28
"Caroline, come with me." General Rainier seemed to appear out of nowhere at her side and pulling her toward the side door. Stunned, Nightshade followed, realizing she’d set the plan in motion. This was the only way.
Pop. Pop. Pop. Three shots rattled off in the ballroom. Nightshade immediately looked to the doorway, searching out Merc over the crowd. Despite knowing the man could take down a Mack truck with his bare fist, a tingle of apprehension managed to snake its way around her chest.
If anything happened to him…
Nightshade shook her head. She couldn’t afford to care. And coward that she was, she wanted desperately to escape before he had a chance to return.
Another gun shot. Through the open doorway, in the melee of rich suits and sparking gowns, Nightshade spotted Aaron and Merc working their way through the crowd. She accepted the relief that hit her seeing he was okay. For the briefest second, Merc caught her gaze over the crowd. Time stopped. The screams dimmed. Nightshade savored their connection, drinking in the sight of the man she loved. This would be the last time she saw him.
“Caroline, please. We have to go now. My man is waiting outside to get you to safety.” Rainier stepped into her line of sight, severing the last thin line of connection with Merc.
Another pop jerked Nightshade’s attention to see Merc making headway through the crowd, locked onto Rainier with fury.Shit.
“Come on, we gotta go now.” She spun and took off for the side entrance to the room. The sounds of the panicked crowd dulled as she hung a left down the back hallway.
Rainier’s footsteps thumped close on her heels. “I’ve finally got proof of his dealings. We can stop him once and for all.”
“No talk. Just run.” Nightshade picked up speed, knowing Merc would have seen them bolt. He’d be right behind them. No matter how thick or wild the crowd, Merc was an unrelenting force.
Rainier’s words replayed in her mind as she ran.He'd been helping her sister all along.Caroline had trusted this man to help her escape Cotter's clutches. And Nightshade had started to buy Cotter's doting father act.
She’d actually started to question whether she'd pegged him wrong. The words of her father, her real father, crashed through her."Cotter is a master of deceit, he spins webs of lies and he'll suck you in if you're not careful. He's already fooled the rest of the world…"
She’d been so confident, so goddamn cocky. She’d thought with all her knowledge of the man's evil and all her hate at what he’d done to her family and her team there was no way on Earth he'd ever be able to fool her.
And yet here she was, having been here nearly a week, dressed in a ball gown, her hair curled and her nails painted. Subconsciously sucked into this life of luxury and fake family. He'd tapped into a need she hadn't really known existed on such a deep level inside her.
Her need for a family.
And she had nearly let him convince her he could fill that untapped void…
Nightshade moved quickly down the narrow wood paneled hallway, past the startled wait staff in the kitchen, some of which were actually hiding behind the island trembling in fear. Idiots. As if a cabinet could save them from an attacker. "Get out."
The three men in their white tuxedos blinked up at her, unmoving. Before she could say another word, the General's deep voice boomed through the kitchen, "Get out!"
He yanked a gun from inside his tuxedo jacket and at the first flash of metal, they bolted from the kitchen toward the crowd.
Nightshade continued through a swinging wood door, down a narrow plain hallway with neutral tiled floors. At the end there was a white nondescript door. The door that would lead outside. Half expecting it to be locked, she grabbed the handle and gave a violent twist, stumbling outside in surprise when it swung open on well-oiled hinges.
Guests’ screams drifted across the backyard as she and Rainier escaped through the door on the other side of the house.
Nightshade cut a direct path to the woods lining the back perimeter. The thick vegetation would provide much needed cover and protection.
She needed to put some distance between herself and the house. Merc had seen her leaving and she knew without a doubt he’d be following. She’d nearly hit the tree line when a looming figure appeared like a ghost from the woods, blocking her escape. She pulled up short and threw her hands back, trying to protect the General.
The man towered over them. His soulless eyes as dark as his black painted face. He held a sidearm aimed straight at her head.
“Reaper, Jesus, you scared the shit out of me. How the hell do you move like that?” Rainier panted behind her.
Reaper didn’t blink.
“She’s fast, don’t let her out of your sight,” Rainier said, “Cotter will be out any second. We can handle him and then move out, I’ve got what I came for.”
Nightshade froze, sensing more than seeing Rainier move out from behind her, realizing she’d fallen straight into a trap. “What are you doing? I thought-“
“You thought exactly what I wanted you to think, Nightshade.” Rainier brushed an invisible speck of dust off his spotless tuxedo.
