Page 114 of Requiem
Than become the thing you need.”
My voice cracks perfectly on the last line, rough and wrecked in a way no studio recording could ever replicate. The final chord vibrates through the room as my fingers still against the strings.
Stunned silence follows, and when my gaze clashes with Alexei’s again, he’s smirking. He’samusedby my fight. Because he truly believes that he’s won when he hasn’t yet.
Then Nico’s voice crackles through my earpiece, breathless and shaking with disbelief. “She did it.” A burst of static follows, then his voice cuts through again, louder and almost laughing. “She fuckingdidit.”
Pure relief crashes through me.
Freedom.Realfreedom.
Then the atmosphere inside the hall changes instantly. Security begins moving through the crowd with sudden purpose. Guests glance around in confusion while voices rise sharply beneath the music. And near the front row, Alexei slowly rises to his feet.
He’s still calm and smiling, but there’s something murderous behind his eyes now that wasn’t there before.
Oh, fuck.
Did he figure it out?
Goosebumps break out over my arms under his gaze, but it’s not because the conditioning is taking hold again. It’s because I know that look. It’s the look he gets right before somebody dies.
Rafe moves before I do. One hand catches Emma’s wrist while his other disappears beneath his suit jacket. “We’re leaving,” he says evenly into the comms, though there’s an edge beneath the calm now. “Everybody move. Now.”
The crowd hasn’t fully realized what’s happening yet. Confused laughter still drifts through parts of the banquet hall while security starts flooding toward the stage in coordinated lines.
Alexei never stops staring at me. Then his lips curve. And suddenly every instinct in my body startsscreaming.
“Jude,” Emma says sharply, suddenly down in front of me.
I move.
The guitar hits the floor behind me with a violent crack as I jump off the stage, landing hard enough that pain shoots through my knees. Emma grabs my arm immediately, staying close while Rafe cuts a path forward through the panicking crowd.
People are shouting now, tables overturning, and glass shattering somewhere to my left. One of Alexei’s guards reaches for Emma, but it’s a huge mistake.
Rafe shoots him directly through the throat without even slowing down, the sound detonating through the room.
And then all hell breaks loose.
Screaming erupts as guests scatter in every direction. Another guard lunges toward us through the crowd, weapon already halfway raised, but this time my body reacts before he can pull the trigger. I catch his wrist, wrench the gun sideways, and fire twice directly into his chest.
The recoil slams through my arm.
Emma flinches beside me but keeps moving. My good girl.
“Rear exit,” Rafe snaps.
More men are pouring in now, fast enough that it’s obvious this was already prepared. Alexei knew we weren’t just going to surrender.
A bullet explodes through one of the champagne towers beside us, spraying crystal and alcohol across the floor.
“Down!” I grab Emma hard, dragging her with me behind an overturned table as gunfire tears through the air. My breathing is ragged, adrenaline burning through my bloodstream. Somewhere behind us, guests are still screaming. I risk one glance upward, and my stomach drops.
Alexei is gone.
Fuck.
“Move,” Rafe orders again.
