CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The fake Mr. Valentine crooked a finger. “Come and show me how powerful the almighty God really is without his daddy around to save him.”
Godric hissed, “Mina, get out of here.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice.
I dropped the golf club and sprinted as fast as I could toward Godric, toward the front door. Another exit was closer but Godric was the safe bet. All that alpha king power was going to take that loon down.
“Be careful,” I whispered as I flew past him.
Then I was out the door.
And slammed into a solid chest that belonged to my shifter. Oomph.
Finn’s arms were around me in a flash, his lips pressed against my forehead. His muscled body was trembling softly. He breathed against my skin, and spoke, “He wouldn’t let me go in. He insisted it be him.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “It makes sense, Finn. I’m okay. And that asshole won’t be okay once Godric is done with him.”
He continued to kiss my forehead in tiny, adoring pecks. “I need to get you out of here. Something isn’t right with all of this.”
“Like bad intel?”
“Yes. It feels like a trap.”
The ground vibrated under our feet.
I jerked inside his hold, peering up to his face. “Is that Cassander again?”
“No, it doesn’t feel like Cass.”
The earth sprouted golems all around us.
One second, they weren’t there, and the next, they shot up from the ground taller than I was.
There were so many, their disgusting leather skin touched me on all sides.
I whispered, “Finn!”
They weren’t ‘on’ yet. Now was the time to leave.
“Put your arms around my neck,” he ordered.
“I can’t even move my fingers. There’s no way I can get my arms up there.”
“Then hang on the best you can,” he growled, his furious eyes sweeping across each golem near us. “Here we go.”
I dug my fingers into his back, holding tight around his waist. His arms were around my back, crushing me to him.
I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t care.
Finn bent his knees, jostling the golems around him. Then he shoved off with such power, my head flew back. It left me staring at the sparkling stars in the deep night sky.
My eyes widened the higher and higher we soared, and then I huffed a harsh rush of air when we landed with a crackling thump. I wiggled inside his hold. He needed to let up on the rib cracking.
Finn peered down at me, his arms releasing my frame. Only for him to place his palms on my cheeks. “Are you okay?”
I sucked in oxygen, my heartbeat hammering fiercely inside my chest. “Yes. I’m okay.”
I tipped my head to the side. We were on the roof.
The five remaining corporate kings and Cassander were walking along the edges of the thick and flat concrete roofing,their eyes cast downward toward the golems.
I peered down to study them too.
And started shaking in terror.
As far as I could see, there were golems.
Black leathery creatures with no eyes.
“He was playing with you,” I whispered in horror. “You know what he wants now.”
He didn’t care about the mates’ souls.
The bastard wanted the six aberrations’ souls.
“Yes, we do.”
The bastard had lured them here with false hope they would capture Mr. Valentine and the security that they could easily beat the golems. The vile man had played them quite well.
I looked up at my white tiger. “Why hasn’t Godric—”
He pressed the pad of his pointer finger against my lips and shook his head. He mouthed, “Information.”
The most valuable commodity to have.
Green lights started sparking around the building. One by one, they flicked on, casting out its evil power. It appeared as if the ground was black with glowing neon green holes pushing through the dirt. It was a terrifying visual.
Mr. Mason whispered, “God, it’s time.”
Why he whispered, I didn’t know.
I gently extracted myself from Finn’s arms and carefully moved to peer down through the sunroof. My mouth snapped shut in confusion, not expecting what I saw. I waved my hand at Finn, beckoning him over in a rush. No one had been looking down into the building, all too worried about the threat outside.
Finn stepped next to me, and I pointed.
Golems were inside too.
But Godric and the fake Mr. Valentine were not.
They were gone.
“Shit,” Finn shouted. “We have a problem.”
The other four shifters ran to look down into the window. Their expressions varied, but confusion won in the end.
“What the fuck? I can still hear him talking,” Mr. Mason growled. “Is that…”
Mr. Cooper tilted his head, his brows furrowing. “I wondered why God was deviating from the questions we wanted answers for. I think that’s a pre-recorded device, patching things together that’ve been said before in broadcasts.”
“So where the hell are they now?” Finn asked.
“Were there any other exits other than what was on the blueprint?”
Mr. Mason bellowed, “Goddammit! It has a basement. Some owners add emergency exits after the construction is finished. They use private contractors, so it wouldn’t be on the original blueprint.”
Mr. Cooper lifted his right booted foot and kicked downward, the glass spraying down into the room—and on the frozen golems. “I’m going in. If there’s a way out of here, we need to know. Otherwise, we’re going to have to blow this place and ourselves up to live through this.”
I grabbed the white tiger’s hand, holding on tight, as we watched Mr. Cooper jump down into the room.
He landed with ease. Then he was climbing through the statue-still golems to the basement entrance. He shoved golems aside and tossed a few away when he found the door amongst the mess of evil creatures.
Mr. Cooper disappeared down the stairs.
I cleared my throat. “That was very brave.”
No one spoke, all eyes on that door. Waiting.
“Are we too far away for trains to pick us up?”
Finn muttered, “He cut the lines to our trains. And our bracelets.”
I blinked. “I thought you couldn’t hack them?”
“He figured out a way.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Now I knew why they were so intent on another exit strategy. It wasn’t ‘another’ one. It was the only one.
Mr. Cooper reappeared in the doorway. “Get down here now.”
Finn grabbed me in his arms and didn’t hesitate. He jumped through the window with me held protectively in his arms.
Then we hit the ground.
Crack.
“Shit!” I screamed, holding my left leg up. “It’s broken. It’s broken. It’s broken.”
“Give it a second.”
My eyes popped wide, and I squealed with my mouth shut. Bones were shifting back into place all on their own, knitting and forming where they had broken. I shook my head like a maniac to keep from fainting.
Then… the pain just ended.
I blinked.
“Good now?” Finn asked. “We need to move.”
“I’m good.” I wiped the sweat off my brow and started climbing on top of the golems plastered side-to-side and back-to-back with one another. “I need to learn how to land without breaking things. That was not a pleasant feeling I would like to reencounter.”
Finn grunted beside me, climbing along with me. “Shifters are made differently. Humans will break more easily.”
“That’s not very kind of the magic,” I mumbled. “Let’s have all of one sex have sweet cake and leave only the crumbs for the other sex.”
He choked on a laugh. “I never said it was fair. It’s just how it is.”
Another one of his friends jumped down when we had given them enough room to do so carefully. Climbing over golems wasn’t as easy as it looked from the roof.
But then, Mr. Mason passed me by.
“Oh…” I was just slow.
Finn was holding himself back to stay with me.
He snorted. “Do you want to climb on my back?”
“No,” I stated. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”
“Thought I would offer.”
Another one of his friends passed us.
I blinked. “Is this as humiliating for you as it is for me?”
“Hell no. I have my mate by my side.”
“Thought I would ask.”
Finn glanced in my direction. “That was well done.”
“If only I could climb as fast as I’m learning when you lie.”