Page 100 of Queen of Spades

“Do we think they’ll try to take out the gate?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his middle. “Or is there some other way they can make it onto the property? Is there a back gate?”

“The fence surrounds the property,” Cas says. “There is back access to an easement for the utility companies, but the gate is the same as the front, except it’s also padlocked.”

“It’s entirely possible they will try to divide and conquer, but they won’t have the benefit of having seen the property until they breach.” Kane digs in the bag. “Fuck, I’ve got to change. I don’t even have pockets.”

“I should too,” Grady agrees, releasing me.

“Do the two of you want to hunker down upstairs?” Ward asks.

I exhale heavily as my hands shake. “If I know Kane, there will be a long-range weapon in there somewhere. It’s been a lot of years, but I feel confident that I can pick off a few from the balcony.” I look at Cas. “Will you stick with me?”

“I will gladly watch your backside.” Cas winks, and my silly heart races.

“The three of us will take point,” Ward says. “Having a warning makes this a relatively easy situation to manage.” He comes over, pulling me into his arms. “Don’t stress.”

If only that was possible.

My entire body buzzes with frantic energy that I don’t know how to manage.

“Ranger said three SUVs, right?” I ask Cas, studying the road through the scope of the rifle.

“Yes,” he agrees.

“Then, we have a problem,” I whisper. My heart tries to pound right out of my chest as my entire body trembles. Luckily, I’m mostly leaning against the railing because I’m afraid my knees will fail to hold me up.

“What? Why?”

“There are only two,” I say, not bothering to keep my tone quiet as the first SUV slams into the gate.

Cas’s house in Vegas was much better protected than this place. The gate buckles and the hinges give way as the SUV drives right over it.

Ward is somewhere inside, near the front door, but Kane and Grady are hiding out there in the tree line.

I exhale heavily, remembering how my father taught me to account for the nervous anxiety that would surely come if I ever found myself in this position.

In through your nose and out through your mouth. Then you take a deep breath and, depending on your style, you hold it or exhale extremely slowly based on your personal preference. It’s like I can hear his voice echoing in my head.

I must be overly emotional because tears ache in my eyes. Thinking about my parents always hits me hard, so I do my best to bury that shit deep enough it won’t burn when I breathe.

The driver’s side window explodes before I’ve even got my eye back to the scope.

“Jesus Christ,” Cas mutters.

The doors of the first SUV pop open, and more bodies than I can count climb out, one after another.

Grady made it clear he didn’t think I should shoot anyone except Andretti—and only if I wanted to.

The others agreed, but I consider this exactly like the attack three years ago.

It’s kill or be killed.

God, or be dragged back to their compound and forced to marry them.

Or possibly tortured for the rest of my lifetime.

None of those are appealing options.

My entire body floods with conviction as I browse the last of the faces. Ezrah isn’t one of the men who popped out of the first SUV. Someone crouches next to the wheel well of the vehicle and fires toward Cas’s house.

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