Little Queen

33

Gunner's POV

So it's a little shorter than normal but I wanted to publish this as a thank you. We hit #51 in romance the other day which is HUGE. Just a warning there is a little bit of gore in this chapter.
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My neck strains with how far back my head is. I'm exhausted, physically and mentally but there's no way I can sleep right now - the little girl from the safe house is knocked out on a seat in the back of the plane.

My eyelids droop and for a moment my mind goes black.

The white phosphor tint made the jungle seem like it was glowing. Our boots crushed the dirt beneath us, the sound changing pitch when we land on cement.

I wait with my back to a cement beam until until one of  Séamas' men slinks past me. I wrap my arms around his neck slam his body into mine and snap his neck in one fluid movement. His body drops to the ground with a quiet thud and I advance toward the house.

Rangers voice echos in my ear, "In position."

Footsteps approach and I take cover behind the corner of the building. My wrists flick a throwing knife into the throats of the two men when they turn the corner. A gurgling sound escapes them and I step on one of their wrists as he reaches for the radio at his hip. I rip the knives from them and draw a line across their carotid watching as red pools out of the wounds.

I hurry to my assigned point and press on my ear piece, "In position."

Ranger and I wait for the other three to confirm they're in position. I slow my breaths and on my last exhale Range gives the go ahead.

I slip through the glass door letting it click shut behind me. I know that Ranger, and Enzo are moving through the house with me while Dominic maintains surveilance and Marco handles our escape vehicle.

I see another shadow approaching me and rush to get close enough to take him out without my gun. His eyes widen when he realizes I'm not one of Seameas' men and immediately swings a fist at me. We trade blows but I'm finally able to wrap my forearm around his throat and squeeze until his body goes slack. I jerk my grip waiting for the loud snap before I drag his body over to the couch. I lay him across the sofa and situate him so it looks like he's sleeping. I pause for a second and tuck him in with the throw blanket and smile before moving on.

I manage to sneak past the rest of the guards on patrol until I get to the hallway with the girl's bedroom.

Only one man is stationed outside her room and he's fighting to stay awake already. I wait until he nods off again and rush forward. I know that these men were trained well but spending so much time in the safety of this secluded jungle has made them let their guard down.

The sleeping guard goes down easy and I'm able to slide through her door without anyone else coming along.

I pull out the syringe that's tucked away in my pack and flick the syringe with the needle facing up. I glance at the tiny girl after removing the air bubble but instead of a sleeping five year old big brown eyes flooded with tears stare up at me.

I hesitate for half a second, she doesn't deserve this.

"It's okay sweetie, you're gonna go back to sleep for a little bit but I'll keep you safe."

She sucks in a sob but I have no choice and quickly press the tip of the needle into her neck. She squeaks but my hand muffles the sound. Her entire body goes slack almost immediately and I'm able to toss her over my shoulder and move out.

My head drops off the headrest jolting me awake. Range took care of Seameas while I grabbed the girl. She was already scared out of her mind and we figured Rangers scars would only scare her more. Luckily she was still knocked out but we had a long flight left and I wasn't about to dose her a second time. If she woke up on the plane ride I could at least try to calm her down a bit before she meets the Don.

My eyes flicker to check on Ranger who's been staring out the window from the moment he saw our tiny captive. I know he hates himself for this, I hate myself for this but the only thing I can do now is try my best to talk Don out of doing anything drastic with her.

I stare at the cabin ceiling for hours before I hear the tiny girl moving around. Range meets my eyes then goes back to staring out the window. I sigh and stand from my seat. Coonan's daughter starts stirring but hasn't woken up fully so I sit on the ground next to the couch I laid her on.

Another few minutes go by until she finally peaks her eyes open. They immediately open wide in fear when she sees me and she scrambles to sit up.

"Hey hey you're okay. No one here is going to hurt you," I say holding my hands up in surrender.

She breathing hard and her arms are wrapped around her little legs, clutching them to her.

"I know you're scared, that's okay. I'm scared too bambina. You're going to come back with us and wait for tuo padre, your dad to come get you." Her face seems to relax just a bit. "I'm going to keep you safe, sì?"

Her head moves up and down just barely noticeably but it's better than nothing.

An idea strikes and I pull my phone out. Idalia and I had downloaded a bunch of movies to project in her garden a few months ago so I pull up her favorite.

"How about we watch a movie, huh?" I say handing her my phone sideways. She hesitantly takes it from me, snatching her hands back as soon as she grips the phone.

I give her a smile and turn so my back is towards her, against the couch.

I listen through the first few minutes, letting my head rest against the seat. My eyes slide shut but I might as well be watching the movie with how well I know this scene. Idalia and I watched this movie over and over until each word was ingrained in me.

"Seven am the usual morning line up, start on the chores and sweep 'till the floors all clean."

I sing with a small smile on my face each word flowing out of me without a thought. I sing along for most of the movie but when I turn around to start another movie the girl is asleep again.

I chuckle and slide my phone from her death grip. A soft groan passes my lips as I stand, my legs and ass are numb from sitting for so long.

I drop down beside Ranger throwing my head back against the headrest in frustration.

He's silent until just before sleep finally takes me.

"You're promise won't mean anything, whatever the don decides is what will happen to her."

I don't even bother opening my eyes.

"I'll make it mean something."

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