Page 24 of Breathe (Genesis: Savage Warriors #1)

G unfire echoed through the area and the bullet punched into the wet ground.

Rebel and Freedom struggled, with Rebel’s hands around Freedom’s, trying to wrestle the weapon away from the blond.

Again, the gun fired, the next bullet lodged into a nearby tree.

“Shit! Rebel, stop.” Azrael leaped at the pair and grabbed Rebel around the waist to haul him off of Freedom.

Freedom lost his grip on the gun, and Rebel knocked it away just as he was pulled away.

Thankfully, the gun spun out and lay buried somewhere in the leaves.

“You asshole!” Freedom spat from where he sat on the ground. “That’s my favorite gun!”

Leaping to his feet, Freedom threw a punch that caught Rebel on the jaw. Azrael couldn’t keep his footing when Rebel slammed back into him, and they both fell to the wet ground. Azrael lost his grip on his pocket pistol, but held onto his blade.

Something crashed through the trees before Azrael could even get to his feet.

Shit just kept getting worse when a giant stormed into the clearing.

And the giant had a gun in his hand.

Pale blue eyes took in the scene, the man’s gaze ran over him and Rebel tangled on the ground, and then Freedom standing nearby.

Boston darted over to them just as Azrael and Rebel both got to their feet.

The gun waggled at them, and Azrael dropped the knife he still held.

Some emotion flashed in the big man’s eyes, and it was so brief that Azrael would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking right at the guy. If he had to put a name to the emotion, he’d call it rage, so he should not have been surprised at the man’s next move.

The gun stopped moving and leveled right at them.

Oh shit!

“No, wait!” Azrael shouted, but the giant pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The sound blasted in his ears.

The odd thing was that the bullet missed them and punched into the ground nearby.

Bang!

The man fired again, and this time the bullet was closer, punching into the ground.

“Run.” Azrael grabbed Rebel and Boston and pushed them toward the side of the house.

“Fierce! Will you stop shooting!” Freedom demanded.

The big man cocked his head to the side and sliced those pale blue eyes at Freedom and finally stopped shooting.

Azrael stood near the side of the house with Rebel and Boston, unsure if he should move them or not. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, and Azrael was glad Rebel hadn’t pulled his own gun.

They could have all ended up dead in a shootout.

The two additional blades Azrael carried on his own person remained tucked away unseen, and he left them there.

He didn’t want to add to the tension when both groups faced off against each other. Freedom and Fierce on one side, and he, Boston, and Rebel on the other.

“They’re assassins,” Freedom murmured.

“From Solomon,” Azrael added, knowing that Freedom would recognize the name.

Freedom’s nostrils flared and his throat moved with a hard swallow.

Fierce glared. “Where is that sick fuck? Tell me right now!” The words were spoken low and guttural… sounding all the more lethal with the charged way they filled the cool, damp air.

“He’s dead,” Azrael said softly. “I killed him.”

“He is? You did?” Freedom stammered.

“Why did you use Solomon’s name as a reference on your profile?” Azrael asked, puzzled as it became clear that both Freedom and Fierce hated Solomon.

“To draw him out, to have him contact us so I could kill that motherfucker,” Fierce answered, still holding the gun on them, but the weapon began to slightly lower.

“Solomon’s been dead almost two years,” Azrael said.

“Tanis is dead too,” Boston said, coming from behind him and Rebel.

Freedom shuddered at the name.

“Real killed Tanis last year,” Azrael offered.

“I heard about Tanis being dead,” Fierce said flatly. “But not about Solomon.”

“How did you hear about what happened to Tanis?” Azrael asked.

Fierce gave him a flat, hard stare and didn’t answer.

“Didn’t you serve with someone named Real?” Freedom blurted out, looking at Fierce, sounding confused.

Fierce glared at the tiny blond. Freedom’s eyes went wide, and he slapped his hands over his mouth.

“Oops.” The word came out muffled.

Fierce cleared his throat and turned those pale, cold eyes on Azrael. “You do know that Tanis had a partner, right? A blood brother who did the same fucked up shit,” Fierce growled, his mouth pulled tight.

“What… no. I didn’t know,” Azrael said, but his mind churned.

“Yeah, a brother who is out there doing the same terrible things to kids,” Freedom whispered. “You guys only took out part of the problem when you killed Tanis.”

“And now that I don’t need to deal with Solomon, I’ll go after Micky,” Fierce said.

“No!” Freedom’s voice was filled with fear and anger.

“Micky? Is that the name of Tanis’ brother?” Azrael asked, his blood running cold.

“No, Tanis’ brother is Titus. Micky is Titus’ right-hand man,” Fierce said.

“Tanis and Titus? Are you kidding me?” Rebel asked incredulously. “Are they fucking twins?”

“No, they’re triplets. Tanis, Titus, and Tatum,” Fierce answered solemnly.

“Well, shit.” Rebel raked his fingers through his short, dark hair.

“Let’s…talk inside,” Azrael said, gesturing to the house.

Fierce scowled, but Boston took a step closer to the pair.

“It’s warm and there’s a fire going,” Boston said.

“I’m cold,” Freedom said, hugging his arms around himself.

Fierce took one look at Freedom’s shivering form and nodded.

Two down and numerous to go, Azrael thought as he led the way into the warm house.

Hopefully, they could bring both Freedom and Fierce into the business. It was way better being in Erebus or YA or hell, even Genesis, than being out in the cold.

He made them all coffee and everyone drank it except Boston and Freedom, who opted for a can of soda pop.

“So, are you two…” Boston asked, waving his hand at Fierce and Freedom. “Together?”

“What?” Freedom asked, shocked. “No, he’s my best friend.”

“Friends only,” Fierce agreed.

“There’s quite an age gap,” Boston pointed out.

“Yeah, circumstances will bring the oddest people together,” Freedom said with a slight smile at Fierce.

The bigger man smirked and nodded in agreement.

Before Azrael could offer to make food, the sound of vehicles approaching down the dirt road filled the night.

It was the sound of big vehicles, like four UTV’S or a fucking tank, Azrael couldn’t be sure, but the house shook with a rumbling force.

He was sorry he’d lost his pocket pistol, but grabbed one of the nine-millimeter handguns they had stashed in various places around the house.

They all had guns when they took position at the windows, watching.

Headlights cut through the night, and four large vehicles pulled up and stopped in front of the house.

“Now what?” Azrael muttered and then caught his breath when several men dressed in dark military gear jumped out of the vehicles.

One of them looked oddly familiar, and his breath caught in his throat. He knew the cut of those wide shoulders. He knew the tilt of that sexy head and those big, beefy arms.

It was Real.

So, this had to be Genesis.

One of the soldiers stepped forward and opened the door of the dark camo Humvee.

Azrael stopped breathing when he caught sight of the man who emerged from within.

“Who is that?” Freedom said, the words sounding a bit strangled.

Azrael lowered the gun and took a deep breath.

“It’s the Secretary of Defense William Caldwell,” he whispered.

The whole room dropped into an eerie silence.