm and jerks me out of the way. “If you’re not going to go full death demon on us, then you might want to go wait somewhere safe. Where’s Bulletproof Boy gone?”
Brutus stares up at him, waiting for my command to kill the operative for touching me, but August is a little more trigger-happy and snaps at his ankles savagely. I try not to giggle at the sound Harrison makes. He stays standing, apparently catching a bullet to his own head is preferable to crouching down closer to the pups.
I duck at the sounds. “My bond is very pro ‘death to everyone’ and I’m trying to make sure we don’t lose anyone to friendly fire. Where the fuck are the rest of my Bonds?”
I could just ask them with our mind connection, but I really don’t want to distract any of them and get them hurt. Plus, that would only get me my Bonded.
I’m also itching to know that Gabe and even Nox are okay and have backup in this freaking mess.
Atlas uses the hood of one of the destroyed trucks to barricade the Gifted into one of the houses, securing them the only way we can here, while I pick off the Resistance in this area of the town methodically. I’m careful, and with my bond’s help, I’m sure of my choices.
Harrison’s murmur of praise at my work as he watches over the truck reinforces my choices.
“Good work, kid. If only you were Bonded to someone other than Draven, you’d be a fucking massive asset.”
Atlas stalks over and helps me back onto my feet. “Draven doesn’t decide what Oli does. If she really wants to, then we’re here cleaning up. Now, where the fuck is Ardern? We’re going after him next.”
I like his choice, and I let them talk through town routes while I extend my nets, slowly reaching out and cleaning up more of the soldiers on the edges of where we are.
I feel Sawyer in the security room at the base of North’s office, the elevator going down to the basement there, and there’s no question that I need to get a look at those screens.
Could I use them and clear everything out? Maybe. It’s definitely worth a try.
We findSawyer in an absolute mess in front of his computers in his underwear, blood still dripping from a gash on his forehead. He doesn’t look up as we walk into the room. He’s the one who opened up the security door for us, so he knew we were coming.
The moment we step into the room, my mouth drops open at the sight of the screens in front of us.
The town has been blown apart.
Either there’s been explosives used, or the Resistance has sent in someone with a truly destructive gift, because there are entire buildings with holes in the side of them and paths with giant craters in them, as if a bomb had gone off.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, and Sawyer doesn’t look up from his keyboard to answer me.
“North is clearing out the first five zones, his creatures have it under control. I’ve never seen someone last this long but every time it looks as though he’s flagging, something happens and he gets a kick back.”
Atlas glances at me and I raise a finger to my lips.
I already knew it was happening, I could feel it. The more souls I take, the more power there is for me to send his way.
“Gryphon and his TacTeam are moving through six to ten. Nox is with them, but he’s in full Draven nightmare mode and torturing everyone he comes across.”
I nod and step forward to stand right behind him. “And Gabe? Where’s he holed up?”
“The schoolhouse. He got out of the house early, grabbed everyone he could, and got them over there. He’s protecting at least a third of the town population there. North and the others have been finding people and sending them over to him, escorting when they can or just getting them to make a run for it. We’ve had casualties in the civilians, but it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Kieran found Sage early on and has her holed up in one of the trucks, and Felix is barricaded in the medical rooms.”
I take a breath, a deep one, and then he finally looks at me. “Oli, I need you to find Gray. Everyone else is accounted for. I can’t see him, but he was in the kitchens helping out with the changes with the water supply, please just find him—”
That I can do. Sawyer has been here the whole time keeping my men safe, there’s no way I’m leaving family behind. “I’ll get him here, don’t worry about it. Sawyer! You keep my Bonds safe, and I’ll get your man here safe, I swear it.”
He looks at me for a second longer and then nods, turning back to the computers and putting on his earpiece again to listen in to the Tac chatter there. I know he’ll keep everyone as safe as he can, but I also know that he’s going to prioritize our family.