Page 30 of Twisted Kings

Ash and Connor stood in front of Torrance, pretending to be worried about the fire. I arrived just as Ash called Torrance ‘Pops’. Both he and I fought not to laugh. The old bastard would hate that.

It was a dickish move, winding him up, especially with Thea and her sister there. The man was a loose cannon, unpredictable, but knowing he couldn’t afford to harm the girls gave me some measure of confidence.

Thea pulled a long, thin metal spike encrusted with sparkling gems from her hair and moved it to her right hand. My girl was a vicious creature, and I loved her for it.

I wasn’t so sure I loved the dress she wore. The damn thing didn’t cover enough skin for my liking. Thankfully, neither Ash nor Connor had made the mistake of checking her out.

They’d both spotted my arrival but didn’t look at me once. The gun in Torrance’s hand was their main focus. Even though all the guys wore Kevlar body armor, a head shot could still take us out. None of us were taking any chances.

Thea stepped back, right into me. I felt her freeze for a second, ready to attack, but when I whispered in her ear, all the tension left her body.

“Kotenok.Relax, I’m here to rescue you.”

She didn’t reply, but her small hand touched my arm. It was enough to tell me she trusted me - us - to get her and her sister out of here.

“I can tell you have things covered,” Ash said to Torrance, backing up at a rapid pace while ignoring me. He meant the words for me, not Torrance, but the stupid fuck hadn’t worked out I was behind him. The old bastard was losing his touch. Must be early-onset dementia caused by excessive drug use. I’d heard he liked the white stuff a little too much these days.

The moment Torrance lowered his gun as Ash and Connor turned to leave, I punched him hard just behind the ear. This was the sweet spot, and the asshole went down like a sack of potatoes, out cold.

“Shoot him in the head,” Thea urged.

“A woman after my own heart,” I purred, loving her murderous side. She was right, though. He wouldn’t be out for more than a minute, and when he came round, he’d want my head on a stick.

I stood over Torrance and raised the gun, but as my finger tightened on the trigger, a bullet hit me in the back. Thank fuck for Kevlar, although it still hurt like a bitch.

The force of the impact threw me forward against Thea. Her head hit the floor as she collapsed under my weight and her eyes fluttered shut.

Fuck.

Ash and Connor returned fire. When I dragged myself up, two bodies lay dead behind me. Both of them guards.

“We need to get the girls out of here,” I ordered. Gunshots would draw all the guards, and possibly some guests. I wasn’t sure which lowlifes di Luca had invited to the nuptials, other than Marku, but most of them would likely be armed and dangerous.

Thea didn’t stir when I hoisted her into my arms, bridal-style, but we didn’t have time to worry about a possible concussion now. The clock was ticking. Connor lifted Thea’s sister; the kid was slender and light as a feather. Her head lolled back and she snuffled and whimpered, but didn’t wake.

“Let’s get them to the van. Tell the rest of the guys to get the fuck out of here before the cops show up.”

Milo was running interference with the cops. Several people had placed calls after the explosions, but Milo fielded them. In addition, he generated some fake incidents in a town 50km away to keep the localPolizia Stradalebusy. Needless to say, help wasnoton the way.

We ran down a corridor toward the rear exit. More gunshots and yelling told me the firefighter ruse was no longer working. The minute I set foot outside, a van screeched to a halt and the side door swung open.

“We need to go,” Dario hissed, grabbing an unconscious Thea from me. His eyes burned into mine. “She better be OK, you fucker!”

“It’s your fault she’s in this mess!” I pointed out, taking Verity from Connor and pushing her into the van. The younger girlstirred, but from the glazed look in her eyes, whatever sedative she’d been given was still in effect.

The van’s driver gunned the engine, taking off down the drive with the stolen fire engine close behind. Di Luca’s guards unleashed a volley of gunfire at us, but the fire engine blocked most of it.

In no time at all, we were clear of the estate. I picked up my phone and called Milo while Ash called the pilot to prepare the plane for takeoff.

“She’s safe,” I told him.

“Thank fuck. I’ll let Lan know,” he replied before disconnecting the call.

“What happened to her?” When Dario lifted Thea’s head, I saw blood on his fingers, and the voice in my head urged me to go back to that cursed house and kill every last fucker who’d hurt mykotenok. They deserved to die.

“Some bastard shot me in the back while I had hold of her. It knocked me off balance and I fell. Her head hit the floor.”

Dario seemed to accept my explanation, which was just as well. We had a truce in place currently, but any more shit from him and he’d end up in an unmarked grave somewhere in Ireland.

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