A Silent Reckoning: Sinner's Empire by Nikita Slater (ereader iphone .txt) 📗

she crawled toward the bathtub and dragged herself inside.

“Fuck!” she snarled, reaching behind her to touch the spot on her back. Her hand came away covered in blood. She really hoped they hadn’t taken out her only good kidney. Even if they hadn’t, the blood loss for someone like her could be catastrophic.

She had to get out before they got in. She’d picked this place because it had a window in the washroom with a fire escape. She was going to have to get out of the bathtub though, since the window was over the toilet. She took a deep breath, eyed the bathroom door, which was still in one piece and flung herself out of the tub. As she was kneeling on the toilet reaching for the latch she realized there was no more sounds hitting the door. Had they given up on coming after her?

That didn’t make sense. The front door was thicker than the bathroom door and they’d had no problem breaking through that one. She stopped, her hands hovering against the window, and listened. At first there was nothing, and then she heard muffled thumping sounds. A man shouted, but it was cut off. What were they doing out there, killing each other?

Raina wasn’t going to wait around to find out. Whatever was happening it couldn’t be good. And she needed medical attention right away.

She turned back to the window. A scream leapt from her throat and she fell off the toilet as bullets crashed through the window. A man had come up the fire escape to cover the window and she’d come face to face with him. She huddled on the floor as small as she could get and covered her arms with her head.

She knew she was dead when she finally heard the sound she’d been expecting. The bathroom door crashed open, smashing against the bath tub. She tensed, waiting for that awful hot tearing sensation to rip through her again as she was shot full of holes. Instead, she heard two muffled shots and a shout from the balcony.

When three seconds passed and she was still alive she chanced a peek through her arms. Mateo Guiterrez was standing over top of her, tall, scowling, eyes and gun trained on the window.

“Mateo!” she gasped.

“Raina,” he acknowledged grimly and looked down at her, satisfied that he’d gotten the guy on the fire escape. He reached for her, dragging her off the floor.

She groaned in pain but was forced to follow as he pulled her out of the bathroom and into the main room. She gaped at the two dead men decorating her place. They probably hadn’t stood a chance. Probably thought they were going to kill a helpless woman. They would have no idea that she had an entire cartel at her back and, apparently, at her disposal.

“Jacket, shoes, purse. Hurry up,” he barked at her.

Raina didn’t pause. Her only chance of survival was with this man. She dragged a leather coat on, flinching in pain as it stuck to her back. She bent over to tie up her running shoes, but as she straightened, dizziness engulfed her. Mateo caught her before she hit the floor, grabbing the part of her back that had been shot. She cried out, clutching his arm to shove him away.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded.

“Shot,” she muttered.

He turned her around and lifted her jacket and shirt. He muttered something she suspected was a nasty swear word in Spanish.

“Is it bad?” she asked, peeking at him over her shoulder.

“No,” he growled, and then picked her up in his arms.

This was the second time he’d done this. The first time he’d been kidnapping her from her University campus. This time? She didn’t know. He was definitely saving her life, but she suspected there was more to him being here. The timing was too convenient.

“Mateo?” she whispered as he glanced into the hallway before striding out her door.

“Si, Raina?” He took the stairs down two at a time, careful to hold her tight against his chest so he wouldn’t jar her wound.

“Thanks for coming for me.” She had to say the words just in case she didn’t get another chance.

He paused for a moment on the second-floor landing and looked down at her, his dark eyes hot with anger, possession and longing. “I will follow you into hell, chica.”

“Let’s hope not,” she sighed right before passing out.

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Also by Nikita Slater

If you enjoyed this book, check out some other works by #1 International Bestselling Author, Nikita Slater. More titles are always in progress, so check back often to see what's new!

Sinner’s Empire

Book 1 - Sin of Silence

Book 2 - A Silent Reckoning

Book 3 - Goodnight, Sinners - Coming Soon!

The Queens Series

Book One – Scarred Queen

Book Two - Queen’s Move

Book Three - Born a Queen

Book Four - The Red Queen (Coming 2021)

Alejandro’s Prey (a novella)

The Queens 4 Book Box Set

Fire & Vice Series

Book One – Prisoner of Fortune

Book Two – Fight or Flight

Book Three – King’s Command

Book Four – Savage Vendetta

Savage Boss (a novella)

Book Five – Fear in Her Eyes

Book Six – Bound by Blood

Book Seven – In His Sights

Book Eight - Burning Beauty

Book Nine - Chasing Ecstasy (Coming soon!)

Fire & Vice 6 Book Box Set

The Driven Hearts Series

Book One - Driven by Desire

Book Two - Thieving Hearts

Book Three - Capturing Victory

Novella - The Princess and Her Mercenary

Driven Hearts 4 Book Box Set

The Sanctuary Series

Book One - Sanctuary’s Warlord

Book Two - Sanctuary on Fire

Book Three - The Last Sanctuary

Book Four - The Road to Wolfe

Book Five - Skye’s Sanctuary (Coming soon!)

The Sanctuary Series 3 Book Box Set

Loving The Bad Boy Series

Loving Vincent

Loving Jared

Loving Rico (Coming Soon!)

Standalone books

The Assassin’s Wife

Because You're Mine

Mine to Keep (a novella)

Luna & Andres

Kiss of the Cartel

Stalked

After Dark

In collaboration with Jasmin Quinn

Collared: A Dark Captive Romance

Safeword: A Dark Romance

Chained: A Mafia Marriage Romance

Good Girl: A Captive BDSM Romance

Hostile Takeover: An Enemies to Lovers Romance

The After Dark Box Set

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