Page 28

“YOU WANT me to shoot a kid?” Lukas looked up from the photos he’d been given. One of an elderly woman who looked one wrong step from shattering a hip, one of a classically beautiful woman in her late twenties, and a third of a young man who didn’t look any older than Ghost.

“Problem?” Ghost asked around her sucker.

He wondered how she didn’t have a mouth full of dentures by now, but he kept that thought to himself. “You’re one of the most notorious mages around. What exactly do you need me for?”

She spun the sucker against her tongue before pulling it out with a dramatic sigh.

“Nikolai is not a kid. He is older than me, and more powerful. My powers won’t work on him, but a speeding bullet shot from a block or two away should be enough.

” She motioned to one of the tables of the safe house they’d brought Lukas to with her chin.

“I’m sure you’ll find one of those to your liking. ”

Lukas eyed the large assortment of guns, his eyes immediately catching on a fully outfitted AXSR rifle. His fingers twitched to get a hold of it, but he refrained for the moment. “Just so I’m clear, I shoot this Nikolai for you, and we’re done and I can go back to my pack?”

Ghost popped her sucker back in her mouth with an air of amusement. “I won’t stop you. It’s your funeral.”

He turned towards the table to hide his sneer, digging his tactical gloves out of his pocket before yanking them into place. He was starting to think most of the rumors about the Ghost being rabid were due to how much of a bitch she was.

As soon as he was close enough, he picked up the AXSR and immediately sank into the rhythm of taking it apart, checking it over, and reassembling it. He went through the full process three times before he was satisfied and packed it into the large duffel with some bullets.

His watch said it was still early enough for brunch, but his eyes were gritty from lack of sleep.

He didn’t trust Ghost or her team well enough to nap around them, even if they had saved his ass.

Especially since neither of the other two had deigned to give him their name.

They hadn’t even spoken a word since Lukas got in the SUV, which helped explain how there was so little information about them outside of rumors.

Honestly, it was disturbing as fuck and put him on edge.

It wasn’t just that the lack of trust made it clear that he was the expendable one here.

The man and woman both kept their sunglasses on inside and didn’t move once they were sitting.

Their scent was all wrong too. No hint of emotion or stress, despite the fact they were about to go into a fight.

If he couldn’t see for himself that they were breathing, he might have believed they were corpses.

The sooner they got this over with, the better.

“When are we doing this?”

“Soon.” Ghost paced near the wall, one hand attached to her sucker, the other to her phone, typing quickly with her thumb.

Whatever she saw on the screen a few moments later put a manic grin on her face, and she spun towards him.

“Now. Two minutes!” she called, and there was an immediate response as the other two pushed to their feet and grabbed their weapons, completely in sync.

Creepy as fuck.

Once they were in the car, the man handed over an earpiece.

From the front, Ghost piped up. “We have half an hour before they’re due to arrive. You’ll need to find a spot and set up before then.”

Less than thirty minutes to find a vantage point and set up a shot? Were they insane? He had zero intel, had what he was sure were outdated photos, and a gun he’d never shot before. But saying any of that was sure to get him killed, so he kept silent.

His best bet was to do the job and slip away while they were dealing with the aftermath.

He didn’t have his ID or phone, but he always kept at least fifty bucks tucked into a hidden pocket when he could.

And since joining Caius’ pack, he was never hurting for money or a meal and rarely touched his stash.

He itched to contact Caius, to let his pack know he was alive, but was sure Adams had made a call by now. But would he have told the truth or let Caius think he was dead? Would Quinn hack into the systems and find where he’d gone?

He flexed his hand against his leg, claws sprouting from his fingertips before he got himself under control .

He couldn’t shift here. No matter how much his instincts were screaming at him that this was all wrong.

Only the fact that Adams had told him he’d called in the Ghost and to stay alive kept Lukas from doing anything stupid.

Or more stupid than shooting a foreign civilian on US soil.

In broad daylight. Something stupid like attacking the most notorious mage in the country, if not the world.

The SUV slowed to a stop and pulled into a parking area.

“They always use that entrance,” Ghost said, pointing across the street to a large tinted-glass building a dozen stories tall. The logo declared it as Magierseele.

His bad feeling intensified further. No way in hell was a sniper rifle taking down anyone associated with this place. “You expect me to believe Magesoul employees aren’t going to have some kind of protection?”

Ghost flicked her hand. “It’s taken care of. All you need to do is take out Nikolai.”

Lukas really had to wonder if Adams had pulled Ghost in expecting Lukas to shoot her instead of help her. Before he could give in to that temptation, he kicked his door open, grabbed the duffel, and slammed the door. The tires squealed as they sped away before it even shut completely.

“Fuck,” he breathed, the chill air fogging his breath in front of him.

He stared at the Magesoul building for a long moment before turning a slow circle.

The target area was on the corner of an intersection, with a small half-circle drive-thru to keep from blocking traffic.

The only building with an easily accessible vantage point was the roof of the café across the street, and no way in hell was he shooting from such an open space.

