Page 54 of Reign

I’M GETTING HIM OUT OF this mess. I’m getting all of us out of this mess. I grab my pistol from my back, rack the slide, making sure a bullet is in the chamber, and flick the safety off before I put it back in the holster. Necessity has brought my warrior to the surface and pure rage is about to unleash her.

I haven’t located the shooter or shooters that took Max out and I can’t safely get to the boat until that threat is neutralized, so they just became priority number one. I heard Antonov say he has six men ready to go but I don’t know how many are stationed outside the boat, and how many are inside.

Damn, I wish I could talk to Diego.

Carrying the rifle to the other side of the roof, I set it up just like Nikita did and I start scanning for movement just like Dominic told me to, wishing like hell they were both with me now.

Lightning begins to flash across the sky. I need to get to cover fast. Not only will the lightening give away my position, but I’m about to get soaked.

I keep scanning as another strike illuminates my surroundings.

There.

Movement from a broken-out window on the fourth floor of the building beside us. I take aim and wait for another flash of lightning. While I’m waiting for the lightning to help me out, I see the flash from the muzzle and hear the gun fire.

Dominic! I suppress the desire to cry out, knowing it will give away my position.

I sit back on my heel, exhale quickly, and aim at the site of the muzzle flash. I hold my breath as lightning tears through the sky. In a split second, I line up my crosshairs and squeeze the trigger.

A moment later, a bullet comes flying by my head. Either I missed, or there are two of them. I crouch even lower behind the wall and find the same spot through the scope again.

The lightning flashes are getting more frequent as thunder creates an ominous soundtrack. I fire off another shot and wait for the return bullet. When it doesn’t come, I know I’m running out of time. I need to know if Dominic was hit. I stash the rifles and reach behind me to feel the pistol at my back before army crawling across the roof on my belly to the fire escape on the other side.

My boots crunch on the pavement as I try my best to quietly move around the far side of the building, away from the snipers’ hideout and crouch behind a car on the street.

Looking up, I see a huge figure approaching the marina from the other side of the street, to my right. It’s also staying low.

Diego.

Then I realize, they only instructed Dominic to get on the boat. Perhaps they don’t realize there are more of us, although my shots would have just tipped them off.

“Diego!” I whisper-yell. He doesn’t hear me. I want to stand up and wave my arms but I’m pretty sure that would get me shot so I try again a little louder. “Diego!Over here!” I stay crouched so I look like less of a threat even though mine is the only female voice on the playing field currently.

Finally, he looks over and sees me. He loops back around and stays out of view from the building at the end of the street to meet me behind this old Toyota on cinderblocks.

“Oh, Libby, thank God. I heard shots.”

“Two were theirs. Two were mine. Any sign of Dominic?”

“No, but there’s nobody on the boardwalk either, so that’s good. Now we just have to figure out how to get on the boat.”

It comes to me as quickly as one of the flashes of lightning.

“I have an idea but you won’t like it.”

“I doubt I’d like anything other than going home with you, Dom, and Camila right now, so just throw it out there,” he says.

“You have to board with me as a hostage.”

His eyes widen with disbelief. “You’re right. I don’t like that plan, because Dominic will choke me out with his bare hands if he sees me offering you up like that.”

“Diego, look. If the head of the Bratva is involved, then we have to assume they have more than two snipers patrolling this marina tonight. We won’t get anywhere near that boat unless they think you’re working for Mateo and are on their side.”

Diego looks sick as he digests my words but I can tell he knows I’m right. I give him a last push to get him on board. “You can hold a gun to my head which means you can stay armed at least for the walk over there. It’ll get us both on the boat and maybe, just maybe, you can convince Mateo that you’re still on his side and buy us time. If not, then you can at least use me as leverage. I’m no good to Mateo dead, so keep the pistol on my temple and make it look convincing.”

It only takes another shot to ring out in the night for him to agree.

“Let’s go.”

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