𝘊𝘖𝘕 𝘖𝘍 𝘙𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘎𝘌 | ᴘʀᴇ ʀᴅʀ2

Chapter Ten

The entire plantation knew they were here now. Gunfire rang out in all directions. Rosalie evaded another bullet whizzing by as she pulled John behind a storage crate for cover. The men firing at them on the lefthand side of the house where they took cover were only a fraction of the ones on duty. Rosalie didn't want to stick around to find out when the rest of them would show.

"I'm sorry!" Appolozgized John as he fumbled with his revolver, reloading it. "I ain't mean to cause all this trouble!"

Rosalie shook her head, "It doesn't matter! We just need to get out of here now! Arthur, Dutch, and Hosea... dammit, I don't know if we should check the house, or just leave and meet them later!"

She grit her teeth and peered over the crate, eyes scanning for any sight of the trio. There were no familiar faces, only unfriendly men pointing guns in their direction and firing.

Rifle in hand, she aimed over the top of the crate and shot at any guard she saw. The gun kicked back against her shoulder with each pull of the trigger, an unfortunate feeling against her aching body after she had been thrown around like a sack of potatoes by that male guard in the study. She didn't even want to think about her sore, busted lip, or the way her cheek stung with what she assumed was a cut from the glass window.

John was peaking over the crate beside her, firing his revolver. "What are we doin'?!"

Rosalie shook her head and let out a cry of outrage. They may have gotten a lot of cash from this heist, but damn, was this a mess! Now she was being forced to make important decisions on their escape.

"We can't leave yet! They left their horses at the front of the plantation, so if they wanted to get away, they had to push forward and go through the house! If we see them and they look like they're doing fine, then we make a break for it!" Rosalie shouted over the gunfire.

John looked over at her wildly, but there was determination in his eyes as he met her gaze through his hair. "Alright! I'm followin' you!" He called.

Rosalie nodded toward the open window into the study. "Back through there! The house will give us cover!"

Hoping John was going to be as avid about following her as he seemed, Rosalie sprinted out from behind the crate and took off toward the window. Bullets whizzed past her as she ran, but she didn't bother pointing her rifle in their direction, eyes locked on the entryway into the house the broken window offered.

With a grunt, Rosalie leaped through the window into the study, struggling a bit to cover the height of the jump from the ground to the house. Her boots smacked the hardwood as she landed, clicking against the ground as she sprinted to the doorway and pressed herself to the wall. John mirrored her and pressed against the wall on the other side of the doorframe.

Rifle in hand, she took a deep breath and met John's gaze across the door. He gave her a firm nod.

With newfound courage, Rosalie slammed into the hallway, the door flying open as she began firing at the guards who had slid in through the front door. John faced the windows and fired, ducking under the bullets that whirred into the home and shattered the glass. He held an arm over his face as stray glass shards flew in his direction. Rosalie grit her teeth as she angled her face away from the glass the best she could as they made their way down the hall.

At the front door now, she and John were pressed shoulder to shoulder against the wall underneath the windows. Glass flew every time a shot was fired into the house. They held their arms over their heads to protect themselves from the shards, gasping and crying out.

"Where the hell are they?!" Cried John, looking up at her.

There were thundering footsteps. Dutch came barreling around the corner, his bag stuffed to the brim with random trinkets and sweat at his brow. He shouted and shielded his face from the flying glass, hiding himself around the corner in a crouch. His gaze met Rosalie's across the way once he recognized her.