“Don’t be scared,” I hiss before pointing the gun at her shackles. “It’ll be over in a second.”
Rain shrieks as I let out the shot, but this time I don’t miss. Her cuffs fall open and she cries out as I grab her, pulling her into my arms and racing back outside. There’s no trace of the two brothers, but the gunshots from downstairs are still ringing out, telling me it’s not safe to go down there. My priority is Rain. I need to get her back to the Palacio before it’s too fucking late.
I rush down the stairs and out to the gardens. Dead bodies litter the ground. Bile rises in my throat as I recognize two of my own men.
“Close your eyes,” I whisper in Rain’s ears. She whimpers, then does as she’s told. “Good girl.”
I race across the gardens and toward the hole in the fence we made earlier.
“Go through here,” I order her. “Run straight forward until you see Phoenix, he stayed back to wait for you because he’s been injured.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “What about you?”
“I’ll be right there.”
“Where are you going, Heath?” Her hands desperately cling to me as I try to get her to climb through the fence. “Please, don’t leave me.”
I’m instantly torn between my desperate thirst for revenge with both brothers and my love for the woman in front of me. In the end, her pleading eyes leave me no choice.
“Let’s go.”
I push her through the fence, following closely behind. The barbed wire snags at my skin, but I ignore it just like the burning pain in my thigh. I race with Rain until we reach the meeting point. Phoenix shoots up when he sees us, grinning widely. But my solemn expression speaks for itself—it must tell him we’ve lost many men.
“Liberato?” he asks.
“Wait for him,” I nod, my heart pounding. I have no way of knowing whether L’s still okay, and I can only pray he forgives me for leaving him behind. But Rain looks so fucking exhausted and broken, I realize I have no choice. She surely won’t want to leave without me.
We get into a car, and I knock on the partition separating us from the driver. The car screeches and pulls away from the clearing. We’re on our way.
I wince at the pain in my thigh as Rain practically climbs onto my lap. I expected tears, screaming, anger, but there’s nothing now that we’re finally on our way to safety. She’s numb, broken, quiet. I wonder whether I’ll ever get her back, the way she was before that bastard took her.
My mind fills with thoughts of what he made her do. One by one, I’ll get those confessions out of my Sunshine, and then I’m going to send a bullet through every man that hurt her.
“You’re okay now,” I whisper in Rain’s here. “I’m here with you now. Nothing’s going to happen to you. You’re safe with me.”
She doesn’t respond, merely clings to me even tighter. Finally, she whimpers against my shoulder, whispering, “Please, Heath. It hurts.”
“Where?” Panicked, I check her body for bullet wounds but there’s nothing. “Where are you hurting, Rain?”
She gives me another pleading look and I instantly know they did worse than shoot her.
“Here.” I pull out a needle I’d been saving for tonight, and load it up in front of my shaking girl. I push up her sleeve and try to be as gentle as possible as I plunge the injection into her forearm. “This will help with any pain you’re feeling. It will make you sleepy. Give in to it, Rain. Let yourself sleep.”
She settles into the crook of my arm and soon enough, her breathing becomes heavier, and I know she’s asleep.
My gaze remains locked on the window, looking for any sign of trouble. We may have won this battle, but the war is far from over.
Chapter 11
RAIN
RAIN
The pain upon waking up is almost unbearable. I groan, sitting up in the unfamiliar bed, surprised I’m not shackled today. Then, the events that transpired earlier make me gasp out loud.
“Rain.”
I raise my eyes to find Heath sitting by my bed. He looks tired and angry, but his features soften as he sits down next to me. I recoil from his touch.
“Don’t be scared, it’s just me. You know I won’t hurt you.”
Uncertainly, I nod. “Am I back home?”
“Yes, you’re at the Palacio,” he mutters. “It’s been about twelve hours since we came back. It’s four in the afternoon right now.”
“Are you okay?” Instantly, panic seeps through my voice as I notice his bandaged leg. “Were you hurt?”
“A bullet grazed me, but I’m fine.” He takes my trembling hand and places it on his chest. I feel another heavily bandaged area there. “I was shot here too, when you were kidnapped. That’s why I couldn’t come after you.”