From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

knocking his arms,
rocking him to the side. He caught himself, volleying back, bashing
the weapon into the side of my face. Blood instantly coursed down
my cheek. Bastard . I grappled for the gun, latching on to
the dangerous end and twisting it out of his grip. The moment it
was in my hands, his fist crashed into my face, exploding pain
through my temple, his fingers greedy to take it back. Hell.
No. I twisted around as he struck my arms; the gun slid from my
fingers and away from both of us. His eyes went to the weapon. I
took the moment to strike him in the stomach, ramming his groin
with my knee. He hit the floor as I swiped for his dart gun. Click . The tranquilizer flew from the gun and embedded
itself deep in his heart.
    The faster it got into this blood system, the
better.
    He gaped in surprise, looking at his chest
then up at me before he fell over. Clearly, he wasn’t expecting a
girl my size to kick his ass so fast.
    “They’re here! Stairs on the east side,” one
of the guards yelled into his walkie-talkie. My fist came around,
plowing into the soft part of his throat. He bent over, gasping and
choking. I swung my elbow up, sending it crashing down into his
upper back as my knee jammed up into his face, snapping his nose
against my thigh. He dropped hard.
    When I turned to check on Ryker, the two
other men fell to the floor like sacks of rice. Fresh cuts and
bruises lined Ryker’s face.
    “I always forget how good you are. You didn’t
even need me.” A slight grin hitched the side of his mouth then
twisted around. “Croygen, we’re about to get company,” Ryker
hollered up, standing below the opening. Lexie’s body dropped,
falling ungracefully into Ryker’s arms, but she didn’t even stir.
The drugs kept her deeply unconscious. Sprig’s sleeping form
roughly landed on her, then Croygen followed. I kept quiet,
thankful Croygen had pitched Sprig down at all.
    Without a word, Croygen took Lexie back from
Ryker, tucking her into his arms. I whirled for the door, bolting
up the stairs. My body shook with fatigue, but the stone pulsed up
my leg with excitement, giving me just enough to keep going. It was
as though the adrenaline and fear burning through me stimulated
it.
    I burst through the first set of doors at the
top, hitting the tunnel. There were still so many things that could
go wrong, but the taste of freedom slid over my skin. Shouts and
alarms rang in my ears as we bolted through the fae detectors. Men
streamed behind us like ants.
    A gunshot whistled by my ear as did a command
I didn’t stop to hear, then a hailstorm of bullets. The darkness of
the tunnel kept them from finding their true targets. Their orders
were shoot to kill. We weren’t supposed to get this far.
    We weaved, making it hard to get a clear shot
on any of us. The casings bounced off the cement ground as they
unloaded on us. My shoulder slammed into the final door, ready for
freedom to engulf me.
    It didn’t budge.
    Locked.
    “Noooo!”
    With a roaring bellow, Ryker’s body seemed to
triple in size along his shoulders, fury radiating off him. He ran
into the doors like a linebacker, cracking the lock with a single
hit. The exit flew open, all of us stumbling forward into the
budding light of day.
    We didn’t hesitate. We burst out, bullets and
shouts thundering behind us. Dawn crept over the buildings,
coloring them in a golden glow. Not a good time to escape. The dark
shadows we could slip into were evaporating before our eyes.
Unsuspecting civilians were still snuggled in their beds, leaving
us with no witnesses against DMG chasing and shooting at us.
    How easy it would have been if I could still
jump. But Ryker had the magic back. Didn’t he? If it did go back to
him, why did I feel a coil of energy lashing against my spine,
giving me that tingle like it wanted to jump?
    A growl came from behind me, and I shot a
glance over my shoulder, Ryker’s face twisted with fury.
    “Can you jump?” I yelled back at him.
    He