Page 123 of You Only Love Twice
"It's done," he said hoarsely as he stepped out from behind the statue.
She drew another pistol.
You'll be there to watch them all fall....
Balfour didn't want him dead. It was the only chance they had.
You're the only one who can stop her.
He stepped directly into the hallway, away from the statue he'd been using to shield himself, calling Gemma—and Balfour's bluff.
"Malloryn," she repeated, lifting her pistols toward the ceiling, as if she knew he wasn't to be touched.
A shaky breath left him.
"Put the pistols down, Gemma," he said, pointing both of his directly at her chest as he stepped forward. "I don't want to hurt you—"
Gemma shot him in the shoulder.
He staggered back, realizing the abrupt error in his thinking. Blue bloods could survive a great deal.
If the pair of us went to war, you win. When it comes to pulling the trigger on you, I hesitate. You don't....
How the tables were turned.
Gemma drilled a second bullet into his upper chest, and he hit the floor, the breath slamming out of him.
He couldn't stop her.
Not without killing her.
And even then he didn't know if he was good enough. Not when she was like this.
But he was the only one whomightbe able to take Gemma down face-to-face like this. He just had to get the pistol off her.
Then he gritted his teeth, and hauled himself to his feet, standing between Gemma and the doors to the throne room.
"All right, Gem." Malloryn spat blood. "Let's dance. I know you can't kill me."
She lifted the pistol and smiled an eerie smile. "True. But Balfour wants you alive. Ghost didn't say anything about being unharmed."
* * *
Ingrid lurchedalong the hallway beside her husband, her heart racing and the rush of blood stirring all her instincts. Something wet and sticky dripped down her back, and in some distant part of her brain she knew she'd been injured, but the wild within her had her in its grip, and all she could feel was the fury roaring through her veins.
"Lock the throne room doors!" Byrnes called to the pair of Coldrush Guards who’d snapped into a defensive stance as they heard them coming.
The pair of them looked puzzled, and Ingrid snarled at them. "Where's the queen? Is the queen inside?"
"Court's in session," said one of the guards.
"Where's your lieutenant?" Byrnes skidded to a halt. "Clear the court! There's an assassin in the Tower."
That inspired a flurry of activity.
"Yes, sir!" One man shoved the double doors that led to the throne room open.
Behind them, a sudden hail of gunfire barked.
