Page 108 of Fierce Monarch

Amazing how fast men could sober up when their lives were on the line. When I saw most of our men were fighting their way out, or occupying the Aces’ time for us to get out, I refocused my efforts. I had three things to do.

Get Nate, get to the cars, get out.

But first, we needed a distraction. I peered around for something we could use to escape from our current hiding place and saw the bar cart not too far away. Pulling out my knife, I tugged on the hem of Dominic’s shirt and sliced it off.

“Now’s not really the time to get naked, mariposa.”

“Oh, shut up and cover me,” I said, rushing for the cart. A bullet whizzed by my ear, and one fired from the boys right after, the pained yell telling me they’d taken that Ace out as I ducked, wrapped my arms around the mass of bottles, and hauled the whole thing to our hiding place.

It took me less than a minute to prep the bottles, and then we were tossing them over the pyre, staggering the flames to get as much space clear as we could.

Grey peered out from behind the platform, and when no one immediately opened fire, he hauled me to my feet. “Let’s go.”

As one, the three of us stood, moving through the garden as quickly as possible. If we could make it to the side of the house without dying, we’d be okay. We spread out, trying to give them more targets to hit in hopes we could do it unscathed. “We’re nearly out of the garden. Get there, Nate.”

“I see you, baby. I’m coming.” There was shuffling and more heavy breathing. “Just stay low and out of— Mari, look out!”

Nate’s tinny voice blended into Dominic’s and Greyson’s roars as I twisted to find an Ace diving closer on the stone patio, ready for a potshot. One look at the gun and I knew he’d hit his target. There wasn’t time to move, so I braced for impact as my men yelled, vowing to wear Kevlar when leaving the house until this fucking war was over.

But the bullet never came.

Instead, a hard body rammed itself into my side, stealing the breath from my lungs as we went down together. The aim was off, and I felt his head hit the ground at my side, wincing when he didn’t get up. Two rapid shots were all it took to end the Ace, but I was too focused on the big man lying on me and the warm liquid that dripped onto my thighs.

“Where the fuck did he come from?” Dominic asked. Nate was still as the grave on top of me, and my heart was frantic at how true that could be.

“I don’t know, but help me get him off!” I snapped. Dominic rolled him over, keeping his body between me and the melee as I leaped to Nate’s aid. Grey stood over all three of us, our own god of war as he picked off anyone who came close.

Blood seeped from Nate’s shirt, and I lifted it to see a small wound in his stomach. It wasn’t anywhere immediately problematic, so I pulled off my jacket and stuffed it against the wound. It wouldn’t pack shit for long. “We need to get him out of here.”

“Will Cash let us steal his brother back?”

“I don’t care.” I knelt, trying and failing to haul Nate’s arm over my shoulder more than once. Finally, Dominic huffed, handed me his gun, and grabbed Nate in a bridal carry that would’ve made me laugh any other time.

Nate groaned, coming to once Dominic started moving. “Mari?”

I stepped up close, keeping my eyes focused on the people around us. I didn’t want another ambush. “We’re getting you out of here.”

“I didn’t know.”

“I know, baby. We’ll talk about it later.” I took my eyes off the surroundings for a single second. That was my mistake.

Two Aces popped up and fired. The shots pulled my attention, and they were both dead by my bullets in seconds, but the distraction cost me.

Dominic stumbled, his hold on Nate slipping before he righted himself, and I saw the splatter of blood through a hole in his jeans. Someone had grazed his leg just right, so it took a chunk of skin with it. “Fucking cocksuckers, that hurt.”

“Can you walk?”

“I’ve got your fuckboy,” he promised, and, hurt or not, I smacked him upside the head.

“I was asking about you, you asshole.”

He turned, contrition all over his face, but it twisted as he looked behind me. I followed his eyes, and my gun wavered. “Greyson.”

His name was a breath on my lips as I bolted for him. The bullet that had just grazed Dominic had driven Greyson to his knees by force. The other had nicked the side of his neck, and blood poured down his body. I grabbed him under the arms and hauled him to his feet, hissing under my breath as I did. “Up, get up. Get up.”

“Mari.”

“Don’t even think about it.” I yanked off my shirt and wrapped it around Grey’s neck as tight as I could without cutting off circulation. “We’re going to the car, all three of us. Now, run.”

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