Aaron shifted so he could look at me. “No, I don’t think so. My father’s very careful about that. Besides, if it was someone else, why drug me and not my father? He was talking to me all the time, and it was hard for me to concentrate. If it wasn’t his fault, he’d have noticed, I think.”
“Then why did he let you go out? He knew you wouldn’t be able to react normally around people, and all those guards wouldn’t have been able to stop you because they were just there to protect you, not to protect anyone from you.” In the video I’d seen, they had been surprised when Aaron pointed his gun at them, and I was sure that, no matter how loyal the guards were, they wouldn’t be willing to die for Roberto’s stupid plan. “It even created a divide between his ranks, and maybe that’s why he sent you here... so you’d detox, because his original plan didn’t work.”
Aaron’s eyes were expressionless. “My father has a new plan and I know nothing about it. Again.”
“Maybe he wanted you to kill someone else and not the guards. Or maybe he was aware of how you’d react. Maybe he ordered the guards to treat you in a way he knew would provoke you, but why take such a risk? It would make him look weak in front of the others, wouldn’t it? If his guards started to question whether they should be working for him...”
“Unless that’s exactly what he wants. To make everyone think we’re falling apart and fighting between us.” He raked his hand through his hair.
“Does that mean he’s preparing for war? Despite the deal?” My brow furrowed. “If he breaks it, he loses the support of many people.”
“I don’t know.” Aaron groaned. “He was asking a lot about you, and I don’t think I told him anything... but what if I did?”
“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t just let you leave. You barely even spoke to Marco, and your sentences were totally weird and cryptic. Besides, wouldn’t he just want to...?”
“What if the only reason he let me out was to see if I’d go to you? If he found out or heard rumors that I might’ve helped you or that I was seen with you... Maybe the info wasn’t from a credible source, so he drugged me to check. When I didn’t say anything, he sent me out to see if I’d go look for you.”
“But we actually met at a bar, and you told Marco you didn’t want to see me. No one was trying to figure out who I was. Surely the guards would be watching your every move and alert the boss if a strange woman met with you.”
“The guards probably weren’t in on my father’s plan, then.” Aaron met my gaze. “But what was his goal? If he knew the whole truth, he would’ve killed me already. Why send me here?”
I shrugged. “Maybe the dosage of the drug was too high and you needed a break. Maybe his plan isn’t complete yet and he’ll try again. If he suspects something, he might not be sure you actually betrayed him without solid proof.”
“But how could he control what I did while I was high on whatever was in my system? How could my actions prove anything if I couldn’t even think straight? If I supposedly went to you to discuss our plans of overtaking his business, how would he know I didn’t simply go after you to get revenge because you tricked me? I told him that I didn’t know who you were. And if he wanted me to prove that I was telling the truth and I ended up killing you, that would break the deal and he’d lose the support of people. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Then maybe that wasn’t what he was doing. Maybe it isn’t about us at all.” My head was starting to ache just thinking about it. “All I know is that we need to get out of here. You too.”
“I can’t. My father...”
“Your father drugged you! What did he expect? That you’d go back to him calmly? That you wouldn’t even realize what happened? Maybe think that you got food poisoning?” I scowled.
“I guess. Maybe falling for your plan was what proved to him that I was even stupider than he thought. If the drug was a test... to see if I’d realize or break free... Well, I probably failed like I always do.” He averted his gaze.
“Don’t tell me he actually did insane things to test...?”
Aaron looked up at me, and I could see it in his eyes that yes, that was exactly what had happened. Why was I even surprised?
“Forget it.” I waved my hand. “You’re leaving here with Marco and me, and if your father dares to complain, tell him you know what he did to you. There’s nothing I want more than to see him destroyed, but screw him. Now you have a reason to leave, and he only has himself to blame for that.”
“He’ll send his men after me, and you and Marco will need help getting out of here. You can only do that if I gather all the guards in one room with me, and then you can leave unseen.”
“And you’ll just go back to him so he can drug you again?”
“I won’t let it happen. I promise,” he said, but his eyes were that cold blue that told me he was hiding something. “Let’s find Marco and figure out our plan.”
“But...”
“No, Octavia. I’ve made my decision. You and Marco are leaving, and once you’re safe, I’m going to confront my father. He can’t do this to me. Not anymore.” He gritted his teeth.
“Okay, fine.” I sighed. Aaron rose to his feet and I got up too. He headed to the door and went to get Marco, then came back with him a moment later.
“What are we going to do?” Marco asked.
“I’m going to go downstairs to talk to the guards and you wait up here. Once they come with me to the kitchen, run for the back door. I can switch off the alarms with my phone. Send me a message when you’re out so I can stop entertaining them with some stupid speech.” Aaron’s lips quirked up.
“Are you sure they’ll all come with you?” Marco gave him a skeptical look.
“I’ll make them. They’re here to protect me, aren’t they? So what better way to do it if not by being around me? Even if they’re here for some other purpose I’m not aware of yet, I’m still their boss and they’ll listen to me.”
“Let’s go then,” Marco said. “Are you going to ditch the guards and meet us later?”
“Maybe.”
