Broken Warrior

Whirly Birds

Eliza

I had turned my back for a moment, listening to Tim tell me they had me in sight and hearing the sound of the approaching helicopter. I was looking in that direction when I barely registered her words, not understanding what they meant. Then I turned back to Eirene, to tell her that this could be done differently, and found myself facing an empty rooftop. My heart ripped out of my chest as my eyes searched the shadows desperately, looking for any movement or shimmer of a dark form surrounded by the shadows.

I loved her.

I knew certainly in that moment that I loved her with every ounce of my soul, stumbling to my knees as the weight of realization hit me like a ton of bricks. It brought me anguish, for there was a certainty within me that said Eirene would risk herself to give the teams time. That she did not think she was making it out alive. The wind whipped around me, tugging at my hair and tears as the helicopter hovered overhead. I heard the door of it open up, then the sound of someone climbing down the ladder toward me.

"C'mon, darling." Tim wrapped his arm around me and pulled me up against him, holding me with one arm as he gripped the rope ladder and the helicopter began lifting up into the air. But I couldn't tear my eyes away from the rooftop.

"She left me, Tim." I murmured as I came to myself, gripping the front of his shirt. I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight and try to chase her down. But I didn't know how well a vampire could survive the fall that we would face if Tim's grip on me or the ladder slipped.

Tim nodded, not pushing me until I turned and began climbing up the ladder, finding Ryker and Bryn hauling me inside when I got within their reach. Ryker's expression was surprisingly concerned, giving me a once over before sitting me down on one of the seats. It was a large bird, usually used for VIP transport, though it appeared that they had ripped out some of the interior to make room for half of Ryker's team, all of whom were loaded for war. Ryker had a large rifle with a scope on it, Bryn had a similar one, both of them wearing vests with magazines, grenades and other things I couldn't identify.

"We're going to have to land and fuel up." Shiloh was in the cockpit, waiting until Tim had climbed in and closed the door before speaking.

"She said an hour." I found myself mumbling, staring at my hands, which had started to shake. "She told me that she's going to provide a distraction so you guys can get the kids."

"Well, we've got the first part of her plan already done." Ryker rolled his eyes, crouched on the floor as he fiddled with his computer. "We already have teams in place."

I looked up at him and frowned. "You've been talking to her."

Ryker shrugged and put the computer off to the side as if preparing for me to attack him.

Around the helicopter, everyone else went silent, their eyes on the two of us as the helicopter made its way to a private airstrip that Carbry owned, with the cover of a helicopter tour place. The tension built as I waited for some explanation or response from him.

I knew that I wasn't going to like his answer before he spoke, so I looked out the window, watching the strip to come into view and seeing the various other helicopters already there. It was Knight Corp's veritable fleet of them, all being prepped for war. None of them were military grade and leather seats, tv screens and other amenities were discarded off to the side of the landing pad in favour of the ammunition and weapons being loaded in.

When had we started fighting a war?

"She sent us the info and I traced her and hacked her computer. She told us her plan and I let her know that you were trying to find her." Ryker offered finally, blowing out a large breath of air before he continued. "I told her that once you and the kids were safe, that she could go rot in hell. And may have insinuated that we want nothing from her."