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And sweet, precious, little Nova—the girl who was my angel—had killed him.
Cali
It took me a few minutes to comprehend what had actually happened. By that time, Nova had freed herself from the cuffs and had already started working on my own.
“I need you to do something for me,” she murmured, calm as could be as she lowered my hands.
“Anything,” I promised, limping forward. My legs hurt from the beating Manuel must have continued after I’d been knocked unconscious on the plane. I could feel the blood oozing from the wounds on my lower legs, but blood was also coming from between my thighs. I didn’t have time to think about either of those things, though.
Manuel had men who were loyal to him who would be after us sooner rather than later, and we needed to hurry before they started shooting.
Nova held out her hand to me. “Pull with all your might.” I was confused until I saw the awkward way she was holding her arm. “My shoulder is dislocated, Cali. It has to be put back in before I can get us the rest of the way out of this hellhole.”
Dreading what I would have to do, the pain I would have to inflict on her, I still took her hand as she grabbed hold of one of the chains that had restrained her earlier, and I began to pull. “Harder,” Nova instructed. “Harder!” she yelled, and I jerked as hard as I could.
Her scream caused my heart pain, knowing I had hurt her when all she had ever done was risk her own life repeatedly to save mine. But then she sighed in relief as the joint popped back into place. It took a few minutes for her to catch her breath before she walked over to Manuel’s lifeless body. Blood was gushing from the wound on her inner thigh where he’d bitten her. She paused for a moment, inspecting the area before tearing off a piece of his shirt and tying it around her leg.
There was a gun tucked into the back of his pants, and she picked it up. It was like watching a character in a movie as she popped the magazine out of the chamber, inspecting the gun from all angles, and then popped the magazine full of bullets back in. The entire thing took less than five seconds before she flipped the safety off and took my hand. “Well,” she murmured softly. “You know this house better than me. Which way is the bathroom? I really have to pee.”
It was crazy, but I had to fight a laugh as I showed her to the bathroom near the stairs that led up to the first floor—I may not have been in the dungeon before, but every floor had at least one bathroom. I wasn’t even sure if I was amused or hysterical. The monster who haunted my dreams was actually dead. I’d watched the life leave his eyes as Nova had broken his neck. It was tragic, yet freeing.
We stayed together, and I waited as Nova relieved herself. I took the time to pee as well, gulping when I saw how much blood was darkening my panties.
Hold on, Nugget. Your auntie Nova got us this far. Maybe she can save us from everyone else.
“Wait.” Nova stopped me from opening the bathroom door. “Where is Ciana?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know anything other than what I heard Manuel and his men saying on the cargo plane. They didn’t have her, but there was mention of some woman named Brion taking her.”
My friend turned to stone before my eyes, and for the first time since she’d woken up, I saw real fear in her green depths. “O’Brion?”
I considered the name for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, that might have been it.”
She grimaced but pushed me behind her as we finally started up the stairs. “Do you have anyone you can trust here?”
“He had maybe five loyal men. The rest would have only followed him because they needed the job. All the staff can be trusted. I loved them all.” I knew if they had been truly aware of what Manuel was doing to me when I lived there in the past, they would have tried to help me. But like the doctor who would patch me up, they would have all eaten a bullet for it. “They are terrified of Manuel and would probably throw a party now that he’s dead…” Despite the danger we still faced, curiosity gave me pause. “How did you do that, by the way? It was scary and beautiful all at the same time.”
“Ask me again when this is over,” she muttered, a look of determination filling her green eyes. “Do you know which guards?”
I hesitated, trying to remember before nodding. “Okay,” she said, her hand tightening on the gun in her hand. “Let’s go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get out of here.”
I stayed behind her, my fingers tangling in the romper she’d worn on our girls’ night out. It wasn’t so white anymore, especially with her own blood splattered on the bottom half. My legs shook with fear as we climbed the stairs.
“Just say yes or no if we see anyone. But be quick about it. Even a split-second hesitation is too long. It could mean the loss of an innocent life—or our own.” She reached behind her and squeezed my wrist, offering comfort, reassurance, but also giving me confidence. “I’m counting on you, Cali.”
“No pressure then, huh?” I muttered, and she laughed softly.
“None whatsoever, babe.”
At the top of the stairs, two men were standing guard. I remembered them both well. One had been the one to narc on me about going to the doctor. The other had laughed when Manuel had shown him the blood-covered beer bottle he’d raped me with.
“Yes, yes,” I breathed. “Yes, yes.” I said it a little louder this time, in case she didn’t hear me, but it was a waste of breath because Nova raised the gun she held in both hands, pointed and shot first one, then the other point-blank between the eyes before they could even think about reaching for their own guns.
The loudness of the gunfire brought others running from every direction. I had to glance at their faces quickly because they all had their guns pointed at us before they even understood what was going on. I spotted Guzman, who had only started working for my stepfamily a few years before. He’d always treated me kindly, sometimes acting as my personal guard when I left the mansion until Matias got sick.
“No!” I shouted, when Nova pointed her gun at him. She didn’t question me and shifted her aim to the next man with a gun. “No,” I said again.
An angry shout from our left had my head snapping in that direction, and I saw three more men who were loyal to Manuel charging toward us. “Yes, yes, yes!” I cried, my entire body clenching as I prepared myself for the pain of their bullets as they started flying toward us.
