Page 76 of Fierce Secrets

"Gray?" My voice broke as I glanced over the bodies, a shaky breath escaping me when I realized none of them were him.

"Here, fuck, Mer, what are you doing?" His voice was strained as I moved to the heavy wooden desk he was tucked behind. The chair Leo had been in earlier was tossed on its side closer to the window.

I crouched down, taking in how he was clutching his shoulder. Blood seeped between his fingers, but his eyes were alert as he glanced past me. Not that we could see the doorway from this angle.

"You got shot… I…" I swallowed as his gaze softened and he nodded knowingly.

"Amazing what you do in the moment, huh?" he noted quietly, nodding at my gun, but winced. His shoulder didn't look good at all. I bobbed my head as I glanced back around the corner of the table. Just in time to see a man creeping to the edge of the desk on the other side.

Time seemed to slow as I acted. The gun felt heavy but steady in my hands as I raised it. The shot was deafening in the enclosed space, but my aim was true. The man crumpled, a perfect hole in the side of his head.

"Fuck, Mer." Gray tugged me back behind the desk for cover.

"He was coming for you…" I breathed shakily, forcing my mind to focus despite having glimpsed the bloody hole in the man's head. "We need to get back to the panic room," I said, my voice turning steady as I grabbed his good arm. Maybe it was adrenaline, who knew. "Sofia can patch you up. I'm sure there's first-aid supplies in there."

"Mer—" His face was pale—his dominant arm had taken the hit, meaning his aim was not going to be great now.

"It's fine, I'm fine. We need to get you to Sof, she can fix you up," I assured him, helping him to his feet once I was sure the room was clear. "Keep pressure on the wound." I glanced back at him, noticing how he was glancing down at his dropped weapon. "Gray, focus on not bleeding out, I'll cover us."

"I don't know how I feel about that," he muttered, but he continued holding the bullet wound in his shoulder.

We'd barely made it three steps when another shot rang out as someone stepped into the doorway. I pushed Gray away, ducking and raising my weapon on pure instinct. My second kill of the night fell just as easily as the first.

The girl who'd been afraid of violence was gone. In her place stood a woman who'd do anything to protect her family.

I stared at the body in the doorway as Gray nudged my arm.

"Good shot," he said softly as I drew in another calming breath.

I wasn't sure how I felt about my perfect aim so far. Maybe it was beginner's luck, but I hoped to God it didn't run out just yet. I moved forward, Gray right behind me, and checked the hallway.

Empty. Maybe luck was on my side tonight.

I stepped out into the hall, hugging the wall as we both kept low, my gun at the ready. Gunshots sounded off throughout the villa, and each one made my stomach flip as I wondered if one would be for me. They sounded close and yet distant, and all around me.

Breathe, focus. Stay alive.

We moved slowly, and I paused at each room, glancing inside before continuing on. We still had to pass the living area to reach the study with the panic room. And something told me that was where we were going to run into issues.

We'd not even fully reached the edge of the hall to the living area when everything took a turn.

The impact came from nowhere – a blood-covered man slamming into me with savage force as he rounded the corner. My gun skittered across the floor as we fell, his eyes wild and unfocused as he attacked. His hands found my throat, squeezing with desperate strength.

Gray was there like an avenging angel, tackling him off me. They rolled across the floor, trading blows as I scrambled to my feet.

"Don't move." The voice behind me froze my blood. Cold metal pressed against my spine as the man leaned close. "Having a Donati love you was always going to be a death sentence."

Gray looked up from his struggle, where he was currently pinned, horror dawning on his face. A gunshot cracked through the air, and I trembled, waiting for the pain to hit after the shock and adrenaline drained. Instead, the pressure at my back disappeared, a body thudding to the floor beside me.

Leo materialized from the living area just as Gray shoved his attacker away. In one fluid motion, Leo buried a knife in the man's throat, the blade glinting in the dim light before he turned to me. I watched Gray's attacker collapse, gasping and fumblingat the blade in his neck, but I forced myself to look at Leo instead, beyond grateful to see him right now.

"I thought..." My voice shook. "I thought he shot me in the back."

"No, Mer." Leo pulled me close, kissing my temple as his warm arms cocooned me. "You're safe now."

And despite the stench of blood and gunpowder in the air, I oddly felt it, right there in his arms.

I stared at my would-be killer, who'd stopped moving now, trying to spot his weapon. "Where's his gun?"

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