“And shot you,” I added.
Connor glanced back and forth at us. “I’ve thought about that. He denied it when I asked him. He claims he was with a girl that night. If I went snooping, he’d know.” He shrugged and pointed at the house. “But now we have a bigger problem. Tristan’s plan was to take Hadley away before her father got back. I don’t know what the fuck he’s doing here early. Tristan isn’t going to like that. My guess is, they’ll kill him to keep him out of the way. Tristan gets off on getting rid of obstacles.”
The sky grew darker and time was running out. “All right, let’s get this shit started,” I said, hurrying to my laptop. “How many people does he have in there?”
“Just two. I’m assuming Dillon is missing because you got rid of him already?”
Nick snorted. “He’s not dead, but Evans fucked him up.”
They talked back and forth while I typed away and got everything ready to go. All I had to do was click one button and the system would be down. “Where should we go in at?” I asked.
Connor cleared his throat. “The window in Hadley’s room is unlocked. I caught her trying to escape last night. When I shut it, I never locked it.”
“Why did she try to leave?”
“Tristan drugged her and thought she was passed out when he said he wanted you dead. When she woke up, she tried to get to you. I was there to stop her.”
Clenching my teeth, I clicked the override button. There was no telling what all that fucker had done to her. “This ends tonight. Let’s go.”
We took off for the fence and got over it with ease. Without the override, we wouldn’t have been able to withstand the electrical current running through the wires. It’d be like getting struck by lightning. Once again, I was thankful for my many connections.
When we got to the back of the house, I climbed up the side and opened the window Connor pointed to. Hadley wasn’t in there, but I slid in and helped Nick and Connor inside.
“She must be in Tristan’s room,” Connor hissed.
The thought made me so goddamn pissed I couldn’t see straight. I stormed for the door. “I’m going up there to find her.”
Nick pulled out his gun and had it ready. “And I’ll try to find her father. The faster we find them both, the quicker we can get the hell out of here.”
I didn’t like him going out on his own, but he knew the risks. “What are you going to do?” I asked Connor.
Eyes blazing, he held up his gun. “I’m ready for my own revenge.”
They both took off down the stairs and I went up to the third floor. The hallway was dark but I knew exactly where to go when a figure caught my eye. Tristan had one of his goons stationed right outside of a room. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shoot or it’d alert the whole house. Sneaking into one of the other rooms, I closed the door and lightly scraped my fingers across it.
“Come on, bastard,” I grumbled.
The sound of his footsteps steadily approached and the door creaked open. As soon as I saw the gun in his hand, I grabbed his wrist and twisted. He started to shout, but I wrapped my other arm around his face and snapped his neck. One down, two to go. I pulled him further into the room and stole the keys off his belt.
Hurrying down the hall, I studied the lock. There were a ton of keys, but only a couple of brass ones; that was what I needed. I tried the first, second, and third one, but they didn’t work. I got down to the last one and it turned home. Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and opened the door, not knowing what the hell I was going to see.
Hadley
For the past couple of hours, I dreaded the moment Tristan would walk through that door and now the time had finally come. My eyes burned, but I refused to let him break me. No matter what happened, I was going to stand strong with my head held high. Could I fight him off? Maybe, but not for long. I knew I didn’t stand a chance in the long run, at least not alone. My father was there somewhere, and I didn’t know if Tristan was going to keep his word. I had no doubt he would kill him if I defied him.
Closing my eyes, I clutched my stomach and took a deep breath. I felt sick and disgusted with myself for what I was about to do. There was no choice as long as my dad’s life was on the line. Maybe I could make myself sick and puke on him when he tried to fuck me. Either way, I had to figure it out. The door opened and closed, his footsteps drawing closer. My heart pounded harder with each passing second. He knew I’d do anything to keep my family and friends safe. How could I lay there and pretend to enjoy him fucking me?
“Please, Tristan,” I begged, “don’t make me do this.” Holding my stomach tighter, I fought the urge to vomit. I might need it later.
“Hadley.” Gasping, I opened my eyes and froze. “Hadley, are you okay?”
Slowly, I turned around, tears falling the moment I saw him. He approached slowly, staring at me as if I would break. Little did he know, he gave me all the strength I needed. “You’re here!” I cried, rushing into his arms.
His arms closed in around me and he held me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. He was there. That was all that mattered. “I’m here,” he murmured. I didn’t want to let him go, but he pulled back and clutched my face in his firm grip, his gray eyes dark and dangerous. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” I said, hoping he couldn’t see the lie in my face. His gaze narrowed and I looked away; he could see right through me. “Other than drugging me, he hasn’t had the chance to do much. But my father’s here somewhere and he’s in trouble. So is Connor.”
Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the door. “Connor’s fine. He’s here with me and Nick.”
“Nick?” I hissed. “Why is he here?”
He stopped in front of the door and sighed. “He cares about you, Hadley. As much as I dislike the guy, he’s actually been quite useful. Now let’s go.” We snuck out into the hall, and he froze, pulling out his phone.
“Who is it?” I whispered.
“It’s Nick. He’s downstairs with your father. He needs help getting him out.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed him down the stairs. My father was still alive. “Where’s Tristan? He has two other guys with him,” I informed him.
Squeezing my hand, he jerked me into a darkened corner, his gaze on a security camera by the ceiling. “There’s only one now.”
“What happened to the other one?” I asked.
He glanced at me quickly and then averted his gaze back to the camera. “He’s dead. There was no other way.” Once the camera turned toward the other side of the room, we took off down the hall. “Nick said it’s the second door on the right.” We got to the door and he guided me out of the way. “Let me go in there first. It might be a trap.” Holding his gun in one hand, he turned the knob with the other. The room was half lit and the only thing I could see over Blake’s shoulder was Nick’s head. Blake glanced back at me. “We’re good, come on.”
We rushed inside to find Nick trying to get my father free from his restraints. His head lolled to the side and he was bound to a chair, clearly drugged.
“Dad,” I gasped, racing over to him. I tried to lift his head, but he was out.
Nick passed Blake the knife, then lifted me up in his arms. “Thank fucking God you’re okay. We thought you were dead.”
“I would’ve been if you two didn’t show up. There is no way I could’ve submitted to his wishes.” I shivered at the thought.
He set me down and went straight back to helping Blake. Once my father was free, Nick hauled him up by one side and I took the other. Blake peered out the door and motioned for us to follow him. We got to the main foyer and all I could see was the front door beckoning us closer. Almost there.
Blake grasped my chin and kissed me. “I want you to go with Nick and hide in the woods. I’ll be out there soon.” I started to protest, but he kissed me again. “Don’t, Hadley. Just do as I say.”