Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

face, and handcuffs hung from one swollen, bruised wrist. In the other hand he clutched a gun, point ed at Lucier.
    “ Gimme my gun,” Steel said. “Slow and easy. Fingertips.”
    Lucier pulled the gun from his waistband with his thumb and index finger. He thought briefly of getting off a shot , but he’d be dead before he got the chance, and he didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt from a stray bullet .
    “ Put it on the ground and slide it to me ,” Steel said.
    Lucier did what Steel said . He wouldn’t need much of an excuse to shoot. Bide your time, Ernie. Mountain Man won’t do anything without an order, and right now, the boss is too busy to give directions.
    “ You , Seth ? ” Slater said. “I’m disappointed.”
    Seth glanced at Lucier with an almost imperceptible shrug. “Let me fly these people out of here, Edward. You know what will happen to them if they remain. Do you really want to be responsible for the deaths of innocent people?”
    Slater snorted. “Since when have you grown a conscience?”
    “This isn’t how it was supposed to be . We give life not take it.”
    “You still don’t understand , do you, lover boy? This is bigger than the loss of a few innocent people, as you call them. We’re creating an alternate universe, and nothing you do can stop us.”
    Soft whimpering broke the tension in the hangar. Seth turned to the sound. So did everyone else. Phillip cowered at Maia’s side , clutching the hem of her shorts . He shook violently as he stared at Slater . Pee ran down his leg forming a puddle under his shoes .
    Seth rotated slowly from his son to Slater. A creased deepened between his brows, and his mouth hung open for a long minute as realization struck. “You?”
    Slater’s face reddened. “I didn’t hurt him . I was teaching him ―”
    Seth didn’t wait for an explanation. H e lunged for Slater’s throat with the speed of a striking cobra . “You perverted ― ”
    Steel shifted his vengeful focus from Lucier to the commotion for a split second, but t hat’s all the time Lucier needed. He barreled in low, head- butting Steel’s midsection with an upward thrust. Steel grunted and lost his footing, but righted himself and held on to the gun.
    “Not again , boy ,” Steel sneered . “Not again.”
    Lucier had heard the demeaning word before, sloughed it off as meaningless because it was . T he thought of letting down the people who counted on him bothered him more . The fate of the kids in the compound. The starry-eyed women too damaged to know they were being used. Maia, Anat, and their children. And Diana, whose determination never to give in would seal her destiny if he couldn’t save her.
    He marshaled all his strength against a n adversary with nothing to lose and whose humiliation fueled his anger. Now victory depended o n which man wanted to win more.
    Lucier knew the big man hurt. He favored his arm , and his wrist looked like an eggplant. Lucier wanted to make him hurt more. Lucier grab bed hold of the hand cuff and yanked it so hard, Steel wailed in pain. Lucier locked onto Steel’s gun hand , pushing it to point at the hangar’s ceiling. More twisting a nd squeezing. Harder and tighter.
    In spite of his obvious pain, Steel fought with the determination of a feral animal and maneuvered the gun barrel toward Lucier.
    I can’t let him win.
    A mythical strength, the kind that empowers those faced with do - or - die situations, surge d into Lucier’s body . H e forced the gun from Steel’s grip at the same time he twisted the cuff high on his back. The unmistakable snap of bone caused Steel to discharge an unearthly shriek. Lucier landed a forceful strike to Steel ’s knee, and Mountain Man hit the ground, writhing in pain. Lucier stomped down on Steel’s wrist , then immediately scooped up the nearest gun. T he big man’s previous wail sound ed like a whimper in comparison to what he was letting go now . Lucier socked him under the jaw with the butt of the gun to silence him , then hustled to retrieve the other gun , sticking it back into his waistband .
    He’d been so involved in his own battle , he hadn’t noticed the quiet inside the hangar. Seth Crane kne lt in front of Slater, his hands en circling Slater’s neck, squeezing and jerking the limp body in a fitful rage.
    Lucier, breathing heavily, staggered to Crane and put a hand on his shoulder. Crane went still. He turned to Lucier as if he’d come out of a trance. Slater’s