by Ava Mason
All of my guys were focused but relaxed and the only concern I felt from them was for me. My own tension was leaking into them, so they were worried about me.
We were silent now and I fell in line, smooshed between Christian and Avery. Literally. Avery was walking so close to me that I felt the need to walk faster. But Hunter told me to stay behind Christian, so I was right on his heels. He kept pausing every so often to make sure that I was behind him, and so most of the time either Avery or Christian were touching me.
Hunter was ahead of the whole group while Easton brought up the rear. This part of the city was clean and quiet, with only sleeping blocks of apartment homes and ornately designed businesses. There was no one on the street and very few guards expected inside.
I should feel relaxed. Being with experienced teams, who had done things a lot harder than this should’ve given me a lot of confidence. Except that there was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind. The feeling that there was a small possibility that Andre would have somehow gotten word that we’d be coming in tonight. That and the fact that he probably wasn’t too happy that Hunter and I had sex on his desk.
Yeah. There was that too.
So, a good reason for him to want to kill two birds with one stone. Get the artifact. Kill the annoying pests that soiled his desk.
Hunter splintered from the group, walking north while we continued west. After three blocks, Christian, Avery and I headed north while Easton disappeared through the door to a parking deck.
There were three entrances to the building. One in the front and one in the back, then an inconspicuous one on the side. The front entrance would be occupied by two guards and would have the most traffic, if any, at this time of night. The side door was next to an apartment building, which could have late-night stragglers, so we were entering through the back exit.
Easton was going to cover our back exit by setting up on the parking deck next to it. Hunter was going to watch the side exit. The front exit would go unwatched, since it was covered by the guards. We would use that door as an absolute last resort.
As soon as we reached the museum, we stopped in the shadows, watching the door from across the street. The back end of the museum was still beautiful; it looked like a small palace.
While we waited for clearance from Hunter and Easton, both guys pressed into my side and it was making me anxious. My restlessness was leaking into them, in turn making them nervous. I could feel it in every inch of my body and their touch was only making it worse.
“Do you guys always keep so close to each other on missions?” I whispered frantically, even though no one was on the streets.
“What’s going on over there?” Easton’s voice came out clearly through the earpiece. Both Avery and Christian jumped apart.
“Nothing.” I held my hand to my ear like someone in the movies, even though it clearly wasn’t necessary. “Nothing going on. You just let us know when we’re clear to go in.” I forced confidence that I didn’t feel into my words.
Christian yanked his earpiece out and turned towards me. “Everything’s going to be fine, Pink. Just calm down. Even if something happens, we’ve got each other’s back.” He stared into my eyes and I focused on his words. “Plus, we’ve got badass Lizzy on our team. This is a walk in the park.” He winked, taking my hand in his and shot a calming warmth into it. I took in a deep breath, letting go of my nervousness. He was right. Even if Andre showed up, we could handle it.
“Better?” His green eyes focused on my response. I nodded and he smiled. Kissing the top of my head, he put his earpiece back in. Avery squeezed my hand reassuringly, and I smiled at him.
Then we were back in mission mode as Hunter’s voice sounded in my ear. “All clear on my end. How you doing Eastie?”
I sniggered, amused that Easton’s new nickname was catching on.
“You call me that again and you’ll be eating my fist for breakfast.”
“I’d like to see you try, Eastie-boy.”
I cupped my hand over my mouth, grinning. Avery didn’t look affected but Christian had a smile on his face.
“I’ve got no problem with that.” Easton again. “I’m all clear on my end. I also checked your front door on my way here. Everything is a go.”
Christian bounced off the wall and I followed him, with Avery on my tail. We kept to the shadows except to cross the dark street. A grey and orange cat emerged and raced in front of us, its tail held high. It was headed straight for the large trash bin behind a seafood restaurant. I knew it served seafood because I could smell the fishy rank from where I walked.
We reached the museum and stopped under a window. Christian waited a sec, then he peered inside. After making sure that no one was in the back room, Christian led us to the door. He punched in the code and the door opened. We had exactly ten-seconds to disable the silent alarm.
Christian rushed forward and easily put in a complex series of numbers. The blinking red light turned to green and he gave us a thumbs up.
“So far, the codes are good.” Christian reported to Hunter and Easton. Avery pressed into me, pushing me gently forward and we fell in line again, walking through the hallways, passing glorious and beautiful pieces of art.
After passing several rooms, Christian stopped outside a doorway. In the next room was the guard station located in the middle of the museum. Information from Aria, plus Christian’s and my surveillance, determined that there were only four guards on duty at night. Only one covered this station and he was busy watching the soccer game. Just as we’d anticipated. Tonight was the first game of the season and everyone and their dog were watching it. It was popular here in Aerwyna.
He looked at Avery, speaking softly. “Your turn.”
He moved forward, and they switched positions with me still squished in the middle like the jelly in a peanut butter sandwich. The guys were the peanut butter, of course, because they had the nuts.
Avery pulled something out of his bag, then crouched to the ground, motioning for us to do the same. We silently slid down the wall, opening our backpacks, while Avery slithered on his stomach and disappeared around the corner, holding a canister of sleeping gas.
