Page 144 of Wrapped in Their Arms

“Noelle is coming with me!”the human snarled.“She’smy wife!”

“The fuck she is,”Burngrowled under his breath.

The man’s hand tightened aroundNoelle’sthroat.Shegave a strangled, gasping cough, her eyes going wide and glassy with terror.Thebastard’s other hand fumbled clumsily at his belt—reaching for a weapon.

Burn didn’t hesitate…he didn’t even think.

He raised his blaster, sighted the target, and squeezed the trigger.

The energy bolt tore across the front lawn of the old house in a crackling streak of red and hit the bastard squarely in the shoulder.

The man screamed—a high-pitched, panicked howl—and his grip onNoellebroke at once.Shestumbled backward andBrightwas there, catching her, pulling her close.

“It’s okay, sweetheart,I’vegot you—BurnandIare here,”Brightmurmured fiercely, cupping her face in both hands.

“MyAbuela,” she gasped hoarsely, pointing toward the porch.“Mygrandmother!”

Burn followed her shaking gesture—and what he saw made his blood go cold.

Four grown men—big, burly, masked—had their hands all over a trembling, older woman.Theold lady was sobbing so hard her frail frame shook.Oneheld her wrists, another her shoulders.Oneof them barked something into a radio.

Disgusting,Burnthought,Rageflooding every vein.Cowards.Bullies.Theyought to be ashamed to terrorize a helpless female like this.Whatthe fuck is wrong with these humans?Whereis their honor?

“Get away from her!”he roared, raising his blaster to cover the group.“Getback orI’mgoing to fucking shoot!Andthis timeI’maiming for the head!”

The four men jerked like puppets whose strings had been cut and their hands shot into the air.

One of them backed up too fast, tripped over a flower pot, and toppled right off the porch.Helanded in a crackling bush with a startled yelp, scrambling like a panicked turtle on his back.

“What do you want to do with them?”Brightasked tensely beside him, still holdingNoelletight.“Noellesays they’re federal agents of some kind—shooting them might cause some kind of incident.”

“No, we’re not going to shoot them,”Burnsaid.Aslow, dangerous smile spread across his face as the perfect idea hit him like a lightning strike.“We’regoing to do something much,muchworse to them.”

BecauseBurnwasn’t just aDarkTwinKindred…he was a male whose female had been threatened.

And for that crime, there would be no mercy.

80

NOELLE

Noelle stood on the cracked, weed-choked sidewalk with one arm wrapped tightly around her abuelita, shielding the frail woman’s trembling body as best she could.Hergrandmother’s head rested against her shoulder, thin white hair fluttering in the cold night breeze, andNoellecould feel every delicate tremble that still racked her small frame.

“It’s okay now,” she whispered softly inSpanish, pressing a kiss to the top of her abuelita’s head.“Losmonstruos se han ido, abuelita.Yapasó todo.”

The quiet street glowed with strings ofChristmaslights—twinkling reds, greens, and blues that blinked cheerfully from sagging porches and bushes half-dead from frost.Butthe festive glow felt surreal, like something out of a parallel universe.Itdidn’t belong to the chaos that had just erupted in front of her grandmother’s house.Itdidn’t belong to the woman she used to be.

That woman would’ve beggedBranson—given in.Sacrificedherself to protect her family.

But she didn’t have to—not this time.NotwithBrightandBurnhere.

Across the dry lawn, she watched as the two massiveKindredwarriors finished strappingBransonand the four masked agents into the back of the purple and gold shuttle—the same one they’d stolen fromThune.

Because of its sheer size, the shuttle had no trouble fitting all five of them in the back compartment.Branson, still whining about his shoulder, was shoved in first—his face twisted in pain and outrage.Theothers followed, scowling and silent—stripped of their weapons and their bravado.

“You have any last words to say to your ex-mate?”Burnasked, turning back to her, his deep voice low and dangerous.“Becauseyou’re never fucking going to see him again.”

Noelle looked atBranson.