Page 560 of Reign

He’s waiting for me to expose myself.

Rafael is coming.

I could stay behind the vehicle until he does.

Then I picture Elena inside the concrete pipe, surrounded by darkness, listening to every shot and wondering which one reached me.

I move.

The final gunman fires from higher on the slope.

The bullet enters my thigh above the knee.

My leg folds beneath me.

I hit the ground hard enough to lose my grip on the gun. Pain detonates across my hip and abdomen, bright and nauseating.

The man steps out from behind the tree.

He thinks I’m finished.

I reach for the gun before he can fire again.

My fingers close around the grip.

I roll onto my back and shoot.

The first round catches him in the stomach.

He staggers.

The second to the head drops him.

I keep the gun trained on his body until I’m sure he isn’t moving.

Four men. All down.

I listen for another engine. Another door. Footsteps approaching from the road.

Nothing.

That doesn’t mean no one else is coming.

I plant my hand against the ground and force myself upright.

My injured leg takes half my weight before collapsing again.

I fall onto my side.

The movement drives fire through my thigh. Blood has soaked the denim around the wound and is already spreading toward my knee.

I drag my belt free, loop it high around my thigh, and pull until my vision blurs.

It will have to be enough.

The phone is with Elena.

Rafael will find her. He will protect her.