A body flew into her from behind, knocking her to the floor and the wind from her lungs. She pressed her palms into the ground when a gunshot rang through the air and the body above her jerked in response. She shivered and stayed deadly still, keeping her breathing calm and low. Could they see her? Right now, her best protection might be underneath the person she was sure wasn’t breathing. The thought disturbed her, but her survival instinct was more powerful. She stayed underneath the body.
“Abi!” She recognized the voice this time: Rachel.
She stood by her head, swooped down, grabbed her hand and pulled her up. “Are you okay?” she asked, wiping something wet from her forehead.
“I think so,” she said, her hand immediately tracing Rachel’s. Her fingers caught the edge of her hair and she realized it was slick and coated in a warm, thick substance.
The realization hit her like a freight train; she didn’t need to look at the body she’d rolled off her. He’d taken one in the chest and one in the head, and she was coated in his blood and likely some brain matter that Abi couldn’t think about right now.
Rachel shoved a weapon in her hand. “Come on!”
Abi nodded as she moved the pistol into position, resting her finger on the trigger. She thought about the weapon James Thomas had given her and realized it was sitting on the chair a few meters away from where she stood. He’d warned her to keep it on her at all times, and the one minute she didn’t have it, she’d been thrust into hell.
Movement behind Rachel drew her attention, and Abi raised her weapon and fired at the man with his weapon aimed at her friend’s back. Rachel jolted at the sound of the gun and swung around, raising her own weapon. Abi spun around, back up against Rachel. She squinted to see, and to make sense of the chaos that surrounded them.
She needed to think clearly if they were going to survive.
Abi turned back around to see a figure coming at Rachel fast, but she ducked low and fired, landing one in his stomach.
“I was on my way to see you! What the hell is going on?” Rachel asked, breathless as she fired two more shots.
“I don’t know but we need to get out of here! We need to stay together—”
Abi was cut off as an elbow slammed into the back of her head. She stumbled, falling forward, but Rachel grabbed her. Abi managed not to fall and instead swung around, raising her weapon, but no one was after her: she’d just been caught in the middle of two men fighting. It was just another reason they had to get out of there—there were too many bullets flying and if they weren’t careful, they’d get shot.
“Run!” Abi grabbed Rachel, guiding her toward the exit that she knew was ahead. She took one look over her shoulder, seeing the Thomas Security men—the ones still standing—forming a protective barrier around them.
But Abi skidded to a halt and Rachel ran straight into the back of her.
Abi’s heart thundered in her chest as she looked down the barrel of the woman’s pistol.
“Don’t move,” the woman said, her voice like ice.
Who was she? She looked vaguely familiar, but Abi couldn’t place her.
“Asher took my husband and my child, and now I’m going to take everything he loves,” she said, her voice void of emotion. She sounded like she’d rehearsed this moment, prepared for it a thousand times.
Abi’s mind spiraled as she processed what the woman had just said. The woman was Troy’s mother, Grace.
How did she get into the tunnels? Thomas Security had been looking for her. Abi’s attention was on the pistol in Grace’s hand, but she didn’t miss the device being held in her other hand. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like a detonator.
“Abi,” a woman with a slightly shaky voice said from behind Grace.
Abi’s breath caught in her throat as she recognized the voice. Emilia. Abi squinted, straining to see. It was too dark, but even still she could see a figure beside Emilia and Abi knew by the angle of the person’s hand a pistol was pointed at Emilia’s head.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” Abi said, returning her attention to the woman in front of her.
The corner of the woman’s lips turned up. “No, they made a huge mistake assuming Martin Snider was a man. They thought he was my husband and he’d influenced my son, didn’t they?” she asked coldly. “Maybe they thought I was involved, but did they ever once really consider that I might be Martin Snider?”
“Grace!” Emilia gasped.
