Page 76 of Regal Queen

We waited with a tension filled silence for something to happen. The sound of the stairs hitting the ground was like a clap echoing through the chambers of my heart. I inhaled a deep breath, waiting, the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

Then, bodies emerged.

Bullets rang out as men poured out, using the stairs as cover. They were armed with rifles. Explosions rang out around us.

We returned fire. The blast of my handgun drowned out all noise. I aimed, and fired.

Aimed, and fired.

Torian grunted out in pain next to me. I swiveled to look, my heart pounding. He was doubled over, his hand to his shoulder.

Shit.

“Torian, are you okay?”

Dark blood blossomed across his upper collar but he waved me off. “It's just the shoulder, it'll be fine."

Growling, I crouched down low, crawling on the ground as I peeked out from behind the truck. Taking in a slow breath, I fired again. Ignoring the bullets wizzing by us, we picked our way through Dimitri’s first line of defense.

The last of the men fell, and the eerieness returned.

The plane was large, with at least three other ways they could exit, though the main door out the back would take great effort to open.

We waited, my attention divided on the each door. It was the silence before the storm, and I held my breath as I waited for the next shoe to drop. When nothing happened, I met Coulter’s gaze from across the way.

Hovering low, I left the cover of the truck, with Coulter instantly by my side.

We move cautiously and carefully, our guns trained on the empty doorway as we crept to the bottom of the stairs.

Still nothing, except dead bodies littering the way.

Blocking off all emotion, I made my way up the stairs and entered the plane. The cargo space with large, and it was stacked with wooden crates of what I would presume were weapons. The sides were lined with tools, spare tires, and empty seats.

Dimidi’d come prepared.

The inner chamber was dark, lit only by the light from the windows. At the far end of the plane, there was a twitch of a moment, the sound of steps. I turned to Coulter - he'd seen it too.

We didn't speak, but moved silently, making our way carefully in between the stacked crates in the middle of the plane and the seats at the edge of it.

We kept our guns held out, ready for anything.

There was antother sound, a flash of metal reflecting off the light streaming in. Coulter and I immediately reacted as if we'd rehearsed it a million times. He moved to the left, then me to the right, separating. The rest of our men followed our lead.

There was no other noise, except for the shuffling of my feet. Then, a click next to my ear. “Don’t move.”

I froze, and Dimitri's rough voice demanded, "Drop the gun."

Holding my hands where he could see them, I slowly lowered my gun to the floor. Dimitri kicked it out of my reach. Then he shoved me against the wall and began to search me. He pulled two other guns and tucked them in his waist.

When he was done, he wrapped an arm around my neck. Jerking me back out into the aisle he barked. "Tell your crew to surrender.”

Heart pounding, I called out. “Coulter!”

After a few minutes, Coulter’s head popped out from an aisle. His eyes widened when he saw Dimitri behind me.

“Surrender yourself.” Dimitri growled.

I nodded at him, reassuring him, still wanting to protect him even now.

He met my stare with a fierce one of his own, and slowly, he lowered his gun to the floor. Then he held up his hands.

Dimitri’s men suddenly appeared like ants crawling out of their home with Dimitri barking orders at them, "Take them prisoner. Tie them up and hold them in the back room."

They surrounded Coulter and my men. I saw a flash of two guards stripping Coulter of his spare guns before Dimitri shoved me backwards. Pressing the gun to my head, Dimitri turned me around then herded me towards the back door. “Show me where she is.”

"She's right outside." I answered him, my gut rolling but my steps confident. This was the biggest risk we'd ever taken and, even though so far Rose had been right, we were still taking a huge gamble.

I stepped into the light of the doorway, scanning the landscape for her.

So far, everything was going exactly to plan.

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