Sawyer stared down at her. His jaw was tight. His eyes dark. “Fucking bastards, I’m going to tear them limb from limb.”
“Save it,” Garret said impatiently. “I need you to keep your calm right now.”
“You need to keep her face hidden. If Joe sees her face it’s going to push him over the edge,” Sawyer warned.
“Joe?” she questioned. “Joe’s the most controlled person I know.”
“Not tonight, he isn’t.” Sawyer lightly cupped her face. “You’ve put us through hell, little one. This is never happening again. Never.”
“You won’t get an argument from me.” She shuddered. “I have no wish to ever repeat this night.”
“Good, so when I lay down a few safety rules for you I shall expect your full co-operation.”
“Sawyer, this is neither the time nor place,” Garret told him impatiently. “We need to get out before Blake strikes.”
“My brother?” she asked. “What does he have to do with this?”
“He’s waiting until we have you safely out then he’s going to attack. Apparently, he’s been planning on taking Gio’s stronghold and territory for a while.”
She snorted then winced. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“Stay quiet now, darling,” Garret warned us. “Let us do all the work.”
She nodded happily.
They moved like shadows down the hallway. Sawyer scouted ahead, checking that the way was clear. They reached a door and slipped inside.
“You took your time,” a deep voice said from the shadows. “I was about to come after you.”
“We made it back in time, didn’t we?”
Joseph stepped out into a patch of moonlight that lit the room, and she gasped at the look of him. His eyes were glowing. His face was hard. His skin shifted, and she swore she saw a patch of fur appear on his cheek. What the hell? Am I delusional from the pain?
“Georgina.” He reached out and gently grasped hold of her chin. One of his nails scrapped her, and she gasped. He pulled back, looked down at his hands then at her in horror. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s nothing compared to the rest of my aches and pains,” she attempted to joke.
Her attempt at levity was wasted as his face tightened with guilt. “I would never hurt you. Not for the world.”
“You didn’t. I’m fine. It was just a little scratch.” Odd, since Joe kept his nails nicely trimmed.
I’m going to fucking kill him.” Joe’s hands were fisted at his side. “I will make him beg for mercy, but there shall be none.”
He stepped past them, moving swiftly over to the door.
“No, Joe, wait!” Sawyer rushed after him.
Garret swore, turning with her. Joe was already in the hall when a blast shook the building. Garret dropped to his knees, placed her down and covered her with his body, careful not to push his weight on her as the world around them turned to chaos. Bits of plaster rained down on them from the ceiling. Furniture rattled its way across the room. There was the sound of glass breaking then everything went still.
“That motherfucking bastard!” Sawyer yelled. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
“What happened? What was that? An earthquake?” Didn’t she have enough to contend with right now? Was God just going to throw things at her until she broke?
“Are you okay?” Garret asked. He ran his hands over her gently, but she still winced as he touched her ribs. “Are you hurt?”
“No worse than I already was. Although it would be hard to tell,” she attempted to joke. Yeah, she had to stop making light of things. No one was finding her funny. Least of all her.
“What happened is your fucking brother moved up the timeline!” Sawyer yelled. “Joe, come on, we have to go!”