Page 6 of Reckless Royalty

“Let’s go,” he says, his voice flat, without any hint of warmth.

I don’t move at first. My chest tightens, but I nod and follow him to where the black SUV is idling.

As we approach the car, I see someone leaning out of the window of the passenger seat— a guy with a cocky smirk that feels almost out of place given the tension. His blond hair is tousled, and he’s wearing sunglasses, even though we’re not in direct sunlight.

He also has that same tattoo on his neck as Mihai.

“Morning, princess,” the guy says, his smirk widening as he pulls his sunglasses down just enough to make direct eye contact with me. “Name’s Nikolai. I’m your other babysitter.”

I feel my cheeks flush slightly when he winks at me, but I say nothing; just duck my head and slide into the back seat as Mihai opens the door for me. It’s been days since I’ve spoken a word, and the idea of starting now—after everything—feels impossible.

Mihai gets into the driver’s seat, Nikolai is still in the passenger side, and we pull out of the estate. Silence settles in the car, thick and uncomfortable.

Nikolai breaks the quiet, turning in his seat to look at me again. “You always this quiet, or is it just around Mihai?”

I catch his smirk, and look away, focusing on the trees flying by as we drive. The road stretches out in front of us, empty except for what seems like a convoy. There’s a black SUV in front of us while two black SUVs follow behind, and for a second, I wonder if this is what my life is going to be now—always surrounded, always running.

Mihai doesn’t bother responding to Nikolai’s teasing, and after a few more minutes of awkward silence, we’re back on the open road.

Everything is fine—until it’s not.

Suddenly, the car jerks to the side, and I hear the sound of gunfire. It’s loud, so loud that it makes my ears ring, and I instinctively duck down, gripping the seat in front of me.

“Fuck!” Mihai curses, swerving the SUV hard to the left, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

I hear more shots, followed by the sound of screeching tires as the convoy behind us is hit. Nikolai is already pulling out a gun, leaning out of the window to return fire.

“It’s a fucking ambush,” Nikolai shouts, his voice sharp and focused. “Get us the fuck out of here!”

Mihai growls something under his breath, cursing as he slams his foot on the gas. The SUV lurches forward, but I can feel the panic rising in my chest.

The people who killed my mother and sister are here… and they’re coming for me.

“Madison, get down!” Mihai barks at me, not even bothering to look back.

But I can’t move. My whole body is shaking and all I can think about is the fact that I’m going to die.

Mihai’s phone is out in an instant, and I can hear him barking orders in Romanian, his tone harsh and clipped. Every other word is a curse, switching between English and Romanian like it’s second nature.

Nikolai’s still leaning out of the window, firing off rounds at the attackers closing in on us from behind. I lay down on the backseat, curling in on myself. My heart feels like it’s about to burst out of my chest as I cover my head with my hands.

I’m going to die. I’m going to fucking die.

“Backup?” Nikolai calls over to Mihai, not missing a beat as he reloads his weapon.

“On its way,” Mihai snaps, yanking the wheel hard to avoid another hail of bullets. “Just keep them off us.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Nikolai mutters, firing again. There’s a loud explosion behind us, and I lift up to glance back just in time to see one of the SUVs in our convoy go up in flames. My heart stutters in my chest.

I lay back down and squeeze my eyes shut again, trying to block it all out, but it’s impossible. The sounds, the smells, the fear—it’s too much.

I hear the screams around us, the chaos as people scramble for cover, but I can’t move. I’m frozen, watching in horror as my mother falls, her eyes wide with shock, her body crumplingto the floor. My sister is next, her scream cut off as another shot echoes through the air.

My fingers dig into my palms as I hold them over my ears.No, no, no… not again.

Then, there’s a loud crash behind us, and the SUV jolts forward again. My eyes fly open just in time to see Nikolai lean out of the window again, firing off shots while grinning.

“Thank fuck the girls went with Con and G,” Nikolai mutters, reloading his gun. “Can you imagine if they were in here right now?”

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