Page 139 of Freed By Fire
It takes a few tries for me to get the number right.
Nadia answers, and she and Mason exchange a few words before he hands the phone back to me. I burst into tears as soon as I hear my mom’s voice.
“Mom, I’m so sorry.” I grip the phone with both hands. “I’m sorry I fucked everything up.”
“You didn’t,” my mom replies. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay. Are you safe? Do you need us to come?”
I shake my head. “No, you can’t come. You have to stay with Nadia. She’ll keep you both safe.”
“What about you?” my dad is talking now. “Where are you going to go?”
“Somewhere safe,” I respond. “I know this is all messed up. I wish I could’ve done things differently. I love you both.”
“We love you, too.”
“I’m so lucky to have parents like you. I’m sorry I ever took that for granted.”
My dad replies while my mom cries in the background. “We’re so proud of you, London. And I’m the one who should apologize. I never should’ve made that deal.”
“It’s okay, Dad. Listen, I have to go soon, and won’t be able to talk for a while, but I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“You keep yourself and our grandchild safe, okay?”
“I will. Take care of mom.”
“London.” I can barely hear my mom over the hiccups and tears. “My baby. I’m sorry.”
“I love you. I’ll see you soon.” I hand Mason the phone back before they can say anything else.
When I look up, Mason is zipping up a bag and hoisting it off the bed.
Katia is holding a container and spraying a pungent-smelling liquid around the room. Then, she comes to stand next to me, and I turn to Mason. He grabs a coat from the now-empty closet. After buttoning it up, he leads me down the stairs and toward the library.
Katia continues to splash the liquid behind and around us.
“What’s she doing?”
Mason pulls me into the library, and as we move between the shelves, cold dread winds itself around my chest. “There’s a lot of information in these walls, London. Things Mathew can use. The bastard might have won, but I’ll be damned if he has everything handed to him.”
I tug on Mason’s hand, and he stops. “Katia is going to set fire to the manor?”
“Yes,” Mason says. “We have to make him believe we’re dead.”
Once we reach the entrance to the tunnel, Mason tucks me into his side. A heartbeat later, Carlisle, Oliver, and Olivia appear. Moments later, Carlisle returns with an irate-looking Jack in tow. The Payne family patriarch stumbles a little before righting himself. Then Katia returns, and together with Carlisle, they push the portrait to the side.
Carlisle goes in first, followed by Oliver and Olivia.
Mason nudges me forward, and I feel him behind me.
Halfway through the dark tunnel, I see Katia in the doorway. She steps in behind us, and I catch a final glimpse of the library before the door slams shut. My breath hitches in my throat as I reach for Olivia’s hand.
She squeezes it once and pulls me along, and we stumble out into the cool night air shortly after.
Olivia throws her arms around me and presses her mouth to my ear. “Take care of him.”
I nod and offer her a tight smile.
Carlisle waits until Oliver and Olivia are in the back of the car before he exchanges a few words with Mason. One of Carlisle’s men gets into the passenger seat and slams the door shut. Then Jack, who is still muttering, is ushered into the back with them, and the doors are locked. I stare at Carlisle’s back as he gets into the driver’s seat, and the car comes to life.
