Page 7 of Dalla’s Royal Guards (Second Chance #3)

A white, fabric horn stuck out of the bag. He picked up the unicorn he had brought for Cianna and handed it to his terrified niece. She clutched it to her chest before burying her face against its soft neck.

“Everything will be all right,” he promised.

“Hang on. We have two more,” Colin said.

Behind them, two armored transports were gaining on them. Colin swerved when another vehicle turned out of a side street.

Metal screamed as the vehicles collided, deafening and jarring.

“Get down,” Nasser ordered when the passenger lifted a gun and opened fire.

Glass exploded from the side window, cutting across him like ice. He turned, the M4 secure in his hands, and opened fire. The SUV swerved away, smashing into several vehicles parked along the roadway.

Through the windshield, Nasser saw the roundabout approaching in the center of the historic district. A beautiful monolith stood in the center of the square, decorated with nearly a million colorful mosaic tiles.

The tiles depicted images from the War of the Desert Kingdoms and the two future kings of Narva and Kashir.

Atop the monolith stood a statue of Dalla.

She was holding her longbow out to the side in her left hand, the seax that his father had given to Musad in her right.

Her arm was stretched outward, the end of the seax pointing to the mountains in the north.

Nasser jerked his attention away from the monolith and back to Colin when the older soldier entered the roundabout at a high speed.

Two of their pursuing vehicles closed in on either side of them.

Colin swerved into the SUV on the passenger side, trying to drive it into the protective metal posts lining the sidewalk along the edge of the road.

Pedestrians scrambled out of the way of the speeding vehicles and gunfire. Nasser spun in his seat, taking aim at the SUV to their left. He released several short bursts before taking cover when the merc in the vehicle behind him opened fire.

Colin released a low grunt of pain, and the Range Rover swerved before he gripped the steering wheel and brought it back under control. They entered the street heading south. The road narrowed from four lanes to two with parked cars lining each side.

“Musad, where the hell are you?” Nasser snapped into the radio.

“A block over, heading in the same direction,” Musad replied.

Before he could reply, another SUV emerged out of a side street and broadsided them. Cianna released a terrified scream as the Range Rover flipped, sliding on its side before being rammed in the back, causing it to roll onto its roof.

They tumbled over and slid again until they were pressed against the side of a parked car. Nasser shook his head and blinked, trying to clear his vision. He had a deep cut above his left eye that was bleeding.

“Nassie!” Cianna whimpered.

Through the broken window, Nasser saw two men crawling out of the smoking Hummer that had broadsided them.

He fumbled for the seatbelt latch and released it.

Sliding off the seat to the roof of the Range Rover, he took aim at one merc through the window.

His finger tightened on the trigger as he waited to get a clear shot.

Before he could fire, the man stumbled and fell to the ground.

The mercs in the other vehicles quickly took cover. Nasser didn’t question the help he was receiving. He unfastened Cianna’s seatbelt and lowered her to the roof of the car. Nanna undid her seatbelt and collapsed next to Cianna. Blood dripped from Nanna’s hairline onto her blouse.

“How bad?” he asked.

“Cuts and bruises,” Nanna replied in a shaky voice.

“Colin, status,” Nasser requested.

“Bullet to the shoulder and thigh,” Colin answered between gritted teeth. “You get Nanna and Cianna to safety. I’ll buy you some time.”

“Musad, we need additional backup,” Nasser said.

“We’re working on it. There are three more vehicles approaching,” Musad responded.

The rat-tat-tat of gunfire filled the air. There was no way to get out of the passenger side of the vehicle. It was slammed up against a delivery van. Nasser’s sniffed. The sharp reek of gasoline thickened in the air. They needed to get out of the Range Rover… now!

“Nanna, can you carry Cianna?” he asked.

“To heaven and back, sire,” Nanna whispered fiercely.

Nasser retrieved several clips for the M4 and slid them into the crossbody bag he was wearing. Pulling a knife from the bag, he reached over the seat and sliced through the seatbelt holding Colin in place. The older soldier grunted in pain as his body shifted.

“Go! I’ll only slow you down,” Colin ordered.

“This vehicle is going to blow,” Nasser stated.

“Which is all the more reason for you to go,” Colin gritted out.

Nasser ignored Colin. He would not leave the soldier behind. He twisted and kicked the back driver-side door as hard as he could. It had been damaged when they were hit, and it took him several powerful kicks before he could get it open.

A spray of bullets caused him to jerk back. The second they stopped, he leaned out and released a burst of his own. He was forced to roll onto his back when gunfire from a second-floor balcony struck the frame of the Range Rover near the back tire.

Farther down, a heated firefight was underway. His brother’s team had stopped the three vehicles chasing them. Nasser twisted into a sitting position and pressed against the back driver-side door as Nanna scooted forward with Cianna in her arms.

“Drop it, or the woman and child are dead!” a voice to his left ordered.

Nasser froze and slowly turned his head.

The man was less than five feet from him, having come up the sidewalk behind the vehicles while he was distracted.

Nanna, with Cianna in her arms, was exposed in the awkward position of scooting out of the overturned SUV.

Their only protection was his body, and it was no match for the weapon in the man’s hands.

“I said drop it now!”