Break Her Fall

by JoAnna Grace

  What he noticed next was the number of tattoos that covered her body. They almost camouflaged the scars, no doubt dispensed during her “training” by Brian or Trace. Tribal symbols and skulls, bleeding flowers, and a myriad of felines in various stages of decay. The tattoos started at her neck and covered her body, including sensitive areas that made Kasey cringe internally. What had this poor woman gone through? The scars, the tats; he couldn’t fathom it.

  “Nice ink,” Ami said, so calm and sincere it could’ve been a real compliment.

  “Thanks,” the woman purred at Ami. “You’re prettier than he said you would be.” She licked her lips.

  Her words made bile rise in his throat. Kasey could scent the evil in her blood, the sickness of her mind.

  “I set the standard, didn’t I? Just look at you, Myra. He always had a thing for fucked-up blondes.”

  The woman hissed. “I’m nothing like you. You’re weak. You couldn’t handle Brian’s love. I can. That’s why he sent me. He trusts me.”

  “To get caught? Good job.” Ami snorted, an action Kasey had never observed in her before.

  Myra’s eyes flickered up to Kasey and back to Amilynn. “I’m in the belly of the beast, aren’t I? Face to face with you, Amilynn the untouchable. I’m in the presence of the great and powerful Kasey Blackburn, aren’t I?”

  Amilynn tilted her head. “And what good will it do you? Congratulations, Myra, you’re in our presence. Lucky you. What’s it going to matter when I put a bullet through your brain?”

  Myra laughed, her voice screechy like a tortured animal. “You can’t shoot me. Brian trained me—”

  Before Kasey could process what she was doing, Amilynn pulled up her gun and shot Myra in the left shoulder blade. He couldn’t stop her. She was too fast on the draw. Myra screamed out, but controlled her reaction quickly.

  “Well, damn,” Ami said as Myra hissed and growled, putting pressure on her shoulder. “Looks like I need to work on my aim.”

  “Don’t kill her,” Kasey said from the corner.

  Amilynn waved him off. “I won’t. I’m just not used to this gun. That was supposed to graze her.” She sucked air through her teeth and cringed. “That looks like it hurts.”

  “You bitch,” Myra snarled. Her body shook with pain and her jaw clenched so tightly he could almost hear her teeth crack.

  “I’m insulted, Myra. I really thought Trace would send his best after us. Of all the people to send into enemy territory, I figured Trace would order—”

  “You think Brian needs Trace to dictate his every move?” Myra’s voice rose. Her first slip.

  “Brian has always been such a good little soldier. I figured he’d jump when Trace told him to.”

  “Brian is loyal.”

  “So if my people inside the Pride got word to Trace that Brian was here . . .” Amilynn’s sentence faded off and Kasey watched Myra fill in the blanks. Her eyes gave away nothing, but her foot tapped twice on the floor. Her second slip.

  There was tension in the Nevada ranks, and Amilynn beautifully pulled it out of Myra. Does Trace know Brian is here?

  “Oh, Myra. You poor thing. I bet that shot shattered some bone. Look at all that blood, and for what? You know why you’re here? You’re cannon fodder. Brian always sends in the weak ones first.” Ami delivered the lines as if she cared about Myra’s fate. All the while, Myra’s lips twitched.

  “He didn—” Myra clenched her mouth shut and closed her eyes, her shoulder bleeding like a waterfall.

  Amilynn nodded her head. “You wanted to come size me up, didn’t you? Does Brian know you’re here, Myra?” Ami asked her question like she was talking to a toddler, speaking slowly with her voice pitched higher. “It seems like there’s a lot of chaos in the ranks. Trace doesn’t know Brian is here, Brian doesn’t know you’re here.” Amilynn sighed. “Looks like it all fell apart when I left.”

  Myra hissed. “I’m his best. I’m better than you ever were.”

  “I seriously doubt that. Why do you think he trained me separately from all of you?”

  “He didn’t want you ruining the rest of us. You were his whore, Amilynn. Don’t fool yourself into thinking otherwise. He didn’t love you half as much as he loves me.” Myra leaned over the table. Blood droplets splattered on the stainless steel surface. “I’ll show him I’m better than you. I’m going to get my hands on that pretty head of yours.” She put both hands on the table, spread out her fingers. Her nails were painted black and filed into points. Covered in her own blood, they were simply grotesque. Ami was right, this chick was wacked out.

