Page 80 of King of Ruin

I nod once, my eyes remaining on Onyx. She’s quiet, both guns clutched in her hands and an eerie calm circulating around her. The elation of ending Phineas is the only thing keeping my racing mind sane as I watch her shoulders rise and fall with her steady breaths. I want to reach out to her, but I know better.

Whatever I thought–or hoped–could happen after this, died with Phineas.

“Shouldn’t they be shooting by now?” a guard in the back whispers.

“When she’s ready,” Onyx replies, not moving her focus away from the long hall.

Any minute now, they’ll spot Maddy and the men, and once they do, there will be mayhem.

I move to stand in front of Onyx but pause when she huffs from her nose. “Is there a problem?”

She keeps her eyes straight ahead. “Not at all. Just a bit exasperated of you thinking I need you to protect me.”

I scrub a hand over my face, doing the best I can to keep my voice low and steady. “When they round this corner, they are going to have their guns drawn, ready to shoot anyone that isn’t Phineas. They’ll be confused by their own men turning on them and by standing here, you’ll be right in the line of fire.”

“Again. It’s vexing that you think anyone would be able to pull a trigger with a bullet through their skull.”

I clamp my jaw shut, ignoring the pain of my molars smashing together, and throw my hands up. She wants me to stop doing something that I have done my entire life? Fine. So be it.

The acceptance rips through me like a bolt of lightning, reaching around my spine and yanking me backward.

No. No. You know what?Fuck that.

She’s mad, I knew she would be. But I’m not going change who this entire fucked up life has shaped me to be because of her anger. I’m protecting her, and she can resent me for it later.

“Kane, mo–”

The first shot rings out. It’s muffled through the walls, but loud nonetheless, and the moment of silence that follows is thick and weighted. The only audible sounds are the click of our safeties and our shallow breaths.

My heart is pounding, the blood in my ears a constant whoosh matching my pulse. I’m confident everything will work out in my favor, but the notion of anything happening to Onyx puts me on edge.

I start to glance at her over my shoulder but stop to what sounds like fireworks, followed by chaos. A concession of gunfire, yelling, feet pounding into the floor, and screams of the maids splinter the air in tandem.

Oliver and I move quickly, sprinting to the end of the hallway and straight into two guards. I shoot the first, and Olly gets the second. They go down on top of each other, forcing us to step over them.

In the foyer, blood and fists are flying everywhere. Weapons are held by some, but most have resorted to a full-out brawl, and it becomes evident some are hashing out old grudges.

Glass shatters around us from stray bullets hitting frames and art pieces. But through the mayhem, just outside the wide open doors, I make out the red curls of a fierce fighter.

Maddy is out on the lawn, hammering her fist into the face of someone who looks as though they’ve lost consciousness. It’s like she can feel our presence, because her face snaps in our direction. A bright red stain is splattered over her entire left side, and it seems as if she’s split open her lip, but it stretches into a wide smile when they land on Onyx.

“I got eyes on Boss!” she yells, dropping the comatose guard and stepping over another toward the open doors.

A sudden movement to my right steals my attention. About a half dozen men are flying down the stairs, and none of them belong to me. I push past a group fighting and cut them off as they come down. The first two take quick bullets to the head, but those behind them are able to push through.

A taller man pummels right into me, pushing me back into a pair fighting. I use the back of my gun and slam it down on his spine, and when he jolts back, I bash it across his face.

He falls, but another is right there, weapons drawn and pointed at my chest. A pop rings out and he stumbles, his eyes widening briefly before fluttering closed as he falls.

Oliver shoots two more as I regain my balance. My heart pounds into my chest as I search for Onyx. When I find her, she’s only a few yards back, putting bullets into every man’s head who’s wearing a brooch.

The entire rush of blood that flows south is jarring and intense. Besides our time torturing in Embros estate, I haven’t seen her in full form. The way she moves in between the chaotic crowd with such grace–the serene look of indifference on her face as she kills one after the other–is fucking artistic.

Her eyes flash to mine and I can’t help the involuntary wink I give her with a smirk. She clenches her teeth before backhanding a man twice her size and kneeing him in the dick as he reaches for her.

He collapses, but another takes his place, charging at Onyx over the cluster of bodies. I lift my gun, but she beats me to it, shooting him directly in the throat. Blood flies outward, droplets spraying over her untouched blouse. The color seeps into the dark fabric, almost disappearing on contact.

Before I can admire the amazing handiwork she doles out to another man approaching her, a hard hit to my jaw pushes my head in the opposite direction. My gaze turns fuzzy, white spots decorating my vision as I turn, shooting almost blindly. But I catch him in the neck. Another shot sends him down.

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