Page 81 of His Ruthless Queen

“Let go, sweetheart,” I say, my voice cruel. “Woman or not, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.”

She stiffens, and so does Sean. Her grip loosens, but then she rears back, slamming her forehead against mine.

“What the fuck,” I shout, stumbling. I fall back, but not before I grab her arm and pull her into me.

We fight in the tub, while Sean catches his breath. My fist connects to her jaw, and then I shove her to the side to get her off me. When I stand, she kicks my thigh and I tumble into Sean. My gun is in the tub, her hand on it, trying to aim and pull.

Fuck fuck fuck.My eyes dart around. Sean is carrying a knife, which means his gun is somewhere—I reach for the black metal on the ground, grabbing Sean’s gun, and before she can get hers pointed at me, I place three rounds into her skull.

“Well,” Sean coughs, gripping his throat. “That was intense. And also kind of hot.” He peers at the body, then to the red-stained wall.

“Sorry, Sean. I’m spoken for,” I say sardonically.

He shoots me a glare.

“Target secure.”

I’m not sure who says it, because I’m focused on the warmth dripping down my leg. I glance down, my eyes wide. The adrenaline from the fight is so strong I hadn’t felt it. But now, I see it. His knife sliced through the Kevlar like butter and is lodged in my ribcage.

“Oh fuck,” Sean whispers, reaching for the handle. “Oh fuck, you fell.”

He’s going to try to pull it out, and even though I haven’t felt the pain yet to assess just how bad this is, I know the blade needs to stay put. Pulling it out is going to make the injury worse, and could cause me to bleed out. Sean knows this, or he should. Maybe he’s in shock, maybe his adrenaline is making him incapable of processing what happened. Either way, I have to stop it.

“Don’t fucking touch it!” I scream, swatting his hands away, taking a step back.

“Is it deep?” He ignores me, reaching for the knife again.

I punch at his chest. “Leave it.”

My breaths even out, and my body is calming down. Each inhale causes a sharp pain, the pressure becoming a bit unbearable. I’ve felt worse though. This is nothing.

“What’s going on?” Callum snaps.

I turn toward the entryway. He’s standing there, blood dripping from his forehead. Behind him Corbin holds onto Vladimir. I growl. “He’s mine.”

“Whatever.” Corbin rolls his eyes. His gaze falls to the dead body, then to my side. “What the fuck happened in here?”

“Saoirse’s gonna kill me,” Sean raises his voice. “I stabbed Scotty.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Callumletsoutacurse in the front seat of the cargo van, then tosses his phone across the dashboard. It goes flying across the surface as Corbin, who’s driving like an asshole, makes a sharp left turn. I fly into the wall on the opposite side of the empty space in the back. I grunt, clutching around the knife.

The urge to pull it out is close to overpowering the knowledge to leave it in place.

“Tell me where I’m going,” Corbin says. “Jericho’s for a doctor, or the tarmac for the plane.”

“Tarmac,” Callum says.

There will be a first aid kit. I can use BleedStop and make it to Haley. It’s only a thirty-minute plane ride via private commercial. However, ten minutes ago Callum was insistent on getting me to someone local. Something has changed, and despite the pain I’m in, I need to know what.

“Why the tarmac?” I ask, pulling myself up to lean against the wall of the van. I ignore the shooting pain in my side.

He huffs. “I’m going to kill them before you can,” he says.

I no longer have a view of him from this position until he pokes his head around the passenger seat. His eyes are narrowed, jaw set behind his beard. Something isn’t right. “What is it?” I snap, not enjoying this staring game.

“The girls outsmarted Finn. They’re at the airport.”

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