Groaning and the sound of heavy breathing came from inside. “I don’t get you, Mackenzie. I suppose there’s nothing I can offer you.”
“Byron can spare you if he wants to,” Mackenzie said. “It means nothing to me either way.”
I walked through the blood splatters and followed the crimson trail into the bathroom. Hendrix sat against the side of the porcelain tub, clutching his injured left leg. He’d grabbed a hand towel to slow the bleeding.
“What do you want?” Hendrix pleaded.
“It’s over,” I simply said. The more I talked to him—the more he would try to reason with me—and the better chance of more things going wrong. This man couldn’t be allowed to go free. I’d started the job and now I had to finish it.
“How can this be about the girl I had? How long did I have her, a week? There isn’t a scratch on her entire body. Mackenzie had one and I’m sure he can’t possibly say the same. I know what he does to them. What is it?”
“Her name is Piper,” I said. “You animals can’t even treat them like human beings.”
“You’re right, we’ve been callous,” Hendrix said.
“You were in the limo with Ramsey when he went after Victoria—”
“So was he!” Hendrix pointed at the door.
“Yeah, but I already knew that. He brought me to you.”
“Then I’ll give you the other man. There was one more.”
Mackenzie appeared in the doorway. “Don’t beg for the same deal. This is pathetic. You wanted to kill him and here’s your chance.”
I turned back to Mackenzie. “Shut up and back off,” I yelled, waving the gun in his direction.
Mackenzie didn’t even flinch. He still had his now empty glass in one hand and his gun in the other. “I’ll just grab myself another while you finish up. If you take too long, we’ll end up spending the night here—and I’m assuming you don’t want that.” He disappeared from the doorway.
What am I doing? I gazed upon the scared and bleeding man before me and… and felt sorry for him. He didn’t beg, didn’t plead, but simply lowered his head and closed his eyes. I almost wanted to retrieve his gun and put it in his hand. If I walked out of that room, I probably wouldn’t have the courage to return. I breathed in, raised my weapon, and exhaled as I pulled the trigger.
Hendrix’s head fell back and his body slumped against the side of the tub. I couldn’t even look at him. I spun on my heel and walked out.
“Is it finally done?” Mackenzie asked, perched against the island countertop with a newly filled drink in hand. His pistol rested on the counter.
“Why the hell did you tell him?” My adrenaline was spiking, my arms shaking from the surge.
“It seemed you needed a bit more incentive. He wasn’t going to kill himself. And besides, it made it more of a game,” Mackenzie answered with a sly smile. “I was confident you could still handle yourself, though that confidence was waning by the end of it. Can I pour you one?”
I nodded. If I ever needed a drink, it was right now.
“Well, it’s done. I must say, you finally got your hands dirty. How do you feel?” Mackenzie asked as he passed me the drink.
“Like shit.”
“I can’t say you look much better.” Mackenzie took a swig, then grabbed his gun and stuffed the barrel into the waistband of his pants.
I guessed he wasn’t going to kill me after all, so it seemed as good of a time as any to ask. “Now, who was the fourth man in the limo?”
Mackenzie smiled, what could almost be described as a genuine smile, and sipped from his scotch. “I’ll do you one better.”
34
Victoria
Gabriel half walked, half carried Prince Byron into the house. Duke Mackenzie stumbled along behind him. As they drew closer into the outside lights, I realized there was blood on all their clothes.
“Is he hurt?” I asked, my heart pounding at the sight of him. “What happened.”
“Victoria… I—I’m okay,” the Prince groaned, his words labored and slurred. His left arm was draped over Gabriel’s shoulder.
“Then what happened?” I wanted someone to answer me.
Standing beside me, Kimera pulled me back so the guys could get through the front door. “Give them some space,” she said.
Duke Mackenzie gave me a weak smile as he passed, banged his shoulder against the door frame, and tripped on the threshold. He didn’t go down, but lurched forward and had to regain his balance. Gabriel led them to the stairs.
