Fuck. I had known my father would be prepared, but I didn’t realize how prepared.
“We’ll start a new life—a new business—in another country,” he was saying. “South America, maybe the Bahamas. I have the passports and money all ready to go.” The door swung open, revealing only darkness behind it. My father motioned impatiently for us to follow him.
“Wait. I don’t understand,” Luka said. His eyes were wide and he looked like a little kid.
I hated that he was caught in the middle of this, hated that I hadn’t been able to protect him from our father. But I could take care of him now. Because there was no way in hell I was going to let my father take Luka out of the country—there was no way I’d let him get away.
“Christ, but you’re slow on the uptake,” my father sneered at Luka. “You want to stay here and rot in prison, or get the fuck out of here and start a new life?”
My brother hesitated. “I—I don’t know.”
Scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration, my father managed to flash his gun again. I could see Luka had noticed it, his eyes wide as he looked to me for help. For guidance.
“We can’t just drop everything and leave,” I said, trying to stall. There was no way I was going to tell my father that it was over for him—that I’d given him up to the feds—when he had a gun on his hip. “What about Emzee? And Tori?”
“Your sister’s not involved. They’ll leave her alone. And don’t tell me you’re still hung up over your god damn self-righteous bitch of a wife!” my father spat. “Has it not occurred to you that this could all beherfault?”
“She’s got nothing to do with this!” I lied vehemently. We were both breathing hard.
If I could just get him to stay in the building a little longer, the agents would find us. They had to be making their way to us even now, I just knew it.
But fuck if I wasn’t frustrated and pissed. They should have found my father first, gotten him into custody before they ever tried to spread out and take control of the entire office. Instead, I was the one who was going to have to keep him from leaving the country.
“Suit yourselves if you’re too brainless to save your own skins!” my father exploded. “I’m getting out of here.”
He ducked through the door, into the dark passageway beyond, sliding the wall panel back into place behind him.
Luka’s eyes bounced back and forth between the misaligned wall panel and me.
Swearing under my breath, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
“You go first,” I told Luka. “I’m right behind you.”
Quickly, I pulled out my phone and texted Tori.
911
kz escaping to garage in secret tunnel
tell agents now
Then I stepped over the threshold and pulled the wall panel closed behind me. I could only hope that she would get the message and alert the feds in time.
Stefan
Chapter 27
Through a tunnel and down the stairs we went, the only light coming from our cell phones. It was a steep descent, steep enough to keep our pace on the slower side, lest we miss a step and go hurtling down into the pitch black. If my father was correct, the tunnel would take us through the bowels of building and spit us out somewhere in the parking garage. That was the only place we’d be able to get into a car without being noticed.
I could hear my father panting in the darkness, Luka sniffling back tears.
“You fucking useless drunk,” he was hissing, mid-shuffle. “Stop stepping on my heels. You want me to break my god damn neck? I’ll bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
I heard a slap and knew that my father had struck my younger brother. I balled my hand into a fist, praying that when we got to the other side, justice would be waiting. The winding stairwell seemed to go on forever, but I was grateful it was taking so long to navigate in the dark.
Finally, I heard my father slapping his hands against the wall. Luka was waving his phone around as a flashlight, trying to help my father find the exit. I braced myself for what we’d see on the other side, holding my breath as he finally found a rusted metal door handle.
“Keep your head down and run straight to the car,” he said, his voice low. “Once we’re all in, we’ll be off.”
