Page 79 of Captive Bride

My will hardens. This can’t be the last time we see each other.

Isobel turns from me, running to the dresser. I see her reach inside, hand coming back wrapped to the handle of her dagger. She meets my eyes, holding the weapon close to her chest, tears still flowing freely from her eyes.

I want nothing more than to kiss her again, to hold her, and promise everything will be okay. I want to promise her the world and countless tomorrows. Instead, I nod my head firmly, once, before turning to leave.

I close the door in a rush and hear the lock engage from the inside.

Good. That’s taken care of—now the hard part begins. From downstairs, the roar of gunfire already meets my ears. Screams echo up the stairwell, anger, pain, terror.

I move towards the sound at a jog, panic ebbing, now that I know Isobel is safely locked in the room. My feet fly over the stairs, adrenaline pouring into my system, just as it always does when the bullets begin to fly.

I hit the landing with a boom, not stopping for a moment as I tear through the wide front doors.

I see Benny up ahead, crouched behind a car, bullets plowing into the metal of his barrier.

His head turns at the sound of my approach.

“Tristan!” he shouts, waving me frantically towards him.

I pick up my pace, struggling to reach the cover before I’m noticed.

Gravel flies as I slide into safety.

“Where’s Merc?” I scream over the blasts.

Benny shrugs, shaking his head in uncertainty.

“I lost sight of him,” he says.

My eyes tear across the grounds, looking for any sign of my cousin. I see him, off to the side, crouched behind a car of his own. I indicate his location with my head, and Benny follows my gaze.

Reassured of Merc’s safety, we direct our energy back into the fight. We stand as one, targeting the Capulets closest to us. Benny’s shot takes one in the chest before mine reaches the head of a second attacker.

Benny’s hits take one in the leg, mine hits a man in the stomach…

We empty our guns repeatedly, most shots drawing blood if not ending in immediate death. By the time my bullet supply begins to grow short, the tide seems to be turning in our favor.

“Almost out,” I shout to Benny.

“Me, too, man.”

Fuck.

Together, we search wildly for an alternate plan. My eyes lock onto the body of a nearby Capulet, one I managed to hit in the head. His gun lays only feet from him, his pocket clearly stuffed with extra clips.

I nod in the direction, not needing words to explain my plan Benny.

“Let me,” he says, shooting his final bullet into a Capulet guard.

I ignore him entirely.

Let him my ass.

Without waiting for him to argue further, I launch into action. My long legs eating up the distance between me and the bloody Capulet. I reach him in moments that feel like hours, bullets whizzing too near as I do.

“Tristan!” I hear Benny shout as I reach him.

I ignore him still, grabbing for the gun and unused clips.

---