One of Lucifer Morningstar’s dictates to Halfer was to stay out of Council business. The king of Hell was interested in seeing where the vampires were going and didn’t want his soldiers influencing the upcoming battle. I was sure it was the only reason Halfer hadn’t called up Marini and laid out what he knew.
“So you’re going to make the wolves sick? How exactly does that help you get back at Daniel?”
“That’s not a normal wolf,” he said, glancing down at Lee, who was moaning but refused to leave my side. I wasn’t sure what he thought he could do except distract the ex-demon with his groans. “That’s a loner. The Strong Arm calls to wolves both normal and alpha. It calls to their instincts to lead and be led, to follow the strong. That pitiful dog at your side doesn’t have those instincts, so the object seeks to destroy that which will not follow it.”
There was a sudden pop of gunfire behind me, and I couldn’t help but look. I turned back around quickly and was surprised to find Halfer calmly standing there looking at me. He had a small smile on his face that let me know he wanted me alive, at least for now. He wanted something else from me.
“That would be my employees, Zoey,” Halfer said softly as though intimating a secret to me. “I found I still had followers even without Hell’s stamp of approval. I think you’ll find that faery of yours is dead again. Too bad there are no vampires around to bring him back this time.”
There was nothing to stop my finger from pulling the trigger now. I firmed my stance and shot. I preferred a two-fisted hold, but I couldn’t put the prize down. The recoil kicked me back, but I was ready for it.
The shot managed to hit Halfer, his big body slamming back before he could return fire.
“Move it, Lee.” I jumped back and used the front of the big truck as a shield.
“That fucking hurt, bitch,” Halfer growled. He groaned a little as he moved the shoulder. He would bleed and hurt, but he was still as strong as a demon. It would take more than a single wound to even slow him down. “It won’t work. Give me the damn artifact now or I’ll blow your wolf all to hell.”
I felt the hard rim of the tires against my back. I gazed to the hill where Dev had disappeared. My eyes filled with tears at the thought of him never coming back down. I sucked it up because I had to get myself and Lee out of here before I worried about avenging Dev. Besides, until I saw his body, I wasn’t giving up hope. He had a gun, too, and he was no easy mark.
I moved to my knees and let myself look out from behind the tire. Halfer was positioned over Lee. He held my wolf’s head by his curly hair and pointed the gun at his temple. Lee was too weak to even fight anymore.
“I’m serious, Zoey,” Halfer called out, his voice hard as nails. “I’m going to blow this wolf’s head off if you don’t get your ass out here. You have ten seconds. Unless you’ve stopped giving a damn about your employees, and then please feel free to stay where you are. If you don’t care, then I applaud you for finally growing a set.”
He started his countdown, and I tried to see a way out. I was pretty sure he was still going to kill us both no matter what I did, but I knew I couldn’t just stand back and let Lee die like that. I stood and took a deep breath. I forced myself to move away from my cover. “Okay. I’ll trade you the statue for my wolf.”
Halfer snorted. “You’ll kick the gun over here first. I don’t heal the way I used to and bullets hurt more now, thanks to you.”
I kneeled down and carefully put the Ruger on the ground. I kicked it toward him and waited for him to shoot me now that I was an easy target. The sound of gunfire split the night around me, and I waited for the sting of the bullet hitting my body. I was surprised when Halfer cursed and jerked backward.
I turned my head and saw my green-eyed boy all healthy and whole, walking toward the scene, gun in hand, ready to take another shot.
“Your men are gone, Halfer,” Dev shouted as he approached. “You’re on your own.”
There was a loud growl as Zack ran toward his brother. Halfer took one look at the big brown wolf who seemed to be suffering none of the effects his brother was and retreated. He took a dozen steps back. I could see his shirt was starting to get soaked in blood. I couldn’t tell exactly where Dev had hit him, but it was definitely in the torso. Unfortunately, he’d been allowed to keep his demonic strength when he’d been cast from Hell. He could die, but he was one tough son of a bitch.
“I can still shoot her, Quinn,” Halfer yelled, his face savage. The bullets had done some damage, but not anywhere close to enough. “You might get another shot off, but I swear I’ll take her down if it’s the last thing I do.”
Zack growled, looking between his brother and the threat, unsure of what to do. I knew.
“Get Lee out of here.” I used my best badass alpha voice. Zack was strictly a follower. He wanted to be told what to do. He could follow orders and would do so with great efficiency once someone stronger told him what to do.
Before Dev could countermand my order, Zack had his brother’s shirt in his teeth and was pulling him away as fast as his four feet would carry them.
“Not the way I would have gone, Zoey.” Dev frowned my way. “That was stupid. Zack could have killed him.”
“Maybe, but he would have gotten either me or Lee,” I shot back, wondering if I could get my gun back in my hands. It was between Dev and Halfer, just lying there in the road.
Dev read my face and shook his head sharply. “Get behind me now.” I frowned but did what he told me to. Dev’s eyes focused on the ex-demon. “I killed your little cohorts back there, Lucas. You’re all alone. I can kill you here or you can run and let Daniel kill you later. It’s your choice.”
“Or I could find door number three.” Halfer’s face lit with a shit-eating grin. “Isn’t that what you like to say, Mrs. Donovan?” He kept the gun trained but started walking backward. I hadn’t even thought about what we had left sitting back there, all tied up and gagged. Halfer had noted them, though. He pulled one of the men from the truck out in front of him now and placed the gun at his temple. “Give up the statue or I’ll kill this man.”
“So kill him, Lucas,” Dev replied, his tone flat. “You think I’m not ready for some collateral damage? This is war. People die. Innocent people die.” Dev glanced back at me. “Zoey, get in the car. I’ll follow you in a minute.”
I heard him, but I just couldn’t help but think about the fact that this was the guy with a wife and two kids. He’d been calm and done absolutely everything right. He should have survived this heist and been able to go home and crawl in bed with his wife and hold his children. Now, because I screwed up, he was going to die.
“I’m going to kill this one, Zoey,” Halfer stated. “Then I’ll kill the other one, too, just for kicks. Do you think he’s just collateral damage? Are you going to be able to live with that?”
“She’s going to go to the car,” Dev said as though saying a thing with enough force of will could make it happen. Unfortunately, it didn’t work that way with me.
I moved away from Dev, making sure to stay out of arm’s reach. “I’m bringing it to you, Lucas. Don’t hurt him.”
I moved quickly before Dev could react and found myself taking the man’s place with Halfer’s gun at my head. I do stupid things sometimes, but Halfer was right. I don’t believe in collateral damage. I couldn’t live with it. Even in the dark I could see Dev’s panic.
“Now, it’s going to go like this, Quinn,” Halfer started, firmly in control of the situation. “I’m going to take your lover and get in the car. You’re going to watch and do absolutely nothing or I’ll blow her head off. Is she collateral damage in your little war?”