Chapter 177

The sound of gunfire split the night, and I sat up, my heart racing. I didn’t give myself time to think as more shots sounded in the distance. I ran to the dresser and pulled on the cargo pants and jacket Matt had bought me the day before. I laced up my boots and did up my belt.

I grabbed a handgun and loaded my pockets with mags. I also put a knife in my boot and added one to my belt. Before I left, I double-checked that my gun was loaded, and that the safety was off. Then I was out the door, running toward the noise.

I had to find Matt. When I fell asleep, he was still guarding Jack.

I headed into the forest where the noise was loudest. Silver moonlight washed over the trees, illuminating the ground. Growls split the night, followed by a few gunshots. Someone grabbed me from behind and I yelped, fumbling with my gun.

“It’s me,” Jack hissed. He was holding the back of my jacket.

I released a breath and turned to him. He was crouched in the undergrowth, a splatter of blood on his face and a gun in his hands.

“What’s going on?” I said, keeping my voice low. “Where’s Matt?”

“I’m here,” Matt muttered. It took a moment for my eyes to find him in the dark. He was crouched in the undergrowth, dirt smudged on his face and a rifle at his shoulder.

“The Schreibers are attacking.” Jack tightened his hold on the back of my jacket. “We need to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving here without Fiona,” I countered.

“I’ll find her,” Jack said. “You two go.”

I just shook my head and shifted to the side to peer through the trees. A silver wolf streaked by with blood along the side of its pelt. Its ears pricked, and then it ran for us. It ducked down beside Matt and shifted. Brodie glanced over at us. He had a nasty wound along his side, and he was wheezing.

“There’s more of them. They’re circling the compound,” he panted.

Matt and Jack swore.

“I’m not leaving here,” I said. “We should circle back, too.”

Brodie nodded, giving me an approving look. Jack sighed but didn’t argue. He let go of my jacket and turned toward the compound. I barely had time to hear the click of the gun before he was tackling me to the ground. A gunshot rang out and something landed on the backs of my legs.

Jack shoved the weight off me, and I turned, meeting a set of lifeless blue eyes. Matt lowered his gun, his eyes wide. “We need to get out of the trees.”

An enormous wolf appeared behind the man, blood on its muzzle. It flattened its ears, then shifted. Enzo frowned at the dead body. “We’re retreating to the compound.”

“How many of them are there?” Matt asked.

“Too many.”

Enzo shifted back and ran through the trees. Brodie shifted with a wince and took off after him. A dark shape moved through the trees and Matt raised his gun to his eye. He looked through the scope, then abruptly lowered the gun.

He charged toward the runner, grabbing them from behind and taking them to the ground. A moment later, a series of gunshots rang out.

Jack and I crawled to them, keeping low. Matt was holding Fiona to the ground. Her eyes were wide, and she had blood on her face.

I reached for her. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head but didn’t answer. A vacant expression crossed over her face and her body shook.

“Let’s go,” Matt said.

He gestured for me to follow him, keeping low as he navigated the trees. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Fiona was following, but she hadn’t moved. Jack kneeled beside her, trying to coax her to move.

“Go on,” he whisper-yelled. “I’ve got her.”

She seemed to come to her senses because she looked up at him. “I’m scared,” she whispered. I felt my heart break. She shouldn’t be here with us. It wasn’t right.

Jack gave her a sympathetic look. “I know, but I’ve got you. Okay?”

She nodded and began crawling after me. Jack kept close to her, his gun drawn and his eyes roving over the undergrowth. I turned back around and nodded at Matt, who’d stopped to wait for us.

We moved through the trees, keeping low. The main building appeared before us. People were engaged in hand-to-hand combat as figures clad in all black streamed out of the trees. Matt gestured for us to follow, then ran toward the front of the building where we could shield ourselves. He only made it a few feet before someone lunged for him.

Matt dropped his gun and rolled to the side. In a swift movement, he lifted his handgun and shot the man in the head. The body slumped to the ground. Matt turned and began firing off shots, gesturing for us to run. I shoved Fiona ahead of me as we tore across the ground. We reached the side of the building, where Ted and his boyfriend Andrew were crouched, large guns on their shoulders.

Around the other side of the compound, the fighting grew louder and more violent.

Fiona dropped to her knees the moment she was shielded, breathing hard. Jack dropped to his knees beside her. To my shock, he took her hand.

Matt stopped firing the minute we were all safe and dove for cover, rolling to a stop beside Andrew. He rose to a crouch.

“What’s the plan here?” Matt asked Ted, his eyes roving over the dark drive ahead of us. Growls and grunts split the night.

“Nina said to guard the entrance. We can’t let the Schreibers get their hands on our technology. The identities of all our agents are stored on those computers. We’re to destroy them if it looks like the fight isn’t going our way.”

“Does it look like it’s going our way?” Andrew asked.

Matt shrugged. “It’s hard to tell.”

“It’s chaos out there,” Jack agreed, still kneeling beside Fiona with his gun drawn.

“Well, we can’t just stand here. We have to help them,” I declared.

“Celeste,” he cautioned, as if to stop me.

“I’m going to fight.”

He could either fight with me, or stay here to protect the compound, but I wasn’t going to hide here. The Schreibers were here for me. If they hurt my friends, it would be my fault.

It only took a moment, but Matt was too distracted to notice the man creeping along the ground between the cars. I didn’t notice either until Jack gave a shout of warning. He dove in front of Matt as a gunshot split the night.

Ted lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. The man collapsed.

Suddenly, the sounds of fighting ceased. A cry of triumph split the night, followed by the howls of wolves. They’d managed to hold them off. All we’d done was crawl around and almost get ourselves killed.

“Oh my God,” Fiona said, reaching for Jack. “Oh my God.”

Jack clutched his shoulder, where blood spilled from between his fingers. I dropped to my knees.

Matt got to him before I could, prying his fingers away. He surveyed the wound before he clamped his hand over it. Jack winced, slumping slightly.

“I’ll get some towels,” Andrew said, darting into the compound.

“Why would you do that?” Matt growled.

Jack hissed air in and out through his teeth, his face pale. “I just figured getting shot would be tons of fun.”

“You’re an idiot,” Matt answered. Blood pooled around his fingers, running down my brother’s jacket. Panic had my heart galloping in my chest, even as Andrew returned, and they pressed the towel against the wound.

Nina appeared suddenly with just a blanket around her shoulders. Blood covered her face and matted her hair. She opened her mouth to say something but froze when she saw the scene in front of her.

“He needs help,” I pleaded.

As if on cue, Jack collapsed, slumping into Matt’s side. Matt held him up, his eyes wide. Andrew continued to apply pressure to his wound.

“We need to get the bullet out,” Matt said, his voice a growl. He narrowed his eyes at Nina as if challenging her. “He needs help now.”

Nina returned his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.”