Grace gave a chilling smile, her eyes not leaving Abi’s. “No one saw it coming. And that was why it was so perfect. My husband and my son were the front, because the soldiers would never have allied with me. But I was behind it all. Every plan. Every murder. And I planned the perfect distraction today: I set up an attack that would focus all your guards on Asher, leaving everyone else at risk. I knew you were down here,” she said, her eyes hauntingly cold. “I have friends in the palace.”
Abi saw Emilia step forward, her face tight and ashen.
“Do not move!” Abi commanded, speaking directly to Grace, but she was really speaking to Emilia.
Grace’s eyes didn’t leave Abi, and her confident expression didn’t falter.
“What did we do to your family?” Emilia demanded. “What did we do to deserve this?”
“You and your husband were useless,” Grace replied coolly. “And then, to make it worse, you were going to hand the throne over to your privileged son. Santina’s fate rested in the hands of a young man who’d never been groomed for the role of king. It should’ve been us. We would have saved Santina!” she said, a slight tremble entering her voice. Grace was beginning to unravel but Abi wasn’t sure that was a good thing. What would happen when she took her finger off that device in her hand? “And then Alistair did the same thing to Troy when he stole his girlfriend and knocked her up. Your family is ignorant and careless. You would’ve ruined Santina. You had to be stopped for the greater good of us all.”
“What do you want?” Abi asked, trying to stall her so that she could formulate a plan. Men were still fighting in the tunnel, and the rest of the guards were likely with Asher. Abi had to figure this out on her own. “Your husband and son are dead.”
“You still don’t get it, do you? I wanted my husband and son to lead with me, but now I’ll do it alone. So, I want you all to die. Santina deserves better!” Grace said, raising her voice. Abi wondered why Grace hadn’t considered Alistair a threat to the throne—and it was only then that Abi realized there was another figure beside Emilia.
Abi felt the wind knock from her lungs yet again. Alistair was beside her! Abi, Emilia and Alistair were all in the tunnels—everyone Asher loved.
“That doesn’t help you,” Abi continued. She had to keep Grace talking, had to stall. “Alistair has a son who would become the next heir when he comes of age. You will never rule Santina!”
“I will if I’m the last living relative. And I will kill them all. Everyone—including the child,” she said with an arrogance that disturbed Abi. Why was she so confident?
“Who do you think is backing you right now? Adani?” Abi asked. “When Asher learns of this, Adani will be destroyed before sunrise. With the information he has about them poisoning their poor, they won’t survive. Asher won’t even have to send in his army—the Adani people will be so incensed they’ll destroy the royal family themselves.”
Grace smiled. “Adani is helpful, but I will do this without them. How do you think I got in here with my men? It seems not everyone—your staff members included—think Asher is fit to rule. I had help getting in here, and I will have help taking the throne. Everything is in place. It can’t be stopped.”
“Of course it can be stopped,” Abi said quickly. “A new deal can always be made.”
Abi didn’t think Asher was going to be in the mood for negotiating with Grace but every second mattered now. Every second Abi could stall Grace was another second they were alive and able to escape.
“I don’t want to make
a new deal. I want them all to die,” she said without a hint of remorse.
“That’s not going to happen. You should use me to negotiate for you,” Abi said. She knew she was baiting her, but she had zero options right now.
Grace stood still, as if thinking about it.
And then she lifted her finger off the device.
Abi
Abi’s ears rang as the ground beneath her feet shook. She lost her balance, almost stumbling, but she managed to keep upright and keep her eyes on Grace.
But her relief was short-lived as another thunderous roar was followed by the sound of a sickening crack.
The lights in the tunnel flickered, but stayed on—had Samuel done that? Suddenly Abi felt less alone, but the lighting brought on a new shiver of dread as she looked over the bloody bodies on the floor of the tunnel. How many were Thomas Security guys? At least ten of them had to be. Another six men were in a standoff farther down the tunnel, and two men stood by Emilia and Alistair, weapons pointed at them—definitely not Thomas Security men.
