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Throwing myself forward, I shut and lock the door. A cold sweat dampens my back as I dial Milton’s number. It goes to voicemail. No. No. No. Fear rattles through me. Motorcycles are suddenly everywhere, circling the house, roaring like monsters. Blue and Bea are barking like mad as I race to the kitchen and grab a knife from the block.
There are footsteps behind me, and I scream, but it’s just Hilary and Peter in their nightwear. “What’s going on?” Hilary asks, panic in her eyes when she sees me holding a knife. “Where are Barnes and Cole?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Who’s out there?”
Peter leaves for a second, and then he returns with a shotgun. Her hand flies to her chest, her face paling.
“I can’t get hold of Milton.” Stepping forward, she wraps her arms around me, holding me against her. If I wasn’t so terrified for them, I’d take comfort from her embrace. What the hell are we going to do?
The motorcycles cut out suddenly, leaving just the sound of our panicked breathing. There’s silence…and then the doorbell rings.Ding Dong.It might as well have been an alarm because it jolts me, seizing every part of my body.
Shuffling into the foyer, I hear boots crunch on the gravel outside.
“Heidi, baby,” Blake finally says, and my stomach bottoms out. He’s here. He’s really here. I even imagine him pacing slowly, calm and relaxed. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
Shifting slightly to the side, I glance out of the small window next to the door. Cigar smoke is the first thing I see billowing into the night air. With the lights from the MC behind him, all I see is his large silhouette. The front of him is encased in shadow. He’shere.Not at the compound where Milton went…which means…
Lifting my phone, I redial Milton’s number. It rings before going to voicemail. I feel faint as I lower it. Did Blake set a trap for him? I can’t think straight. Not even when there’s a sound of a woman’s scream. Lifting my head to look back out the window again, I gasp when I see who it is.
“Please! Please let me go!”
“Ah, Miss Calderway—enough of that.” Blake grabs a chunk of Lisa’s brown hair that’s fallen free from her usual tight knot. She’s in her clothes from earlier today, and her eyes are full of terror as blood drips down the side of her face like she’s been hit. “You were so kind bringing us here, but continue screaming like that, and I’ll cut your tongue out.”
My heart falls. Oh my God.Lisashowed Blake where I was? Why? How could she betray Milton like that? Blake turns back to face the house. “Open the door, Heidi. I know you’re there.”
“Don’t,” Peter hisses, saying the first thing he’s ever said to me while holding the gun up and aiming it at the door. “Hide. Both of you.”
“I’m not leaving you.” Hilary shakes her head, her voice trembling.
“I guess we’re doing it the hard way. Smash it down.”
There’s a rumble and the sound of a wheel skidding on the stones. Before I know what’s happening, a wheel smashes through the front door. I scream, falling back against the stairs in fear as another motorbike hits the door, forcing the thing off its hinges.
“Get back!” Peter yells to Hilary as the door crashes to the ground. She stumbles back but trips and falls down. A gunshot booms, and Peter yells out. Blake steps inside with a gun. He shot Peter in the leg.
Screaming, Hilary throws her body over her husband as something black flies past her.
“Bea, no!” Bea jumps up on Blake, attacking him with a growl. Using the base of his gun, he slams it down onto her head. With a yelp, she drops to the floor and stays there. Blue lets out a veracious growl and charges, but Blake’s already anticipating it and shoots him. My ears ring, and I scream, “Noooo!”
Blue falls to the ground. Horror washes over me as my eyes clash with Blake’s. He’s aiming the gun at Hilary, but his eyes are on me.
I’d forgotten his eyes. His cold eyes. He looks older and menacing if that’s even possible for someone who’s always resembled a brutal bastard. “Long time no see, baby girl.”
“P-Please!” Hilary whimpers in the background. “Don’t hurt him.”
“That’s up to her.” Blake points to me. “If she doesn’t come with me right now, I’ll kill you both.” He grins, sending shivers of terror through me. “It’ll be your fault. The death of two innocent people because you were too selfish to come home when I asked you to.”
Sobbing, I glance at Hilary huddled with Peter, knowing I can’t have Blake hurting them. Standing, I move forward until I’m in front of him. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t kill them.”
“No—”
“Shut it,” Blake sneers at Hilary.
He lowers his gun to his side and steps back. I don’t feel myself walking as I step outside into the frigid, early morning air. Lifting my eyes, someone’s holding Lisa. Nicolas. He’s smiling at me. “Welcome back, free bird.”
My eyes come to her. “I’m so sorry, Heidi. He was going to…he was going to kill my family—”
