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An eerie silence fills the hallway as we make our way to the second floor. Mark and Quinn are awaiting our arrival at the end, near the room where Andres is bunkered down.
“He keeps yelling out for Hadley,” Mark informs us upon approach. “It sounds as if he is pacing because his voice gets louder, and then it quiets again.”
Moving closer until she’s at the front, Hadley yells to Andres, alerting him to her arrival. Agitation lines his voice as he starts rambling about how she has single-handedly destroyed his family. When she responds, telling him she is only responsible for the death of his brother Matias he lets out a harrowing laugh.
Continuing with his rant, he explains that Sebastian’s death is Hadley’s fault also. His brother only took his own life because he had grown soft when he fell in love with Peyton. When Hadley freed her friend, Sebastian felt he had nothing more to live for.
“Peyton was an innocent, Andres,” Hadley states. “She should have never been dragged into our world.”
“Yet she was,” he angrily yells. “And my brother loved her.”
“I understand that, but there was another boy who held her heart. Peyton would never love Sebastian the way he loved her.”
“My brother may have been a fool, Hadley, but I still blame you for his death,” Andres growls.
Andres also informs Hadley that when Sebastian died, it broke not only his heart but also his mother’s. According to Andres, Sebastian was her favorite, and she never recovered, dying a year later.
“So, you, Hadley, are the destroyer of my family, and I will make sure you pay.”
Laughing, Hadley reminds Andres that he is but one man, and we outnumber him. Her torment only aggravates him, forcing everyone to take cover when he starts shooting at the door. Silence soon reigns again, allowing Hadley, Sean, and me to position ourselves on one side of the door while Mark, Jackson, and Quinn take up the other.
Carefully turning the handle, Sean pushes the door inward, jumping back instantly to avoid being fired upon. When nothing happens, he slowly moves away from the frame with his gun raised and hesitantly enters the room.
“All clear,” he calls.
Following him into the room, we find it empty.
“I’ve found him,” Hadley suddenly informs us. “He jumped before we could get to him.”
Making our way to Hadley standing on the balcony, we glance down to find Andres sprawled in a pool of blood on the ground.
“It’s finally over,” Hadley cries, hugging her husband tightly.
“Yes, baby, it is. Let’s go home.” He soothes her and hugs her back.
Leaving them, I follow Jackson and the others down to where Mandi is treating Antony. His wound may be a flesh one, but it’s his wife I’m more worried about and what she’ll do to me when she finds out he is injured. Once I know my friend is okay, I need to find where Liam has taken that woman of mine.
“I can walk on my own, Mandi; stop fussing,” I hear Antony mutter as Mandi helps him to his feet.
“You’re one impossible man,” she laughs.
Giving me a knowing look as I approach, Antony shoos me away as well, “Go find Emily; she needs you more than I do.”
Shaking his hand, I thank him for always being by my side.
As I open the front door, I can’t help but grin when the sound of Sean’s voice enters the foyer, and he tells his father to sit down. I’d love to hang around for that battle of wits, but there is someone else I desperately need to find.
CHAPTERNINETEEN
Emily
When I opened that door and ran out into the night, I had no idea who would be waiting for me on the other side. All I knew was that I needed to escape to hide before Antonio found me. Thankfully, the only men I encountered when I did were Mark and Jackson. Each had positioned themselves on either side of the door in anticipation of entry, and when I exited, they directed me to where Liam and Quinn were waiting with Mandi.
Squatting behind the shrubbery near the wall, I watched as both men entered through the door I’d just exited.
“Stay here with Liam,” Quinn instructs as both he and Mandi move into the positions Mark and Jackson just vacated.
I’m not military trained like the rest, so there is nothing more I can do than observe as a whirlwind of activity goes on around me.
