Gillian fired. The shot echoed through the gorge in a deafening report. Another boom followed as Griffin fired a second later. Falcone stumbled against a low rock, roaring as he clutched his shoulder. Another bandit went down like a sack of grain tossed from a cart.
The other bandits scrambled for their weapons.
“Get down, you daft woman,” Griffin barked, reaching to pull her away from the edge.
Gillian evaded his grasp, sliding on the rocky scree and almost losing her footing. Still, she managed to recover and reload. Griffin did the same as he let loose a string of hair-raising curses. She yanked up her rifle, took aim, and fired again.
A moment later, a bullet slammed into her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. The back of her head connected with rock and pain exploded through her skull. Gillian lay there stunned, staring up at a sky that shimmered with a milky haze. Her ears rang with the sound of a thousand church bells.
Move, you idiot.
She couldn’t—not even one blessed finger.
Griffin’s face suddenly swam above her, only slightly less hazy than the sky. Gillian forced the words out past the pain. “Did I get him?” she whispered.
“For Christ’s sake, not now,” Griffin spat.
He pressed something into her shoulder, so hard that bile rose in her throat and black dots swam across her vision. She forced back the encroaching darkness.
Griffin glanced over his shoulder and barked something to Stefano. Then he turned back to her.
“Yes,” he said.
Relief swamped her, momentarily driving out the fire consuming her body.
“We did it, Griffin.” If she had to die in the effort, thank God she’d been successful.
“Indeed.” Griffin yanked something tight around her shoulder and upper arm. She had to bite back a shriek. “But trust me, dear sister, your killing days are over.”
When he lifted her onto his shoulder, the blackness rushed in, pulling her away from the heat, the light, and the pain.
From everything.
Books by Vanessa Kelly
* * *
My Fair Princess
Three Weeks With A Princess (July 2017)
The Renegade Royals
Lost in a Royal Kiss
Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard
Confessions of a Royal Bridegroom
Tall, Dark, and Royal
How to Plan a Wedding for a Royal Spy
How to Marry a Royal Highlander
The Stanton Family
Mastering The Marquess
Sex and the Single Earl
My Favorite Countess
His Mistletoe Bride