Page 138 of Blood and Thorns

“You made a mistake, Maggie,”I said calmly, purposely using the name my brothers and I called her when she was first introduced as the nanny.“You were overconfident, which has made you arrogant.”

“You’re right, I probably shouldn’t have trusted a thief,”Margot smirked, pouting her red painted lips.“But do you really believe you have the upper hand?”

With a gasp, blood appeared on Caden’s shoulder. Arabella cried out, catching him as he fell. Another shot, this one whizzing past my head.

“You seem to have forgotten that I was beside your father for years. Every dirty trick I have, I’ve learnt from him.”Margot smirked.“Now, there’s a sniper aimed at your Arabella. I suggest you remove the mutt from the back of my head, or she’ll lose hers.”

I glanced at Arabella, who was calmly whispering to a pale Caden, unable to understand the conversation. His shoulder was a mess, his teeth gritted as she tried to put pressure on the wound. He needed medical attention, and soon.

“Langdon, step back.”

Langdon didn’t even blink, his arm unwavering.

“Lang!”I barked, and he finally looked at me before glancing at Caden.“Step back and drop the gun.”

He followed the instruction immediately, trusting that I knew what I was doing.

Margot smiled.“Good.”With a wink, she turned andpulled the trigger. The bullet hit Langdon straight in the chest, the momentum throwing him to the floor with a heavy thump.

Arabella screamed, unable to move as she kept the pressure on Caden’s shoulder. I spared a quick glance at Lang, finding him limp with his eyes closed. I ignored the burning in my own chest, at the rage that perforated every single one of my cells.

A crackle in my ear.“Those on the roof have been neutralised, Sir. Over.”

Margot laughed once more, turning to point the gun at Arabella.

I didn’t hesitate, moving to put myself between them.“You’re supposed to be dead.”

“As are you, but clearly we are not, no?”Margot mused.“Tell me, do I still haunt you? Does what happened keep you up at night?”

My jaw tensed, the muscles twitching as I stared her down.“You really think you have that much influence? Margot… you’re nothing.”Her smirk faltered, so I stepped closer, making myself a larger target.“An old, withered whore that my father fucked, then discarded.”

“Sir, incoming,”came another crackle in my ear.“Thirty-second warning.”

“Still your father’s son, I see,”she said, her voice sharp.“Even with those scars, you wear your anger beautifully. Just like he did.”

“And I’ll finish what he was too weak to,”I growled, goading her as I took another step forward until I blocked her view of Ara entirely.

Margot’s upper lip curled, clearly amused.“Such fire in you, something your father lacked. It’s a pity it’s come to this,”she murmured, almost regretful, though the glint inher eyes betrayed her hunger for retribution.“But don’t worry.”

She raised the gun with terrifying calm, her smile widening as her finger found the trigger.

“I’ll take real good care of your little toy.”

I ignored the burning when the bullet hit, instead reaching across the space for the weapon. Margot clawed at my skin, fighting as I twisted her own gun beneath her chin.

She screeched, her movements frantic as she tried to push me away.“Guards!”she called.“Guards…”Her voice cut off, my fingers tightening around her throat until she could barely draw in a breath. She looked so pathetic in my grip, the woman who haunted my nightmares.

The woman who took everything from me.

“You really believe you can do this?”she gasped when I relaxed my fingers. “Kill me now, and you’ll forever doubt everything and everyone.”

“If I’d wanted to kill you,”I hissed against her face.“I would have already.”

“ON THE GROUND, HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!”

I immediately released her and dropped to my knees, following the instructions as she stumbled back. Margot’s face was pale, her lips lifting into a snarl as the Gendarmerie surrounded us.

“ON THE GROUND, HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!”