Page 55 of Daddy's Obsession


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The vault is in clear view and wide open.

Inside is a treasure trove of jewelry, antiques, art, and gold. Seated on the bottom shelf at the very back of the vault is none other than theVase of Aphrodite.

My heart skips a beat. It’srightthere. I almost step forward, my fingers itching to snatch it. All I’d have to do is go in, take the USB out of the false bottom, and then I’d get the fuck out of here and call Lucius to save Dad.

I stop myself. I don’t move a muscle.

It’d be so damn easy.Tooeasy.

I take a careful look around. No security cameras, no guards… Van Straus isn’tthatarrogant, is he? This has to be some sort of trap.

Squeak.

The sound of a mouse scurrying past almost makes me scream. I swallow my fear the moment I hear the violentzapandhissof something frying and burning. Not even a foot away do I spot the mouse, singed clean in half.

Lasers. This motherfucker has high-powered lasers!

I almost laugh. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, they do. Dad never prepared me for thisMission Impossible-level ridiculousness. I’m really dealing with a megalomaniac here.

“Ms. Monroe?” Cassandra calls to me, her voice echoing off the tall, cold walls. “Ms. Monroe, where are you?”

I’m running out of time. Before I leave, I take a good long look at the vault and its door. It’s arguably one of the most complicated mechanisms I’ve ever laid eyes on. I may very well be one of the best safecrackers out there, but something of this size and complexity is going to be next to impossible to break open given my time constraints.

With a deep breath, I turn to climb back up the stairs. When I reach the ground floor, I come face to face with a gun. Waiting for me are Anders and Klaus, the patrol guards who stumbled upon me and Gabriel in the forest.

“You’re coming with us,” Anders says.

Well, fuck.

Chapter 22

Gabriel

The moment I see Klaus and Anders walking Raquel out the front door, I know we’re in deep shit. It’s a miracle they haven’t shot us on the spot, but it’s only a matter of time.

“Give me the keys,” Klaus hisses at me. His pistol is still in its holster, but one wrong move could result in a bullet between my eyes. I’d try to overpower him in any other circumstance, but Anders has a gun pressed against Raquel’s back. I pray he doesn’t have a twitchy trigger finger. Reluctantly, I hand Klaus the keys to the SUV.

“Get in,” Anders snaps at Raquel before glaring at me. “Both of you. We’re going for a ride.”

“Where are you taking us?” she asks. To her credit, her voice doesn’t tremble.

“Just get in the fucking car.”

Raquel and I slip into the backseat while Klaus gets behind the wheel and Anders takes the passenger seat, his gun trained on us. The car starts to move, taking us further and further away from the castle. Nobody says anything. Hell, I’m pretty sure nobody dares to breathe. Klaus doesn’t take us back to the main road, but deeper into the thick forest. There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to kill us and bury our bodies where nobody can find them.

Beside me, Raquel takes my hand and squeezes my fingers. I can’t tell if I’m the one comforting her, or if it’s the other way around.

My brain kicks into overdrive. There’s got to be a way out of this. I could always lunge at Anders and attempt to pry his weapon away, but there’s no guarantee I won’t be shot first. There’s also the added complication of Klaus being armed as well. He’d just as easily blow my brains out. But I can’t do nothing, either.

They’re either going to kill us now, or they’re going to kill us later. In the grand scheme of things, I’d rather not wait. I tap Raquel on the knee and glance quickly at the back of Klaus’ head. She gets my meaning and nods.

When the SUV flies over a massive dip, I shout, “Now!”

Raquel kicks the back of the driver’s seat as hard as she’s able, sending Klaus face-first into the steering wheel. I’m pretty sure I hear his nose crack, but I don’t have time to check because I lunge for Ander’s gun. I snatch his hand and shove it up, smacking his curled fist against the roof of the car while nailing him square in the jaw with a mean right hook. He shouts in pain, dropping the gun to the car floor.

The SUV swerves off the path, careening at breakneck speed toward the base of a tree. The crash isn’t disastrous, but the front of the car dents in and the windshield shatters violently. Klaus is out cold while Anders groans in agony. My first instinct isn’t to finish them off, but to check on Raquel.

“Are you alright?” I ask her, concerned.

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