Well, they were about to realize how wrong they were.
I wasn’t confident enough to use one of the guns, but there were a few knives and what looked like a metal pipe. I pulled the latter out and curled my fingers around the heavy weight in my hand. A soft sound to my left had me snapping my head in Odhran’s direction.
Odhran had his face toward me, his eyes open. His jaw was clenched tightly as he looked from me to the two men sitting in front. I could see the muscles of his arms bunching and straining as he tried to get free, but whatever shackles they used were holding strong. Strong enough to keep a Lycan immobile.
He shook his head at me, and in his eyes I could see the panic. I knew he didn’t want me to do this, knew the outcome probably wasn’t going to be favorable, but if I could stop these assholes from hurting anyone else, even if it was just a few of them, it was worth it.
I mouthed, I have to.
He was still shaking his head, his jaw locked tight. But he wasn’t making any noise that would draw attention. I couldn’t wait to see if he’d be able to escape, if we’d be able to take them down. I couldn’t rely on someone else to handle this when I had the opportunity to do it myself.
So with the baton in my hand, I crawled closer to the two seats. I could hear the one named Jack hum, but he was focused out the passenger window. I didn’t know who to attack first, Jack, who would undoubtedly come after me once I hit the driver, or if I should go straight for Jack, when the driver would come after me as well. Either way this would hurt, but I knew going to the source was going to end this sooner.
I didn’t think anymore, just reacted.
I swung my arm out and brought the baton down on the driver’s head, the metal connecting with his temple, a sickening crack sounding through the entire van. The coppery scent of blood instantly filled my nose as his skin split, the gaping wound so horrendous I felt renewed nausea consume me.
“The fuck?” Jack barked and looked at me with abject horror. He was young. God, he was young, maybe not even as old as I was, but here he was doing heinous crimes.
The driver was mumbling incoherently, the car swerving to the left and right. I was frozen with shock and fear, the same as Jack apparently, as he stared at the driver, then at me, over and over again for what seemed like forever, but all of this could only have been happening for a few seconds.
“You fucking bitch,” Jack finally growled and lunged for me sideways, the position we were both in making it hard for him to grasp me as I fell backward, the baton clanging to the floor.
The van swerved, the driver still conscious, but I could see him trying not to flop forward, the blood from his wound a constant gush from his head.
Everything started blurring together, with Odhran making animalistic sounds behind me, his big body thrashing as he tried to escape. Jack tangled in his seat belt as the van kept swerving to the left and right, and the driver was seconds away from succumbing to the darkness he was fighting.
I could hear a radio crackle in the air, the kind of sound you’d hear from a walkie-talkie.
“Th… fuc… is going… there. Yo… copy?”
It was hard to hear clear words with the static on the other end and how the voice kept breaking up.
The van swerved hard to the left, and my body was flung to the side of the van, my head cracking hard enough on the metal paneling that I groaned and felt the previous wound break back open.
And then everything went upside down as the van rolled, and I couldn’t stop the scream that tore from me as I tried to brace myself as best as I could while my body was tossed around like a rag doll. And then the van stilled.
I lay there, sore and bruised, my head pounding, the scent of blood so thick I gagged on it. I groaned, blinked my eyes open, and stared above me at what should have been the ceiling of the van but was very clearly the floor.
For a long moment I couldn’t even move, my entire body aching, my vision blurry, my head dizzy. I tried to reorient myself, and then with a harsh groan, I pushed up and searched for Odhran. I let out a relieved breath when he rolled onto his side and grunted deeply. And then that’s when I noticed the shackles around his wrist had broken away—whether from his own doing or being thrown up against the vehicle, I didn't know.