𝐁𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄

37

Ethayn rushes Dieson to the hospital while I deal with unconscious Ali. I drag him by the legs to the kitchen and make a quick move to find rope in the garage and tie him up to the cabinet near the oven. I turn it on and eventually it blasts clear and hot heat.

Ali's slumped head bobs up, and his gaze focuses on me as his body lulls. "I thought I killed you. Is this heaven?"

"I don't think you're goin' there, buddy, but you might," I put my hands on my hips, proud of securing him the way I did.

"I'm going to let Dieson kill you. And then," I whisper, "Your sister."

He only laughs in my face, like I don't have the true upper hand here. "You love my sister too much. You wouldn't dare hurt her," Ali studies me, "But props to you throughout this whole thing. You've relatively handled yourself like a real Cerbey."

"I am a real Cerbey," I stand up straighter, "And when you're dead, I'll take your throne."

"But you don't want it. And our Dieson will only want to use you to control the empire," Ali smiles sickly as the realization makes me stumble backwards into the counter.

"Our-Our Dieson?" my heart pounds.

"Our Dieson," Ali laughs.

I grab the gun off of the counter from behind me, stalking towards him.

"You won't do it, Courtlynn," Ali whispers. "How will you explain to Father my death? And Ethayn is only loyal to me, not Father, not you. Not Dieson. I have men on the way. My own and some loyal to Father. I made sure I would make it out of here no matter what. When I found you and Dieson in the bed, I didn't know what I might need to expect."

"How long has he been playing me?" I demand.

"For a veryyy long time, Bunnie. But pawns don't have to know the full game," Ali smirks. "Only players."

"Maybe your biggest mistake was thinking that I wasn't a player on your court," I pick up the gun, and with shaky hands, squeeze the trigger.

Ali's body slumps and his head leaks blood. I shoot him again, this time between the eyes, letting out a sob as I back out of the kitchen. I break off into a run and go back upstairs to my room. I shower again, throw some clothes on, back Dieson and my bags and tuck the gun on safety into the edge of my sweatpants. I bring my phone with me, heading downstairs until I hear the front lock turn.

I freeze.

I was too late, Ali's men were already here.

I drop our things, bringing the gun up as I crouch down in the cover of the railing.

A hard-faced woman, a man missing an eye, and two wimpy guards with an array of small guns and big guns enter the house. The house is cold from the slight breeze that drifts through it. I try to keep my breathing quiet as I watch two of the security head up my way.

Shoot. Just do it, Courtlynn.

Someone's foot comes down right near where I hide, and I aim for their chest. As soon as the first shot is let out, the house is a gun fight. I aim for the second guy, then duck for the cover of the railing. The other guards come upstairs, running and looking around.

I shoot the one-eyed man in the other eye and he lets out a pained cry. I shoot again at his chest, almost missing it as he collapsed to the ground.

The stern woman and I are the only ones left.

"You don't want to die this early, little girl," she sneers.

I dodge to my right like a volleyball player on the court as she lets her big gun off. The automatic trills as she lets a rain of shots go across the air, aiming for me. I duck into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut and locking it. I run for the bathroom and shots ran through the door.

A few shots later and she's created a hole big enough to reach her hand in and to unlock the door knob. I lock myself in the bathroom and run out through the other side to a conjoining bedroom. I head for the window as the woman's fists pound down on the door and more shots begin. I ran my elbow into the window and don't look as I jump down, hoping that God got me.

I land, somewhat rolling, and make sure that I still have my gun as I stand up in the grass. My phone's in my pocket, probably cracked but still functional.

I have no bags and nothing to my name, but I break out into a run towards a waiting sedan, turned off.

I break through the glass, shots firing into the side of the vehicle. My adrenaline is the only thing keeping me moving. My hands don't shake as I turn the sedan around and speed down the road. I glance back at the rearview mirror as the woman stands out in the street, her gun in her grasp as she pants.

I know that more people will be after me soon, but I have to keep pushing forward. A few miles- well kilometers down, I ditch the sedan and switch cars. I don't know what else to do but break the glass and press the button to a Push Start vehicle. I got lucky, but I know that this luck won't remain.

I speed to the nearest hospital, hoping that word doesn't get back to Ethayn about any of this. I know that Ali said her loyalty only belonged to him, but she told me that she'd be on my side. I don't have many options but to believe her if I want any allies.

I swerve and narrowly miss the curb as I make my way to the hospital. I dump the car some streets back, turning off the GPS and attempting to clear the history in a rushed fashion. I don't know if I succeed or not, but I run the rest of the way across the street.

My phone has no numbers in it, not Ethayn's, not Dieson's. I come up to the front desk and no one is anymore suspicious of me than the next person. I easily make my way to Dieson's room, and then am told he was just moved to surgery.

A hand falls down on my shoulder, and I reach for the gun hidden underneath my shirt, before realizing  that it's just Ethayn. My weapon remains hidden away and I move from her. "Where's Dieson?" I ask, even though I already know he's in surgery.

"Surgery. The doctor's said he should be able to make it and recover over the course of a few days."

I glance around us at the bustling hospital, at the friendly nurses and doctors. "He might not have that long to recover. We need to go back to the U.S."

"Why? What happened? Does Ali know this?"

I stare at her until she realizes.

"Ali isn't going to be going back to the U.S., is he?"

"He tried to kill me, then Dieson," I explain quickly, "I need to know that you're on our side."

"You're trying to take over the throne. Shit," Ethayn's eyes widen.

"I don't want to take over, but it's our best bet. To be out of the hands of my father."

"You can't just take over and do nothing-

"I'll run the empire," I tell her seriously.

"And I know you'll run it well," Ethayn whips out her phone, "Give me your number, first of all, then I'll give you Dieson's."

Ethayn runs off to get coffee, sending me an apologetic glance.

I type in the last digit left of Ethayn's number as she walks away, feeling my phone get hotter.

I drop it on the floor, the glass splintering everywhere as red numbers begin to blink on it. She had given me some sort of code. And I didn't want to find out what would be at the end of that count down.

I pick up the phone again, despite everything in me saying I didn't want to. I grab the phone, ignoring concerned looks thrown my way, as I run for a window. I force it open and flung the phone outside into the wild, open lot besides the building, overrun with grass and wildlife.

So Ethayn betrayed me too. I need to kill her and that woman. My father doesn't need to know that I'm coming for him.

But maybe he's always known that I would.