Abi’s eyes swept over the entire scene. In a normal situation, she would just shoot Grace, but she was wielding a weapon that none of them knew the potential of. Could she blow up the entire tunnel?
She squinted into the darkness and realized what that squealing, cracking noise had been—an entire wall of rock had fallen in, effectively blocking their exit. Abi didn’t know of another way out except the entrance Grace was standing in front of.
Abi also knew Grace was ready to die before she let them pass.
She drew a long deep, calming breath, trying to formulate a plan without taking her eyes off Grace. Abi knew Grace hadn’t killed her because she would be negotiating power if her plan upstairs didn’t work and Asher survived, and for her part Abi wasn’t going to kill Grace because she didn’t know what that detonator in her hand was capable of. They were at a standoff.
She looked past Emilia and Alistair. She didn’t see a way out, but she did see something she’d missed before: Alistair kept tilting his head to the side. At first she’d just thought he was uncomfortable, or it was a sign of nerves, but now that she looked more closely she realized it was more of a gesture. And if anyone knew these tunnels well, it would be him.
Abi followed his direction and her heart leapt in her chest when she saw a thin chasm in the tunnel wall. Abi had no idea where it would lead, but that chasm was an ember of hope.
Okay, so how were they going to disarm Grace?
Abi’s eyes met Alistair’s and he looked up.
Her eyes flickered to the ceiling, following Alistair’s gaze, before immediately returning to Grace. She’d seen a water pipe, but didn’t know what he was thinking to do with it. Shoot it? It might create some hysteria, perhaps enough to distract Grace and get the detonator from her hand . . .
Abi was thinking through all the possibilities and outcomes of attempting as much when she suddenly realized that wasn’t what Alistair had been motioning to.
Her jaw set. She would only need a few seconds, but she also knew if this plan failed, Grace would almost certainly blow up the palace.
Abi prayed she wasn’t making a mistake, but they didn’t have a lot of options right now.
She brought her left hand to her cheek, resting her index finger on it. She hoped she looked thoughtful, or anxious—either would work—but regardless, Abi needed to give Alistair some warning because he would need to move fast.
She tapped her cheek once, then paused.
She tapped her cheek twice, then paused.
Then Abi whipped her pistol forward and shot the glass panel above Grace’s head.
She fired five bullets in, not sure how strong the glass was, but within seconds it shattered, raining over Grace just as Alistair grabbed his mother, diving out of the way while Abi shot the guards beside them.
Abi turned back to Grace, gun raised, breathing heavily—only to see that she was retreating to where she had entered the tunnel. Abi knew she could either follow her, or they could escape before they were trapped. She decided on the latter—Thomas Security could deal with Grace when they had a spare moment. Right now, she needed to get everyone out before the tunnels collapsed in on them.
“Go!” Abi screamed, pointing toward the chasm.
They darted toward the area she had pointed to, Emilia and Alistair getting there first.
“Go! Go!” Abi urged them through as she sprinted toward them. More gunfire sounded from the end of the tunnel. Abi pushed her legs harder as her lungs burned for air. She squeezed in after Rachel and ignored the immediate pinch in her chest.
Breathe, Abi.
Her body scraped against the rock walls and if the wall had been a mirror, her breath would’ve fogged it she was so close.
She felt a prickle in her throat and it grew with every step.
“Keep moving forward!” Rachel said, and Abi wondered if that was directed at her.
Abi’s shirt snagged and she tripped on her own feet, brushing her cheek against the rock. She wheezed in a breath and tried to put her hand on her chest, but the gap was too small. Panic rose in her chest and she knew she was on the verge of a panic attack.
You’re fine. Breathe. You’re fine. Breathe.
She repeated the mantras in her head with every step forward. She tilted her head back, but that was a mistake. Her chin scraped against the wall and her chest flared with panic.
She pushed it back down, refusing to succumb.
In what felt like ten hours but was likely only a minute or two, the chasm began to open up and Abi’s lungs with it.