  Kasey never moved, although he wanted to slap the stupid right off that bitch’s face. Amilynn played with her ponytail as if she had better things to do.

  “He lets me kill the others. Did he let you do that? Did he let you play with the weak ones, then finish them off?” Myra smiled, her teeth hidden until that moment. Her canines were sharpened into spikes. Whatever she saw on Amilynn’s face made her continue. “He likes it when I screw them first. Male or female, doesn’t matter. He watches. They never know what’s next.” She touched her lips and her eyes fluttered shut. “Then I strangle them, watch the life fade from their eyes. It’s beautiful.”

  “Brian has truly sunk to an all new low with you.”

  Myra pinned Amilynn with those eerie eyes. “No. He’s risen. He’s brilliant and you were too stupid to see it.” With each sentence, her voice grew, and she leaned further and further over that table. “Trace is too stupid to see it. One day, he’ll find out. All of you will find out how brilliant Brian is.” Myra’s entire body was up on the table, and yet Amilynn stayed calm.

  Kasey was ready to jump in, but not until Ami gave the signal.

  “You’ll never know the beauty of what our species can do. You’ll never know the freedom of giving in to your feral instincts.”

  Amilynn made a clicking noise in the back of her throat and blew out a deep breath. “Yeah, no thanks. Psycho-whore doesn’t look good on me. I’ll stick to sane and sexy. You have fun with all that bullshit. I’ll give Brian your regards.”

  “You don’t go near him!” Myra screamed. Her control hung by a thin, frayed wire. Amilynn knew just how to break it.

  “I’m afraid I’ll have to. You leave us with no choice, Myra. Someone has to deliver your body. Who knows? Maybe Brian will give me a second look.”

  “No!” Myra launched across the table at Amilynn.

  The loud crack of a gun was all the warning Kasey had before blood coated the one-way glass across the room. Amilynn put a bullet right between Myra’s eyes. Her body flew backwards, hitting the glass and slumping to the floor, leaving a trail of blood on the wall.

  “She was really starting to grate on my nerves.” Ami turned her wheelchair around and blew out a breath.

  Kasey stood in shock for a full minute before he exploded. “What the hell did you do that for?”

  “Get over your sentimental side, alpha-man. You think she was coming over that table to shake my hand?” Ami wheeled herself out of the room.

  “You goaded her.” Kasey’s blood pressure rose to the point where he was ready to take Ami by the neck and show her who was alpha around here.

  “Damn right I did. She gave me what I needed.”

  Kasey put his hands on his hips. “And what was that?”

  Conall, Sampson, and Ezekiel joined them in the hallway.

  “Brian might be here, but Myra and her back-up attacked Martin on her own. The others are probably scared to go back to Brian without Myra. Once he realizes she’s gone, he’ll make his move. That gives us a day, two at the most.”

  “What about Trace?” Conall asked.

  “He sent Brian as a scout, but I guarantee you Brian sees this as his chance to take over Blackburn Pack on his own. He’s always talked about having his own Pride.”

  Kasey stared at the ground, his mind churning with scenarios. “Then we use that. Tyrone has people on the inside. We can make sure Trace k
nows he has a mutiny on his hands and let them tear themselves apart.”

  “We don’t have that much time.” Ami returned the gun to Sampson. “If you will excuse me, I’d like to wash the blood off my pants.”

  Amilynn wheeled her way down the hall before Ezekiel cursed and hurried after her. Kasey glanced at Conall and Sampson. “Did you know she was going to do that?”

  Conall just chuckled, his arms crossed over his massive chest. “Haven’t you learned? There’s nothing predictable about Amilynn. That,” Conall motioned to the interrogation room, “was nothing.” He smirked and walked away.

  Sampson blew out a heavy breath when they were alone. “We’re dealing with a whole new breed of enemy, bro.”

  Kasey couldn’t agree more. Were they ready for this?

  “ARE YOU GOING to tell me what the hell just happened back there?” Ezekiel said once he and Ami were back in her room.

