Tears spilled over my cheeks and I closed my eyes. Opening my lips, I let him kiss me. It made me sick to feel his tongue against mine, his hands all over my body.
Moaning, he pulled back. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. You just gave your father and extra day to live.” He kissed me again and sucked my bottom lip. “When I come back, we can work on giving him another week.” He cupped his hand between my legs. “Be ready for me.”
I held my breath and waited for him to leave before breaking down. As soon as the door shut, I fell to my knees. I knew what he wanted, but I didn’t know if I had the strength to do it; especially if I had to do it every day. I’d rather be dead.
Blake
“For the longest time, I never understood why he felt the need to have that much security,” Nick said. “Now I know.” He passed me the binoculars and I scanned the grounds. There was only one person patrolling, but that didn’t mean there weren’t more.
“Where do you think he would keep her?”
He shook his head. “Not sure exactly. But it’d either be on the second or third floor. That’s where all of the bedrooms are. Downstairs you have the kitchen, library, and other entertainment rooms.”
“Did he ever have security walking around?”
“Nah, not ever. This is a first.”
Probably because he had precious cargo in the house. The sound of a car caught my ear. “Someone’s coming.” A small, red sports car came barreling down the road and I recognized it immediately.
“It’s Hadley’s father,” Nick pointed out.
“I know.” I held up the binoculars and watched him get through the gate with no issues. “Well, this just got interesting.”
“Do you think he put the hit out on you?”
My blood boiled. “I don’t know. If he did, he’ll fucking regret it.” George got out of the car and walked right into the house.
“She’ll be fine, right?” Nick asked.
“I fucking hope so. Whatever happens tonight, I need you to be all in. There’s no hesitating. If you want her out alive, you have to be willing to do whatever’s necessary.”
He nodded. “I won’t hesitate, even if I have to kill Tristan myself.”
“Even knowing you might get killed in the process? If you want to back out, now’s the time to do it. I can do this myself.” The last thing I needed was to worry about him while we were in there. I saw how upset Hadley was when he was in the hospital, and I didn’t want her having to go through that again.
Nick huffed. “I’ll be fine. I’m a fucking hockey player. I like to kick ass.”
Rolling my eyes, I glanced down at my watch. We had two more hours for the sun to go down. We’d already been out there for over three, and it felt like a fucking eternity. Usually, I’d go in guns blazing, but I couldn’t do that, not with Hadley’s life on the line. My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out. It showed up as Hadley.
Nick glanced down at it. “Why does he keep calling from her phone?”
“Because he knows I’ll answer it.” I accepted the call and growled low into the phone. “What?”
“I see you’re still alive. I knew you would be.”
“Can’t say the same for you. What do you want?”
“We’re on the same side, Mr. Evans. And right now, Hadley needs our help. I need you here, tonight. We don’t have much time.”
I scoffed. “Don’t worry, I already know where you are. I don’t need your help.” I hung up, not waiting for a reply. I didn’t trust him, not when he was one of the reasons Hadley was gone.
Nick stared at me. “What?” I snapped.
“It sounds like he’s really trying to help.”
“Doesn’t matter. I can’t trust anyone but myself. I learned that the hard way.”
“I know what you mean.”
For the next couple of hours, I showed Nick how to hold his pistol and how to load it. One of Mason’s guys had given us extra ammo, since I only had enough for myself. Nick needed to be prepared. The guy might be a pain in my ass, but I could see it in his eyes, he wasn’t afraid. It was what I needed.
The sky began to turn dark, and it was time to move. Once everything was packed up, we moved closer to the house so I could set up. Nick pointed to the house. “How are we going to get in?”
I opened my laptop and typed away. “I’m going to override the security system. For just a few brief minutes, we’ll be able to climb the fence undetected. As soon as we get in, I want to find Hadley and then get you two out of there.”
“What about you?” he stormed, jerking his head toward me.
“I’m not leaving until they pay for what they did.”
“Hadley’s not going to like that.”
I knew she wouldn’t, but she had no choice. “She’ll just have to understand.”
A twig snapped behind us a couple hundred feet back. I tensed and so did Nick. “What was that?” he whispered.
“Someone’s here.” I pointed to one of the large trees beside us. “Crouch low in front of that tree. We don’t want to shoot out here.”
“Don’t shoot, got it.” He crawled over to the tree and crouched low.
It was so dark, I could barely see him, but I had a night sensor on my pistol that helped. Another twig snapped and when I pointed my gun in the general direction, I found what I was looking for. It was Connor. As quietly as I could, I stood and took small, calculated steps through the brush. Without him knowing, I circled around and came up behind him.
“I told you I didn’t need you,” I warned.
He lifted his hands and held them out. “I told Hadley you would come.”
“Where is she?”
“Either in her room or Tristan’s. I saw them taking her away, kicking and screaming. She obviously found out something while I was gone. The next thing I knew, they were coming to my house to put a bullet in my head.”
“And why would they do that?”
He sighed. “Because Tristan and I don’t see eye to eye. When I found out what he was up to, I challenged him on it. And if there’s one thing you don’t do, it’s cross him.”
“Why did you then?”
His shoulders stiffened. “You’re not the only one he took something from.”
“You expect me to believe this?”
“No, but it’s all you got. He’s planning to take her to Ireland tomorrow and as soon as she’s with our people, getting her out will be nearly impossible.”
“What does her father have to do with this? Did he order the hit on me?”
He shook his head. “No, he’s clueless. That was all Tristan. George doesn’t even know he was the one involved here. Every message was passed through me. The man was desperate after the last threat, so he asked me to fake her death. Obviously, he doesn’t know the consequences of dealing with my kind.”
Nick left his spot by the tree and stormed over. “Why does Tristan want to take Hadley?”
If Connor was surprised at his presence, he didn’t show it. “Because he’s obsessed with her; has been for years. Can I drop my arms now?”
Lowering my gun, I stepped around him and he dropped his arms. “Are you trying to say he’s been here this whole time just for her?”
“As fucked up as it sounds, that’s exactly what I’m saying. He orchestrated this whole thing, studying her and her friends.” He turned to Nick. “Including you. He hated you with Hadley. Thinks you tried to take her away from him.”
Nick tensed. “What a fucking bastard. It wouldn’t surprise me if he was the one who broke into Hadley’s that night and killed Scott.”