Page 119 of Reign of the Queen
I step back and pull the gun away from Drew’s head; he immediately moves forward and away from me. Tom relaxes his stance and moves closer to me. I lift the gun and point it at myself, ensuring my fingers are firmly on the trigger and held in a way that he won’t be able to pull the weapon away without it firing.Think Tom is regretting teaching me how to handle a gun now?
Mary and Raegan both scream. I see Finn trying to move toward me to grab the gun out of my grip.
“Turn the fucking plane around, Tom, or you’ll be taking me back with my brains blown out to my grandmother. I will not leave both of them behind.” Then, I place the barrel of the gun in my mouth.
I let out a sigh of temporary relief as we approach the hangar. The jet I see is the same one that Theo's dad has, so I know the ins and outs of it intimately. We used to play in it as kids, I know there are hidden emergency access points, I can use those to my advantage. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do if it wasn't.
My eyes slide over to Mia and catch her watching me. She's been doing that since we left. I can tell she's trying to figure me out, she's suspicious already, so I have to be careful how I play it from here. I want to spend the last few minutes I have with her memorizing all her beautiful features. Let’s face it, with what I am about to attempt to do, I may never see her again. Mia’s gaze once again turns to me, and I have to force myself to look away. I’m afraid my face will tell her exactly what’s going on in my head.
Nurse Mary's been hounding me even before we left Mia's about watching my blood pressure and trying to keep calm and stress-free. No fucking chances of that happening with the images of Theo running rampant in my head.
I called in every fucking favor I could, and I can't wait for my cunt father to realize how much cash I just transferred out of my trust fund account. There were too many variables at play, so I had to ensure I covered them all. Sending getaway cars to every private airfield within a hundred-mile radius of Mia's house and making sure I had lookouts posted at Theo's estate in case they tried to move him. All the reports came back that he’s there and so are my dad and Vincent.
We approach the hangar, and Tom has us all rushed off the van and into the plane. I head directly into the back, where I know there's a bedroom and a hidden emergency evacuation exit.
Mary is hot on my heels, which right now helps with the play I'm about to make. If I can convince them I'm not well, which honestly at this point isn't even a stretch, then maybe they won't notice I'm gone till they're halfway or further to Manhattan, and it's too late to turn back.
I enter the cabin bedroom and walk directly to the bed, plopping my tired, anxious ass down across from the mini closet that I know houses the emergency exit to the cargo hold. Mary starts taking my vitals, and she goes on and on about how high my blood pressure is right now, but honestly, I'm just tuning her out. I need to get her the fuck out of this room, so I can get down to the cargo hold and off this damn plane before we take off, or I'm royally fucked.
"Carter, are you listening to what I'm telling you? You need to get some sleep. I want you to take this pill and lie down until we get to Manhattan." Mary reaches out with a white pill and a bottle of water in her hand.
"Yeah, ok. I need to use the can first, though. Then I'll take it. I'm fucking tired anyways; sleep sounds good right now." I give her my puppy dog eyes, hopefully conveying that I'm gonna obey her instructions. She smiles at me with trust in her eyes. I feel a moment of regret because I know she's probably going to get in a ton of shit when they realize I'm gone. But nothing will stop me from getting to Theo right now.Sorry, Mary.
She nods and then leaves the small room, closing the door firmly. I get up, walk into the tiny cabin bathroom and splash cold water on my face. My hands are shaking, and my vision is blurring a bit, making my stomach roll and nausea run through it.Get it together, Carter.We got to get off this plane and go rescue Theo from Vincent and Mack.
I move out of the room and head to the little closet; opening the door, I spy the hidden latch that will take me down to the cargo hold. Memories of Mateo and I being little shit disturbers when we were kids and terrorizing our nannies fly through my mind and bring a smile to my face. Taking one final look around, I unlatch the door and climb down the metal ladder to the cargo hold. The engines are on, so it's deafening down here. I can feel the vibration in all my limbs which is doing nothing to help my nausea right now.
I make my way closer to the cargo door, spying one of Tom's men throwing the last of the luggage into the cargo area. They'll be closing the doors now. I hope my contact came through with that distraction I requested. I move closer, pressing my body flat against the wall of the plane. I made sure to wear all black tonight, which thankfully no one questioned.
I hear the popping sounds of a gun going off in the bushes next to the hangar. Then the men are running in that direction. I quickly slide around the cargo door area and jump down the side, landing with a hard thud that makes my head pound. The dark hangar helping to hide my form. I do a quick check to ensure that the security team is still heading in the direction of the distraction Terry's providing and that no one has come off the plane to see what's up. I move quickly toward the opposite side and head for the trees.
