Page 23 of Beautiful Heart
She watched as the first man slipped through the opening. He was followed by a second and then a third. Then, as the door eased open a little further, they came in two and then three at a time.
Turning to Tessa, she whispered in the blind woman’s ear, “There are men here to rescue us. When the shouting and shooting begin, get down, as low to the ground as you can. Pass it on.”
As Tessa turned to the woman beside her, Gerri turned to Ariel. But the young wolf shifter had heard the instructions and was already sharing it with the woman beside her.
Gerri watched as their rescuers slowly approached. They stopped just on the other side of the cars and spread out, with about half the men going to each side of the room and working their way to encircle the area.
“Now!”
With that order, the rescue team surged forward, guns at the ready, and chaos broke out when their guards realized they were no longer alone.
“Down!” Gerri yelled as she dropped to her knees, helping Tessa beside her.
She watched as the women up and down the line dropped to their knees. They then stretched out to lie on the ground, as low as they could get. She dropped her head and flinched when the first shot was fired, praying none of the women were injured in the next few minutes.
****
While Livingston knew that as prince of the coven he needed to stay with Kingsley, Jefferson, and Dickinson out of harm’s way, it took Quinlan and two others to keep him from charging into the hangar once the shooting began. His mate was in there. He needed to make sure she was alive and uninjured.
Then, once things were under control, he and the men standing beside him who he considered friends as well as occasional adversaries, would return to his apartment where they would stand in the hall and listen while he finally finished the claiming and mating ceremony with his woman.
She would just have to get over any embarrassment of having them so close because he would be damned if he would go another night without finalizing their mating.
When the shooting ended and the women’s screams died away, the men standing in front of him finally stepped out of his way. With the others following in his wake, Livingston ran into the hangar.
Once inside, he paused as his gaze swept the scene. The supernaturals had the humans who had come to take part in the auction rounded up and sitting on the floor with their hands on their heads. The humans looked more angry than frightened as the soldiers around them growled at any movement.
In the space in front of the raised area, as well as on stage, there were a half-dozen large, male bodies crumpled to the ground. Some were moaning and groaning and moving slightly. Others lay still, obviously dead.
Rushing past, Livingston hurried to the line of bodies lying facedown across the back of the stage.
“Gerri!” he screamed, unable to remain quiet and dignified a moment longer.
A head near one end of the line popped up and looked at him. She had a bruise on one cheekbone, but the smile that bloomed on her face calmed his nearly out-of-control beast.
Quinlan moved in front of him and pulled out his key ring. As Livingston watched, he unlocked the handcuffs that tied her to the women on either side. As soon as his man finished with her, she popped to her feet, rubbing one wrist and then the other.
Two heartbeats later, Livingston held her tight against his chest, his heart that had clenched with fear for the last few hours finally settled, while another part of his anatomy woke up and demanded attention.
“Princess of my heart, you scared the blood right out of me,” he whispered even as he kissed the spot where he would bite her during their final mating.
“Glad I’m not the only one,” she whispered as she kissed his chin and cheek and every other bit of skin she could reach.
“Your Highness, we’re going to need a statement from the lady,” one of the shifters, who served with the bland police department, said before Livingston could take his woman and disappear.
“Come by my penthouse tomorrow evening and you can have your statement. Right now, I’m taking my mate home,” Livingston said, his do-not-mess-with-me voice clearly in place.
“Yes, Your Highness,” the man said before backing away again.
When Livingston swept her up into his arms, she stiffened. “Wait, I can’t go yet. Put me down.”
“No way,” Livingston said, tightening his hold on her.
“I need to make sure Tessa is all right. She’s blind and human,” Gerri said softly. “Please, my prince, please put me down.”
Though the last thing he wanted was to release her, Livingston carefully set her on her feet. Then he wrapped his arm around her and went with her to the woman who remained standing alone on the center of the stage. The others had left already, but she remained standing right where she’d been lying down just moments before.
“Tessa, are you all right? You weren’t hurt, were you?” Gerri said, touching the woman’s arm where it crossed her chest. It was as if she were cold, or holding herself together with her arms clamped around her middle.