The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 204

Petty stood frozen, staring at the two men lying lifeless on the floor.

They were dead.

She was only a few steps from the cabin window. Cold sea air poured in through the shattered glass, whipping her hair across her face. Her hand shook as she pressed it against her forehead, trying to push the wild strands away from her eyes.

When she finally looked up, she saw a black helicopter suspended over the yacht.

A tall man in a black tactical jacket stood in the open doorway, a sniper rifle slung in his hands.

Even from this distance, when she could barely make out his features, she knew those dark eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat so hard it almost knocked the breath from her.

Franco.

He was here...

Inside her earpiece, Jay’s voice crackled from the cockpit. “Franco, we’re in coastal waters now.”

Down below, a boat was approaching, moving silently alongside the yacht. Its lights snapped on all at once, signaling its arrival.

They must be their pickup.

Franco’s eyes locked on the flag fluttering from the approaching boat, stamped with a strange emblem. His jaw tightened. These were Abbot’s men.

He glanced at the sky. Black clouds churned overhead and the wind was picking up, making the helicopter wobble. The pressure was dropping. Hovering was getting harder. Aiming wasn’t easy anymore.

A storm was coming fast.

“Finish this. Now.”

At Franco’s order, the bodyguards got into position. He trusted these men. Some had served with him in the army, others were hand-picked by his grandfather from an elite unit.

Inside the helicopter, Franco kept his eyes fixed on her, watching how the wind made her face pale and her hair whip around her cheeks.

Petty had no choice but to step onto the swaying ladder, inching toward the other boat’s deck.

The man kept his grip tight, always putting her between himself and the snipers above. He wasn’t tall, but with Petty in front, he was completely covered from sight.

Suddenly there was a gunshot from the boat.

A flash of red, then another crack split the air. One of Franco’s bodyguards fired back, hitting the shooter cleanly and dropping him right there.

Petty’s captor flinched, panic twisting his face. He pressed the gun so hard against her head, his finger twitching on the trigger as he stared up at the helicopter, daring them to try anything.

He looked ready to take them all down with him.

Petty staggered as the wind battered her. Her skin was ghostly pale from the cold. She felt the gun digging into her head, forcing her to look up. Her hair tangled in her lashes. Her eyes were red, wide with fear, but she bit it back, trying to hold herself together even as terror threatened to spill over.