Chapter 56 Rhys
Rhys
The remaining SUV cuts right, sailing at top speed into the snowy side road.
“Uh oh, I think the driver is dead,” Lachlan says.
“Shite!” I watch the car flip over, creating a spray of snow and flames.
“Land this thing!” I yell, and the ground rushes up until we collide with the snow, jerking to a stop.
I hop out and sprint across the icy terrain, boots slipping, lungs searing, and praying to God in between breaths and tears.
Please let Fallon be alive in that burning wreck.
It’s insane to hope that my girlfriend is in an overturned car, but I do. With everything in me.
I get to the upside-down SUV. Flames lick the undercarriage, and the air breathes heat and smoke from burning rubber and metal.
“Fallon!” I bellow, banging on the crumpled door. “Fallon, love, if you can hear me, crouch down, I’m breaking the window!”
I use my foot, and the glass crumples. Red hair in a wrecked bun covered by pale hands comes into view, and I nearly break down. Fallon looks up, and the flash of her big hazel eyes makes me feel like crumpling.
That and she’s covered in fucking blood. Oh no…
“Rhys!” she screams, struggling against the seatbelt.
“I’m here, baby!” I reach in, praying it’s not her blood.
“Oh, God, I’m stuck!”
“I got it.” I rip my blade from its sheath and slash the belt.
She tumbles into my arms and clutches my shoulders. The world narrows to her heartbeat against mine.
She’s shaking, but she’s not broken. “You came back for me.”
“I’m here, love. I’m sorry I left. I had no choice. I had to make them believe I didn’t want you. Please forgive me.”
“I knew you didn’t mean it,” she cries into my chest. “I knew it.”
Through tear-soaked eyes, I glance into the car and notice the seat next to her is…empty. “Where’s Kosta? Was he in the car with you?”
“He was. I—” She turns to point. “Oh no.”
Kosta is climbing out of the broken windshield, injured, covered in blood, but alive. He glances at me and then darts for the grove of trees.
Behind me, heavy boots crunch through snow. Shane, Connor, and Trace come rushing toward us.
Something in my chest cracks open. The empire. They came for me. They’ve got my back.
“Trace!” I yell. “Hold Fallon. That motherfucker Kosta is trying to get away.”
I round the car and chase after the man who tried to take Fallon away from me. When he’s close, I lunge and tackle him to the ground. “I got you, you miserable fuck.”
I roll him over, and something knocks into my hand. A…shoe. With a golden heel sticking out of his neck. Fallon. She fought back.
Oh Christ, I love her.
I don’t think. I don’t give Kosta a chance to beg. I ready my knife and growl, “Interesting fashion choice, Orlov. But that stiletto just needs a little adjustment.”
I shove the shoe in deeper, and he gurgles blood. Fallon can have the assist on this one.
“You’re going to die today, Orlov, because of what you did to my sweet Fallon, you filthy piece of shite.
” I’m filled with loathing and fury as I meet his eyes.
Using my knife, I slice what’s left of his throat so deep that his head practically falls off.
“This is for Fallon. Fallon. Fallon. Fallon fucking Nova.”
I push the monster’s bloody carcass aside and stand, taking several deep breaths as I return to my human settings.
From where I am, I can tell Fallon didn’t see what I just did. It might help her to see him dead, but I won’t let her, not without his head. I dislodge Fallon’s shoe and pick up Orlov’s body. Howling, I haul it onto the engine’s flames, hoping he’ll be burnt to dust by the time the firemen show up.
“Troopers inbound,” Balor’s voice booms from the comm. “ETA five minutes. Cloaking engaged.”
“All cameras in the area have been wiped,” Shane says. “Those Empire cars have fake registrations.”
“Is this yours?” I hold up the shoe before hoisting Fallon into my arms.
“Yes.” Her arms loop tight around my neck. “But I don’t want it.”
“I’ll burn it with these horrible clothes you’re wearing when we get home.” I kiss her nose. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Lachlan’s voice roars over the chaos from the helicopter and the engulfed SUV, “We’re not waiting for a cleanup crew. Get on the bird now! All of you.”
The flames roar higher, and I feel the intense heat on my back as I carry Fallon away from the wreckage. I set her gently into the chopper, her fingers gripping mine.
Trace crushes in beside me, and we lift off, rotors screaming, wind howling.
The carnage below shrinks with every meter we lift higher into the air. The fire and twisted metal dissolve into a white blur.
Trace leans close, his voice low over the headset. “She okay?”
I look at Fallon. Hair wild, dress torn and full of blood, eyes blazing even through the exhaustion. I ignore the bruises because they’re her coat of armor.
She’s fucking tough, my woman.
“She’s okay,” I say, my voice steady, fierce, and final. It’s a vow, not a report. “And she’s mine. Forever.”