Marco opened his mouth to protest, but Aaron simply lifted his finger and Marco clamped his mouth shut.
“I’ll go downstairs now. You wait in the hallway and be ready.”
I placed my hand on the back of Aaron’s head and pulled him in for a kiss. “Go.”
He flashed me a smile and headed for the door. Marco and I came out into the hallway as Aaron descended the stairs.
“You can’t be here, sir,” an unknown male voice said.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Of course I can,” Aaron said coldly. “Now, be a good boy and tell all the guards to come here. I want to speak with them.”
“No,” the guard said, and I looked at Marco, who shrugged.
Aaron laughed. “Are you serious? You’re refusing a direct order. I’m sure that’s going to go well for you.”
“Sir...” The guard’s voice was hesitant. “We follow your father’s orders. Please go back upstairs.”
“And why should I do that? Are you keeping me prisoner here, then?” Aaron’s voice was like acid.
There was a pause, and I fought the urge to look over the railing to see what was going on. “Maybe you should discuss this with your father, sir. He ordered us not to let you come downstairs. If you need anything, we can bring it to you. Just say it.”
A sharp crack sounded, and a few moments later, multiple footsteps clicked against the floor. Fuck.
“Fine. I’m going upstairs,” Aaron said in strained voice. Just as he came up, his face contorted with anger, someone shouted, and sounds of gunfire filled the air.
Chapter 14
“What the fuck is going on?” Marco yelled, pulling out his gun.
“No idea, but we can’t go down there.” Aaron grabbed my hand. “The guards should be able to take care of whoever attacked us. We need to get to the attic. We can assess the situation from there, and it’ll take anyone who comes looking for me longer to f
ind us.”
We all ran down the hallway until we reached the stairs. The screaming and shooting continued even as we ran up.
“What happened down there?” I asked, not letting go of Aaron’s hand. “I mean, aside from that guard telling you that you couldn’t be there.”
“I punched him and more of them came and pointed their guns at me.” He ground his teeth together. “I don’t know what happened next. Maybe they started shooting at one another.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Marco said.
“No, it doesn’t. Someone must have attacked,” Aaron said. “Maybe someone wants revenge for what I did, and the others disagree.”
“Yeah, but they’d just come up to you and kill you in your sleep or something, not wait for you to come down.” We found ourselves in a dark hallway. Aaron tugged me toward one of the doors and punched in a code to unlock it.
“We need weapons,” he said. “Grab anything you can carry.”
I slipped my hand out of his as we entered a small storage room filled with shelves and boxes of weapons. Marco immediately picked up a bag and started stuffing weapons in it. I took two guns and a pocket knife. My blood raced as we dashed out into the hallway and reached yet another staircase. Once we found ourselves in front of a door, Aaron slammed his shoulder into it, swinging it open. We emerged into the attic and Aaron immediately ran to one of the windows. I joined him, slightly out of breath, as Marco bolted the door and looked for something to block it.
“Those are my father’s men,” Aaron said, his brow furrowing. I looked down and saw four SUVs parked in front of the house, two armed men guarding them. Not far from them, the body of one of the guards was lying in the grass.
“What are they doing?” Marco approached us. “Do you think they came for you? Against your father’s orders?”
Aaron shrugged. As we kept looking out the window, three of Roberto’s men came out dragging the body of a guard. They dumped the body in the middle of the driveway, and one of the men crouched next to the dead guard. I gasped as he pulled out his knife and stabbed the guard multiple times. The guard was already dead, so why... The man stuck his hand inside the guard’s stomach and I turned away, taking a deep breath. I didn’t want to see what he did next. Aaron and Marco kept watching, not even blinking.
“They’ll be coming for us,” Marco said.
“Yeah, but they have dozens of rooms to go through before they get here, and they don’t seem that much in a hurry,” Aaron said.
“How are we going to get out of here?” I asked.
“We might have to climb down the building,” Aaron said. “Or... you two can hide and I can stay here. They don’t know you’re here with me too.”
“No.” I grasped Aaron’s hand. “You’re not doing that.”
“We don’t have a choice. There’s too many of them. Unless the guards manage to fight back or take out most of them, we won’t stand a chance against them,” Aaron said. “And there isn’t a way out of here. You can hide behind those boxes.” He turned and pointed at the boxes in the corner. “They won’t look for you. It’s me they want.”
“Guys...” Marco said, raising his voice. “You have to see this.”
“Do we have to?” I asked, but I’d already turned around. As I peered down, a shudder ran down my spine. Roberto’s men were arranging organs and intestines and spreading blood over the ground, and all of that formed something that looked like letters. Aaron mumbled a curse, and Marco’s mouth was hanging open.
“Aaron, do you have your phone with you?” I asked.
“Yeah, why?” His eyes met mine.
“Record this. Now!” ...before it was too late, we were attacked, and there wasn’t time left to do anything except fight.
Aaron opened the window and took out his phone, aiming it through the window until he could get a good view of the macabre sight underneath.
“Is that an F?” Marco squinted his eyes as he leaned through the window.
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my arms.
“Wait, you don’t think...?” Aaron looked at me.