She burst through the opening, gasping for air as she leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath—but Rachel grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her forward. “We have to keep moving,” she said with urgency.
Abi agreed mentally, but physically her lungs were still fighting to breathe.
Her legs were slow and moved like they didn’t belong to her. She drew in deep breaths, trying to calm her racing pulse. When Abi saw the stairs ahead, she almost buckled.
Emilia was first up, her footsteps light and easy. Alistair was right behind her.
Rachel grabbed Abi around the waist and took most of her weight as they ran up the stairs.
Emilia had the door open when they arrived and Abi squinted as she stepped into the bright, white light.
“Where are we?” she asked, looking around, dazed and confused.
“Servants’ quarters,” Emilia said as she ran forward, leading the way.
But they were less than a few steps in when the familiar sound of gunfire echoed through the hallway and the walls around them started chipping.
“Left!” Emilia commanded and Abi skidded around the corner, her legs coming back to life.
They surged forward and Abi’s heart was in her throat. As they came barreling around a corner, they saw a group of men at the end of the hallway.
“Next door!” Abi yelled and they rushed toward it. They ran inside and Abi locked the door.
“Window! Go!” Abi commanded as she attempted to drag the mahogany desk toward the door. Her lungs burned, but she refused to give up.
Alistair was beside her, hauling the table toward the door while Emilia unlocked the window.
They ran to the window and Abi kicked the screen out. She jumped through, checked the courtyard was secure, and then helped Emilia, Rachel, and Alistair through.
“There’s a panic room. This way!” Alistair said, pointing at the door across the paved courtyard. The courtyard didn’t look familiar to Abi; she wouldn’t have been able to place herself on a map of the palace. But Alistair and Emilia could.
They sprinted forward as the pavers chipped beside them.
Abi stumbled, looking over her shoulder as she ran, and saw two men on the rooftop.
“Zigzag!” Abi shouted, but her order came too late. She screamed as fire spread over her arm, but somehow her feet managed to keep moving.
Emilia re
ached the window first and slammed her elbow into the glass.
She’s really getting the hang of this, Abi thought. The thought left her mind as quickly as it came when Emilia’s blood-curdling scream stopped her in her tracks.
“Going somewhere?” a man said as he stood on the other side of the window, inside the building. When Abi met his eyes, he smiled.
“Hello again,” he said, his smile widening into an expression that would haunt her forever.
Abi
Abi heard the sound of guns cocking behind her and saw that two men had a pistol at Rachel’s head. Emilia stood in front of them, her hands raised in surrender.
Abi’s eyes darted between them all, frantic.
She stared at the ground, noticing the cracks in the pavement. She needed something to focus on—anything—to calm her mind.
Think, Abi. Think.
She was not giving up without a fight, but she didn’t have only herself to think about.
“Let them go. Use me for leverage,” Abi said and the man gave a smile that sent a shiver down Abi’s spine.
“No one is going anywhere. Especially not him,” he said, looking to Alistair.
“You won’t succeed,” Abi said through gritted teeth.
“There are armies on every border now. Your king made the mistake of thinking he was powerful. He tried to ruin Adani, and now he’ll have to make a choice. If he chooses you and his family, the armies will cross the border and slaughter every Santinian in their path. If he chooses Santina, you all die.” His lips curled up. “Your king will fall, because he cannot win—no matter what choice he makes from here on, he loses.”
He raised his weapon and pointed it at Abi’s forehead.
Abi held his gaze, refusing to back down, and desperately wished she had an earpiece. Where was Asher? What was happening?
She was still trying to formulate a plan when blood sprayed from the man’s forehead and he dropped to the floor. Abi dropped to the ground, sheltering her head with her hands as a war erupted in the courtyard. She didn’t know whether to run or to lie flat on the ground. But when she saw Jesse walking toward them with a thick layer of blood down one side of his face and six men behind him, Abi made her choice.
VALIANT REIGN (The Royals Book 3) Page 16