Page 271 of The Devil's Thorn
“I trusted you,” I screamed. “I told youeverything!I loved you, Ibelievedyou—and you were watching the whole time like it was a game! I’m going to kill you with my own hands!”
Still nothing. No apology. No regret.
She stepped back with the same calm, measured grace she always had. And then she nodded toward one of the men restraining Rafael.
“Do it,” she said. Cold. Final. Like it wasnothing.
The command echoed like a curse, slicing through the air with no mercy. I felt it in my bones before I heard the shot. The sound cracked through the night like lightning.
And Rafael— Rafaeljerked. Hard. His body recoiled with the force of it, his head snapping slightly to the side, his shoulders collapsing forward.
Then—he fell.
Iscreamed.
A sound so loud, so guttural, I didn’t even recognize it as my own. My knees buckled, but the grip behind me yanked me up, arms like iron across my chest.
No no no no?—
My lungs stopped working. My vision tunneled, blurred and white-hot with horror as I watched him crumple to the ground.
Blood. It bloomed across his shirt like ink in water. Right over his heart.
They shot him?—
They killed him?—
They killed Rafael.
“RAFAEL!”
I screamed his name until my throat burned raw. I thrashed so hard the man restraining me nearly lost his grip.
The world shattered around me. And then—more headlights. Roaring engines. Tires grinding into gravel. Dozens of vehicles. The sound cut through the madness just as guns began to rise again—this time on both sides.
More men poured out—ourmen. I knew them. Irecognizedthem. Nikolai. Yuri. YURI.
“YURI!!” I screamed, fighting like a feral animal in the guard’s grip.
He turned instantly—his eyes scanning the battlefield, his expression shifting from razor focus to pure panic when they landed on Rafael’s body… and me.
“GET HER!” I heard him shout.
And then— Gunfire.
The air exploded. Shots cracked across the cliffside like fireworks in hell. Screams. Commands. Boots stomping, men scattering.
Bullets hissed past. Somewhere to my left, one of the trees burst into splinters. But I didn’t stop fighting. I didn’tcare.I wasn’t thinking. I needed toget to him.I needed to?—
“LET ME GO!”
My heel drove into the shin of the man gripping me. He grunted, tried to haul me tighter, but I twisted with everything I had.
The chaos around us worsened. Men were falling. Screaming. Firing wildly into the dark.
And then—something gave.
The man holding me stumbled, slipping on the gravel as I jerked forward. His boot hit a jagged rock. We lost balance. His hand grabbed my arm—tight, panicked.Too tight.
