Page 30 of Rebellion of a Kingdom

Max unlocks the cellar door with ease, and pushes inside, gun raised. We follow behind him quietly, all with our own weapons drawn. Max looks at ease, he must have done this kind of thing a thousand times, Lincoln strangely looks as comfortable as Max and I find myself, again wondering how he became how he is. Jace looks on edge and I don’t miss the shake of his hand slightly as he palms his own gun. He’s sober, for the first time all week. I suggested he sit this out, but he told me that wasn’t an option. That he was sick of not fighting back, so here he is. I’m calm, or at least calm enough that my hand holds the gun steady. Inside I am burning through fear, panic, relief, longing. All of them clashing together as my heart bangs against my chest.

We move through the cellar until we come to a set of stairs that I know leads up into the main house. Once at the top, Linc silently opens the door and pushes the device against it waiting for the light to turn from red to green, signaling that the cameras are paused. We don’t wait more than a few seconds before we see the green light, and we move inside the door. It leads us into the downstairs corridor of the east wing. From studying the floor plans, all we have to do is move to the end of this hallway, enter the foyer, go up the stairs and get to the third room on the right. Simple right?

Or at least it would be if this house didn’t belong to the biggest fucking criminal in town. Even with the blocker device, I still find myself tracking every camera I can see and sticking close to the walls as we move through the house.

When we come to another door, it’s Liam’s voice, we hear this time, “Two heat signatures just beyond that door.” He confirms, and Max signals for us to stand back.

He opens the door, slipping inside and he is barely out of sight before I hear two muffled shots and a thud. He comes back through the door dragging two guards by their collars. Two very dead guards. Now we have spilled the first bit of blood, time really is of the essence, it won’t be long until someone stumbles across them, or us. We have to keep moving.

When we reach the bottom of the stairs, I am holding my breath so hard that if the adrenaline wasn’t so potent within me, I would pass out. Max swings around checking everywhere constantly, as he speaks.

“Bottom of the stairs. Going up.” He states and swings around as a door on the other side of the stairs swings open. An arm sticks through it with a thumbs up, and he relaxes slightly as Elijah’s head follows it. With all eight of us now here, the four of them surround the foyer in the shadows, as we begin to ascend the stairs. Moving as one until we reach the top. As agreed, Lincoln and I will be the ones to grab Cassie. She has spent more time with us recently than Max and we want her to be as comfortable as possible. Especially considering we have no idea what state she is going to be in. Is she going to look like the same little girl I have come to know and love? Will they have hurt her or worse? Is she tied up? Have they fed her? The disgusting images barrel into my mind before I can stop them, and I shake my head like I can physically toss them out of there. Whatever state she is in doesn’t matter. All that matters is getting her home. I need to rescue the princess so the queen can be whole again.

Lincoln signals for me to move and I go ahead as he steps up behind with his hand on my shoulder. Both of us have our guns raised.

It doesn’t take us more than thirty seconds to reach the room we believe Cassie to be in and I waste no time in entering. I palm the handle and take a deep breath, before silently pushing it down and opening it as slowly as I can. The room is dark with the only light coming from a small lamp on the bedside table. I immediately spot Cassie sitting on one side of a huge bed and my heart rate quickens. Flicking my eyes to her left, I see a woman sitting beside her, reading a book, but as soon as I speak into my mic she looks up.

“We got her.” I say, and I hear Asher's sigh of relief loud and clear.

Taking me in, the woman’s features are shrouded in fear, but she doesn’t scream, run, or even try to reach for something to use as a weapon. She just freezes, the panic forcing her body to shut down, as she stares at my gun. I lower it slightly and when she still doesn’t move, I take a slow step forward.

“I’m not going to hurt you; I just want the girl.” For how nervous I am, my voice comes out calm. Cassie is so close, her sleeping form snuggled down under the blanket. We could actually pull this off, all we have to do is grab her and get back out of here undetected.

The woman still doesn’t say anything, so I continue, “We are taking the girl home, with or without your cooperation.” I can see her shaking from across the room, but she nods ever so slightly. She looks young and is probably being forced to do all sorts under the employment of Elliot Donovan.

Lincoln enters behind me, but I don’t risk looking at him as I move closer to the bed, until I reach the side Cassie is sleeping on. I breathe a slight sigh of relief that she appears to be unharmed and as Lincoln stalks across the room to deal with the maid, I gently pull the blanket from her causing her to stir.

Her sleepy eyes open and lock with mine and her surprise is instant, “River?” She wonders aloud in a tired tone.

“Yeah baby, it’s me.” I say with a soft smile. I barely have time to register her moving before she dives at me and flings her little arms around my neck. I don’t think I have ever felt such instant happiness. The comfort of finding her here, and from what I can tell, unharmed. It’s the best I could have ever hoped for.

“I missed you so much,” she whispers, and my throat burns with the pain of emotions as I place my gun back into its holster and cuddle her back.

“I missed you too.” I reply, rubbing my hand up and down her back, watching as Lincoln ties the maid up with ease and drags her into the closet shutting the door. Once she’s secured, I pull back from Cassie, “are you okay?”

She nods enthusiastically, “Is my Mommy here?” She asks and the hope in her voice cuts me. Four words and I can tell how much she has missed her mom, probably just as much as Elle has missed her.

I sigh slightly, knowing I am going to disappoint her, “No princess, just me and the guys, but we are taking you home to mommy, okay?”

She takes in my words, then notices Lincoln as he moves into her view, “Superman!” she yells excitedly, and I am grateful for the distraction.

Lincoln drops to his knees by the bed, so he is eyeline with her, “Hey princess, miss me?” he asks with ease and she nods again with a huge smile on her face. The sight causes my heart to ache for a whole new reason. I wonder if she will grow up realizing how many people love her and would die for her in an instant. So much more than what Lincoln ever grew up with. Seeing him offer her such instant comfort makes me grateful to have him here with us.

“Good because I missed you too, but I’m gonna need you to be quiet, okay?” His tone is the softest I have ever heard from him, and I can tell he is trying his hardest to stay calm and in control for her.

“Like the quiet game?” She asks him and he nods.

“Exactly like the quiet game, remember what mommy told you about me protecting you?” She keeps nodding, “Well, this house is a very bad place for little princesses so we came to take you home, but to do that we need to get back to our car as quietly as possible, can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” She says and then immediately throws her hands over her mouth nodding dramatically and I can’t help the little laugh that slips out of me.

“That’s perfect,” Linc praises her, “now let’s go home.”

He looks at me and nods, before he stands and tosses the bag, we brought with us at me. I pull out the extra Kevlar vest along with one of her pink blankets from home.

“Okay, I am going to carry you little one, but I need to wrap this around you alright?” She nods once more, and I waste no time wrapping her up until the Kevlar covers as much of her body as I can manage with the blanket securing it in place. I move my arms to support her back and then stand lifting her as I go. Just the feel of her tiny weight in my arms makes my heart ache. So small, so innocent, so fragile, I will not stop until we get her out of here safely.

Lincoln moves towards the door and I follow close behind him, slipping the gun back out from my belt with one hand, while keeping Cassie secured tightly against me with my other arm. Her little breaths tickle my neck, and I am glad to feel that they are as steady and as normal as they could be, considering the bizarre situation we are in.

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