Page 113 of Diary from an Inked Throne

I gaped at them. “This is the plan? I knock out whoever we come across?”

Lynx shrugged. “It’s that or we try to strangle people with a shoelace. I don’t have time to try to make a prison shiv.”

Luca groaned quietly. “Your prison weapons suck, Lynx!”

“I don’t see you offering up any other solutions…fuck.” He grabbed both our arms, dragging us back a step. “Look. She’s on the balcony.”

I stared up at her in the doorway, so fucking beautiful I could cry. There was no sign of the baby, but a breeze ruffled her long hair, lifting loose tendrils off her shoulders.

Then someone stepped in behind her.

So close I just knew he was touching her.

MacGregor.

No one needed to say it. We all saw it and knew what it meant.

The time for plans was over.

We moved in unison to the fence, the three of us climbing it easily and dropping down on the Guerra side of the property. The thick trees covered us, and we moved quietly amongst them to the edge where the lawn opened out into long expanses of bare grass that would provide us no cover at all.

I couldn’t see anyone but MacGregor up on the balcony with Nyah, but there was no doubt in my mind that once we rounded the corner of the building, there’d be one of his men posted on the door.

If he saw us and raised the alarm, there could very well be a lot more than one.

But we were out of time.

All we could do was wait until MacGregor wasn’t facing in our direction.

And then run.

Nobody needed to say a word. We just did what needed to be done, sprinting across the grass, praying not to hear a bullet whistling through the air, aimed straight at my heart.

Midway, I dared to look up, and the sight of MacGregor’s hands all over Nyah had me biting down on a scream. Instead, I ran for the shadows, getting to them on fast, silent, fighter’s feet, my heart slamming against my chest even though the short run shouldn’t have had me out of breath.

There was only one guard on the small back door. One very bored guard, not facing in our direction. He sat on a low, retaining garden wall, leaning back on his hands, staring into the darkened night.

Despite the fact we’d just discussed me attempting to knock out any guard we came across, Lynx moved ahead of us. In one fast move, he yanked the guy backward off the wall.

It would have been almost comical, his legs and arms flying up as he tried to catch himself, but the thud of his head hitting the ground was sickening. Lynx was on him a second later, the expression on his face one I’d only seen one other night.

When MacGregor had forced us to fight.

“Go,” he hissed at us, wrapping his hands around his victim’s throat.

He’d be dead within seconds, I was sure of it, but I didn’t hang around to find out. Luca punched a code into the lock and got the door open. I rushed in ahead of him.

The scent of blood in the air hit me, and I probably would have gagged if I had been a stranger to that smell. But years of fighting had made me almost immune to it.

The guard inside shouted but didn’t have time to pull his gun or call anyone for backup. My fist met his jaw too hard, too fast, and in the next moment he was falling.

I was vaguely aware of Luca tossing a set of cage keys to one of his guys who’d been locked up inside, but neither of us stopped. We charged up the stairs, then up again, not caring now if we drew the attention of MacGregor’s men. I couldn’t stop now. I was too close and needed to get to her.

Luca ran at my side, the two of us hitting the landing at the same time, both of us sprinting down the hallway to his room.

I twisted the knob and fell through the door, catching myself on the other side, just in time to scream Nyah’s name.

Just in time to hear the balcony crack.