Sunrise Malice: Chapter 36

I wake up to screams.

It takes a few moments to understand what’s happening. The gunfire sounds like firecrackers, except Kim’s propped up in bed by a dozen pillows and her face is pale. “They’re shooting,” she whispers, staring at the bedroom door. “What’s happening?”

Julien. Shit. He told me something was going down today—that’s why he pushed me into staying with Kim last night instead of sleeping with him. “It’ll be okay. He’s got it under control.” I go and sit on the chair beside her bed. I take her hand and hold it tightly as the gunfire continues.

There are more screams outside. Some of them seem horrifyingly close, like the fighting is happening right outside Kim’s suite. There’s a gunshot nearby, and suddenly the door to Kim’s room opens. I leap to my feet, ready to fight.

It’s Helga, Kim’s nurse, the big German lady. She’s holding a gun, and for a moment, I’m terrified she’s coming here to kill us.

Instead, she only nods. “All safe, girls,” she says, closing the door behind her. She tucks the gun into her sweatpants. “Do not worry about the fighting.”

“What’s going on?” Kim asks.

Helga comes over and busies herself with checking on Kim’s vitals. “Just remain calm, please.”

“Were you out there?” I press. “Did you see?”

She nods once. “It’s safer in here. Now, my little pretty patient. Are you ready for your morning pills?”

Kim gives me a look like she can’t quite believe this shit’s happening, and I only shrug. What else can we do?

The fighting goes on for a half hour. Helga tries to keep us calm by asking questions and making jokes. Very, very bad jokes, but given the situation, it’s better than nothing. The fighting sounds vicious, but slowly, the shooting slows and comes to a stop.

“Is it over?” I ask.

The nurse draws her gun. “I shall check.”

“Wait,” Kim says, shaking her head. “Stay here.”

Helga grunts, frowning, and shrugs. “If you wish.”

We wait a little while longer until there’s a knock. Helga aims her weapon roughly where a man’s head would be. “Yes?” she calls.

“It’s Julien. Everything’s safe.”

His voice. Definitely his voice. I run to the door and unlock it, despite Helga’s grumbling. Julien’s there, looking haggard, some blood splattered on his shirt and pants, but he says he’s okay as he swoops in and kisses me hard.

“Everyone’s safe here?” he asks.

“Nobody told me the nurse was packing heat,” Kim says with an awkward laugh.

“Nobody asked,” Helga says, standing straight.

“She’s former KSK,” Julien explains, and when we give him a blank stare, he smirks like a know-it-all. “German special forces. God, you Americans really need to read about countries other than your own.”

“She’s a commando?” I ask, staring open-mouthed. I thought Helga was just a hard-ass German, but that’s something else.

“You think I’d leave you in the care of anything less?” Julien kisses me again. “Come, I need to borrow you.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll explain on the way. Kim, Helga, you two stay here for now, please.”

“As if I can go anywhere.” Kim sighs and sinks back in her bed. “Helga, dear, would you come sit with me and tell me about all the secret missions you’ve gone on? How many men have you killed?”

Helga sits primly at her side. “Dozens. My dreams run red with their blood.”

“Excellent.”

I follow Julien from the room. Poor Helga might have special forces training, but I suspect nothing has prepared her for the interrogation she is about to receive from a bored and scared Kim.

The hallway outside is stained with blood. One dead man lies nearby, holes in his chest. I don’t recognize him. We walk through this wing, and Julien explains what happened.

It was a coup. He killed Henri himself, plus several more of Pascal’s guards. That’s what he calls Grandpère now, apparently: Pascal. It’s a shift, but I can understand why.

“He got away in the end. Escaped out a window. I don’t know where he is, but we’ll find him.” Julien pauses at the top of the staircase and takes my hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, but this plan came together last minute.”

“I’m just happy you’re okay.” I lean into him. “But what does this mean?”

“It means we’re on our own now. I no longer answer to France.”

