Queen of Quarantine (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep #4) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,157

reached the entrance hall, we slipped into a servant’s staircase and waited, stashing the gasoline cans out of sight in the shadows. Kyan had given Saint directions to where we waited and I had complete faith that he and Nash were gonna make it.

I just didn’t know how much longer we had before we were found out. It was almost inevitable someone was going to realise guards were missing, or a body would be discovered, or the gasoline noticed. We were down to our final minutes and every second that passed felt like an hour.

“Where are they?” Blake growled impatiently.

“They’ll be here,” I insisted, though anxiety was starting to grip me as I feared something had happened to hold them up.

I shot another message to the group chat, but no reply came.

Something was wrong. I suddenly knew it in my gut. Saint wouldn’t be late. Not even under these circumstances.

“We have to look for them,” I said decisively.

“If we move and they show up then we’ll only end up running around this house in circles,” Kyan said in a growl.

“Then someone has to stay here,” I said. “I can go alone.”

“Like hell you will,” Blake hissed, his hand curling around my arm.

“I am the dark in the dead of night!” Saint’s voice suddenly boomed from the next level up and my heart lurched into my throat.

“Hear me fucking roar,” Kyan snarled, lurching toward the stairs and we ran after him, tearing along as fear crashed through my limbs.

Saint was in trouble. He wouldn’t have risked shouting unless he was desperate. He needed us. And we wouldn’t let him down.

Kyan burst through the door at the top of the stairs and I saw the gun wheeling toward him a heartbeat before I acted. I shoved him aside and a hole was blown in the door frame an inch to my left as Blake returned fire, making my head echo with the noise.

Saint and Monroe had four guards holding them, their arms secured behind their backs, their expressions fierce. I refused to let panic claim me. I had to focus to get them out of this alive.

I whipped my own gun from my hip as bullets whistled past me, too fucking close for comfort. Blake charged toward us and the weight of him flattened me as he threw us behind the cover of a wall into an adjacent corridor. Bullets ripped chunks out of the corner of the wall and my heart crushed in my chest. Saint, Nash, I have to save them.

Blake rolled off of me and Kyan pushed to his feet, reloading his gun as he pressed his back to the wall and edged up to the corner. He threw a look around it and lurched back as a spray of gunfire blasted at him. Holy fuck.

It fell deathly quiet once more and I moved to crouch by Kyan’s legs as I gripped my gun. We couldn’t let this go on much longer. The men in that meeting might have heard this and if we didn’t get away from here before they came looking for us then we were fucked.

“Hold your fire,” a booming voice said. “Or your friends are dead.”

“Fuck you,” Monroe spat then let out a curse as a blow was struck, making me clench my teeth in fury.

“Let them go and we’ll think about sparing your lives,” I called, and the four pieces of shit laughed darkly.

“Toss your weapons or this cunt gets it,” the deep voice said and ice froze my veins solid. Dead, he was dead. They were all fucking dead.

“Watch your mouth you uncouth fucking hillbilly,” Saint snarled then cursed as someone hit him too.

My heart hit a wild beat and I looked up at Kyan, my jaw set. He took another gun from his hip and tossed it out into the hallway, nodding to me. I threw my knife and gun away while looking around for Blake. But he wasn’t there. What the fuck?

“Right, now I’m gonna count to three and you’re gonna come out here or we’re all gonna find out what the inside of this one’s head looks like,” the man growled.

Acid burned the inside of my veins as I marked this scum, branded his death on my soul and swore to fulfil it.

“One,” he said calmly.

“Don’t come out here,” Saint demanded.

“Stay where you are, princess,” Nash begged.

“Two.”

“Kyan, you will look after her above all else, you fucking swore it,” Saint growled.

Kyan looked at me and I glared at him, daring