Page 76 of Dalla's Royal Guards

Detri gritted his teeth when Luther slammed into the side of the black SUV before they knew what happened. The force of the impact drove the vehicle into several parked cars. Luther jerked the wheel to the left, missing the backend of a car that was pushed out into the street. The cars coming up behind them weren’t so lucky, colliding together in a multi-car pileup that caged the damaged SUV in the middle.

Luther gunned the accelerator, speeding up to catch up with the tan vehicle entering the expressway. Detri’s lips curved into a determined smile as he checked the automatic rifle in his hand.

Let’s see if you can survive this, bitch!he thought as the distance between the two vehicles shrank.

Minutes before:

Stella snarled when one of Detri’s vehicles swerved ahead of her and opened fire on the rear SUV. Detri had turned up faster than expected.

Arrogant ass!He and his team were going to blow her shot.

She veered right, twisting and turning. Her mind raced ahead, trying to guess where they were heading, when her phone chimed.

Flight plan scheduled for Narva. Simdan Executive Airport Terminal.

A quick glance at the text made her smile. Maybe she wouldn’t kill Kyle after all. There was no sense in dealing with Detri and his buffoons when she could intercept her targets from a safer distance.

She turned, angling for a bypass that would take her to the eastern overpass—the one with sightlines to the road Raja had just routed them toward.

Several minutes later, she did a U-turn and pulled up into the emergency lane on the overpass. The interstate below was the only road nearby that led to the airport. They would have to pass under her.

Stepping out of the low car, she walked around to the trunk and opened it, pulling out a soft case. She ignored the traffic. Most people wouldn’t look twice, and those that did wouldn’t understand what they were seeing. She opened the passenger door, unzipped the case, and in seconds had the sniper rifle assembled with practiced ease.

In the distance, she could see the tan SUV approaching, followed by a black one. She extended the tripod under the rifle and rested it on top of the concrete barrier, just under the metal railing. Breathing deeply, she focused the site. Her lips curved into a delighted smile as she aimed for Musad Al-Rashid’s head.

She took slow, measured breaths as she counted down.

“Let’s see you dodge this.”

She smiled.

Perfect line of fire.

She exhaled, finger poised on the trigger.

“Come to momma,” she whispered before she squeezed the trigger.

The report from the rifle was like a clap on the shoulder from an old friend. She stared through the scope, visualizing the strike of the bullet through the windshield and the explosive thud as it ripped through Musad Al-Rashid’s chest.

“No!” she breathed out. “No, damn you!”

Her head jerked up, and she watched with growing rage as her perfect shot ripped not through Musad, but through Detri’s driver as Musad swerved at the last second and Luther sped up to draw even with the tan Land Cruiser.

Stella glared at Raja Hadi as the vehicle passed under her. Detri’s vehicle veered, and her gaze jerked back to it as it smashed into the side barrier and exploded in a shower of fire and metal.

Stella shielded her face, cursing as her window of opportunity vanished in a wall of smoke and burning wreckage.

“Dammit!” she hissed, gripping her rifle and wishing it was Detri’s neck.

The SUV was gone. Slipped through her fingers.

“For now,” she muttered, tossing the rifle into the seat and striding around to the driver’s side.

Twenty-One

Dalla listened in silence as Raja ended his call with Hussain, his voice calm despite the chaos they had just escaped.

She didn’t feel calm. Nowhere near it.