Page 107 of Mr. Romantic (Mister 2)

A scream comes from inside. Clear as fucking day because it’s on the little speaker near the keypad used for two-way communication.

A broken, crackling voice comes out of the speaker next. “The code was changed tonight, Mr. Romantic. You don’t know the code.”

I take the butt of my gun and smash the cameras. One above the door, one behind me, one to the left.

Pax catches on quickly and finds more, each one is smashed.

I pull him close to me and whisper, “There’s a master code. And I do know it. No one else on this fucking planet knows it, because I was the one who set it. So whoever this is, they got a code from one of two people. Claudette or my father.”

“Your bitch of a sister is behind this, I know it. I’m gonna fucking kill her when I get inside there.”

“She’s not here, Pax. She sent someone else to do this. And we can make plans for that later. Right now we’ve only got one chance to save Ivy. We bust in and kill whoever it is on the other side of that door.”

Chapter Forty-Six - Ivy

The next thing I know an alarm is screaming. I cover my ears as Richard gets off me, throwing the knife down on the floor as he reaches for a gun.

My fingers are instantly back on the rope around my ankle, but another blow to the head knocks me over, right off the bed, so most of me is on the floor, but my one ankle is still tied to the damn post.

And then… shouting. Voices yelling. Nolan, and someone else, and Richard. Guns are going off, and a bullet hits the concrete wall just off to my left.

I sit up as best as I can and reach for my ankle as the men yell threats and shoot at each other.

There’s a loud thumping of feet above my head somewhere. People are here. Many, many people. A whole army of people from the sound of it.

“Ivy!” Nolan yells. “Get down!”

But I’m so close. I’m so close. Just one more knot and—I’m free!

Richard is suddenly next to me, pulling me up by my hair again. I grab his balls and pull so hard, I get a sick, sick feeling in my stomach. His gun goes off and a sharp pain shoots through my body.

I scream, but he falls, and I fall, and then I ignore the pain and scoot under the bed. I crawl for my life as a warm pool of blood puddles underneath me.

Chapter Forty-Seven - Nolan

The guy shoots straight. I’ll give him that. The bullets are flying. Pax has disappeared. Hit, or waiting, or hell, maybe he thinks my girlfriend isn’t worth dying for.

I think she’s worth dying for.

Ivy screams, and when I peek my head out from behind the corner, I see the man fall just as another shot goes off. This time Ivy’s scream is serious. It’s a scream of severe pain and I know she’s been shot. More bullets fly at me as I make a break for the bed. Ivy’s fingertips are reaching out from under the bed, and I pull her out, sliding her along the smooth concrete floor, and then jump up on the bed and I don’t even bother thinking twice.

I shoot that motherfucker in the head.

A second later there’s cops everywhere. Not just deputies, but men in tactical gear. Rifles longer than my arm pointing at me. Red laser dots dancing on everything in the room.

You will always be a target, Nolan. Don’t ever let them get you.

But I’m not their target tonight.

So I drop my gun and slide down on the floor next to Ivy. She’s bleeding and she’s crying, but she’s still alive. And that’s the only thing that matters.

Chapter Forty-Eight - Ivy

Nolan’s bright green eyes are the first thing I see when I wake up. The hospital room is cold and the air smells funny. But he’s there and that’s all I care about.

“Hey,” he says, brushing some hair away from my eyes. “How you feeling?” He looks tired. And he’s wearing dress pants and a t-shirt that says Property of Massachusetts State Police on the front.

“What happened?” I ask, trying to sit up as Nolan urges me to lie back. “Where’s Richard?”