Free Kane by Loribelle Hunt Page B

get
out of here?”
    He grabbed her, pulled her hard against him
and kissed her. Firm, possessive, furious. Proud. Shoving all his
conflicting emotions away, he released her and nodded,
concentrating on getting them all out alive.
    “Let’s go,” Kane said.
    Calista reached into the bag slung over her
back and started passing out weapons—revolvers and knives. When
everyone was armed, Mathias looped an arm around Sebastian’s waist
and helped him through the door. Kane and Calista brought up the
rear.
    They did it naturally, without any need for
discussion. It was just instinct to pair up with her. If he’d had
time to think about it, he would have wanted to protest even though
he knew it was a better arrangement. She wasn’t strong enough to
support Sebastian. He or Mathias would have to do that. So he
ignored the nagging feeling he was putting her into even more
danger, and followed everyone out the door.
    He could see Alec and Izzy working their way
through the shadows to the main gate, and he waved Sebastian and
Mathias ahead. He dropped back to protect them and Calista fell
into step beside him. Some of Tobias’ officers were organizing men.
The confusion was beginning to pass.
    Calista moved in front of him, stepping into
the shadow of a doorway when shooting broke out. He tried to blend
into a wall, and they whispered at each other.
    “Who’s shooting?” she asked. “And at
who?”
    He shook his head, but realized she couldn’t
see his response. “I don’t know. It’s stopped for now. Let’s
move.”
    Alec and Izzy slipped through the gate,
probably using Alec’s ability to confuse minds. Kane heard the
distant whinny of a horse and hoped they were leaving the area. He
spared half a second to worry over the vampire, hoping he had some
place safe to hole up. The sun would rise soon. Sharpening his
attention on the here and now, he saw one of the guards at the gate
drop to the ground, clutching the knife protruding from his throat.
The other one quickly followed, and his men were out.
    The yard was filling with light, lanterns
appearing in odd places and leaving shadow in spots but brightening
the area around the gate. The downed men were noticed, and Kane
knew time was running out. He grabbed Calista’s hand and sprinted
up the side of the building they stood by.
    Another explosion rocked the night and he
sent a silent thanks to his brother. Where the gate shack had
stood, now there was a huge opening. The blast took a large section
of the fencing with it, part of the rubble in the dark, and he
switched directions for the dim cover. Another detonation rocked
the earth, and Calista stumbled. He barely caught her before they
both fell in a heap on the ground.
    “How much dynamite did y’all use?” he
grumbled.
    “Enough,” she answered, voice tight, gaze
fixed ahead.
    They reached the rubble of what had been the
perimeter fencing, but before he could help her over a growl
rumbled at his back. He whirled around to face a huge black
werewolf, knew who it must be even though he’d never met him
before. Next to him Calista stiffened and hissed his name.
    “Tobias.”
    They’d holstered their weapons to climb over
the fence, but instead of attacking them while they were in a weak
position, Tobias shifted. He met Kane’s gaze, arrogant, tall and
naked. A knot formed in Kane’s gut. I’ve got a bad feeling about
this.
    Tobias’ smile was sly, his bearing superior.
“Challenge.”
    Calista went to draw her gun, but he caught
her hand. “No. He’s issued a challenge.”
    She looked at him like he’d lost his mind,
and he was reminded how little she knew of his world.
    “You’ve got to be joking. We’re not in New
Atlanta. He’s not in your pack. Let me shoot him so we can get out
of here.” Her weapon cleared the holster, and he grabbed her
shoulders, spinning her to face him.
    “No.” He shook his head, wondering how to
make her understand. “This is territory my pack claims. Anyone