Page 141 of Monsters Wear Crowns
And then he was gone, slipping back into the smoke and shadows before I could react. But his words stayed behind. They stayed, and they burned.
I remained frozen for a breath too long, his words echoing in my head.
Moreau is becoming impatient.
I heard the rapid pop of gunfire and the shouts of Rafe’s men. But it felt far away, blurred behind the rush of blood in my ears.He saw what Rafe did to me.I needed to move.
I pushed forward, my steps fast and silent, slipping through the chaos like a shadow. My fingers tightened on the gun as I cleared each hallway, but the house was a battlefield now. I passed one of Rafe’s men slumped against the wall, blood painting the marble beneath him. I didn’t stop.Couldn’t.
The estate’s east wing loomed ahead, and that’s when I heard Rafe’s voice. Barking orders. Furious.Alive.
Relief hit me harder than I wanted to admit. I followed the sound, slipping through a side door into one of the main corridors,and stopped short. Rafe stood at the end of the hall, his back to me, but I could feel the rage rolling off him in waves. His gun was raised, his stance tight like a predator about to lunge.
He wasn’t alone.
Three of Moreau’s men faced him, their weapons lowered, but there was no mistaking the threat in the air.
“Leave my fucking house,now,” he growled. “What are you trying to accomplish? Overwhelming my men?”
One of them smiled. “You’re surrounded, Vaughan. You don’t get to give orders.”
“I always give orders,” Rafe snapped back. “And I don’t repeat myself.”
The tension stretched tight, and then everything happened at once. Another shot cracked through the corridor. I didn’t wait. I raised my pistol and fired, dropping one of Moreau’s men before he could even react. The others turned, and Rafe moved with the kind of speed that was almost inhuman. Two more shots–one from him, one from me–and the room fell silent.
Rafe spun toward me, his eyes flashing with something wild that barely softened when they landed on me. “Are you hurt?” His voice was low and rough, his gaze raking over me like he needed to see for himself.
“I’m fine,” I said. I was. Physically, at least.
But before I could say more, the estate’s alarm system wailed to life–a high, keening sound that made my stomach drop.
“They’ve breached the grounds,” Rafe bit out, already moving. “We need to get to the security room.”
I followed without question. We moved through the twisting halls, and I could feel the weight of the fight pressing down on the house. The walls shook with distant explosions, and the scent of fire was getting stronger.
“Are theybombingthis place?” I asked, my voice shooting up an octave.
“Must be grenades,” he muttered. “I’m going to skin thatfucking man alive for targeting my house.”
But my mind was still tangled with the words I’d been told.
Moreau is becoming impatient. And he still wants you on his side.
I didn’t know how.
The security room was in chaos when we arrived. Rafe’s men were crowded around the monitors, shouting over one another. The screens flickered with live feeds from the estate. My stomach twisted when I saw how many of Moreau’s people had gotten through the outer defenses. Rafe had around forty men. And I was seeing at least fifty of Moreau’s. It was a mini goddamn war.
“Status,” Rafe snapped.
One of his men–Dominic–turned, his face pale beneath the streaks of blood. “West perimeter’s breached. We’re holding the south side, but they’ve got numbers, boss.”
Rafe’s jaw clenched. “Pull everyone we can spare to reinforce the south. If they break through there–”
He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. The monitors flickered, and then every single one went black. The room froze.
“Get them back online,” Rafe ordered. But before anyone could move, one of the monitors flared back to life. Only one.
And it wasn’t showing the estate.