A spear of nervous excitement runs through my guts as we descend together, hand in hand.

Downstairs, I find Ronan waiting with a couple of the important uncles and Niall. Julien greets them and the whole group moves into a large meeting room at the front of the house right off the front entryway.

Jean’s there, serving coffees.

“Looks like your little fight went well,” Ronan says once he’s settled. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to think when you first called.”

“Since we’re allies now, I thought I’d give you a heads-up.”

“A coup in the middle of a war.” Ronan doesn’t seem happy about it. “That’s not the smartest move you ever made.”

“It was necessary. My grandfather was making poor decisions, and if I had let him continue to interfere with my family—” Julien puts his hand on my knee at that word family. “—then I do not believe we would win this conflict.”

Ronan’s jaw works. “Still, a heads-up would have been nice.”

“Now we can deal with Dusan from a position of strength. I’ll need a few days to deal with my dead and wounded, and to deal with the fallout from all these bodies, but we’re in a good place now.”

Ronan looks from Julien to me and back again. I feel him notice Julien’s hand on my leg, and his jaw works like he’s chewing on the idea.

“Let me know what you need to clean this mess up.” He drinks his coffee and looks over to the window. “This fucking city. You’d think we’d have this figured out by now. Instead, here we are, still killing each other.”

“It’s the nature of who we are,” Julien says, speaking very softly. “We are not men who like to share, and the more of us there are, the more we still start to push up against each other. It’s only a matter of time before there’s bloodshed.”

“Still, it’s a big world. If we were smart, we’d work together.”

“Says a man with plenty of blood on his hands.”

Ronan grins, still looking out the window. “That’s true enough. I’m not innocent in all this. And yet—” He stops suddenly and starts frowning to him. “Did you call in for backup?”

Julien tilts his head. “Backup?” He looks around the room. “My men are all here at the mansion.”

“There are vans outside. Four big black vans.” Ronan stands and walks to the window. “What the fuck⁠—”

A gunshot cracks out. The window shatters and Ronan staggers back, cursing.

All hell breaks loose. Niall dives on Ronan, dragging him down, as bullets scream in through the windows and the wall. Julien’s on top of me, knocking me down to the floor and covering me with his body. It’s the day Kim got hit by the truck all over again as bullets spray the far wall from outside. There’s shouting in the other room and when the shooting stops, my ears are ringing from the noise.

Julien’s moving. “Get up,” he growls at me, dragging me to my feet. “Jean! Defenses! Get everyone down here right fucking now.” He pulls me from the room. I catch a glimpse of Niall and Ronan, and I don’t know if Ronan’s still alive or not. There’s blood on the floor and on Niall’s shirt.

But I don’t have time to find out. Julien shoves me at the stairs, his lips pulled back in a rage-filled snarl.

“What’s going on?” I gasp at him as he forces me up.

Jean and some of the soldiers are gathering in the entry hall, facing the door.

“Dusan,” Julien says, cursing to himself. “He must’ve heard about the coup and he decided to hit while we were weak. But I don’t understand who would have—” He stops once we reach the top and laughs bitterly. “Pascal, that wily bastard. He’s the only one that could’ve passed the word along. He’s using Dusan to handle his fucking problem for him. The clever piece of shit.”

“What do we do?” I ask, freaking out so much I can barely think.

“Run to Kim’s room,” he says, grabbing my shoulders. “Do you hear me? Run and don’t look back. Tell Helga what’s happening. Get out of the mansion if you can.”

“But Kim. We can’t move Kim.”

“Then leave her behind.” Julien’s expression is cold. “You’re everything to me, baby. You have to get out.”

“I won’t leave her. I can’t leave her. Julien, please⁠—”

He crushes my mouth in a rough kiss.

“Go,” he says, pushing me.

I stagger, taking a few steps, and watching as he turns back to the stairs. He draws his gun.

“Julien,” I say quietly, blinking back tears.

“Run, baby,” he says, and the shooting starts again.