“That smell,” I said. “That wasn’t just blood.”
“Alcohol,” Kimera said. “At least I think it was.”
I followed them up the stairs, with Kimera trailing behind me.
“Was that Byron?” Kale called from the foyer. “Did he just come back with Mackenzie?”
“Yes, yes, and don’t ask—I have no idea,” I said, knowing his next question, and ran up the rest of the stairs.
“Let me know if you need any help!” Kale’s voice echoed through the second-floor hallway.
Mackenzie had already disappeared into one of the bedrooms, but I didn’t care about him. The door to the room Prince Byron had stumbled into was still open and I could hear him arguing with Gabriel to let him be—or let him pee or let him sleep—I wasn’t quite sure. Gabriel was tugging off the Prince’s second boot when I entered the room. The blood seemed dry, so it wouldn’t get all over the sheets, and from what I could tell as I approached, it didn’t seem like it was his.
“What can I do?” I asked, the question mostly directed at Gabriel.
“Let him sleep it off,” Gabriel said. “He’ll have a wicked hangover tomorrow, but he’ll be okay.”
“He’s drunk?” I asked incredulously.
“More than I’ve ever seen him,” Gabriel said. “And before you ask, he’ll have some explaining to do in the morning because I really don’t know what Mackenzie and he were up to. And it wasn’t like I could get good information from them in their current states. I’m just thankful they still had enough coherency left to call me to pick them up and not attempt to drive back on their own.”
“Hi… Victoria…” Prince Byron said, gazing up at me with cloudy eyes. “I’m okay.”
“You said that,” I said angrily. Now was when we needed him to be clearheaded, not in a drunken stupor. This wasn’t the time to go gallivanting with dropped guard—especially with Duke Mackenzie. What was he thinking?
“Oh, sorry.” He rolled onto his side. “The strange thing about you is that I don’t know if I’m seeing double or if there are actually two of you here.” He gave an embarrassed chuckle.
I looked to Gabriel. “Has he thrown up?”
“Not since I picked them up.”
“Should he?”
“I don’t think he’s so bad that we should force him to. I think he just needs some water and sleep.”
I turned back and saw Kimera standing in the doorway, and she anticipated my request before I could even ask. “I’ll be right back with a glass of water.”
“And if you’ve got any painkillers,” Gabriel added.
“There should be something,” I said.
“I’ll ask,” Kimera said as she disappeared from the doorway.
The Prince’s eyes were closed now and I couldn’t tell if he was already out. His breathing was heavy and some dried blood speckled his visible cheek. He curled his legs into a fetal position and stuffed his hands between his thighs. He suddenly looked half his age.
“I’m gonna go,” Gabriel said. “I’d let him sleep.”
I nodded. “I will, but I’ll stick around for a bit in case he needs something.” I took a seat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on his calf.
Gabriel passed Kimera in the doorway, the both of them nearly running into each other. Kimera approached with the glass of water swishing in her hand.
“Go ahead and place it on the nightstand,” I said. “Thank you.”
She left us alone, closin
g the door on her way out. I sighed, gazing down at my passed-out prince. I hated the fact that he left the estate with Duke Mackenzie and hadn’t told anyone where they were going—or at least someone outside of his own men that may have been ordered to keep his secret.
What were you doing? I wanted to think he trusted me after all we’d been through. There was probably a very logical explanation that I wasn’t seeing right now in my agitated state. I tried to give him the benefit of doubt and hoped his explanation in the morning would be worthy of it.
I dampened a hand towel from the en suite and cleaned the blood off Prince Byron’s cheeks. I wasn’t going to try and undress him, so he was about as comfortable as I could make him. I set the desk trashcan at the edge of the bed, just in case. I didn’t want to disturb him by wrenching the comforter from under him, so found an extra blanket from the closet and covered his tightly curled body. Then I turned off the lights and lay beside him, hoping we could get through the night without any further incidents.
