AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pulling back, I look down at him and skim my finger down his cheek. “We have to go,” I whisper.
He looks from me to the other cages, then back again. The silent question passes between us as if coming from someone so much older than his years.
“I’ll come back for them. I promise. But we need to go before we get caught. I can’t help anyone if I get locked down here too.”
With him still in my arms, I stand and head back the way I came. When I reach the foot of the steps, I realize this isn’t going to work.
“Okay, kiddo. I need you to climb on my back. Think you can do that?”
He nods as I place him on the third step and slide the backpack off. I adjust the straps, lengthening them so that once he climbs on my back, I slide the backpack on behind him. I pull the straps tight after tugging his little legs through them, offering me a little peace of mind that he won’t slip. His arms wrap around my neck, thankfully not too tight, as I take us back upstairs.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get up there, but I want you to do something for me, okay, little man? I want you to bury your head against my neck and squeeze your eyes closed. You keep them closed until I tell you to open them. I don’t care what you hear or how loud it gets. You keep your eyes closed,” I tell him quietly as I take out my gun.
He doesn’t respond with words, and at this point, I’m wondering if he speaks at all, but he does what I ask. That helps ease the guilt over what I’m about to potentially expose this poor child to.
Once we reach the top, I push the door open a crack and check to see if the coast is clear. When I see nothing, I open the door wider and leave the basement. It’s quiet up here as I gently close the door behind us. I stare at the front door before turning my head and looking up at the staircase. If I leave now, I might never get another shot like this. But if I stay, I can’t guarantee we will make it out alive.
The decision should be an easy one. The kid should take priority, but still, I hesitate because neither he nor I will be safe until Santos is dead. The decision is taken out of my hands when I hear the sound of a gun cocking. I whirl in that direction, aim at the shadow, press my finger to the trigger, and fire. The bright light illuminates the face of the man briefly, making me stagger back when I recognize him.
“Calix,” I choke out before turning and running.
I never thought he’d come back and work for his brother. Not after everything I told him. I’m a damn fool. I run through the house and skid in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor. I slam into the counter, pain erupting in my hip and side, but I don’t give it a second thought as I spin, putting myself between a bullet and a boy for the third time in as many weeks.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Ikeep my gun up as I edge around the counter toward the door. There are three entry points to this room. I have to split my attention between them as I back up, and in the dark, that makes it hard. I bump into something, but thankfully I don’t lose my balance.
A body lies at my feet, the source of the pool of blood, I’m assuming. I can’t investigate and see if they’re still breathing. I won’t risk the kid for that. We are almost to the laundry room when a figure steps into the room.
I have my gun aimed at them, ready to shoot as the lights flick on and the man from my nightmares claps loudly. The boy at my back tenses and squeezes me tighter, his fear palpable. Ironically, his fear lessens my own, my maternal instinct to protect him driving out everything else.
“I have to say, Sophia. I’m impressed. I never expected you’d pull off all that you have. I guess we’re more alike than I realized.”
“We’re nothing alike,” I snarl, backing up, stopping when I feel someone behind me.
A gun clicks, and the boy whimpers. I know, I fucking know, this is it. I’m not going to walk away from this, but I’ll be damned if the last thing this boy sees is someone giving up on him. If we die, I want him to know that someone cared enough to fight for him—fight until their last fucking breath, if necessary.
“Well done, Zale.” Santos grins that sadistic grin of his, but it doesn’t make me cower in fear. It makes my anger coil around me like a snake ready to strike.
The boy sobs silently into my neck, tears running down my exposed skin. I know he set me up. I just don’t care. Fear can be a powerful motivator, and this boy, Zale, is a freaking baby. I reach my free hand up and stroke his leg, offering him comfort in the only way I can.
“Take him,” Santos orders.
The person behind us moves to grab him, but I tighten my grip.
“Touch him, and I’ll kill you all.”
Santos laughs hysterically, but it’s the kind of sound a serial killer would make. There is no joy, no warmth. The sound is so empty and cold, it hurts my skin.
“I think I’ll have fun fucking the sass out of you. Either you hand the boy over, or I have my brother shoot him. I have no use for him anymore.”
I run through all the variables and outcomes in my head, knowing none of my choices are worth shit. But if it’s Calix behind me with a gun aimed at us, then I have one last move to make. I may not trust this man. Hell, I may kill him before the night is through, but I know in my core that he won’t hurt this boy. If Zale can’t be in my arms, Calix’s is the next best place to be.
Keeping my gun on Santos, I talk softly to Zale so only he can hear me. “I’m going to hand you over to Calix for a little while. You be good, okay?”
He cries, but he doesn’t fight me as I release the straps of my pack, and Calix moves to grab him. Zale cries harder now, gripping tighter. I peel him off me, ignoring my tears as I turn and surrender him to Calix, who has blood running down his arm from where I shot him. The look on his face isn’t one I’ve seen before, but I don’t have time to analyze it.
I pass Zale over to him before I hear movement behind me. I whirl and have the gun pressed to Santos’s stomach. He grabs my hair and kisses me, his dick hard between us. It takes everything I have to not pull the trigger, but I see more men enter the room behind him. I know if I shoot Santos, Zale will be next.
