Page 74 of Corrupt Vows

When the short, stocky guy holding the rifle near Serenity’s head glances at the emergency exit, he confirms my suspicions.

This group of misfits may currently be the biggest threat to Serenity, but they aren’t the main course.

I pull my pant leg up to reveal the blade on my ankle and lift a brow in question. Ermanno drops another knife at our feet before lifting his hands to shoulder height.

I meet Serenity’s eyes and glance at the floor, silently instructing her to roll off the chair if the shit hits the fan. Her pupils shrink and she winces as the asshole twists his hand in her hair, but she gives a tiny nod.

“You got more, too,cabrón?” her captor asks Ermanno.

Ermanno nods.

“You two, check them,” he says.

In the dumbest move he could make, he lifts the knife from Serenity’s throat to indicate which men should step forward.

Ermanno and I attack in unison. I whip the pistol from the small of my back and bury two bullets in the Hispanic’s head while Ermanno shoots the guy on Serenity’s other side. She ducks and twists onto the floor, narrowly avoiding their flailing limbs. We lunge forward and drop the two closest to us before aiming for the remaining misfits.

Fire slices through my shoulder. I pull the trigger again, killing the man who shot me, and rush toward Serenity.

Shouting and gunfire sounds from outside. The emergency exit bursts open.

I lunge forward and throw my body on top of Serenity as bullets ricochet off the walls. She grunts and wriggles under me, and even though we’re still in the thick of it, relief spears through me. I yank the blade from my ankle sheath and cut the rope around her wrists before wrapping her fingers around the hilt.

“Free your ankles first,” I snarl.

When she nods, I yank a second knife from my inner ankle and reach for the fallen man’s rifle. She curls into a ball, slices the rope, and kicks her legs out of the bindings before reaching for her gag.

“Good girl,” I say as I snatch a handgun off the man’s belt and return fire at the imbeciles running into the room.

The first few soldiers drop as Ermanno and I pick them off, but the next wave runs through as though we aren’t even in the room. By the sounds echoing from the other side of the shelves, our second backup crew—since the first is mowing down the attack force waiting at the back of the building—rushes in through the front door. A standoff ensues as a few semi-capable soldiers duck between the shelves.

I haul Serenity around the chairs and desks to hide behind the file cabinets in the corner. She grabs my arm.

“Ralf was here, or, at least, he was in the van,” she yells over the noise.

The ground shakes and the skylights shatter as an explosion rips through the industrial park. I cover Serenity with my body. She clings to me.

“I don’t think he’s here anymore,” I say, but even before the words leave my mouth, I know neither of us believe it.

Ermanno shouts. I look over my shoulder just in time to see him stumble backward as bullets pepper his chest. Serenity stiffens under me as a shadow falls over us.

Agony spears through my shoulder. Serenity’s scream echoes in my ears. I snarl, grab the wrist attached to the knife in my shoulder, and yank my assailant off the top of the file cabinet. Ralf’s massive body crashes down onto the desk and chairs, but he rolls to his feet and lunges toward me. I punch my blade into his stomach. He yanks the knife from my shoulder. Blood sprays from us both as I stab him again.

A rifle fires.

He falls to his knees. Red blooms on his chest. He looks down in disbelief. Serenity steps out from between the wall and the file cabinet with the rifle tucked against her shoulder and the muzzle pointed at his head.

Despite the single-minded focus in her gaze, her entire body shakes.

Ralf glares at her as he falls to his side.

She tosses the rifle aside and runs to me. I grunt as she crashes into me but wrap my arms around her, needing her body against mine.

“Mia principessa, are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, but you’re not,” she sobs against my chest.

“I’ve been through worse. I’ll surv—”

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