Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
MACKENZIE
I can see her. Gabriella. She’s sitting at a table, pencil in hand, drawing something. Amelia sits beside her, a gun resting in her lap like a silent threat.
“Wait for it, Mackenzie. Wait for the signal,” Hela whispers. The men that flank us step forward, poised, ready.
Waiting is something I’ve never been good at, and my pulse pounds in my ears. Every second feels like an eternity. My daughter is right there. So close I could almost reach her. But one wrong move, one misstep, and Amelia could take her away from me forever.
Gabriella shifts in her seat, her fingers smudged with pencil dust as she sketches something on the paper in front of her. My throat tightens. She is so beautiful, seemingly unaware of the chaos surrounding her. Of me - the mother who failed her.
I clench my jaw. No. Not again. Not ever again.
Hela grips my wrist, a silent reminder to hold steady. The moment stretches unbearably, but then—a distant explosion rocks the building, rattling the walls and sending dust cascading from the ceiling.
The signal.
Amelia snaps to attention, her grip tightening on the gun as she rises to her feet. Gabriella startles, her head whipping up, eyes wide with confusion and fear.
I don’t wait. I don’t hesitate.
I move.
My men burst through the door, and in seconds I lunge forward, my knife flashing in the dim light, aiming for Amelia’s wrist. She twists away at the last second, and the gun goes off, the sound deafening in the small room. Pain sears through my side, but I don’t stop. I can’t. I slam into her, knocking the gun from her grip as we crash to the floor. Gabriella screams and it is the most terrifying sound I’ve ever heard.
We grapple, Amelia’s nails clawing at my face as she snarls like a feral animal. I slam my fist into her ribs, making her grunt in pain, but she’s strong—stronger than I expected. My vision blurs for a second, the pain in my side intensifying, but I push through it, reaching for the gun that slid across the floor.
Amelia beats me to it.
She grabs the weapon, shoving it against my ribs with a manic gleam in her eyes. “You were never good enough,” she hisses. “Not as my daughter, not as a mother. Gabriella deserves better.”
Rage and pain blur together. I drive my knee into her stomach, making her choke on a gasp, and we roll again, fighting for control. The gun goes off again, the bullet embedding into the wall inches from my head.
Then, a loud crash—Hela, slamming into Amelia from behind, knocking her off me. I suck in a ragged breath, blood soaking my side. But there’s no time to dwell on it. I scramble to my feet, reaching for Gabriella just as Creed and the others burst into the room.
Amelia is restrained, her face twisted in fury. My mother. My enemy.
I clutch Gabriella to me, my body shaking. I won’t let go. I won’t lose her again.