The building next to him looked like a hotel, with what looked like corporate offices beside it. The other corner was open space with a street taco cart.

He’d have to take his chance with the hotel.

He slipped inside, tipping his head down and away from the cameras as he went straight for an elevator and pressed a button for one of the top floors with his gloved knuckle.

The floor was deserted when he stepped off and turned for the stairs, taking them the last three flights up.

By the time he found the door to the roof and stepped back out into the chill, he estimated he had about fifteen minutes left .

He moved like he’d been trained, finding the target area and crouching near the edge of the roof to set up the shot. There was a breeze this high up, but he spotted a pride flag hanging over the café entrance and watched it for a moment to judge the wind speed.

He should be able to make the shot. He’d shot from farther in worse conditions.

He only wished he could contact his CO to make sure he’d be protected.

It was only in the past forty years that shifters were even allowed in the armed forces, and public opinion on them still swayed from one extreme to the other, depending on which spin the news decided to put on a story.

The last thing he wanted was to cause issues for Caius.

Caius was a great alpha. He had enough to deal with right now with Max and the Order. He certainly didn’t deserve an assassination scandal on top of everything else.

Lukas blew out a breath, ignoring the chill biting his face as he shook out his limbs.

His breathing and heart rate slowed as he fell into the familiar routine of checking his sights and lining up the target area.

He scanned the street, thankful the weather looked like it would turn severe again since it kept most people inside.

He didn’t have long to freeze before a red Ferrari pulled into view. He let out a low whistle, taking a moment to admire the car before focusing on the doors.

Nikolai climbed out of the driver seat and straightened his suit as he surveyed the street. Only when he’d looked from one side to the other and back again did he move around to the passenger door.

Lukas glanced at the flag, verifying the wind was still blowing the same, before settling his finger on the trigger. When he had Nikolai in sight, he breathed out, slow and steady.

Sharp, visceral pain lashed through him, his nerve endings lighting up like they’d been doused in acid. Only his training and the need to not give away his position kept him from shouting in pain, but he couldn’t control the spasms or the way his finger squeezed the trigger.

The rifle went off, and a second later there were shouts and screaming from across the street.

Lukas heard them as if from underwater, the pain lancing through him again and stealing his breath.

Max .

Instinctively, he knew this was a result of the binding. It felt like someone was trying to burn through the magic. To sever it. Fuck, he had to find Max. If someone had gotten to him, that meant—

No, he refused to believe either Caius or Quinn could have been taken out, even by surprise. Surely he would have felt that too.

Tires squealed against pavement, and he finally caught his breath enough to look over the edge of the roof.

Nikolai wasn’t dead, but his left shoulder was drenched in blood, his arm hanging useless at his side.

Technically, Lukas hadn’t missed, so he considered it a job well done and packed up. He wasn’t about to stick around for a battle between mages. He found the bullet casing and tossed it in the duffel before standing.

He couldn’t risk going back through the hotel. He eyed the office building next to him. It was slightly taller and had a metal drainpipe. Good enough.

He slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and ran for the ledge, launching himself towards the pipe and grunting as he slammed into brick. His fingers slipped against metal and his feet skidded before he found purchase, bracing his toes against the wall to slow his descent.

He was still four stories off the ground when the screech of twisting metal echoed through the area. When he reached the second floor, he jumped the remaining distance and risked looking across the street to see Ghost’s SUV crumpled, as if hit by a speeding semi from all four sides.

Ghost herself was floating several feet in the air, feet kicking, hands scrabbling at her throat as if she were being choked.

A quick glance at Nikolai showed his arm still hanging at his side, but his other was raised in the air, his fingers curled like he was gripping something.

As Lukas watched, a security guard from the Magesoul building shuffled through the door, his motions jerky like in the bad zombie movies.

He unholstered his gun and pointed it at Nikolai’s head.

When he fired, his arm went wide as if it’d been shoved aside.

Ghost dropped half a foot in the air before flying through the glass doors and sliding inside.

Lukas decided now would be a good time to run. Already sirens ricocheted off the buildings, and he couldn’t afford to be detained here. He had to find Max and the rest of his pack. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost sense what direction they were in .

He made it about two blocks before the pain came again, knocking him to his knees as he gasped.

The frigid air burned his lungs, but it was almost a relief against the fire eating his insides.

The agony vanished as quickly as it came, and he listed to the side, hardly noticing the snow soaking into his pants before he struggled to his feet.

An old Pontiac sat in a small parking lot next to an alley ahead of him.

Lukas glanced around and didn’t see or smell anyone.

There were a few cameras at the convenience store, but it was worth the risk.

He elbowed the glass out and reached inside to pop the lock, only to find it unlocked.

With a curse, he threw his bag into the passenger seat and checked the visor for keys, but his luck didn’t hold.

He popped the panels beneath the steering wheel, found the wires he needed, and got the car started.

“Hang on, Max,” he murmured, pulling onto the street. “Just hang on till I find you guys.”