After a few seconds, Avery climbed back around the corner and we all put our gas masks on. With a slight hiss, gas leaked from the container throughout the alcove next to us. I counted silently in my head, waiting for it to knock the security dude out, and I could hear either Hunter or Easton breathing in my ear. I breathed loudly through my gas mask as the minutes ticked by.
“What the hell?” The security guard finally noticed the gas. His footsteps were slow and heavy as he moved closer to us. There was a loud thump and then the room was silent. After a beat, Avery peeked around the corner, then stood up and we moved towards the security guard who was now taking a nice nap on the floor. He was probably going to wake up with a hell of a headache.
“Spray this around. It’ll disperse the gas and the smell.” Avery’s voice came to me through the earpiece as he handed me an aluminum canister. He and Christian picked up the guard and took him towards his chair. I grabbed the can off the floor and tucked it into my backpack, then sprayed the air, dispersing the gas.
Soon, the guard was propped back into his chair, like he’d just fallen asleep on the job. The monitors next to him showed an empty room, as planned.
As soon as it was clear, we tucked our masks away and moved quicker through the museum. As long as the two guards at the front entrance stayed up there, we would only have to watch out for one more. We went through a large room made of a long wall of windows and the light from the moon highlighted several old statues.
“There it is.” Christian pointed to a mask sitting on a black stand. It was highlighted by a sharp light and covered by a glass casing. Christian left Avery and me to walk towards the back wall.
While we waited for him to disarm the alarm over the artifact, Avery pulled out the replica and I studied the original. It was a mask. It had a green face wi
th yellow hair, sculpted by hands a thousand or two years ago. It was actually pretty ugly, but it looked old as sin and maybe they had different tastes back then. The hair stretched out from the head in wavy lines, almost like it had a mind of its own. The mouth to the mask was open and a snake with purple and green markings, slithered from its lips.
It was a representation of the creator from which the scaled snake crawled out of his mouth. From that snake came the first dragon.
Compared to the replica, the artifact had a more mysterious and beautiful quality to it. It pulsed a mesmerizing golden glow and I realized I was seeing the magic contained within it. I squinted at Avery, looking to see if he was as captivated with it as I was.
His face was serious; he stared at it more like it was a bomb.
“Do you think that dragons really came from a snake?”
Avery gave me a strange look. “You think powerful dragons came from a snake?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking you.” I nodded towards the mask. “That’s what this myth is about, anyways.”
“That’s just one myth. There are a ton of others.”
“So which one is the truth?”
“Does it matter?” Avery’s face was a scowl.
I shrugged. “Maybe it matters to me. I want to know where you guys come from. If I’m going to have your babies, I need to know what’s going to be growing inside of me.”
Noises exploded in my ear as Hunter and Easton reacted to my words.
“What the hell, woman?” Easton’s voice growled in my ear. Hunter was only sucking air through his teeth and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Christian’s hand frozen on the panel.
Avery’s eyes were wide as he stared at me.
I touched my stomach. “That’s what all this is about, isn’t it? Having dragon babies.” I was trying to get a reaction from him, just to wipe that scowl off his face. And I’d succeeded, because now he was staring at me like a snake was going to come out of my mouth. “The least you could do is give me the courtesy of telling me what your theories are.”
His mouth opened and he gasped at me like a fish. I smirked, trying not to laugh, but then Christian’s voice was in my ear. “It’s disarmed.”
Even though Avery’s face was still a mask of shock, he didn’t miss a beat. He handed me the replica and gingerly pulled off the glass. Then he gently took the antique mask off the stand and carefully placed it inside the case.
The case was slim enough to carry easily but large enough to protect the mask. It was padded and lined with a bulletproof casing. If it did its job right, it would protect the mask from almost anything.
I eyed it warily as he latched it shut. It better do its job, I wasn’t sacrificing my guys anymore for the Kingdom. Then he strapped it to the front of his chest. He didn’t want to leave it at his back, unprotected.
I gingerly placed the replica on the stand and Avery moved the glass case back over it. Pushing the locks in place, he spoke to Christian.
“Put the alarm back on.”
Giving me a wary eye, Avery gripped my hand and we moved back in the same direction we came from. After a minute, I felt Christian’s hand on my shoulder. “Ready.”
They switched positions and we were back in our peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
We passed easily through the rooms and Christian reported on our progress to Hunter and Easton. We stopped only once to wait for the roaming guard to pass by, then proceeded towards the back offices of the museum. When we reached them, we paused and Christian spoke.
“Waiting for the all clear to leave the museum.”
There was a pause and then Easton spoke. “Hold up.” Suddenly, the nervousness I’d felt earlier was back and I waited anxiously. His voice came through the comms. “There’s a procession of black vans headed towards my door.”
Suddenly the easy going mood from my guys was replaced with a laser focus: complete the mission. Get everyone out safely.
5
Shit.” Hunter sounded pissed. Avery grabbed the back of my shirt and Christian instantly took two steps backwards; they were squeezing me between them.
