Free Crimson (The Silver Series Book 3) by Cheree Alsop

distraction to
attack.
    I froze, rooted to the spot while Jet
efficiently dispatched two men with their own knives, then turned
on the one with the gun. He flowed behind the man with a lethal
grace and removed the man’s gun before taking him down with two
discreet slices of a knife. Jaze disarmed one and used his knife to
hamstring another one, then turned in time to see the last man
lunging for Jet’s back. He threw the knife and it sunk deep into
the man’s thigh, tearing a yell of pain from his throat. Jet turned
and swept the man’s legs out from under him, then slammed a
haymaker against his jaw that knocked him unconscious.
    I let out a short sigh of relief, but it was
cut off by the sound of more tires. Another black vehicle slid to a
stop a few feet from the first and more men filed out.
    “ You’d think they’d get
bored of black,” Brock said to Taye, his voice tight.
    “ It’s not like it makes
them any stealthier,” Taye agreed. “Look out, Jet!” she
shouted.
    Two men, each with a set of silver knives,
ran at the Alpha. My feet finally responded to my will and I
grabbed a knife from the nearest fallen man, jumped over another
body, and slammed it into the leg of one of Jet’s attackers. Jet
spun and took down the other with a slash across the throat. He
gave me a quick, surprisingly happy grin as though he was in his
element, then turned and sunk his knife into the heart of a third
man.
    Four more attackers were upon us and I bit
back the terror that rose in my throat with a thick, bitter taste.
I caught up a blood-covered knife that was abandoned on the ground,
then sliced a man across the stomach before he could reach me with
his blade. Adrenaline surged through my body at the attack. I
wanted to chase them down, to tear them apart and protect those I
cared about. I wanted to phase so badly I had to stop moving and
clench my fists to center my control. The handle of the knife bit
into my hand and I held onto the pain, hoping it would keep me from
phasing.
    Another man attacked me with a club. My
instincts took over and I ducked under it, then stabbed him in the
eye. I stared in horror as he toppled to the ground. I wanted to
fall to my knees and hide my face in my hands, but a grunt of pain
from my right stopped me.
    I turned in time to see Jet rip a knife from
his shoulder, use it to cut down the one who had hit him, then
throw it at a man who ran for Taye and Nikki. Jet then leaped at
another attacker with a grace that would have been the envy of any
leopard.
    My gaze slid to a man by the destroyed SUV.
I recognized him as the first man who had spoken. He lifted his
hand and the gun glinted in the dim light.
    “ Jaze, look out!” I shouted
the same time that Nikki did, but Jaze was busy fighting two other
attackers. He stabbed a knife into one man’s thigh, swung a
haymaker at the second man’s jaw that connected with the force of a
wrecking ball, then he dropped and swept the first man’s legs with
a spin kick. He rose and glanced at the man with the gun. His eyes
widened as the man’s finger tightened on the trigger.
    I reached Jaze and shoved him out of the way
just as the report of the gun cracked across the pavement. A fiery
red pain tore through my side. I turned to attack the man before he
fired another shot, but Jet beat me to it. He chopped the man’s arm
hard enough that I heard the bones crack, punched him in the
stomach, then elbowed him in the back when he doubled over. The man
fell to the pavement with a moan of pain.
    I turned back to Jaze. The Alpha stared at
me, his eyes wide and face pale. “Why did you do that?”
    I forced a pained smile. “I overheard Meg
say that silver bullets wouldn’t hurt me like they did a normal
werewolf.” I grimaced and held my throbbing side. “She lied.”
    Jaze's brow creased with concern. “They’re
still bullets, silver or not.”
    “ The silver would kill you
a lot faster than me,” I replied.
    “ You can still bleed to
death