Total pages in book: 179
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 839(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Nicholas steps to the left and out of sight, only to come back. He nods for us to follow him. Walking around the corner, we see a body lying on the floor at the foot of the stairs. Shattered glass everywhere and blood smeared along the floor. I see two different sets of boot prints that step through it and then track toward the formal family room. There are small handprints that I’m assuming are Elli’s and you can tell by the smeared blood that they dragged her away from here.
I bend down, grab the black mask, and yank it off the face.
“That’s … not what I expected.” Tyson is the one who speaks.
“Who the hell is that?” Nicholas asks.
I reach out to check for a pulse and there is none. Standing, I look down into the set of dead eyes and smile. My wife did that. “Amelia,” I finally answer.
“Who the fuck is she?” Nicholas goes on.
“She was who my father tried to get me to marry.”
“Why would the Spade brothers get her involved?” Tyson wonders out loud.
I shrug. “Who the hell knows. Come on. They’re in the house. Follow the blood trail.” A part of me knows that not all of that belongs to Amelia. There was a struggle by the obvious broken glass and turned over table. I just pray that she’s not bleeding out somewhere.
I raise my gun as the blood-stained boot prints start to fade. Stepping into the family room, I see Elli lying on one of the couches. I lower my gun and rush over to her. “Elli!” She lies on her back, arms underneath her and head tilted toward the cushions. “Elli.” I grab her chin and force her to look up at me. Her eyes are closed so I open them up to see they’re dilated. “Fuck,” I hiss.
Grabbing her shoulders, I pull her to a sitting position and her head falls forward into my chest. I hold her as Tyson comes up to the couch. He removes a knife from his pocket and cuts her bound wrists free.
“What’s wrong with her?” Nicholas asks.
“Drugs.” I look at Gavin. “Can you do anything about it?”
He sighs. “Depends on what they’ve given her.”
My eyes go to Tyson as I nod behind him. “There’s a bedroom at the end of that hallway. Check it. If it’s clear, I want her in there.” He nods and takes off in that direction.
I don’t know where the Spade brothers are or why they left her here alone. But I want her out of this room when they return, before the bullets start flying.
Lying her back down, I yank my shirt up and over my head and start to wipe off her bloody hands and arms. It’s on her neck and cheeks. I smear it anywhere I see it to make sure it’s not hers. But as I get to her thigh, I see she’s been cut. It’s not deep or life-threatening, but it looks to still be bleeding. I apply pressure to it with the shirt.
“Elli?” I cup her face. “Wake up for me. Look at me, Elli.”
Her dark lashes flutter open and her dazed ice-blue eyes meet mine, but I know she’s not seeing me. “That’s it. Elli, this is important, what did they give you?”
Looking away from me, her lashes flutter before her eyes fall closed and then open again but she doesn’t respond.
“Maybe a sedative?” Gavin offers.
Tyson re-enters the family room and nods his head. “It’s empty.”
I stand, pick her up off the couch, and follow after him. Entering one of the many the spare bedrooms, I place her on the bed and look at Gavin. “Stay in here with her. No matter what you hear out there, do not leave her in here alone.”
“I’ll stay with them,” Nicholas offers, lifting his gun. “I’ll protect them.”
Tyson follows me out and he closes the door behind him. It won’t stop the brothers from getting in, but it may give Nicholas one extra second to shoot their fucking heads off.
Making our way back down the hallway, I hear voices. We pause, pressing our backs into the wall, both nodding to one another in understanding.
“Dude, where the fuck did she go?” one barks out.
“She was right here,” another states.
“She couldn’t have gone far. She was tied up, for Christ’s sake.” The first one laughs.
“You only secured her wrists. I told you we should have hog-tied her. There’s no chance of movement in that position.”
“Come on,” the first guy growls, growing irritated. “She’s around here somewhere.”
I readjust my grip on the gun and hold it down in front of me, listening to the sound of their boots growing closer and closer. I hold in my breath so they won’t notice us as they pass by the end of the hallway. Once the second one passes, Tyson nods to me and we both step out. I slam the butt of the gun down on the back of his neck. He drops like a rock instantly.