Page 24

Twenty-Three

Reign

The mission that papa told Killian and I about seems pretty simple.

We have to go into one of the French’s warehouses to steal one of the drugs that they wouldn’t sell papa.

Papa wants to duplicate the drug and sell it for a cheaper price than the French are selling it for.

He told me the story to give me some context. He said when he tried to buy this drug from them, they charged a lot so now he needs to go through different measures to get this drug and sell it.

Papa said this mission should be easy and quick, but in case anything happens I have Killian.

He’s making me wait outside while he scans the area to make sure we’re all clear.

We trained last night even though I was way too tired to do that.

Last night was weird. Killian left right after and then I woke up to him waiting for me in the living room. He didn’t sleep in the same bed or possibly the same room as me last night.

He says all these things about being his, yet he couldn’t bear the thought of sleeping next to me.

I don’t even know why we got this suite since there are two people and clearly two people will sleep in two separate beds.

Killian walks out from the corner of the building. He’s wearing a black long sleeve compression shirt under the bullet proof vest. The vest is filled with all kinds of different knives and bullets for his gun. He’s wearing black trousers and black shoes.

He looks like a fallen god, especially with the small strand of his hair falling from his face. I can’t help but want to push the strand back like he does with me sometimes when a strand of my hair falls.

I hate how he looks so effortlessly good while I look like I’ve been put through the ringer.

I’m wearing a long sleeve dark gray shirt with black skinny jeans and a huge vest, a vest bigger than Killian’s that's for sure. When we were in the car, I asked if the big vest was necessary and he said, “For me no but for you yes. Your safety is top priority, so I don’t want to risk anything.”

I tried not to feel butterflies in my stomach as I looked out the window and felt his eyes on me.

I ignored the way my heart sped up and forced away the smile I wanted to show him.

He’s the enemy technically, but God he doesn’t feel like one.

“Are we ready to go?” I ask, walking towards Killian as he fixes his earpiece.

“Almost.” When I’m close enough he grabs me by the neck, butterflies bursting in my stomach and fire spreading across my skin. I stare up at him while he plays with the earpiece and clicks a few buttons on the side. “Can you hear me?” I nod my head, still staring up at him. He lets me go but doesn’t take a step back. “Okay, I need you to listen to every single fucking word I say, you understand?” I nod my head. “No, Reign. I need your words. I need you to tell me. Because if you fucking die in there...”

He trails off, licking his lips and shaking his head lightly like he’s actually afraid.

“I’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.” I give him a reassuring smile.

He doesn’t smile back but that’s okay.

Killian leads the way towards the entrance of the warehouse. I follow behind him quietly as we go inside. It’s pretty empty in here, surprisingly. Probably because all of them are having lunch or something since it’s the middle of the day.

“Do you-”

“Shh.” Killian cuts me off.

I follow him through the warehouse. He keeps his gun aimed at eye level and turns in all kinds of directions while I’m following him, my stance the same as his.

A figure catches my attention to the left, I turn swiftly and see a man walking towards one of the crates.

I don’t think, I just shoot.

Killian turns his head and then looks at the man's slumped body on the floor. His jaw clenches when he looks back at me before continuing his walk.

We silently shoot anyone we see, him more so than me since he sees them before me. Killian covers for me as I look for the crate and read the box numbers.

“I found it,” I say softly, making Killian turn his head to look at me.

I take the small powder filled baggy and hold it to his face. He looks at the bag then back at me.

“Guess you’re not horrible with missions like I thought.”

I smile at him, and I swear I see a little sparkle in his eyes and a twitch of his lips.

But the moment ends as quickly as it started when a shot rings through the air. Killian grabs me by the waist and hides us behind a crate.

They scream something in French and Killian curses.

I look at him and see him loading his gun. “What do we do?”

“Follow behind me. Don’t move or compromise your position behind me or you will get shot. You understand?” I take a deep breath and nod my head, trying to calm my breathing down. “Fucking Reign, I need you to tell me you understand.” Killian grabs me by the chin to make me look at him. “Just calm down and follow my lead. You got this.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Killian stands up. “Stay close.”

Killian gets out of the hiding spot and shots start firing at us. I aim my gun and shoot over Killian’s shoulder while Killian covers me. He shoots whoever he sees in sight with no mercy.

It’s like he’s wearing a mask. His concentration is locked on getting us out of here, wound free. He’s making sure to cover every inch of space, looking everywhere to find any possible targets. He’ll protect me. He won’t let me die.

He wouldn’t.

His dad may hate my dad, but he won’t let me die.

A guy runs up to us and before Killian can do anything, I push him out of the way and stab the guy with my knife.

“Reign!” Killian yells but I can’t pay attention to him. Too much happens at once. The bag of the white powder falls from my hand. “Reign, take fucking cover now!” Killian yells as he shoots people, covering for me. “Reign, get the fuck out of here, that’s an order.” I shoot my gun while keeping my eyes on the drug. “Fucking Reign!” Killian says at the same time I get the drug bag. He grabs my wrist and covers me with his body while he shoots in all kinds of directions. “Get the fuck out of here. I’ll cover for you, just run through the front.”

“But-”

“Don’t fuck with me right now, Reign, just do it,” Killian says.

And I run.

I aim my gun high, covering my face and shooting anyone who’s a threat, which is basically everyone.

When I finally get outside, I don't stop running until I’m near a car that’s parked in the woods nearby.

The doors unlock and I get in and look out the window while calming down my breathing.

“Miss are you alright?” the driver asks but I can’t answer him.

Not as I see the warehouse go up in flames and Killian walking out like he’s Satan arising from Hell.