Chapter 403 405

Chapter 403 405
Renata

Renata’s Bedroom

I pace up and down my room, wondering what’s happening out there. It’s been almost ten minutes since Rokiades ordered his guards to escort me back to my room and lock me in here.

Also: Drago is here. Why the hell is Drago here?

I want to believe he’s working with the Clan now, but I’m not so sure. Truthfully, I’ve never been sure of Drago. He changes alliances like the wind, regardless of whose life hangs in the balance. The only life he’s ever truly cared about is his own.

He sure as hell never cared about mine.

I have to believe that the O’Sullivan Clan has something to do with his presence here. There’s no way Drago would voluntarily walk into the home of the man who tried to kill him. Not without a damn good reason.

I keep pacing. Every time I hit the window, I gaze out at the roof of the warehouse. My body feels clawingly aware of everything. Every noise makes me jump.

Rokiades had left me with a reminder. “When I’m done with your brother, I want your decision. Kian or the runt.”

I didn’t bother to tell him that he’d promised me twenty-four hours. I don’t expect anything from Rokiades, least of all honesty.

My hand flutters over my stomach as I make my millionth circuit around the room. Kian had been so sure. Choose the baby. He made it sound simple.

I wish I had an ounce of that certainty. My heart plummets when I think about what it would mean if my decision actually comes to pass. What if the Clan doesn’t show up in time? What if Rokiades changes his mind and kills Kian immediately?

A hundred other what ifs roll through my head. And each one only makes me feel more helpless than the one before.

I walk back towards my door and rattle the handle. It doesn’t budge. Not that I expect anything different. It’s more like a nervous tic. Something to do even if I know it’s going to accomplish exactly nothing.

On my way back to the window, I stop and scan the warehouse once again. I notice a few dark vehicles whizz past, but I don’t think much of it. Probably just more of Rokiades’s stooges entering the compound.

I’m still staring at the roof of the warehouse when I hear the gunshot. It’s slight, given the distance, but I’m a hundred percent sure I haven’t imagined it.

A single word slips from my lips. “No!”

Has Yannis killed Kian? Has he taken matters into his own hands after all?

My stomach twists. Pain inches into the corners of my chest and squeezes tight. It feels like someone is trying to choke me from the inside.

“Oh, God. It can’t be. He can’t be dead…”

A single shot. A kill shot. An execution shot.

The reality that Kian might be dead seems to pull things into focus for me. Suddenly, everything becomes clear. Everything becomes simple.

I trust Kian O’Sullivan.

Hell, I may even love Kian O’Sullivan.

It makes zero sense. As with many things in my life, I’ve had no say in falling for him. But this is the first time that I don’t mind that choice being taken from me.

I wonder if I’ve made my peace with that just in time for him to die.

Suddenly, the silence that followed the first boom is broken by a storm of answering gunshots. I hear an explosion soon after. It’s so loud that I drop to my hands and knees and crawl towards my bed. The entire foundation of the house seems to bellow with complaint as another explosion goes off. This one is not far from where I am.

“I have to get out of here,” I whisper to myself. Swallowing hard, I force myself to my feet and rush to the door. I slam my palms against the cold wood and scream. “Let me out! Let me out now!”

There’s definitely something going down outside. The door unlocks and two of my guards run inside. I expect them to grab me and pull me out into the corridor, but they slam the door shut and aim their guns at it.

“What the hell is going on?” I demand.

The guards exchange a glance. “We’re under fire.”

“From whom?”

“Fuck if I know,” the younger guard mutters. He’s clearly rattled, but trying not to show it.

Before I can ask a follow-up question, I hear another tirade of gunshots and raised voices. The guards talk back and forth between themselves as if I’m not even here.

“Fuck! They’re coming.”

“What should we do?”

“If we lose the girl, the boss will have our heads.”

The younger guys looks to his buddy incredulously. “We might die before then.”

Just then, the door is kicked open. Both guards fall scrambling backwards. I manage to jump out of the way just in time to see an armed man storm into the room. His eyes are fixed on my guards, so he barely notices me.

I slip into the corner of the room, close to the wardrobe, and cower behind it.

The guards raise their guns and prepare to shoot, but the man who just entered moves with scary precision as he takes aim and fires off the first shot.

The younger guard collapses back against the carpeted floor with a bullet in his forehead. He was right—he was dead long before he had to worry about his boss’s wrath. I avoid looking at his face as I move quietly against the wall of the room until I make it almost all the way to the door.

The killer is still focused on the second guard. He hasn’t noticed me yet. But the second guard is facing me. His eyes bulge as he sees me reach for the doorknob. I’m so close. If I can just slip through the crack…

The guard eyes me just past the bulk of the man who stormed in and started firing. Don’t say anything, I beg silently. I’m twisting the knob slowly, slowly, slowly…

“The girl!” croaks the second guard. His finger jabs out at me.

The killer turns.

Raises his gun.

I wrench the door open and dive through it.

Just before he makes the second killing shot, I rush through the door.

BOOM! At the same time that I hit the floor outside, there’s another gunshot. I don’t know who fired. Who’s dead. I closed my eyes at some point during my leap to freedom, and as I open them now and look down, I half-expect to see my lifeblood surging out through a hole in my chest.

But it wasn’t me. I didn’t get hit.

And I’m not waiting around to see who did.

I scramble to my feet and rush through the house. My only goal is to get to Kian as quickly as possible. As I run, the sounds of ongoing fighting erupt from every wing and every corridor.

I have to peek around every corner before I sprint past to make sure I’m not wandering into a firefight. Half the time, I have to double back and hide in a room or behind a piece of furniture as armed men hurry past. But somehow, I manage to get to the second floor without being noticed.

“Napravit'sya na vostok!” the man in front barks.

Something occurs to me suddenly as I duck behind an ugly green sofa while another squadron of soldiers storms past me. That sounded a lot like… Russian?

What the hell?

I don’t have time to puzzle out the mystery. As soon as the men are gone, I move down the broad corridor. I only have to clear the foyer now. That’ll take me to the main entrance. From there, I just need to get to the warehouse next door.

I hear another gunshot, and plaster myself against the wall. I can see the front door from here, but once I step out of the corridor, it’s open space. There’s no way to hide. There’s also no other way to leave the house from this wing.

Guess I’ll have to chance it.

I’m about to make a run for it when the main door is pushed open and two people walk through. I stop short, hoping that desperation isn’t making me see things.

“Kian?” I gasp.