The car I asked him to have is waiting just behind a row of Sassafras trees. I move quickly, turning the Tesla on but keeping the lights off. Reversing the car out of the area, I make my way through the thick trees, hoping I don't end up smacking the vehicle right into one. I can hear tree branches scratching up the car's sides and the wheels bouncing over tree roots everywhere. I can't turn on the lights till I'm further away from the hangar, or I'll be spotted. Sweat runs down my neck, and I clench my hands around the wheel, trying to abate the need to vomit and the fear I'm feeling from overwhelming me.
Once I'm at least a quarter of a mile away from the hangar, I turn on the car lights and head toward the highway. Reaching into the car's console, I pull out the Glock and silencer I had Terry put inside each of the getaway cars and place them on the seat next to me. I race through the highway doing a hundred miles per hour, heading back to Casbury and the Saint-Lambert estate.
When I'm down the block from Theo's house, I park the car behind the bushes of one of his neighbor's houses who are never home. Taking the Glock and the silencer, I attach one to the other and make my way through their backyard and down the private beach area. Thank fuck there’s little to no crime in Casbury, well at least ones not committed by our parents it seems and none of these houses have security dogs or rent-a-cops. I climb over fences to get through the other neighbor's property and then come up in the forested area on Theo's estate. I know there's an entrance to the underground area around here. Theo and I once tracked a few of his dad's associates making their way to it.
Looking around, I have to ensure I don't run into any of Vincent's hired goons. I creep quietly through the area, keeping an eye out for anyone patrolling. Finally, I spot the entrance disguised as a gamekeeper's shed and start making my way toward it. Pulling out the gun, I take the safety off and stop behind a tree to check that the clip is full. My hands shake; I've never fired a gun at anyone before, just at target practice with the guys.
I spot one of Vincent's goons smoking a cigarette off to the side of the entrance.Fuck, if he spots me, this will all be for nothing. I move my way quietly through the bushes toward him. I come up behind him and place the barrel of the silencer against the back of his head, close my eyes and pull the trigger. The muffled sound seems too loud to me. I quickly step back, preparing to run, but the guy drops hard in front of me.
Bracing my hands on my thighs, the gun still clenched in my hand, my stomach lurches, and I empty the contents of my stomach. I swipe my hand over my mouth. Standing back up, clearing the sweat dripping into my eyes with my forearm. I make my way to the door. When I open the door, I listen for the sound of anyone running toward the noise. When I don't hear anything, I make my way into the small pathway that the shed disguises.
I make my way down into the tunnels and alcoves beneath the house, keeping my footsteps light so they don't echo down the corridor. There are sconces here and there, giving off enough light so you can see your way down the steep stone steps. I hold the gun close to my chest and flatten my body along the rough stone walls.
The stairs and corridors smell musty and stale without proper airflow. The hot, oppressive air makes my shirt stick to my body and sweat bead on my forehead.
I breathe a sigh of relief when I don't see anyone in the pathway that leads to the alcoves and the main room. My black sneakers tread lightly across the concrete path. I've gotten lucky so far. Usually, this place is crawling with Vincent's sadistic assholes, who seem to multiply like cockroaches.
I can’t remember the complete layout of the space, having only been here once with Theo on an errand for his dad. I swore I would never come back to this hellhole that day but look at where I fucking am right now. I shake my head to clear my blurring vision. Theo, that is all that’s important right now, I have to get him out of here.
As I approach the main room, I hear noises from one of the alcove areas to the side. It's barely lit with a small sconce, but I can see two shadows moving inside. I move closer, keeping my body in the shadows.
When I approach, I see it's Casbury's sheriff with a young male, balls deep and fucking him up the ass. The desire to shoot the fucker right in the back of the head momentarily fills me. I hate that motherfucker; I know he's been a willing participant in abusing Theo in the past, and he's Vincent's lackey. Never mind that he never did anything for me when reports of Mack's abuse would come to the police station.
A shudder runs through my body, and I quickly move away before I can give into my desire. I have to find Theo and get him out of here. We'll deal with the sheriff at a later time.
I make my way past empty alcove areas until I'm almost to the main room. Grunting is coming from the left side, but I don't stop to investigate. I'm sure by now they must know I'm missing on the plane. I don't think they will turn back for me, but who knows with Mia. Raising the gun, I try to slip past the alcove and into the main room. The sight that greets me is pure horror and has my stomach dropping.
