The Heir's Little Badass

40: THE BROTHER WILL DO

The loud smack of flesh and bone against concrete makes a smirk fall to my face as I watch the idiot's face crumple in pain.

"Damn", I whistle "I wouldn't want to be that wall"

He growls and tries to punch my face again but I duck and drive my elbow into his gut before sliding out from under him.

He turns and charges at me but a bullet between his eyes stops him short.

I turn to Cameron and sigh, "this doesn't mean you're off the hook"

He shrugs, "worth a shot" before he turns around and fly kicks a thug off Mason.

Rewind a bit.

I decided to find Andrea before he finds me and hurts more people I love so we've been tracking him down, individually and as an agency. The guy has gloves so dirty, even his hands stink. He deals in everything: drugs, arms, women, children, if it's illegal, he's probably got his grubby little paws in it.

Which is why, on a lovely Tuesday morning, instead of sitting through Mrs. Smith's riveting lecture on hybridization, I'm three and a half hours away from home, busting one of his human trafficking operations. The disgusting bastard actually sells children.

I sigh and turn back to the twenty something children huddled in a corner, behind empty, upturned crates, watching the fights with wide, scared eyes. They looked malnourished and abused, with bruised faces and filthy, tattered clothes.

I crouch before one that looks like the oldest, fourteen at most.

"What's your name?"

She stares at me through frightened brown eyes for a while before deciding that anyone kicking the shit out of their captors is probably not the enemy.

"Belissa", her accent is almost as thick as the tears she's struggling to hold back.

I nod, "Belissa, you have to help us okay? We're here to help but you have to help too."

She nods and I continue, "My brother and I will lead you all out of here" on cue, Zach slides in next to me, breathless but sporting an easy smile, "that'll be me"

Belissa's eyes widen and she shuffles back along with the rest of the other kids. Zach frowns, "I'm not like them, I won't hurt you, I promise"

That does little to calm them down so I try, "he's my brother, and we're here together, he won't hurt you"

Belisssa glances back at me and with a small determined nod I admire, she speaks, "we'll go with you"

She turns and in rapid fire Italian, says something to the younger ones and they all nod in unison. They trust her and she trusts us, that's good enough.

I rise to my feet, "okay, now-"

"Dylan!" I turn just in time to see the gun pointed at me, hear the shot go off and feel myself being body slammed into the cold, hard concrete floor.

"Ah!" I cry out as blinding pain flashes between my eyes.

I look over Jayden's shoulder and see Chase bury three bullets in the guy's back.

"Are you okay?" Jayden grunts from above me.

I turn to face him, almost going cross-eyed at the close proximity.

"Yeah" I choke out, "now please get off, you weigh like six hundred pounds"

He forces out a chuckle and moves to push himself off me but falls back with an agonized grunt.

That's when I notice his face, scrunched up in barely suppressed pain.

Then I notice the fact that my lower abdomen is damp and steadily getting soaked.