AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A gun fired.
Owen pushed her against the wall and put a finger to his mouth, then raised his hand to signal her to stay put. He dashed down the hall, out of view. Fear and adrenaline pumped in unison. Her son or Ahnah or Ty could be dead. She couldn’t stay, and darted into the hall after Owen.
“Drop your weapon!” Owen shouted.
What was this place? Tattooed women were naked in cages.
Josiah stood holding a gun and crying while Tiberius lay bleeding on the ground, unmoving and pale. Deathly pale.
A thundering sound erupted, sending a hiccup into her heart as the winds ripped away a portion of the side of the house, blowing it out to sea. The churning waters beyond began to gather and flow right for the house.
Storm surge!
“Don’t shoot him,” Tiberius said, but it was faint. “Don’t shoot my son, O.”
Owen trained the gun on Josiah. “Drop the weapon, man. You.” He pointed the gun at Lysander. “On your knees, hands behind your back. Do it!”
Water hit with an iron fist, crashing into the side of the house and flooding into the solarium. Pieces of roofing, insulation and glass clattered to the tile.
Screams erupted.
Josiah gripped the gun. “I thought you said she wasn’t here?”
Lysander dropped to his knees, hands behind his back and a glint in his eye.
Owen commanded Josiah to drop the gun one last time. “Don’t make me fire this weapon.”
Josiah dropped the gun, and Owen kept his trained on Lysander. Bexley raced to Josiah and hugged him, then shoved the gun he’d dropped in her waistband and knelt beside Tiberius as water continued to flood the room.
“You’re going to drown. I need to move you. Can you get up? Can you walk?” Water rushed over his legs, and she grabbed him under his arms, trying to drag him, but he cried out and she halted.
“He needs pressure applied to his wound.” A woman opened her cage and stepped out. “I’m a nurse. I can help him.”
“Key...in my pocket,” Tiberius said. “Get Josiah help. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said. I love you, Bex.”
Bexley took the key. “I love you too. Whatever you did, it saved our son. Now stay alive to be with us.”
With a half grin, he touched her face. “I think love lingers even when we don’t.”
“Don’t talk like that.” She grasped the key and darted for the women, but the rushing water was too powerful and kept surging through the gaping hole in the side of the house. Roaring and thunder hindered her hearing. She fell and went under, inhaling water and flailing until she felt the metal cage and grabbed on to steady herself.
“Josiah, get your dad out of here,” Owen hollered. “There’s a secret room on the third floor. Last door at the end of the hall. You.” He pointed to the two women outside their cages while keeping his gun on Lysander. “Go with him. Get in the room behind the closet. It’s the safest place in the house with the flooding. We have to take our chances. God help you! Go!”
The two women, covering themselves, clung to one another, falling and clambering to escape the rushing water.
“Bexley, you don’t have the strength to handle the water. Go with Ty and your son. I’ll free the women and send them up. And bring up this dirtbag too, unfortunately.” Lysander still knelt as water rose to his waist and his hair matted to his cheeks, a smile in his eyes.
Josiah struggled to help Tiberius stand. Bexley threw the key to Owen. As he caught it, Lysander rose up and aimed another gun at Owen. “This is my kingdom! I control it. No one is going to ruin my plans. Not you. Not him. Not this hurricane.” He cursed and fired the gun Ty had slid across the floor earlier. He must have found it during the commotion.
Owen jerked backward, taking a hit to his shoulder, and returned fire. The bullet hit Lysander’s leg and he buckled.
The roaring intensified, and a gale blew another pane of glass from the roof. Bexley screamed as a jagged shard ripped through Lysander. With a horrifying scream, he fell into surging water that swallowed him up.
Tiberius couldn’t stand, but he had to fight for his family. He had no strength of his own, and the dizziness was overwhelming. He couldn’t stop the tremors. He was bleeding out and going into shock.
Help me stand.
A thought, maybe a prayer.
