“Jesus fucking Christ,” I mutter to myself, grabbing hold of my rifle and flying up, my feet already pounding against the cracked concrete flooring of the warehouse.
My arms pump, trying to time this just right as I screech to a halt by the blacked-out SUV and dive for the bag of weapons I’d brought with me. I keep my feet moving toward the massive security fence that blocks my access to the road.
Kiara doesn’t slow down, and as I run, I yank a grenade from my vest, pull the pin mid-stride, and hurl it toward the base of the fence, my hand raised in a pathetic attempt to shield myself from the incoming fire.
The blast splits the night, white-hot for a single brutal second before the darkness slams back in. Heat punches through me as the fence buckles under the force, steel shrieking as it caves inward. I don’t wait. I hit the opening at full speed just as Kiara skids hard, the car whipping sideways in a savage arc, the door already flying open before the tires finish screaming.
I dive for it, hitting the frame at full speed and grabbing the door before hauling myself inside, not skipping a single beat as the car continues on its course. Fuck, she didn’t even hit the brake. She gave me one fucking shot to get it right, otherwise she was leaving my assbehind.
“Go!” I bark.
“Duh!”
Okay, she’s pissed at me. And she has every right to be after sneaking out of the hospital while she slept and ghosting her for two fucking weeks. But what choice did I have? I left to give her a chance, only if I knew this is where we’d end up, there’s no way I would have walked.
The engine roars as we blast up the access road, debris crunching under the tires, and in seconds, headlights fall into place behind us, three, then four vehicles whipping around in tight formation as they realize they’ve been played.
“Move,” I snap, already reaching for the wheel.
She shoots me a look that could bring down buildings before smacking my hand away. “Who the fuck do you think you are, asshole? I can more than manage myself.”
“I know you can,” I grit, my gaze locked on the side mirror as bullets begin racing toward us, and a fifth SUV joins the pack. “But chaos is your love language. Are you really going to pass up the chance to return the favor?”
Her mouth curves, her eyes shining with excitement.
Pride ripples through me. “That’s my girl.”
Kiara unbuckles and slides across the console as I take the wheel and slide in around her, slamming my foot on the accelerator. The car jerks but quickly steadies, tires gripping the dirt roadas I push us harder.
She’s already twisting in her seat, sitting with her back pressed against the dash, as she grabs my rifle and braces it against the open window. The wind whips through her hair, but I’ve never seen her so steady, not even when she was lying motionless up on that ridge, waiting for her chance to strike. This is different. This isn’t just about taking out a target, something we’ve each done countless times. This is about revenge. This is about settling the score.
As Kiara peers into the scope, cool as a fucking cucumber, I spare a second to look over her. She’s filthy, covered head-to-toe in dirt. Her face is smeared with dust, and she has tiny scratches along her arms from the ricocheting gravel. But apart from that, she’s physically okay. That doesn’t change the fact that the thought of her taking a bullet had something ugly sinking into my gut.
The convoy behind us is closing in, and I grit my teeth, knowing she’s not going to take this lightly. “Get them off our ass, Firecracker.”
“That’s a tall order coming from someone who didn’t make a direct hit out there. I heard shots from five different angles, and there are still five cars behind us, so perhaps you should shut up and let the professional work.”
My grip tightens on the steering wheel, and I bite my tongue, knowing now isn’t the time to get into it.
All that matters is the five SUVs behind us.
Kiara doesn’t waste time.
The first SUV closes in fast, and as it gains on us, she bracesagainst the door frame, breath steady despite the speed, and fires. One clean shot. That’s all she needed.
The round plunges straight through the grille with a perfect, precise angle, and it immediately detonates. The hood erupts in flames as the vehicle veers to the side and flips from the momentum of the blast. As it rolls sideways, it takes out the SUV beside it in a massive ball of twisted metal and flames.
Any other day, she would have looked at me, grinned, and hit me with some bullshit comment about being the best. But instead, she’s already lining up the next one.
“What the hell is going on, Raiden?” she demands over the wind and gunfire, squeezing off another round that shatters a windshield. “You have two fucking seconds to explain how the fuck you ended up in that warehouse.”
I take a hard turn, dirt spraying as another vehicle swings wide to flank us. “You’re not gonna like it.”
“I don’t care.”
I let out a sigh that morphs into a quick grunt as I white-knuckle the steering wheel. “When I broke into your apartment last week, and you didn’t even clock me, I knew it was big.”
Her jaw tightens, not enjoying being called out, but she doesn’t look at me, just squeezes the trigger again and watches the chaos unfold behind us.
