Page 139 of Royal Bargain

And then,

A flash of movement from the corner of my eye.

Dariy.

His head snaps toward the shadows. His eyes narrow. And I know—he sees them.

He knows.

“NOW!” he roars, lunging backward. “They’re flanking us! SHOOT!”

Time shatters.

Gunfire explodes through the air—loud, violent, immediate. Muzzle flashes light up the dark. The warehouse erupts into chaos.

Men scream. Bullets ricochet. Someone crashes into a stack of crates, sending them toppling. Kellan dives to cover, firing. Rory pulls a man down with a clean shot to the chest.

I hit the ground hard as Anatoly jerks away from me, shouting orders in Russian.

The Brannagan backup floods the warehouse from the sides, and suddenly it’s a war zone.

And I can’t breathe.

Because this is it.

The storm has broken.

The air is thunder and screams.

I duck and scramble, crawling through the smoke and chaos. My ears ring from the gunfire, the sharp cracks echoing off metal and concrete. I can’t see where Liam is—I don’t know if he’s safe. I don’t know if anyone is safe.

All I know is I have to move. I have to run.

I shove myself up, legs trembling, blood roaring in my ears.

If I can make it to the far side of the warehouse, I can slip out through the back. I just need to get to the door. Just need to disappear into the dark.

I brace myself andrun.

For one wild second, I believe I’m going to make it.

My foot hits the ground, then another. I’m almost halfway to the back exit, the metal door just a dozen strides away. The warehouse spins behind me in chaos and gunfire, but all I can think is Lily. I have to get back to her. I have to live.

And then,

“There she is!”

Dariy’s voice cuts through the noise like a whip. I turn just in time to see him raising his gun.

Everything slows.

The barrel flashes. I hear the shot before I feel it.

Crack.

Then silence. For a breath. Maybe two.

And then,