Page 120 of Forbidden Empire

She shot me a glare, eyes burning like wildfire.

“What?” I snapped, adrenaline spiking.

“I can take care of myself!” she hissed, jaw clenched, fury nearly vibrating off her.

“I never said you couldn’t!” I barked back, but before I could say more, a bullet punched through the box right beside her head.

She flinched, ducking even lower, arms coming up instinctively to shield herself.

“Fuck, Esme, stay down!” I choked out, and without thinking, I threw myself over her, shielding her with my body as the world erupted in gunfire.

She squirmed in my grasp, desperate for freedom, and managed to scoot away, dragging herself backward on her ass until the crates shielded her body.

I let her have the space. For now, we were both half-hidden, crouched low, as bullets tore through the warehouse, ricocheting in sharp, metallic shrieks.

Gunfire exploded all around us, ours and theirs, so loud it made my teeth ache.

I risked a glance around the corner, pulse thundering in my ears, searching for the source of Rhea’s men and the direction their shots were coming from.

Up on the balcony, I caught a flash of movement.

Three men, guns drawn, hunched and firing. Behind them stood Rhea, untouched by the chaos, her silhouette striking in a gauzy, lemon-yellow dress that shimmered in the half-light.

Dark sunglasses perched, almost arrogantly, on her sleek hair. She looked every inch the socialite, more suited to a summer cocktail party than a midnight firefight on the edge of the desert.

But her expression…God, she was radiant.

A twisted sort of joy played across her lips, her mouth stretched in a wild, delighted smile as she watched the violence unfold.

A delicate flute of champagne dangled from her hand, red manicure immaculate even as bullets screamed through the air.

The surreal image burned into my brain, but I forced myself to focus. Where the fuck was Ares?

My eyes scanned the shadows until I spotted him, crouched low behind the kiln with Zeno and Thal, the three of them exchanging fire with Rhea’s crew. Ares moved with lethal precision, lining up shot after shot, and I watched as he dropped one man, then the next. Rhea’s smile faltered when only one remained; then she slipped into the office, her last guard scrambling behind her.

For a heartbeat, quiet reigned, a brief, tense pause as we all recalibrated. My chest heaved, lungs burning, but the silence didn’t last.

Another door burst open at the far end of the warehouse, spilling out a fresh wave of Rhea’s men. They moved as a pack, laser-focused on Ares and the others, unleashing an avalanche of bullets that chewed up concrete and metal alike.

“Fuck,” I hissed under my breath, snapping off return fire.

My aim was steady, and I dropped three, watched them crumple, but five more kept coming, relentless. They were going to overrun Ares if I didn’t do something fast.

Distraction.

I needed to draw their focus, buy Ares time. But a cold knot twisted in my gut at the thought of leaving Esme exposed, even for a second. Instinct made me turn, searching for her, and my heart stuttered, thudding painfully, when I realized she wasn’t there.

The space behind me was empty. She was gone.

What the fuck.

I hissed under my breath, catching the flash of her darting away, a spectral blur melting into the shadows and toward the open door, the staircase gaping beyond.

“Esme!” I shouted, but she was already gone, her feet hitting the steps before I could even push myself upright.

I glanced back at Ares, Zeno, and Thal, a split-second calculation, primal and electric.

Three of them. Only one Esme.