Page 54 of Betrayed

I tuck my chin against my chest and update Bayne, whispering to him the new plan. He agrees. Minutes pass. My nerves heighten. Bayne checks back in on the earpiece.

“No sign yet.”

Then I feel it. That tightening in my chest. The prickling on the back of my neck. The heavy silence behind the sound. Like the room is holding its breath, waiting.

I catch a flash of movement in the corner.

A man steps into the doorway.

Tall.

Black leather coat.

The shape of his shoulders…

My heart lurches into my throat.

It’s him.

Caleb.

He watches me for a beat, then disappears into the shadows of the hall.

I finish my drink and follow.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Erin

Obeying Bayne, I only reach the edge of the hallway as Caleb walks further down. I watch his back, his shoulders tense as a crowd of men steps out of the shadows. Caleb gives a confused look over his shoulder at me.

I stare back.

And they’re on him, dragging him out the back door—the one I waited for Mary at. She let the King’s men in, hiding them in the storeroom for us, waiting for this moment.

Behind me, the real action begins.

The bartender ducks. Someone screams.

I turn, watching the room as it explodes.

Not with bullets.

With bodies.

The Kings.

They move like shadows. Silent. Lethal. One man grabs Rory by the throat and slams him into the bar. Another lifts the girl off the table and hauls her to safety.

Bodyguards suddenly surround me.

I catch a glimpse of Bayne—eyes that burn cold blue. He doesn’t say a word. Just pins Rory against the wall and growls something in a language I don’t recognize.

“Madness!” Rory stares at Bayne, then back at me with crazed eyes. “Erin! What is this madness ye bring into me bar!”

Bayne looks at me, holding Rory there. “Rory, we meet again.”

“Ain’t it a pleasure?” Rory spits back.