It took me a long time to get to sleep, afraid that Prince Byron may throw up without waking and choke on it. But my fear subsided over time and I was finally lulled to sleep by the rhythm of his heavy breathing.
I did awake to the sound of a noise, though when I leaned over to look at the Prince, he was still deeply asleep. For a moment, I thought I had dreamt the noise and lay my head back down on the pillow. My eyes remained open as another sound startled me. It seemed to have been from outside. I couldn’t place it and tried to listen more closely.
Then the whole house was rocked by an explosion.
35
Victoria
I bolted upright in bed. My ears were ringing from the deafening sound. I glanced down at the Prince and he hadn’t even been disturbed.
No, no, no; this isn’t good!
I shook him—lightly at first, then more violently to bring him back to life. He stirred and rolled onto his back, groaning something unintelligible.
“Prince Byron, you have to wake up!” I urged, now lightly slapping his face.
“What… what do you want?” His voice was scratchy and hoarse.
Now horrific sounds of yelling and gunfire erupted from outside, and I knew we needed to do something fast.
“Do you hear that?” I pleaded. “They’re back; they’re here for us.”
“Victoria!” a panicked voice cried from the hallway.
I knew the voice instantly. “Mina, I’m in here!” I yelled, but also jumped off the bed and sprinted to the door.
More of the bedroom doors were opening as Mina ran up and down the hallway. The other kids were huddled around the doorway to Mina’s room, but everyone launched in my direction when I waved them over. Kimera also came running, followed by Johanna and Constance.
“What’s happening?” Johanna cried, her whole body shaking. She looked more petrified than the younger kids.
“My other sisters—the other clones who attacked Duke Mackenzie’s estate and Kale’s camp are here for us,” I said, breathlessly as I closed and locked the door. I didn’t expect the lock to do much, but it at least made me feel better.
“What’s wrong with him?” Constance asked, standing over the Prince who now had his eyes open and was trying to understand why half the house was in our room.
“Do you know that for sure?” Johanna asked. She hugged Mina.
“I don’t know anything for sure,” I said, then turned to Constance. “He’s drunk or hungover—I don’t know which at this point—but definitely not well.”
“Perfect.” She sneered at him. “Our hero.”
“Check the drawers of the nightstand for a gun,” I instructed Constance. I had seen one on him when Gabriel brought him in, but it was gone by the time I found him in bed. I sure hoped Gabriel hadn’t taken it.
“Found one,” Constance said.
Finally, some good news, I thought and grabbed it out of her hand.
Gabriel and Rod stormed into the room a few moments later. I swung around, ready to shoot.
“Whoa!” Gabriel yelled, hands flying up in front of his body. “It’s just us.”
“Sorry,” I said, immediately pointing the barrel toward the floor.
“How’s he doing?” Gabriel was at the Prince’s side in a flash, forcing Constance out of the way. “Your Highness, we have a situation. Can you walk?”
“I—I think so,” Prince Byron said groggily, finally sounding like he was understanding what was being asked of him. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, but seemed hesitant to stand.
“Drink this.” Gabriel handed him the glass of water.
“Maybe it would do more good pouring it over his head,” Constance remarked.
Johanna and the kids were now peering out the window, trying to see what was happening below.
“Get away from the window,” Rod demanded. “We don’t want them to see exactly which room we’re in. You’ll lead them right to us. We need a minute to plan.” He turned to Gabriel. “And speaking of a plan—do you have any ideas?”
“Do you two have any extra guns?” Constance asked.
Both Rod and Gabriel nodded. “Two each,” Gabriel clarified.
“Where’s Piper?” I asked.
“And Mom?” Johanna added.
No good answers came from the posed questions.
There was too much going on and I didn’t even know where to begin. Was there time to search the house for the others, or were they already inside? Gunshots continued to pop from outside, but the frequency was lessening. All I could think of was there weren’t as many people to fire back anymore—more people were dead.
