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“Ariel?”
“She knows where the secret room is. She’ll be fine.”
I hoped so.
He pulled me down the staircase just as the large glass window that led to the courtyard was shattered by bullets. It burst into shards and blanketed the maroon rug that led down the stone hallway.
Crewe yanked me to the floor and protected my body with his.
This couldn’t be happening. This was a nightmare. The worst nightmare I’d ever had.
Crewe was on his feet an instant later, firing his weapon at any enemies I couldn’t see. He took one down and another fired, but he dodged out of the way behind the staircase, taking me with him.
“It’s him.” Joseph’s voice rang in the air. “He’s got her with him.”
Crewe’s held his gun at the ready and didn’t react, but he must have figured out who it was.
“Let her go, asshole.” Joseph cocked his gun. I could hear the sound echo against the stone.
Crewe was outnumbered three to one. It didn’t matter how smart or fast he was. He couldn’t get out of this. Gunshots still fired from outside the walls, Crewe’s men engaged in the battle to keep the rest of Joseph’s men out. It was merely a distraction so Joseph could enter through the back.
Crewe kept his hand firmly on mine, looking eerily calm for the dire situation he was in.
“I’m coming out,” I announced. “Don’t shoot.”
Crewe gripped me tighter and looked down at me.
I avoided his look and slipped out of his grasp, knowing there was no time to explain anything. Now his life was on the line, and I had to do whatever I could to spare it. I stepped out with my arms by my sides, relieved when I wasn’t shot even though I was never a target. “Joseph, tell your men to stand down.”
Joseph looked maniacal, his eyes wide. His eyes were just as dark as the bulletproof vest he wore. “Come here.”
I held my ground. “Drop your weapons.”
“We aren’t gonna shoot you,” he hissed. “Now get your ass over here.”
“Don’t shoot Crewe. I told you I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Tell your men to stop. You won. Now let’s go.” Crewe didn’t need to hear the backstory to understand what my words meant. I’d plotted this entire thing with Joseph during those phone calls, and now he knew what I was really up to.
Joseph lowered his weapon, as did the others. “Let’s go, then.”
I breathed a sigh of relief now that I had accomplished the most important thing—protecting Crewe.
“Are you gonna show your face, you coward?” Joseph asked. “Say goodbye to the slave you’ve kept for seven months?” Spit flew from his mouth, and the vein in his forehead throbbed. His anger was hotter than a raging wildfire. I could feel the ferocity from my fingertips to my toes.
Crewe stepped out from behind the staircase, his gun hanging by his side. But he didn’t look at Joseph once. All he did was look at me.
With fury.
With pain.
With betrayal.
His jaw was tighter than I’d ever seen it, and the devastation in his eyes made me feel worse than he had ever made me feel. There wasn’t a fight inside him. He didn’t even care that Joseph was standing there with two armed men. He showed more vulnerability in that moment than I’d ever seen him show during our relationship. “You got me.”
“You actually thought she loved you?” Joseph asked incredulously. “You took this woman as a prisoner. How stupid are you? If you didn’t think my sister would fight every single day to get out, you really are an idiot.”
Crewe didn’t take his eyes off me. “You’re right. I am an idiot.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I whispered. “I was going to talk to you—”
Joseph raised his gun and fired, shooting Crewe right in the chest. “Die, asshole.”
“No!” My hands moved to my face when I saw Crewe jerk before he crashed to the floor. His body hit the stone with a loud thump, and he lay still, his eyes still open and blood spraying into the air in front of him. His t-shirt started to become soaked, and his arms lay by his sides.
Joseph stood over him and pointed the gun right at Crewe’s face.
“Stop!” I covered Crewe’s body with my own, protecting as much of him as I could. “Joseph, stop! You told me you wouldn’t kill him.”
Joseph lowered the gun and shrugged. “Well, I changed my mind. Now, move.”
“No.” Tears immediately poured from my eyes, and I sobbed as I felt Crewe’s blood absorb into my own clothes. “Get away from him.” I kicked Joseph in the shin so he would stumble backward.
One of his men got a message through the speaker in his ear. “Crewe’s reinforcements are on the way. There’s a lot of them. We’re outnumbered ten to one. We’ve got to go.”
