Page 25 of Reign of Four

She’ll be made of deep obsidian instead of ocean pearls, but she will still be mine, and she will still be just as perfect.

Liam motions for Mikhail, disguised as one of the guards, to remove Katya’s body from the table. Mikhail hesitates for a split second before following orders and carrying her out of the room. I’m not sure where he’ll take her—we weren’t briefed on the poison plan like Liam’s true guards likely were—but he’ll be back before too long.

Neither of us wants Valentina out of our sight.

Bringing Thanatos into the fold was unexpected, but welcome. He’s always worked well with Ezra and earned a name for himself, of his own right. He’s one hell of a shot and good at watching others’ backs. We’ll need his help to get Valentina out of here safely.

But it’s the waiting that kills me. Valentina is right there. Sitting across the table, directly in front of me. I could scoop her into my arms and carry her out of here. I doubt anyone at the table would make a move to stop me, aside from Liam himself, but it’s the guards I’m worried about.

As it stands, they still outnumber us.

That’s why Ezra and his team should be taking them out one by one, first with the ones patrolling the grounds, then with the ones inside the building. Once he gives the signal, we’ll grab Valentina and get the hell out of here.

One of the staff members removes Katya’s place setting, but the stained tablecloth remains an ugly reminder of her sudden death. I don’t pity the woman—she was slated to die one way or another—but to drink a poison from the very man you helped rise to power . . .

Karma’s one hell of a bitch.

Valentina leans into Liam’s side and whispers something in his ear. I’m not close enough to hear it, but seeing her touch another man makes me want to end this entire charade right now.

She’s not allowed to touch anyone but us.

Across from me, Thanatos jerks his head ever so slightly to tell me no. If I cause a scene, it’ll blow our whole plan to hell, and Valentina could get hurt.

I grit my teeth as Liam presses his lips to my wife’s cheek. He smiles at her, and I can see it in his eyes—the genuine affection he has for her. His arm moves beneath the table, and I have no doubt that he’s touching her there, too, on her knee or her thigh, or maybe even spreading his fingers across her waist—or worse, lifting her skirt to touch what’s mine?—

My fists clench tightly. There’s no way in hell I’m letting this man touch my woman. Not in front of me. Not behind my back. Never again.

Valentina jerks her arm without warning, and I catch a flash of silver as she swings open a switchblade and jabs it deep into Liam’s thigh.

She hisses something harsh into his ear, and although I can’t catch the words, I can see her twist the knife with a sharp turn of her wrist.

Liam’s face turns beet red, and in the next heartbeat, he has Valentina’s throat in his hands, squeezing.

Thanatos reaches them first, pistol whipping the fuck out of the man and pushing him to the ground. By the time Valentina’s free from Liam’s grasp and gasping for air, I’ve already unloaded half a magazine into the remaining guards in the room. It won’t stop them because of all the fucking armor they have on, but it will slow them down long enough for me to cover Valentina.

Assaulting the pakhan isn’t going to win her any points with anyone but us

At the sound of gunfire, Valentina ducks under the table while the remaining dinner guests scramble for the exit. As the mayor tries to push past me, I slam his face into the wall, satisfied with the telltale crunch that comes from a broken nose. When he yells, I yearn to put a bullet in his knee and give him something worse to scream about, but sadly, I don’t have time.

The two guards in the room that are under our control tackle the ones that aren’t, and I drop to my knees to find Valentina.

She’s crawling under the table towards Liam, determination in her eyes as she wraps her palm around the switchblade and yanks it free from Liam’s thigh. He blindly kicks out at her and misses, kneeing Thanatos instead. The bodyguard quickly presses his forearm against Liam’s throat.

Valentina quickly scrabbles closer, shouldering Thanatos as best she can to position herself on top of Liam. She straddles his waist and crushes one of his hands beneath her knee, while Thanatos blocks the other from reaching her.

I expect her to speak to him, to say something cruel and vicious and cutting as her final words to him, but she’s furious as she jabs the knife into his shoulder.

I understand being pissed off, but anger like that makes you reckless, and now is not the time to let her guard down.

It’s why she doesn’t see the blonde man lunging across Thanatos’ back to reach her.

But it’s a good thing I do.

I fire off three shots into his back and quickly take his place, wrapping my arms around Valentina from behind and pulling her off of Liam. “Zhena, let him go. We need to leave.”

Ezra hasn’t given the signal yet. We’re vulnerable if we stay in the middle of enemy territory.

She fights me like an angry cat, thrashing her arms and legs to try to force me to let her go. I wrap my arms tighter and drag her from the room, my frustration spiking at the sheer fact that she’s trying to get away from me to go to him.

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