Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(112)

Another explosion rocked the day.

Talen looked at the silent doorway, a muscle ticking in his jaw.

Cara smacked him with the gun. “Go get the boys.”

“Can’t leave you.” His teeth clenched together, and his entire body vibrated. “The boys can fight.”

“If you’re not going, I am.” She reached for the latch on the door.

“No.” He pulled her away.

Glass shattered, and Cara twisted to see Garrett fly through the air on top of another man. They landed on the sidewalk with a loud thump, and cement flew in every direction.

“Garrett!” she yelled, kicking free of Talen and shoving the door open.

Talen was right behind her, gun out, gaze surveying the broken window on the second floor. “Is he okay?”

“No.” Garrett groaned and rolled off the unconscious man. A cut bled above his right eye, and bruises already darkened his chin. “The demons were waiting for the samples.” He stood and shook his head, spraying blood, and turned for the front door.

“Wait.” Cara grabbed for his arm. “What are you doing?”

“Logan is in there,” Garrett said grimly. “Hey. Can I have that gun?”

Cara handed over the weapon, her mind spinning. “Talen? Go with him.”

The pattering of gunfire filled the day.

Suddenly, Logan leaped through the glass doors, scattering shards, the green cooler in his hand. Talen swept Cara up and around, shielding her from the glistening sharp projectiles.

“Go, go, go,” Logan yelled, dodging into the back of the SUV.

Two men in all black, both bleeding profusely, ran out the door, already firing at the vehicle.

Talen tossed Cara into the passenger side and ran around to the front, firing his gun the entire time. The two men jumped to opposite sides, out of the barrage of bullets.

“Seat belts,” Talen said grimly, igniting the engine and hitting DRIVE in one smooth motion.

Garrett leaned out the backseat window, firing at the men still shooting. One bellowed in a shout of pain. “Fucker,” Garrett muttered, getting off several more shots before Talen careened around a far corner.

The boys sat back, both breathing heavily.

Cara turned around, her heartbeat roaring through her head and echoing in her ears. “Are you all right?” she gasped.

They both nodded.

“What the hell happened?” Talen whipped the vehicle around a corner and down another street.

“They were waiting for us,” Garrett muttered, wiping blood off his chin.

Cara tried to calm her breathing. “What about the lab techs?”

“Tied up in the second-story lab,” Logan said. “I tossed my knife at the security guard, so they should be free soon.”

“I hit nine-one-one on the phone before tackling that demon out the window,” Garrett said, poking at a purple bruise on his left cheekbone.

Sirens trilled in the distance.

“Good job,” Talen said. “Cara? Call Emma and ask her where we should send those samples now. This lab has been compromised. How the demons found it, I’d sure as shit like to know.”

“Me too.” She tugged her cell phone from her back pocket and quickly texted a message to her sister. “We have five more labs in the area that we could use, but that one had the best facility, I think.”

“Stupid purists,” Logan muttered, resting his head back on the seat. “What’s the big deal, anyway?”

Cara swallowed. “Are you two sure you’re all right?”

“Yes,” they both said.

Talen tensed, looking out the back window as he drove rapidly past high-rise buildings. “Good. We have a problem.”

Cara turned to look through the back window to see a black truck eating up the distance between them. Her frontal lobe began to ache. “Demons,” she whispered.





Talen kept an eye on the truck as well as upcoming alleys. If the demons had waited for them, then surely the bastards had a trap already set in place. “Everybody armed?”

“I gave my gun to Garrett.” Cara fumbled in the glove box and drew out a new purple prototype. “Whoa. What’s this?” She turned the sleek gun over in her hand, her finger inching down the barrel.

“New gun the wolves have been working on,” Talen said. “It’s a laser that turns to bullets upon impacting flesh, but these are supposed to explode at that point. Like a hollow point.”

Her eyes widened. “Cool.” She hit the button to roll down her window and visibly stiffened in preparation.

“Relax your body, baby,” Talen said, jerking the wheel around another high-rise building and almost careening right into a huge crane. Fucking construction. There were several cranes in the area, all surrounding at least three half-finished high-rise buildings. “The more relaxed you are, the better the aim. Deep breaths.”

She nodded and blew out air. “I remember.”

“Wanna trade guns?” Garrett asked, hope in his voice.

“Not a chance. Purple exploding gun is mine,” Cara said with way too much anticipation.

Where was the trap? The truck kept on their ass but didn’t make a move to intercept. Talen drove around the construction zone on high alert.

A low-flying black helicopter suddenly zoomed around the nearest crane.