Page 107 of The Auction Block

"What?" he snaps.

He isn't happy about the thought of us going into a fight, and I don't blame him. I'd prefer if Dresden could shoot, but Vlad and I are deadly enough. The Taurus has skilled killers, but something tells me they didn't send their best in this time.

"What do you want us to do?"

"You're asking my permission to go kill people?" His voice is soaked with disbelief.

I walk over and kneel in front of him. All eyes are on us and it makes me nervous. I've never asked for someone's permission before.

"Blake, I love you. I need to know you're okay with what I'm doing. Yes, I'm asking your permission."

His eyes soften. "What's the alternative?"

"To try and sneak everyone down the fire escape to the emergency vehicles. If we do that though, I can't guarantee anyone's safety."

His brows come together and even in the midst of chaos, the muscles in my stomach clench at his beauty.

"Kill 'em." His eyes meet mine.

I reach out and grip his neck, bringing his lips to mine, kissing him brief and hard before standing and gliding to the door. Vlad joins me, pulling his guns out. He carries .45's, and I've never seen him miss.

"Anyone got a cell phone?"

"I do," Shannon says, pulling her phone out of her bra.

"Rhett, call Monroe. We're going to need an ambulance and cleanup crew."

"One ambulance?"

"Yeah, only one left wounded will be Dresden."

"No mercy?" Rhett says smiling. His green eyes shine.

"No mercy, Adder. Vlad and I are Romanian, duh."

"You got it," Rhett laughs, moving to Shannon's side.

I throw open the door, stepping into the hall. To my right stands a mammoth of a man, three times my size. I raise my guns and let loose a barrage of bullets hitting him in the chest and head. He drops to the ground with a thud. Gunfire sounds behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, Vlad's arms point toward the other end of the hall.

Here we go . . .

Moving into the main room, Vlad and I come face to face with fifteen assailants. Two drop with headshots as Vlad charges into the room. I fire on another, putting a bullet through his throat. They return fire.

Crouching down behind the sofa, I have a clear view of Vlad, flush against a support pillar. He nods to the main room. The tip of a shoe appears at the end of the sofa as I pull my switchblade from my pocket.

Leaping up, I grab the intruder by the arm, spin him around, and run my knife across his throat. A gunshot resounds and a hot, stinging sensation spreads through my bicep. His body sags and I hold him in front of me, using him as a shield.

"Viper, we got you on cam," Hayato says in my ear. "Were you hit?"

"Grazed, I'm fine," I growl. He reset the communicator so I wouldn't have to press the buttons. This is why Hayato is the expert, he thinks of everything.

Bullets bite into the body as I push forward. Vlad moves around the pillar, shooting down two more, in rapid succession.

Nine left.

I throw the dead body down and grab a guy standing to my left. Driving my knife into his shoulder, he drops his gun, falling to his knees. I twist behind him, place my hands around his head, and snap them toward one another. The crunch of his neck breaking vibrates through my hands.

"Behind you," Hayato yells in my ear as thick arms wrap around me.