Page 31 of Rebellion of a Kingdom

“Secured and leaving.” Lincoln speaks into his mic as Jace speaks into our ears.

“We got company.”

Lincoln curls his arm around the handle, just as shots are fired and we all tense as Cassie lets out a little squeak. I can tell she is scared and trying her hardest not to make a sound.

I lean my head back so I can look down at her, and her little sparkling blue eyes lock with mine, “You are safe with me okay princess? Pinky promise.” Lincoln grabs my gun so I can bring my finger to hers and curl them together. “Just hold on tight and don’t worry about any loud noises or shouting alright?”

“Everyone here is loud.” She replies, and I grind my teeth and I see a muscle lock in Lincoln's jaw. Neither of us want to think about what she may have seen or heard while being here.

“Ready brother?” he asks, and we lock eyes, knowing no matter what happens we will do anything to ensure we get Cassie out of here.

“Ready.”

He opens the door just as a guard is about to enter and before we are even seen Lincoln puts a bullet right into his skull. Cassie clings to me as tight as possible and I tighten my hold on her. As if keeping her as close as possible will make everything okay.

We don’t stop for even a second, stepping over the dead guard and moving out into the hall. Gunshots continue to go off from downstairs and we look at one another.

“Plan B?” he questions, and I nod my head.

“Plan B.” I agree, and we both turn left instead of going back the way we came.

“Talk to me.” Ash barks into our ear.

“Taking the secondary route, down the back stairs and through the kitchen.” Linc responds to him as we move quickly down the hall.

“Alright you have four heat signatures currently on that path.” His voice is tense, but it doesn’t scare me because I hear something else. He has just become the prince. The master of his darkness. On edge, but completely in control and prepared to do whatever is necessary for his daughter.

“Heard.” Is all Linc replies as we continue on our path.

We make it down the hallway and stairs without incident, as the gunshots either die down or are now too far away to be heard. As we make it to the bottom, we hear footsteps coming towards us and ready ourselves. I crush my body into the wall as much as I can giving Cassie as much cover as possible. Lincoln then covers us both, as he stands and waits.

The first guard doesn’t even make it round the corner before Lincoln kills him. Without hesitation, without fear and without regret. My silent and brooding brother is deadlier than even I thought. His shot lands with precision and he is already moving to shoot the second guard, before the first one even hits the floor. Lincoln's second shot misses the kill slightly, only hitting the guard's shoulder as he moves to raise his own gun, but the next one hits him in the center of his chest.

Again, we don’t hesitate and quickly move on our way to bring ourselves closer to our escape. I keep a tight hold on Cassie, praying this is the last time she ever has to face something like this. She is being quiet, and I want to praise her for handling this so well, she is tough and resilient, just like her mother.

"Two down." Lincoln states simply, and I take another deep breath, so close yet still so far.

I follow him as we continue on, but a sound behind us has me whipping around and I shoot at the same time the guard does. His bullet flies past me, but I hear Lincoln grunt slightly as I kill the guard with a bullet to his chest, before he can shoot again. I don't wait for his body to fall before I turn around to check on Lincoln.

"You okay?" I question when I see him standing there rubbing his arm.

"Just a graze," he grunts, and I sigh in relief.

"Okay let's keep moving." I say quietly, checking on Cassie once more, but she has her eyes scrunched tightly closed.

Lincoln passes an alcove ahead of me and before I can warn him someone is kicking his gun from his arm and aiming their own. Linc is quick to disarm them, and he goes into hand-to-hand combat with him. They move quickly and I'm not able to get a clear shot. Not until Lincoln throws back his elbow and then ducks, giving me a clear aim. I fire at the guard, but not before he’s able to plunge a knife into Linc’s back causing him to cry out in pain.

"Fuckkk!" he ruffs out as the guard drops next to him.

"What the fuck is going on?" Asher barks into our ears at the same time Max speaks.

"Who's hurt?"

"Lincoln just took a knife to the back," I say, moving towards him as he begins to stand, "You okay man?" I ask and he nods.

"Fine" he grits through his teeth, but I can tell it hurts and the panic begins to swirl through my body even more. This isn’t good.

“You know you’re not allowed to die on me, right?” I ask only slightly teasing and he huffs a humorless laugh.

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