I start running toward the trees, or at least I try.
They must have heard the shot, and they will follow soon.
So be it.
I dial as I move and press the phone to my ear.
Another guard comes into view, and I lift the gun as I run, firing without hesitation. The bullet takes him squarely, and his body crumples to the ground.
Yuri said my aim required refinement. He would reconsider that opinion now…
“Come on,” I mutter into the phone as it rings.
My lungs burn, I am too weak, every movement hurts.
The line connects.
“Milo,” I whisper, and I nearly lose my footing.
A shout erupts behind me just as I step onto the narrow pavement.
I turn and see men running toward me.
“Milo—”
I push forward as fast as my body allows.
“Get her!” one of them roars behind me.
“Milo,” I gasp again, hoping he can hear me. “I’m not dead, baby… he—”
My foot catches and I go down hard. Pain shoots through my legs as the phone flies from my hand, and the sound of footsteps closes in.
A hand clamps around my wrist and hauls me upright, the same wrist that never healed properly.
I barely get air into my lungs before the grip of a gun smashes into my skull.
The impact sends me forward. My head hits the pavement, and a blinding surge of pain consumes everything.
How many blows to the head can a body withstand before it shuts down?
The world tilts violently.
Darkness presses in from every side.
But I hold on to one certainty, Milo is coming.
I miss him.
Chapter 72
Milo
It takes me exactly seven minutes to reach the estate.
The gates already stand open.
Men rush over the grounds, shouting over one another.
