Page 63 of Blood Red Rage

I stopped breathing. Across the table, Viking surged to his feet. Lucien's chair scraped violently backward. Volken went completely still. Draugr pushed away from the wall.

"Who was hit?" The question came from somewhere inside me that had already begun preparing to destroy everything between this warehouse and my home.

"No one, sir." Air entered my lungs, barely. Then Ashen continued. "The bullet missed Layla by approximately three inches." Three inches. Three. Fucking. Inches. Something inside me broke. Power exploded outward before I could stop it. The lights above us flickered, one shattered. Every human in the room recoiled. One dropped his gaze instantly, another went pale.

My brothers didn't move because they understood. Three inches. Three inches between my mate and death. Three inches between my child having his mother tonight and waking tomorrow to a world without her. I could see Layla in my mind. Her smile. Her hair spread across my pillow. The irritated little crease between her eyebrows when I was being unreasonable. Her body curled around our child when he crawled into bed with us. Three inches. My fangs descended.

"Roman." Draugr called.

I barely heard him. "The children?" I demanded.

"Secure."

"The women?"

"All accounted for. We're moving them into the safe room now."

I closed my eyes. Alive. Layla was alive. My child was alive. That was the only thing keeping the building standing. "Lock down the mansion."

"Already underway."

"Nobody enters. Nobody leaves."

"Understood."

"We're coming home."

I ended the call. Silence. Nobody at the table dared speak. Then Viking's voice came from behind me. "Bryn?"

I turned to see his eyes were already changing. Red bleeding slowly into the irises.

"Bryn is safe," I said immediately. "All the women are safe."

His jaw clenched. "Shot?"

"Through the family-room window."

"Who was the target?"

I didn't want to say it because saying it made it real. "Layla."

Lucien swore. Volken slammed his fist onto the table hard enough to split the wood. Viking's eyes went completely red. And I...I wanted blood, not later, not after questions, but now. I wanted the person who had aimed at my woman dragged before me. I wanted whoever had given the order. I wanted names. I wanted every person who had known about the plan. Every fucking person who had helped.

The power inside me swelled again. Draugr stepped directly into my path. "No."

I stared at him. "Move."

"No."

Dangerous word especially now. "Three inches, Draugr."

"I heard."

"Three fucking inches."

His pale eyes held mine. "And she's alive." My fists clenched.

"Your mate is alive. Your child is alive. So go home to them." That penetrated, barely.