I looked to the Prince still seated on the side of the bed, now taking some careful sips of water. I feared he was as good as already shot, and I dreaded seeing him in the condition in which he’d been brought to Kale’s house—writhing in pain as blood spilled from his abdomen.
And where was Kale? My head hurt from trying to keep track of everyone.
“I need to go after Piper,” I said, finally deciding on what to do next.
“We don’t know if they’re in the house yet,” Gabriel said, now kneeling before the Prince, lacing up his boots. It’s safer to stay together now.”
“It’s just this hallway.” But unfortunately, Lady Ramsey’s room was on the next level up.
“Is there another staircase?” Rod asked.
“No; just the one in the front.”
“So that’s their only way up?”
“Yes?” After all the secret passageways of the palace, I wasn’t so sure. I looked to Johanna for confirmation. It wasn’t registering with Johanna that I was asking her a question. “Are there any other ways up besides the front staircase?”
“Umm… If there are, I’ve never been told about them,” Johanna said.
“So I’ll take that as a no,” Rod said, his patience too short for twenty questions. “I think it’s going to be too dangerous to get these kids down the stairs. Since we have four—five guns, I think our best bet is to use the hallway as a firing gauntlet. We can station a gunner at each doorway and pick them off one by one as they come up the stairs.”
“Unless they simply use more explosives and take out the lot of us,” Constance said, positive as always.
“If that’s the case, then we’re all dead anyway,” Rod said.
“But I don’t think they want us all dead,” I chimed in. “The Bethany that had attacked Duke Mackenzie’s place specifically went to retrieve Constance, Piper, and me—then her guys gunned the place down. The other one went to Kale’s camp to kill Frank; but I also think she was looking for Princess Amelia. They want us back.”
“But why? What are we to them?” Constance asked.
“I think they want to fix our chips.”
“Chips?” Johanna asked.
“We don’t have time to contemplate their motives,” Gabriel said. “We need to focus on getting out of this alive.” He was on his feet now, his face hard set with determi
nation.
A terrible banging came from below, and I feared the front door would not be able to handle much abuse. There was also the window that Kale had broken when he’d found me the night I’d killed Ramsey. It had been boarded up with plywood, but could be easily wrenched off. Now the gunfire sounded like it was directly below us—and I knew they’d gotten inside the house.
Gabriel handed his backup pistol to Prince Byron. “You are staying here and will be the last line of defense. You can—”
“I know,” Prince Byron said. “I can do it.” He sounded relatively coherent. I guessed the thought of imminent death had a sobering effect.
“Who knows how to use this?” Rod held up his additional sidearm.
Without an audible reply, Constance reached out her hand. He didn’t ask additional questions because we simply needed all the help we could get.
Gabriel slowly opened the door and peered into the hallway. Then not a moment later, he flung the door all the way open and aimed his gun down the hallway. “Kale, is that you?”
Kale? My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his name, and then froze when I didn’t hear an immediate reply.
By the time I reached the doorway, Kale was at Gabriel’s side. His tee shirt was covered in blood and he had what looked like the torn off sleeve of a flannel shirt tied around his left bicep. Numerous ribbons of blood tracked down his arm.
“Oh my God, what happened?” I gasped.
“I’m okay,” he said. “Just grazed. Is Ariel in here?”
“She’s here with Mina and the others,” I said.
He let out a long breath, noticeably relieved, then his mind shot back to the situation we were in the middle of.
More bursts of gunshots came from the first floor. Palace soldiers would be coming up those stairs any second.
“We need to get in position, if we’re going to hold them off,” Gabriel said. “We’re out of time.”
“What are we doing?” Kale asked.
“Each taking a doorway,” Gabriel said. “So we can pick them off one at a time as they come up the stairs. According to Victoria, there’s no other way to come up.”
Royal Threat Page 19
