AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is that Gunn?” Daniel points to a jogger across the street. He’s wearing tight blue shorts that are a size too small and a black hoodie. He pauses at the corner to do stretches, using the light post for leverage before moving on.
“Wow, he’s taking this role so seriously,” I remark.
My cell phone buzzes. It’s Luca. “The men are in place. We have two minutes.”
“We’re ready,” I tell him.
“Remember the plan, Lou. You’re to stay in the vehicle until I give you the signal. If you want to take over the McKenzies, you must stay alive until the house is secured.”
“Understood.”
“Axle is in,” he informs me. “We have one minute.”
“Good luck, Luca. And thank you.”
The three of us watch as at the minute mark hits and the front door opens. Several of those innocuous-looking men slip inside. For a moment, all is quiet. The only sound that can be heard is the slight breeze rustling through the trees and birds chirping nearby.
Then it begins. First, it’s one shot cracking through the air. Then another and another.
It’s not long before actual pedestrians begin to gather at intervals, staring in the direction of the gunshots. Fools. If that were me, I’d be gone. I’m just here because I have to be.
I’m about to glance at my cell phone for the “all’s well” signal when four black SUVs screech to a halt by the front door. At least twelve armed men, all dressed in black, pour out of the doors. They march into the house, rifles in hand and ready to shoot.
I snatch the binoculars Daniel has been holding. “Who the fuck is that?!”
“Another enemy?” Papá suggests. “Shit. We need to go.”
He tries to put the car in gear, but I stop him. “We’re not going anywhere. They need us!”
“We don’t know what we’re up against now.”
“If we leave, that will be seen as a betrayal.” I get out of the car before he can utter another word and run toward the house.
“Louisa!” he screams, but I just pick up the pace.
I peer over my shoulder, and just as I thought, they’re following. When I face the house once again, I’m momentarily stunned by the vision in front of me.
A man who looks a lot like Rowan appears behind one of the SUVs. He’s crouched low, a gun in his hand.
“Louisa,” Papá takes my hand and forces me to stop. “I forbid jou from going in there until we’re certain it’s secure. Return to the car and wait. Daniel and I will go in.”
They leave me there, blinking. I just saw Rowan’s ghost. Only, he seemed so real with his hair blowing in the slight wind, his face stern and muscles rippling beneath a white button-up shirt.
Of their own accord, my feet begin to move in that direction, my heart pounding in my ears. I’m panting by the time I reach the front door and step over a body. Shouts and grunts alert me to the areas where fights are still taking place, and I move toward them quietly.
“Rowan?” I whisper, scanning every room I pass.
The once-gleaming home is now covered in shattered glass and blood. There is chaos everywhere, men engaged in battle, some wielding knives or guns—others, fists.
It’s impossible to tell which men belong to Luca and which to Declan. So I stick to the shadows, making myself as small as possible as I move, avoiding them all.
I’ve just made my way to the second floor when a bullet hits the wall in front of me. Ducking into the nearest bedroom, I escape two more.
Shit! Shit, shit, shit!
That’s when I finally remember the gun in my waist holster. Taking it out, I move backward in a crouch and plaster myself to the other side of the bed.
I peer over the mattress just as the vision from outside appears at the doorway, his gun pointed low, his eyes searching. When it’s aimed at me, he pauses, shock evident in his expression.