“I do. They’re going to blame this on my family.” There was a hint of desperation in my voice. And surely enough, as the men moved, I could see the message. Fuck your deal, it said in blood, and underneath, the organs and intestines formed a name: Ferrara.
“Roberto sacrificed his own men to break the deal?” Marco’s face went slack.
“No, he sacrificed them so he’d make it look like my family broke the deal,” I said.
“But everyone knows your family doesn’t want a war,” Marco said.
“It doesn’t matter. Everyone will sooner believe that my father was bluffing than that Roberto turned against his own men,” I said. “Although, that message is a little bit too much like his style, not my family’s.”
Aaron and Marco exchanged a look and I frowned. “What?”
“Your grandfather used to leave messages like that to his enemies,” Aaron said, and I made a noise in my throat. Well, that was a piece of information no one had told me about.
“Awesome,” I muttered.
“If Roberto is setting the Ferraras up, then what about you?” Marco looked at Aaron. “He can’t just say you survived...”
Aaron’s eyes became expressionless. “That’s because he doesn’t plan for me to survive.”
A bang on the door made us all jump. “We know you’re in here! Come out now and your death will be quick.”
Aaron handed me the phone. “You guard this.” He drew his gun. “Hide behind that column and stay there. Marco and I will take care of this.”
I slipped the phone into my pocket and got my gun. “You don’t know how many of them are here.”
“Come on, traitor!” The door rattled. “Show yourself!”
Aaron motioned for me to get behind the column, and I did as he wanted me to. He and Marco pressed themselves against the wall on each side of the door, ready to shoot whoever came through. The banging on the door continued, and it was only a matter of time before they broke through. Aaron and Marco moved away a bit, probably in case the men had brought explosives to get through the door.
“What?” the man who’d been calling Aaron suddenly yelled, and the door stood still. Muffled voices sounded from the stairwell, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Everything went quiet for a moment, then something slammed against the door, startling me. “You and your whore are going to burn in hell!” the man shouted.
Aaron looked at me from across the room. So they knew. Roberto had found out about Aaron’s relationship with me, and they thought Aaron was a traitor. Had Roberto already known before and carefully planned this so Aaron would kill his guards and make himself look even guiltier? Shit. That seemed very likely now. Everything was quiet again.
“Are they planning to burn down the house?” Marco asked, lowering his gun. “Do they know we’re all here?”
Aaron listened for a while longer, then clenched his jaw. “Don’t know, but we have to get out of here.”
“But how?” Marco asked.
“They’re leaving. If they want to destroy the whole house, they must have planted bombs,” Aaron said. “We don’t have much time. We have to go after them.”
“What if that’s what they want us to believe and are waiting to ambush us?” Marco ran over to the window, and jerked away from it. “They’re still here. In the house. And a few are outside and looking up here. In case we try to climb down the walls.”
“They can’t ambush us here in the stairwell. There’s nowhere to hide.” He pulled out another gun. “Unbolt the door and follow my lead. There’s another way out. Octavia, you go after us. Shoot anyone who gets in your way.”
I nodded, and Marco pushed the box he’d put in front of the door away and slowly unbolted it. Aaron was there, ready, both guns raised just in case someone was waiting for us outside. Marco opened the door, but the stairwell was empty. My stomach did a flip as we rushed downstairs. A
aron slowed down before we reached the final steps, and he and Marco burst out, pointing their guns.
I waited as they went to the nearest door that was open, strode inside, and emerged. All the other rooms on this floor turned out to be empty. Aaron waved me over, and I raced across the hallway. We hurried downstairs and found ourselves again in the hallway on the first floor. Someone was still shouting, but I couldn’t hear what. Aaron and Marco inched closer to the stairway, and then slowly started to descend. I went after them, gripping my gun tightly. Aaron fired first, and a scream pierced the air.
“He’s not alone!” Someone managed to yell, but his voice was drowned out by the sounds of gunfire. I was still on a landing of the stairway, so the bullets didn’t reach me, but I saw Aaron shoot two guys who had entered the room before they could even realize what was going on. Marco punched one of the men whose gun was empty. I climbed down, raising my gun, and shot the man who’d run in through the door. Aaron had been right about the bombs, because I saw one just lying there in a bag under the stairs.
“Octavia! Over here!” Aaron waved at me from across the room and I hurried toward a blue door. Just as I was about to reach him, Aaron extended his arm over my shoulder and fired. I flinched, and when I turned my head, I saw another one of the men who had come in fall to the floor.
“They hadn’t expected three of us.” Marco’s lips spread into a smile.
“We have to go before more come. Watch our backs.” He dropped one of the guns on the ground and took my hand. “Stay behind me.”
We rushed through a hallway that was narrower than any other I’d seen in this house. Its walls were grayish and there were dark tiles on the floor. Aaron stopped in front of a painting and let go of me. He pushed the painting, revealing a keypad, and punched in a code. One part of the wall shuddered and slid open. A loud voice was booming in anger somewhere behind us, but we didn’t waste any time. We slipped into a dark and narrow stone passageway.
“Be ready,” Aaron said. “They might know about this if my father told them. We’ll just emerge in a shed behind the house, but not far enough.”
Hers to Save Page 10
