Page 103 of A Girl and HER Prince
That was a good thing. That meant she was safe. For now.
Hopefully help would come soon and they’d get her away from any flying bullets or vengeful-minded uncles. He just wasn’t sure how it would turn out for the rest of them.
His hand landed on Steve’s back. “I need you to get me up there to my sister and the others,” he said. “Can we forget our differences and work together?”
The donkey let out a petulant cry, but he wasn’t moving either. Venice grasped his aching side. He’d never have the strength to mount on his own. He’d need a stepping stool. Feeling like a fool, he hobbled inside to find a chair.
His hand brushed against his uncle’s ledger on the worktable. That was where Livvy had found the picture of Achilles’s mother. If there was more incriminating evidence, he didn’t want to lose it, especially since his uncle made such a big deal about it earlier. There was dirt in there that he didn’t want getting out. Stuffing the ledger into the back of his jeans, Venice carried the chair out to the complaining donkey, and wincing, he clambered aboard his back.
Steve trotted up the pathway, taking it easy. Venice clicked his heels against his flanks, not sure if that was the way to get the donkey going faster. Apparently, it wasn’t because Steve started going slow motion.
“You want a treat?” he whispered into Steve’s ear. It was just as he’d seen Livvy do. Those ears perked straight up. “Home,” he said. “Treat!”
Steve broke into an uneven gallop, careening up the side of the mountain. Venice held onto his sides, feeling like a sack of potatoes getting jostled around in a cart.
A shout echoed down from the mountain: “Look!” It was Deedee. “To the side! Smoke. Do you think that means Venice and Livvy are alive?”
They argued amongst themselves, but it didn’t matter. They were within hearing distance. Venice clapped his hands over his mouth. “Watch out… behind you!”
Bris was already screaming about the message she got on her phone. “Traitors!” Finally she’d looked. “Philip! Theo!” she called out the names of her bodyguards.
Venice urged Steve on faster, hoping to surprise whoever was waiting to attack them from behind. Turning the bend, he saw two men pulling out guns. He could only shout out a warning. “Bris! Deedee! Myrdons! They have guns! Move!”
Immediately the men twisted, training their weapons on him.
Venice lifted his hands. This was what he came for—to buy his sister time to get out of here with Deedee and her bodyguards. “Here I am,” he said. “You finally found me.”
He listened to his sister screaming his name above them. Her bodyguards were ushering them to safety, which was certain doom, up the hill towards the Paradise in the Clouds. They were trapped.
The loud sound of a helicopter filled the sky. Already his uncle was arranging their transportation out.
One of the men stepped closer while the other picked up his radio to report they had him. “Huh… he’s not dead yet… looks close to it. He’s a walking corpse.”
“Just finish him off.” That was Atreus Mnon through the radio.
Achilles’s shout of anger filled the speaker before the sound clipped off.
The man gripping the black receiver shrugged at the one pointing the gun on Venice. “You heard him.”
Bullets ripped through the air. Venice flinched, seconds before he realized it didn’t come from the brutes ordered to kill him.
A helicopter swooped down behind them in a deafening growl. Swinging around to face this new threat, Venice held his breath in shock. The aircraft was directly behind him. The Greek flag decorated the outside of its sleek metal exterior, and the men inside had their guns aimed at the Myrdons.
“Stand down!” The order blasted from a loudspeaker.
The two men threw down their weapons. Venice noticed their radio clattered against the cobbles along with the black rifles.
Bris’s bodyguards moved behind them, giving a thumbs-up to the men in the helicopter to show they could take it from here. The Greek officials saluted in return. The helicopter lowered away from the cliffs to locate a spot to land on the beach. Three more dotted the sky from behind.
Venice’s chin shot up at his younger sister’s shrieks. “Venice!” Bris tried to get past her security team. “Let me through. Please! It’s Aeneas.” To her credit, they held her back while securing the area of the wannabe assassins and their fallen guns.
After a few minutes of torturous waiting, Bris couldn’t be contained any longer. She rushed past her team to get to her brother. “Venice!” Her hands found his arms, his back. She kissed his face. “You’re alive. Oh, Venice! You’re hurt!”
He flinched in pain under her exuberant welcome. “It’s good to see you too, Bris.” Not sure how to tell her about Turner, he reached out to take her hand. “We need to get you away from here.”
“Yes…” Her eyes flashed fire. “I can’t believe I kissed that guy!” Well,someonewasn’t too broken up about her boyfriend being a killer.
Venice slid gingerly off Steve’s back. A jolt of pain shuddered through his body the instant his feet met the ground. Bris let out another cry and stopped him from collapsing into a puddle. She threw her shoulder under his arms.
