I know. Mason’s jaw clenched. I hate the bastard who’s made you suffer for all these years.
That was the weird thing. I didn’t hate him. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t love him either, but he was nothing to me.
Before I could process it, Kassie turned down a long driveway and immediately pulled the Tahoe to the side. “We can’t drive up there without alerting the whole damn place someone is here.”
“We’ll have to go on foot.” Mona nodded her head. “Let’s get the weapons sorted and get our asses in gear.”
In less than a minute, we were all out of the car, standing at the trunk.
“Okay, each one of us has two sheaths.” She placed a set in my hand and pointed at my ankles. “Put one on each side. The dagger should be on the side with your dominant hand because we need to try to use it versus the gun. Once a gun is shot, it’s game over, so put the gun on the other side.”
All five of us got situated, and when we each stood up, the tension was thick between us. It was time.
“Let’s run.” Kassie pointed in the direction of the house. “There will be a small gate we have to scale, but we shouldn’t run into too many guards. He’s not expecting us to know anything about the house, so he’ll have a false sense of security. Just be quiet, and we’ll get this show on the road.”
I’ll be right beside you the whole time. Mason touched my arm and leaned down, brushing his lips on mine.
I love you. I didn’t want to say anything more than that. If I kept going on, it’d be a goodbye, and I wasn’t going to jinx us before we began moving.
I love you too. He smiled at me.
“So… now probably isn’t the time to let you all know I’ve never shot a gun.” Ella popped her lips and took a deep breath.
“I figured as much.” Kassie glanced behind her. “So you’re going to be stuck with me.”
“Well, what about Elena?” Ella pouted like she was going to a party without a friend.
“We’ve trained her in case this day ever came.” Mona winked at me. “She can wield a gun and dagger better than me sometimes.”
“Well, okay.” Ella bowed down ever so slightly in front of me. “You are officially a badass.”
I couldn’t hold back the smile. “It’s taken you this long to figure it out.”
“Touché.” She stood as she shimmied up next to Kassie. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
At least, she was enthusiastic.
“Let’s go.” Mona glanced at Mason then me, but her eyes locked with Ella. “No one says a word from this point on.”
This was it. I was doing the one thing I’d always feared would happen. I was trying to reclaim the throne. I just hoped no one else I loved was lost in the process.
Chapter Twenty
It didn’t take us long to approach the gates that Kassie had referenced. They were black metal and at least eight feet high with spikes on top of them. There weren’t any lights on outside, so it was easier to sneak over them without being seen.
“Everyone can scale a gate, right?” Kassie turned and looked at Ella.
“Uh… no.” She glanced around and spotted a tree that was close to the fence. “But I do know how to climb a tree.” She pointed in its direction. “It’s close enough I can make it.”
“Just don’t make any noise,” Mona barely whispered. “Once we get in there, we can’t talk or someone might hear us.”
“But I thought they weren’t expecting us.” Ella frowned as she stared at the house again.
“They still aren’t going to be guardless.” Mason grabbed his sister’s arm and turned her body toward him. “Maybe you should stay out here and be a scout for us or something.”
“What the hell?” Ella frowned. “I was just asking a fucking question. Stop being a prick.”
“This isn’t a joke.” Mason leveled his gaze on her. “Either get your shit together or stay out. I don’t want any of us getting killed because you aren’t taking it seriously.”
Both his sister and I were being put in harm's way and Mason was overreacting.
“I know it’s not a fucking joke.” Ella yanked her arm out of her brother’s grasp. “Don’t treat me like some kind of pathetic person.”
“We don’t have time for this familial bullshit.” Kassie pointed at Mason then Ella. “You both get it together or you’re going to get us all killed.”
“Now, let’s be quiet and go.” Mona glared at all four of us. “The more we stand here and talk, the higher risk we have of being seen.”
“She’s right.” If I was going to be Queen, I’d better get used to leading. “Let’s go. Once we scale the fence, we’ll rush to the side of the house.” I pointed to a dark section between the humongous front side of the house and the garage.
It reminded me of the house in the Hamptons we’d stayed in. It was a huge stone house that had to be at least four stories high, and it had a stone driveway that rounded out from the black asphalt driveway, curving toward the walkway, and then continued the arch back toward the asphalt. It was at least a five-car garage.
“Once we all reach there, our best bet is to go around the back and try to find a window down to the basement.” Kassie turned and headed toward the gate.
“All right, there is no time like the present.” Mona quickly followed after Kassie.
“Are you two okay?” I butted in before Mason could make it worse. “We need to work as a team or nothing
