“Fuck you,” I snarl, shoving him aside as I bend to scoop Evi up into my arms, yanking the leash out of Valentine’s hand. “Fuck you, and fuck your deals. I’m done with this shit. I’m not going to let Evi pay a price she never owed in the first place.”
“Seven—"
Ignoring him, I turn to exit the room just as Julius steps into my path, blocking my way forward. He’s transformed, looming over me in his massive, deformed shifter body. His head twitches uncontrollably as he glares down at me, his long fangs gleaming in the light.
“Get out of my way,” I warn.
“You murdered my brother,” he says, his voice broken and jarring in his new form as he takes a threatening step toward me. “You destroyed our club. You’ve taken everything from me … and you think you’ll escape here with your life?!”
“No,” I answer. “I don’tthinkI’ll escape here with my life. IknowI will, but I’d be more than happy to make sure you don’t if you don’t get the fuck out of my way.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Valentine says, the sound of a girl’s yelp drawing our attention as he drags the other woman forward.
I glance at Dante, but he’s not paying attention as he digs through his jacket pockets.
“Who’s going to stop me?” I snort, just before Valentine yanks the girl in front of him and drops his head to the girl’s neck, sinking his teeth into her as she cries out in pain.
“I never get tired of the way they scream,” he muses as he pulls back and licks the blood from his lips before snapping the girl’s neck. Her lifeless body collapses to the floor, and he steps over it toward me. “Though I can’t say it’s nearly as satisfying as hearing them scream my name first.”
Valentine cracks his neck, rolling his shoulders as he stalks toward me, his body growing larger and more powerful by the second.
Shit.
I take a step back, keeping an eye on both Valentine and Julius as I try to figure out what to do next.
Fuck it.
I throw myself, shoulder first, into Julius, somehow managing to take him by surprise as I knock him off balance and backward down the spiraling staircase and into the carnage of the room below. I’m careful to keep Evi tucked against my chest as I bound down the stairs.
Blood and bodies litter the room, not least among them, Julius’s brother. Good riddance too, the lot of them.
I bolt for the stairs that lead down into the entryway, but I’m not fast enough as Julius slams into me. Together, we crash into a wall, and I just barely manage to cradle Evi safely against my body, protecting her from further damage.
“I could really use your help,” I shout up at Dante as I watch Valentine begin to descend the stairs.
I duck just as Julius’s massive fist flies toward my head, missing me by an inch as it connects with the wall behind me. He lets out a howl of pain, stumbling back as he massages his bloodied knuckles.
Glancing around, I dive toward a small lounge on the opposite side of the main set of stairs and carefully lay Evi down on it before turning toward Valentine and Julius again.
Knives once again find their way into my hands as Julius storms toward me.
With a flick of my wrists, the knives find their mark, both lodging themselves firmly in the center of Julius’s chest. He roars in pain, yanking the blades out and tossing them to the floor before charging at me again.
I kick the lounge to the side before rolling out of the way at the last second, causing Julius to crash face-first into the wall just as I throw two more blades straight into the center of his spine. He staggers, before crashing to his knees.
Adrenaline and rage coursing through my veins, I stalk toward him.
“All this … over a stupid human girl?” Julius chokes, his form half-shifted back to normal.
“Thatstupid girl,is Evi.MyEvi. And yes, for her, I’d do it all over again,” I growl, wrapping my arms around his neck from behind as I cross two blades over his throat.
“Why?”
“Because no one deserves the kind of life you and your ilk subject people to,” I answer, glancing back at Evi, “and because, you sided with the man responsible for torturing the woman I love.”
With that, I slice through his neck, severing his head from his body with one quick movement back.
Breathing hard, and covered in blood, I turn back just as Valentine starts slow clapping. His form now significantly more powerful from feasting on the girl.