Page 119 of Brutal Truths

Fresh air hits me as I jump out before anyone can stop me.

Behind me, Edward lets out a quiet chuckle, like he expected me to do just that, even if the four imbeciles in the back didn’t.

“Wait!” Aiden’s deep voice calls after me. “Isabel, stop! Are you fucking listening to me?”

I spin on my heels, facing him head-on, and the look I throw his way stops him in his tracks. “Fuck off, twat!”

“You can’t go in there alone.” He points to the building behind me. “It’s not safe.”

“Well, you can’t come with me. I forbid it. None of you pompous pricks are coming with me.” Turning away, I start for the door again. “Go.”

His hand catches on my shoulder, firm enough to stop me, and I hate the way my body reacts to it. “I said it’s not safe. We don’t know where Drake is, and until we do, you can’t go anywhere alone. Which means, where you go, I go.”

“Fuck that.” I knock his hand off me and put space between us. “Go away, Aiden! I don’t need you protecting me.”

“Too fucking bad! I don’t trust anyone else. So that means you’ll just have to deal with it.” His hands land on my waist, spinning me around and hauling me off the ground. A second later, I’m slung over his shoulder. “Back to the car you go, princess.”

He takes three steps before that sweet voice I was expecting cuts him off. “Put the princess down carefully and back away.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Aiden grumbles but ignores her order.

I twist just enough to look past him, a smile already forming. “Meet Amanda and Hillary, my guards. Larkin’s lending them to me until this is resolved.”

“No, she is not.” Antonio disagrees as he leans out of the car.

“I don’t believe that’s your call. Either of yours.” Gabby steps up beside Aiden, slapping him on the back like she’s greeting an old friend. “Now put her down before someone gets hurt. And by someone, I mean you, big guy.”

Aiden reluctantly sets my feet back on the ground. “For the record, you don’t scare me.”

Gabby wraps an arm around my shoulder and steers me toward the door, leaving Aiden standing there, frustrated and unsure how to handle being shut out. “I don’t scare him. Ha.”

Leaning into her, my focus elsewhere, I barely notice the bellhop as he opens the door. His head stays down, his face beneath the brim of his cap. Nothing about it raises alarms—at first.

Then something pulls my attention back as we step into the lobby. I glance over my shoulder and he’s staring straight at me.

Quentin.

“Gabs,” I whisper, tension snapping tight in my chest. “It’s him.”

There’s no time to react. One second she’s beside me, the next she’s yanked back, an arm locking around her torso as a gun presses to her temple. Quentin slams the door shut at the same time, locking it before Amanda or Hillary can reach us.

Gunfire erupts outside, bullets pelting against the glass. It holds. Doesn’t shatter. The glass is thick. Reinforced. Built for moments exactly like this.

My brother made sure of that when my grandparents moved in. Being a princess comes with threats, and this place was built to withstand them.

“Well, well, well.” Drake clicks his tongue, tightening his hold on Gabby. “Two for the price of one.”

“Fuck you!” Gabby snarls and moves to strike, but he’s faster.

He jabs a needle into her shoulder, depressing it without hesitation.

My sister stares at it for a second. “Shit.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t kill you.” Drake’s voice drips with amusement as he drags the gun down her cheek. “Takes the fun out of it. You’ll just lose a bit of that fight. Makes it easier to get you to the boats. Killing you won’t get me the money I need to disappear.”

“Isabel.” Gabby moves her head from side to side. Her legs are giving way as she blinks slowly.

Tears prick the back of my eyes as panic sets in. I can’t help but wonder how the hell we’ll get out of this.