  “She attacked. I shot her. You were there.” Ami carefully pushed her blood-spattered pants from her hips, a difficult task in the wheelchair. “Can you please help me?”

  Ezekiel closed his eyes and tried to calm his wolf. The vision of that girl’s head exploding would haunt him for the rest of his life. The smear of blood against the one-way glass had almost triggered the reappearance of his breakfast.

  “Amilynn, you shot that woman in cold blood.”

  “No.” She held up a finger. “I protected myself and your uncle against what I can guarantee you would’ve been an ugly attack by a raging psycho.”

  “An attack you instigated.” Ezekiel put his hands on his hips and paced in front of her windows.

  “Damn right I did. You think she was going to spill the goods if I let her have control? Were you even watching her? Did you hear what she said Brian allowed her to do to her pridemates? She murdered them for her own perverse fun.”

  “You didn’t have to shoot her!” Ezekiel yelled. The moment the words came out of his mouth, Amilynn’s face shut down. Her eyes iced over and her face lost all the warmth he’d worked so hard to obtain. He cursed his temper.

  “In case you’ve forgotten, pup, that’s what I do. That’s what I was trained to do since the age of sixteen. She’s not the first person I’ve killed and she won’t be the last. If Brian is anywhere near the people I love, I won’t think twice about killing him either. I won’t take prisoners, I won’t have mercy, and I damn sure won’t ask Kasey for permission. If you have a problem with that, there’s the fucking door.” Ami wheeled herself into her bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Running, again.

  Ezekiel sat on the edge of the bed and buried his head in his hands. His mate, the beautiful, charming woman who just this morning was teasing him with her body was a murderer. Not just a murderer, but a manipulative and calculating murderer.

  God, he really didn’t know Ami at all. This person was drastically different from the woman he’d watched doing ballet. Which one was she? Killer or dancer? Did she even know?

  Vivian came in the door, took one look at Ezekiel, and marched into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. The wall didn’t contain Vivian’s voice as she addressed Ami.

  “Are you out of your goddamned mind? You blew her freaking brains out with four witnesses. And you made my mate your accomplice. What in the hell is wrong with you?”

  “He broke her, Vivian,” Amilynn argued back just as loudly. “You should have seen her, smelled the evil decay on her. She’s killed so many of our people, I could actually smell their blood on her breath. Those could’ve been our friends, our classmates. Who knows?”

  “Ami, I know that when it comes to Brian, your mind is clouded—”

  “No shit, Sherlock.”

  “—but you have to remember that we are part of the Blackburn Pack now. We answer to Kasey. You can’t go rogue and shoot people at will.”

  “Screw Kasey. I’ll do whatever the hell it takes to keep Brian away from my family. The end.”

  “You,” Vivian yelled even louder, “will do nothing unless I say so. Do you hear me? Nothing, Amilynn. You may not pledge your allegiance to my husband, but you damn sure did to me. I will not have you start a full-on war with the Nevada Pride.”

  “Like it’s avoidable! You think Trace is going to give up just because the Pack has more soldiers?”

  Ezekiel rubbed the bridge of his nose as he listened to Vivian argue about what Trace might do. Uncle Kasey came into the room with Sampson on his heels and Ezekiel put a finger to his lips, then pointed to the bathroom. All three men shamelessly listened to the women argue.

  “Take off the rose-colored glasses, Vivian. The Blackburn Pack is full of protectors. I knew it from the first time we trained together, and you did too. They know how to defend this land. These people excel at what they do, but they’re not ready to face an army of assassins. Trace and Brian train killers—professional murderers, not protectors. Look at the two of us, at Ty and Conall. We’re weapons. How many times did Trace ever ask us to protect our lands? Never. How many times did he send one of us out to kill in cold blood for his own gain? More than I care to recall. I can’t watch Brian kill someone I love, not again. Alex was enough, too much. That poor boy was tortured because of me, Vivian.” Amilynn’s voice quivered. “Brian had him gutted like a pig and made me watch. I can’t take the chance of him doing that to Nate or Tom . . . Ezekiel.”

