Chapter Eighty-five

**A/N: I'm well aware that it's dangerous to shoot handcuffs off as it'll take multiple tries and the shrapnel will just get everywhere but we'll give this a pass seeing as it's fiction :)**


Claire was leaning heavily against the wooden wall she was cuffed to, her hand was starting to go numb from being cuffed above her head and it hurt to sit on the wooden floor for so long.
She had tried her best to be brave all this while but she was slowly reaching her limit, tears pricking at her eyes. It had already been so long, would they really leave her like this until Lukas came which would be a really long time as he wouldn't.
He didn't like Claire and this was clearly an ambush being set up for him, there was no way in hell that he would-
Claire’s immersive train of thought was broken off violently when a loud sound came from the front of the shed. She jumped in fright and tried to scramble backward when she saw that a car had crashed through the front part of the shed but she couldn't move.
She held her breath as the glaring headlights of the car shone directly on her, making her blink her tears away in a bid to see better. *Who could it possibly be?*
Lukas could feel his heart beating in his ears when he saw Claire, she looked to be cuffed to the wall and was disheveled but other than that she looked unharmed. Without even waiting for the car to fully come to a stop, he hopped down knowing that all hell was about to break loose.
Claire blinked hard when she caught a glimpse of the person that came down from the car, her eyes had to be playing tricks on her, right? Because...
"Lukas?" She whispered in a shaky voice, why would he walk right into danger just for her sake?
Lukas broke out into flat out run in her direction, his gun held out. Claire didn’t realize tears were brimming in her eyes until the sight of Lukas started to blur.
Lukas wanted to pull Claire into his arms, the broken look in her eyes made his chest ache. He had no time to waste though, crashing the car through the shed would only buy him a few minutes at most.
Without hesitation, he took Claire’s hand and shot her cuffs off, barely helping her to her feet before gunshots rang out.
Lukas pulled her against him before dropping to the ground, maneuvering so that he took the impact of their drop, cushioning her fall with his body.
Claire wanted to scream but she clamped her lips shut, holding tightly to Lukas.
*'He had had come for her... He had come for her...'* That sentence rang in her head like a mantra.
Claire had taken off her shoes while she planned her escape earlier which was fortunate because it meant that she was able to keep up with Lukas when he dragged her behind a sofa.
A bullet whizzed past her as she ran but her legs didn't falter because Lukas had a firm grip on her and she could tell he wasn't letting go. After they were hidden behind the sofa, Lukas stood up to exchange gunshots with the attackers.
Claire’s heart was in her throat as she watched this, Lukas could get shot. She didn't want to add more to his worries so she remained in her hiding spot, her hands pressed tightly over her ears as she tried to block out the deafeningly loud gunshots.
The bullet exchange seemed to go on forever to Claire but in reality, it only lasted a few minutes. She dropped her hands from her ears when Lukas crouched behind the couch again, staring with big eyes as he slammed fresh cartridges into his guns.
A bullet whizzed past them from behind, making Lukas curse and immediately protect her with his body. A quick look behind them showed that the attackers had decided to come in from the back-door seeing as Lukas easily fended them off from the front. Not to mention, with the car in the way, it made it quite difficult for them to come in.
"Come." Was all Lukas said before he took her hand and ran in the direction of the car. It was parked sideways so it made for the perfect barrier.
Claire’s heart was in her mouth as they ran zigzag to the car, gunshots ringing out behind them. It made her knees buckle and she nearly tripped.
"Don't look back." Lukas' soothing voice broke through her haze of fear. "I got you."
Claire let him literally half carry her the last few steps, leaning heavily against the totaled car as Lukas leaned around the car to shoot at their attackers.
Claire stared at his broad shoulders underneath the rolled up sleeves of his black shirt, watching how smoothly his muscles moved on every recoil of the gun.
She only realized it now but relief had washed through her when she saw him jump out of the car, so much so that she nearly broke down in tears.
She glanced at the car that Lukas had driven in, it was crushed so they wouldn't be able to escape with it. Lukas had done that although he knew that he would be unable to escape afterwards just to save her.
Claire wanted to take a look at the gunfight that was going on but she wasn't sure her stomach could handle seeing all the blood. She had heard yells of pain so it was evident that although it was a swarm of men against Lukas, he was quickly cutting them them.
The sounds of gunshots ceased, making Claire take her hands from her ears again and look up at Lukas.
Lukas was already coming over to her, a bleeding scratch on the side of his face and his upper arm. The red of the blood soaked through the sleeve of his black shirt, making Claire nauseous at the sight.
"You're hurt." She said with something like disbelief. She always thought that Lukas was invincible, seeing him hurt shattered that belief, it made fresh fear seize her.
*'What if Lukas got a fatal shot?'*
Lukas seemed to sense her fearsome thoughts because he pulled her to him briefly and when he pulled away, there was something pressing into Claire’s hand.
Claire wrapped her fingers around it instinctively before looking down at what Lukas had given her, her breath catching in her throat when she saw it. Lukas had given her a dagger.
"Lukas?" She whispered fearfully to him, searching his gentle face. It seemed like she couldn't say anything more than his name, that was how shaken up she was.
Lukas looked like he would rather do anything but this. "Fuck, I hate to make you do this but I can't leave you unprotected." He said in a rush. "If anything happens to me, I want you to use that to get away, Alec will be here soon."
"No." Claire gasped, her eyes tearing up again. "I'm not leaving you." She blurted out before she could stop herself, her emotions running high.
Lukas had an indescribable look in his stormy dark eyes as he looked down at her. He cursed under his breath and leaned forward to press their lips together in a brief but searing kiss.
"Fine, wait here for me, I'll come back to get you." Lukas said, going around the car in the next moment.
Claire reached out for him in horror, "Lukas!" He was already gone though and Claire knew better than to follow after him so she just remained leaning against the car, clutching the handle of the dagger that Lukas had given her, the lingering taste of him on her lips.
She heard a couple more yells of pain after gunshots rang out and then it went silent. Claire dared to peek through the windows of the car but she couldn't see through because it was bulletproof and tinted black. She would have to peek around the corner of the car.
She forced her frozen legs to move, she was terrified but she was more worried about Lukas. *'Had something happened to him? Was that why the gunshots ceased?'*
Claire slapped her free hand that wasn't tightly clutching the dagger over her mouth as she watched Lukas knock a masked man down with the butt of his gun. There were still like four of them and they seemed to have given up on bullets and were now fighting with their fists.
Claire made a strangled sound when Lukas was kicked in the side, she watched him grab the man's leg and use the momentum to sweep him off his feet. She had to look away when Lukas cruelly stomped his face in.
There was no way she could hear it from where she stood but she could have sworn that she heard bones breaking.