Page 7 of Reckless Royalty

The SUV swerves once more, and I hear more cursing from Mihai. He’s on the phone again, his voice a low growl as he demands updates from whoever is on the other end.

“They’re still going for the convoy,” Mihai grits out in English before switching back to rapid-fire Romanian I can’t keep up with. “We need to lose them before we get to the airstrip. Where the fuck is the backup?”

Nikolai fires again, and I hear the tires of one of the attacking cars squeal as it spins out behind us.

“I think that bought us some time,” he mutters, sliding back into his seat as we speed down the highway. His sunglasses are gone now, revealing sharp, blue eyes that flicker with amusement despite the chaos.

“You always get the fun jobs,” Nikolai adds, glancing over at Mihai with a smirk.

Mihai’s jaw tightens, his hands still gripping the wheel like he’s ready to break it in half. “Shut up and keep watch.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Nikolai says with a laugh, though there’s nothing light about the situation.

The tension in the car is suffocating. My heart pounds in my chest, my palms sweaty as I try not to completely lose it. The gunfire has died down for now, but I can still hear the distant rumble of engines behind us. They’re not giving up.

“We’ll be at the airstrip in ten,” Mihai mutters, glancing over at Nikolai. “Call the others. Let them know what happened.”

Nikolai pulls out his phone, before speaking in a language I don’t understand—Russian, I think. His voice is calm, almost too calm given what just happened, but even from where I’m lying down, I can see the tension in his shoulders as he talks.

Mihai keeps driving, his eyes scanning the road ahead, his jaw clenched. He looks at me in the rearview mirror briefly, his expression hard. There’s no warmth there, no reassurance. Just lazer sharp focus.

“We’re almost there,” he says, his voice quieter now. “Stay down until I say otherwise.”

I nod, my heart still hammering in my chest and tears silently slipping down my cheeks. And the silence stretches on, broken only by the occasional click of Nikolai’s gun as he checks his ammo.

“All clear?”

Nikolai doesn’t answer right away, and Mihai slows the car as we turn into an empty stretch of road.

After a tense moment, Nikolai nods. “For now.”

Once we’re clear, Mihai lets out a long breath, glancing in the rearview mirror at me. “You okay?”

I nod and wipe my tears away, though I’m not sure I believe it myself. My heart is still racing and my hands are shaking uncontrollably, but I’m alive. For now, that’s enough.

Nikolai turns around in his seat, his grin softening just a little. “You handled that pretty well, you know. Most people would’ve been screaming their heads off.”

I sit up and stare at him blankly, not sure what exactly he’s on about. Is he always this bloody cocky? We damn near died! We were shot at!

Mihai starts driving faster this time, his eyes scanning the road like he’s expecting another attack any second. He mutterssomething under his breath in Romanian before switching to Russian, speaking low and fast to Nikolai.

I don’t understand most of what they’re saying, but the tone is enough to tell me they’re both on edge. Even Nikolai—who had been grinning through the whole shootout—looks more serious now, his eyes narrowing as he listens to Mihai.

We drive in tense silence for a while, and every now and then, Nikolai glances back at me, like he’s trying to gauge how I’m holding up. But I keep my eyes on the window, watching everything blur past us as we make our way toward the airstrip.

Finally, the private airstrip comes into view—the sleek outline of a jet waiting for us on the tarmac. Mihai pulls the SUV to a stop, and Nikolai jumps out first, scanning the area before giving Mihai a quick nod.

“We’re clear,” Nikolai says, opening my door for me.

I step out of the car, my legs shaky but still working. The wind whips around me, cold and sharp, but I barely feel it. All I can think about is how close we just came to dying. How this is my life now—constant fear and constant danger.

Mihai steps out of the car, his eyes scanning the area one more time before he turns to me. “Let’s go.”

I follow him toward the jet, my heart still racing and my mind still spinning. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but one thing is clear: I’m not safe. Not here, not anywhere.

And it’s only going to get worse from here.

MADDY

---