Reed
More gunshots ricocheted off the walls, screams of pain and fear mixed with shouted orders, and somewhere deeper in the chaos, an explosion rocked the ground beneath my feet. My ears were ringing, and my heart was hammering against my ribs like a drum. My hands were shaking.
“Zinnia!” I bellowed, my voice raw as I stumbled out of my study and into the madness. I shoved past one of my men, barely registering his warning to stay back. I couldn’t loss her again. Every instinct I had told me to find her, to protect her, but the house was a maze of chaos and destruction.
I made a beeline for her room, my legs moving faster than my mind could keep up. She had to be there. She had to be safe. But when I threw the door open, my gut twisted. Empty. Sheets untouched. The silence in the room was more deafening than the chaos outside.
“Damn it!” I growled, raking my hands through my hair. Panic bubbled under my skin, hot and uncontrollable. Only one bloody piece of trash could be bold enough to invade my home. Roman. That bastard. He’d come for her. I knew it. And I was going to end him.
Somewhere in the house, another explosion went off, this one closer. The walls shook, dust raining down from the ceiling. I didn’t stop. I tore through the hallways, flinging open doors and shouting her name. Every empty room sent a fresh wave of terror crashing over me. People ran past me, some yelling about taking cover, others shouting orders I couldn’t make sense of. None of it mattered.
“Reed!”
I spun at the sound of Alex’s voice, just in time to see her sprinting toward me. Her face was pale, eyes wide with terror, and she was muttering so fast I could barely make sense of her words.
“Alex, slow down,” I said, grabbing her shoulders. “What’s going on? Where’s Zinnia?”
Her chest was heaving, and tears welled in her eyes. “I saw the CCTV footage in your office,” she choked out, her voice shaking. “She’s in the basement, with my father.”
Her father?
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. For a moment, all I could do was stare at her, the noise around us fading into the background.
“With your father?” My voice cracked.
“He’s going to kill her!” Alex cried, trying to yank away from me and head toward the basement.
“No.” I grabbed her arm, holding her back. “You’re not going down there. It’s not safe.”
“I can’t just stand here!” she shouted, her voice breaking. “I know what he’s capable of, Reed! I know what he’s done to me and to others! I refuse to let him do it to her too!”
Her words sliced through me like a blade. I stared into her eyes, seeing the raw pain there, and I knew there was no stopping her.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “But you stay behind me. Do you hear me, Alex? You stay behind me, and you do exactly what I say.”
She nodded, tears streaking down her face, and together we ran toward the basement. My mind was racing, filled with images of Zinnia. She was barely starting to smile now. The light in her eyes slowly making an appearance. I couldn’t let that fucking asshole dim her light now. Not like this.
I pinged an alert to Hermine, letting her know where we were heading, and prayed hoped send more capable backup. The hallways were a blur as we sprinted toward the basement door. The smell of smoke and gunpowder was thick in the air, and my chest burned with every breath.
When we reached the basement door, I hesitated for a fraction of a second. The air was heavy, the kind of silence that screamed danger.
“Stay close,” I whispered to Alex before pushing the door open.
The stairs creaked beneath our feet as we descended. The further we went, the darker it got, the only light coming from a single flickering bulb at the bottom.
And then we saw them.
Zinnia was slumped on the cold concrete floor, her arms tied behind her back. Her face was bruised, blood trickling from a cut on her temple. She was barely conscious, her chest rising and falling in shallow breaths.
Standing over her was Lucas Greystoke, the Voper. A cold, calculated smile on his face. He held a gun in one hand, the barrel pointed at Zinnia’s head.
“Reed,” Alex whispered, her voice trembling.
I raised a hand, signaling her to stay back. My entire body was shaking with rage and fear, but I forced myself to stay calm.
“Let her go,” I said, my voice low and steady.
Lucas chuckled, a dark, sinister sound that sent chills down my spine. “Ah, Reed. Always the hero. But you’re too late. You took my daughter. She’s mine now.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said, taking a cautious step forward. “Let her go, and we can talk. Whatever you want, we can work it out.”
“What I want,” he sneered, “is for you to feel what I felt. To lose everything.”
He cocked the gun.
“Stop!” Alex screamed, stepping out from behind me.
“Alex, no!” I shouted, reaching for her, but it was too late.
“Oh, you brought her along with you. What a smart move. Tell you what, Zinnia in exchange for Alex. You get you little fuck thing and I get my daughter,”
“Stay back, Alex,” I warned, my voice cold. “You don’t want to get involved in this.”
“I’m already involved,” she said, her voice shaking but filled with determination. “You’ve already taken so much from me. I won’t let you take her, too. You have yourself a deal. Untie her and hand her over to Reed,”
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The tension in the room was suffocating, every second dragging on like an eternity. And then, out of nowhere, there was a deafening bang.
The room plunged into chaos as the bullet ricocheted off the wall, missing its mark by inches. I didn’t think, lunging forward to tackle Lucas to the ground.
“Alex, get Zinnia out of here!” I shouted, struggling to wrestle the gun from his grip.
But before she could move, another explosion rocked the house, the force of it throwing us all to the ground.
When the dust settled, I looked up and my heart stopped.
The ceiling above us had started to collapse, chunks of concrete falling and blocking the only exit.
We were trapped.
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