“Ok,” Hunter was in charge now. “Avery and Christian, start towards my door. I’m going to move to get a better view up my street. If you encounter anyone, use evasive measures as much as possible; the Queen can’t be connected to us. If trouble comes, do not engage unless it’s to save a life.”
I tried not to freak out but it was hard to swallow down the fear pushing up my chest, choking off my air. My instincts had been spot on. We turned around and quickly, but steadily, made our way towards the side door. Avery didn’t let my shirt go and his elbow pressed against my back, urging me forward. Christian grabbed his gun, flicked off the safety and held it tightly to his side.
Easton spoke again. “Three SUVs pulled up to the door and three more kept going. Hunter, I think they’re headed your way.”
“I’m on the lookout.” Hunter.
Avery grabbed my hand and we began to sprint through the building with Christian in the lead. There was no way around it, the security guards were going to hear us. We raced straight through the rooms, weaving through the sculptures and art pieces. My wolf was on full alert, ready to shift if necessary. I held her back. If I shifted in front of the guards, they would know it was me.
Easton spoke again. “Five men have exited each vehicle. Fifteen men are now entering my side. They’ve brought weapons. It’s a no-go on this exit. Hunter?”
“Shit. Confirming three vans are pulling up to my door. Avery and Christian, protect her with your life. Everyone meet at the front door, I’ll bring the car. Easton, get to the front doors as fast as you can.”
We raced around the corner and Christian collided with the security guard.
“Hey!” The guard landed in a heap. His paunch belly stuck out like a white beached whale. Christian grabbed him, yanking him to his feet, then began dragging him with us. Avery’s hand tightened on mine, pulling us forward.
The guard tripped over his feet and caught himself on Christian. Then he tried to yank his hand out of Christian’s grasp, but Christian’s hand was a steel trap. Christian glanced at the guard. “Radio to your men at the front desk, tell them to get the hell out of here.”
“Get your hands off me. I’ll call in the police.”
Christian suddenly stopped, pulling the man close. His eyes were serious as hell, his face a scowl. “If your men don’t get out of here right now, they will die. Tell them to leave now.”
The guard just stared at him, his mouth agape. “How, how—”
“Do it now!” Christian’s voice came out a bark. The guard scrambled for the radio pinned to his shoulder, his eyes wide.
“We have a Code Yellow. This is not a drill.”
“What—” A response squawked over the radio.
“This is not a fucking Code Yellow.” Christian was dragging the guard again who scrambled to catch up. “Tell them it’s a fucking Code Red.”
Taking in Christian’s uniform, the guard hit the button on his radio again. “Code Black. I repeat, this is a Code Black. Press the alarm and take your positions.”
Suddenly, a change came over the guard. He jerked himself out of Christian’s grasp and sprinted forward. He was fast. Faster than I thought possible for his large stature. We followed him, trusting that he knew the quickest route out.
Suddenly a loud boom roared through the museum.
We hesitated in shock, just for a moment, and then we were running again. Dragon magic pulsed through the room and I pushed it away with my own magic. Otherwise it would suffocate me.
The guard ran to a closet and pressed in four numbers on the keypad. Yanking it open, he grabbed a deadly looking weapon. We raced past him, headed towards the sound of utter chaos.
We stopped just before entering the front entrance, listening to the blasting sounds of guns.
“We’re at the front.” Christian glanced at me, making sure I was
with them.
Easton’s voice was in our ear again. “I’ll be there in two.”
Avery was still beside me, pulling out his gun. My heart hammered in my chest. I put my hand over my necklace. Its pulsing warmth was comforting. Two guards were stationed behind a large mahogany desk, each holding a rifle that was trained on the front. Large black disks shaped like turtle shells covered the front of the desk. Bullets were slamming into it, then ricocheting into the room. The guards peeked out every so often to take a shot.
Christian took in the room. “There are approximately seven men coming through the front door, with more coming in. Three are down by the three guards from the museum. Two museum guards have rifles and one has a dragon’s breath.”
“Copy.” Hunter’s voice. “I’m in the car, headed your way.”
Suddenly, the guard charged around the corner, passing by us without so much as a glance. Christian watched him pass then looked at Avery. “Keep her safe. Our priority is getting out. If possible, saving the guards.”
He didn’t wait for Avery to respond but stepped out into the chaos. I took a breath, then followed him out. Adrenaline rushed through my body. Sweat poured down the front of my shirt. All my senses were heightened. My wolf panted, ready to burst out of me.
I could see now that the whole front door was blasted open. Soldiers were blocked from entering by the shooting from the guards. The first guard made it past the open space to the desk unhurt. He was setting up his weapon.
Another two booms reverberated through the room. That meant the other doors were down. We were going to have to fight our way out. And fast. Before reinforcements surrounded us.
Ducking low, we scrambled towards the desk. A bullet zoomed towards me and Avery pushed me forward. I shot forward towards the desk, landing with a slide next to a guard. Christian and Avery landed right behind me.
I stared up at Avery with wide eyes. He held out his hand and I grabbed it. He pulled me up.
