“Who are they?” Raven’s frantic voice came to my ears.
“I don’t know. Stay behind me.” I went up to another guard and gave an order. “Release all the prisoners. All hands on deck.” He took off to get the keys.
I ran through the camp until I made it to the stables. I unlocked the doors and found a horse that was already saddled. “Here. Take her to the edge of the forest behind your old cabin.”
She took the reins. “Why?”
“Does it look like I have time to explain? Just fucking do it.” I left her side and ran back to the center of the camp.
Alix was handing out guns to the guards. When he saw me run up to him, he tossed me a rifle.
“I need a handgun too.”
Alix pulled one out of his pocket and handed it over.
I gave other orders in the camp, but as the minutes passed, it became more chaotic. We’d never practiced for this outcome because no one ever knew about our existence. I had no idea who was marching on the outside.
The front doors started to creak as our enemies continued to slam into the wood and try to break it down.
We were outnumbered two to one without the girls, and we were unprepared, but we still had to do whatever we could to hold our ground.
A hand grabbed my arm.
I looked down at Raven, who was out of breath because she’d run all the way here from the tree line. I pulled the handgun out of my back pocket and gave it to her. “Do you remember how to get to the chateau? Ride there now—as fast as you can.”
She took the gun but didn’t even look at it. “What? What about you? Aren’t you coming with me?”
“No. I have to stay here.”
“Why? You don’t owe these guys anything.”
No, I didn’t. But it still wasn’t who I was. “I can’t turn my back. This is my camp. I will fight to defend it. You have to go.”
She stepped back from me slightly, her expression hurt like I’d just slapped her with my palm. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
The doors almost burst because their force was making the hinges split off. They would be in the camp any second.
I didn’t have time for this, and the longer she argued, the angrier she made me. “I need you to go. Now. I will meet you there when I can.”
She didn’t walk away. “I’m not gonna leave you!”
I grabbed her by the arm and shoved her back, treating her like I did the first moment we met. “I told you to go! Now fucking go! I don’t have time to babysit you. You don’t even know how to use a gun. Get the fuck out of my sight so I can do what needs to be done.” As much as it pained me to possibly end things forever this way, I turned away and moved to the gate the second it opened.
The men entered on horses, shooting their guns and aiming at anybody they saw
I looked behind me to see where she was.
She was gone.
It was a short-lived battle.
Battle wasn’t even the right word for it.
More like a massacre.
The only ones who were spared were the prisoners. The crew obviously intended to use them for their own labor, so they returned them to the cabins and locked them inside.
The guards were executed.
One by one.
Men I’d known for almost a decade were killed with a bullet to the brain.
Our guns were taken from us, and we were forced to kneel on the ground in a line. Alix was on my left. Eric was on my right. Nathan was on the other side of him.
I wasn’t the kind of man to give up, but most of the guards weren’t trained for hand-to-hand combat, and they weren’t great with a gun either. With a siege like this, they were completely unprepared, and they panicked the whole time.
I was only one man, and I couldn’t do it all.
Now, I was on my knees, waiting for my execution.
A man stood in front of us, a cigar sticking out the side of his mouth. He was in black with a black leather jacket, boots covering the hem of his jeans. With his arms crossed over his chest, he stared at us. He sucked on his cigar and let the smoke dissipate from his mouth. He pulled the cigar out of his mouth to speak. “Which one of you is Magnus?”
How did they know my name?
Even though the guards hated me, they didn’t rat me out.
I had no reason to hide. “Me.” I was the one in charge, so my execution would be special.
He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. “Tell Napoleon to come over here.”
My entire body went rigid when I heard that name.
Napoleon.
There was no point in spending my last moments angry, but I was furious. I didn’t like Napoleon, warned Fender about him, and we’d only been working with him for a month… That was all it took.
He betrayed us.
He figured out where we operated. He must’ve followed Fender here and waited until he left.
I took no solace in being right.
I wished I’d been wrong.
Napoleon walked over from one of the cabins, taking his time while using his black pommeled cane. The tip dug into the soil and got dirty with every step, but one of his cronies would probably wipe it down when he was finished. For a man who needed a cane, he didn’t seem to struggle getting around, riding seven hours on horseback to get to this camp.
The cane wasn’t a crutch.
It was a distraction.
He joined our group and stood directly in front of me. I seemed to be the only person he was interested in because his eyes were reserved for me.
I held his gaze without blinking.
My back was to the rear of the camp, the forest where Raven had escaped with the horse. Her face was a blurry vision in my mind, the woman I found too late in life.
Napoleon stared for a while until a grin slowly moved on to his lips. “Looks like you were right.”
“If you see Fender before I do, tell him I said I told you so.”
He gave a slight chuckle. “You’re brave. A lot braver than I would be if I were on my knees about to be executed.”
“You’ll find out when Fender gets to you.”
“I highly doubt that. I’ve killed all of his men, taken his drugs, taken his partnerships…what’s he going to do? His own brother warned him what I was, and he didn’t listen. He’s not a smart man.”
“But he’s a vengeful one.”
“Alright.” He lifted his cane and handed it to one of his men. “I’ll pass on your message.”
The guy took the cane and handed him a revolver.
“I’ll start on the outside and work my way in.” He pointed the gun at Alix’s head.
Alix panicked. “Wait, no—”
He pulled the trigger.
Alix jolted backward and fell, dead before he hit the ground. I could feel the blood spray on my arms. I didn’t hesitate at the sound, and I didn’t feel bad listening to the gunshot that took his life.
He got what he deserved.
And I’d get what I deserved.
Napoleon pointed the gun at Nathan next.
An audible dripping sound hit my ears, and I knew he’d pissed himself.
Napoleon laughed. “At least one always pisses their pants…” He pulled the trigger, and Nathan collapsed just the way Alix had, this time falling face first.
I didn’t look.