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Smokey puts his hand on my shoulder. "Hey brother, let's go get my sister. You ready?"
I nod, checking the ammunition in my gun. The new clip snaps into place with a metallic click that will never not be a satisfying sound. I smile at Smokey despite the river of pain burning red down my back. My head’s woozy, my body broken, but at the end of my trials sits the woman of my dreams.
I’ll keep going until death, just to keep her safe.
“I’m ready, brother.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Danielle
"We have to get to Riley," Morgan says as we clear the door of my villa and step into a courtyard that's in chaos. Men are running around — some are wedding guests gripped in the throes of panic, others are guards with guns, also gripped in the throes of panic, because that shit's contagious — and there's a scream in my chest that just keeps building and building, but can't find it's way out, and I have this sinking, powerful feeling that when it finally does, it's going to hurt like hell.
I swallow it. Hope my chest can contain it. "Where is she?"
"I heard her in her suite on the way over. She and Michael were having a screaming match before... Did you just bean him in the head with a rock?"
"I did," I say, smiling. "I'd do it again, too."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Let's go get my sister."
Kneeling, I grab another rock. Just in case.
Hand in hand, we cross the courtyard, running toward Riley's suite. Up the stairs two at a time, we come to the long hallway leading to the heavy door to Riley's room. There's the same guard from yesterday in front of it, with the same shotgun, too.
I don't give him a chance to raise his gun or his voice — I hurl the rock and hit him right between the eyes. He crumples.
"Damn, Dani," Morgan whistles.
"I don't play."
Inside, we find Riley. She's huddled in a corner, hyperventilating, a river of tears coming from her eyes and a cloud of white powder smeared around her nose. Fuck.
"Sis, what did you do?" Morgan wails, running to her little sister and pulling her into a hug.
"He said... he said... he said he was going to kill Luca. That I'd done something, that I must've said something to someone, but I didn't... I don't want to live if my little boy died because of me." Riley is a mess, a torrential downpour of sobs and sudden shakes that wrack her body.
"What did you take?" Morgan says, frantic.
"I don't want to live anymore... My boy... My little boy," Riley replies, sobs decimating her body.
I step in, slip my arm under Riley's and, with Morgan's help, get her to her feet. "We have to get her out of here."
"What? Out through the front gate? They'll shoot us the second that Michael comes to his senses," Morgan says.
"We need to find somewhere safe. Maybe we can hide out. Maybe Owen will..." I stop myself. Owen won't come to save me. Not after what I did to him, not after how clear I was that he should absolutely leave me alone. He may be a Jarhead, he may be a little thick sometimes, but it is impossible to misinterpret a soda can thrown at your head at fifty miles per hour.
Riley blinks blearily and then looks at me, her eyes out of focus, her pupils dilated to the size of dinner plates. "Somewhere safe? Michael has a safe room in his suite. It's upstairs. I know the code... he liked to take me in there sometimes. Liked to lock me up and..."
"We don't need to know that part, sis," Morgan says. Then she gives me a look that hits me in the heart. It's unmistakable.You don't have to stay, Dani. She's my sister. She's my responsibility. Don't let us drag you down.
Blinking in shock, I look Morgan right in the eye. Did I get that right? Is she really telling me to leave?
Her eyes go to the door and I realize I haven't misunderstood my best friend.
I shake my head. "You two are my sisters. I'm not leaving you. Let's get her upstairs, get to that safe room. We'll figure things out from there. Maybe... Maybe the MC will come for us."
I voice that knowing a rescue won't happen. But the last thing I want to do is deprive Morgan and Riley of hope.
