Killian caressed the trigger and squeezed until the sharp ringing burst through their eardrums. One shot to Aidrick’s kneecap, and he collapsed to the floor like a wounded soldier in the mud.
Aidrick hunched and clung to the exploded thread of muscle and bone. Crying and lashing forward, he screamed, “He will find you, you… fuck!”
Lucas holstered his weapon and pulled out a blade. Taking hold of the alpha’s thick head of hair, he dragged him to the corner wall, placing the blade against his forehead.
“You never learned when to shut your mouth, Aidrick.” Lucas breathed down the side of his neck.
“Cassian will track you down,” he moaned. “You’ll never make it out of here.”
Killian caressed the trigger once more, aiming down at his foot. The bullet shattered Aidrick’s big toe into oblivion.
When his voice gave out from crying, Killian leaned forward. “We need a sample fusion kit, and you’re going to give it to us.”
Aidrick’s eyes swayed open in disbelief. Saliva trickled from his lips to the floor. “You fucks blew my leg off for a fusion kit…”
Both Killian and Lucas inched closer to him, digging their weapons into the skin. A trickle of blood traced his porous face. “Sure did. We need a doctor, too. Know where to find one?”
The alpha shook his head. “A specialist who doesn’t use thumbprint identification retrieval? Are you out of your mind?”
There was no question the men were out of their minds. They were going against the most powerful slave trader in the region, a warmonger tyrant with thousands of slayings under his belt. They were more than crazy, and they were willing to die for this.
“Give us the damn kit.”
“Okay, okay. Fusion kit is behind me. Check the cabinets,” he said, face turning a shade of gray.
“And the doctor?” Killian asked.
Aidrick shut his eyes and sighed. “I can’t help you with that. I only know of one doctor in Dagon, and apparently Cassian has already got to him.”
Killian lowered the gun. “That doctor died in the pipes. Saw it with my own eyes.”
A chuckle fell from Aidrick’s dying throat. “I always knew you’d do me like this.”
“Don’t get sentimental. Our pack’s relationship with you has always been strictly business,” Killian said.
“You found her, didn’t you? The omega…” Aidrick swallowed before smiling, the life fading from his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.”
“We did,” he said.
“So. You will have your family after all. How sweet,” Aidrick said.
“My pack has always been my family. Nobody else,” Killian said.
Lucas swiveled the blade back into the sheath on his thigh. Standing up, he went and seized the fusion kit from the cabinet. “Getting tired of this guy.”
Finally, Killian stood up with a wicked grin. “You should see a doctor. You’re losing a lot of blood.”
“Wait, please. I helped you. Now, you help me,” Aidrick said.
“This isn’t a game,” Lucas said. “There are no rules we have to abide by.”
They left Aidrick with the fusion kit and hurried back to the small room where Wren and Vash were hiding. Killian opened the door and found the two bodies, intertwined and sleeping. Tossing the black box against Vash’s wounds, Vash woke with a painful startle.
“Got your kit,” he said.
Vash analyzed the box’s print. It wasn’t a replica—that was for sure. But he had no fucking clue how to use the newer model. “What about a doctor?”
“Aidrick only knew of the specialist we saw in the pipes,” Lucas said.