  There was a long pause and Ezekiel met his father’s eyes. Sampson’s frown and wrinkled forehead conveyed his fear for his sons. The Pride members were walking targets and anyone they loved was in just as much danger.

  “He’s toying with us right now, killing us with paper cuts and watching us bleed out,” Ami said with a sniffle. “Look at us. You can’t have kids. I can’t walk. What’s next? You think he won’t go after Melissa?”

  Vivian’s loud growl rattled the bathroom door.

  “Exactly,” Ami continued. “If Trace launches an attack on Blackburn lands, Kasey’s people will be slaughtered.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Vivian’s voice cracked on the last word. “Why the hell do you think I fought him so hard? There are days I wish I didn’t love him so much. It would be easier to leave and never look back than to deal with the cost of mating him.”

  His uncle rubbed at his chest, as of the thought of living without Vivian broke his heart. Ezekiel pitied the man.

  “We’re not alone.”

  Vivian flung the bathroom door open and glared at the three eavesdropping men. Her upper lip curled up into a snarl. She didn’t have time to launch her verbal attack before Kasey grabbed her up and yanked her out of the room.

  Amilynn wheeled out of the bathroom. Ezekiel met her stare. Her emerald eyes, rimmed in red and glassy, were steady on him. Sampson broke the silence.

  “Protectors versus killers. You pegged it immediately and never said anything.” He shook his head and paced with his arms folded over his chest. “I’ve never even considered the different training tactic. Offense versus defense—that’s what you’re saying.” He huffed out a short breath and his gaze landed on Amilynn.

  “Sampson, I—”

  “You’re right. I don’t train my men to be modern-day Vikings. I haven’t had to.” He pursed his lips and left the room without another word.

  Ami flexed her jaw and her eyes avoided Ezekiel’s. “Maybe you should go too.”

  “Why?” Ezekiel asked.

  “I want to be alone.”

  “Yeah. No.”

  She rolled her eyes and bit the side of her mouth. “You’re so damned annoying, you know that?”

  He scooped her out of the wheelchair and helped her stand on one leg while he removed the stained pants and her shirt. She stood silent and nearly naked, her eyes narrowed at him, but her heart kicked into hyper drive. It was easy for his lupine ears to pick up the heavy beat. Ezekiel searched through her dresser for more clothing and helped her change. He arranged her in the bed and, while she avoided speaking to him, he disposed of her soiled
garments.

  Finally, after he knew she had gained her composure, he sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over on his knees. “Who is Alex? What happened to him?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Wrong answer. Who is Alex? What happened to him?”

  “It’s none of your business.” Her words were a staccato beat of cold air.

  Ezekiel leveled his eyes at her and made sure she could see his wolf rising up. “Everything about you is my business. I’m your mate.”

  Ami growled, her cat meeting his challenge. “I don’t have to tell you anything.” She stared him down and watched as his eyes turned from slate blue to the glowing hazel of his wolf. Her leopard stood tall, watching the other predator with a mixture of lust and hostility. Heat pooled in her belly and her mouth twitched as her canines elongated.

  Ezekiel leaned over her on the bed. Her heart sped up and pounded in her ears. She’d never seen this alpha side of him and damn was it sexy. His hand traveled up her left leg, over her stomach, and between her breasts to cup her throat. The pressure of his touch left her skin burning. She bit the thumb he ran over her lips and his return growl sent an electrical arc down her spine to her womb. Ami clenched her thighs together.

  “In the last week, I’ve seen you with another man, watched you air-lifted from this house while bleeding, spent an entire day praying you would walk again, and witnessed you shoot someone as easily as filing your nails. I’ve had blue balls since the first day I met you and I have to tell you, baby, I’m hanging by a thin wire here. So I’m asking you to answer my questions and not give me any shit about it.”

  Ami’s chest moved up and down with each heavy breath as she stared into his eyes. Both woman and cat were stunned and mesmerized by this young alpha and the sexy power he wielded over her. She licked at her lips and Ezekiel’s eyes tracked the movement. A rumble sounded from his chest.

  She lifted a shaking hand to touch his cheek and his eyes fluttered closed at the contact. He pressed his face into her palm and, when he opened his eyes, the wolf was gone.