Page 21 of Sold to My Ex's Brother
“What’s happening, Anton?” I demand, turning to him as I search for some kind of sense in all of this. I can still feel thepleasure washing through my system, the way his tongue felt on my pussy as he went down on me until I finally went over the edge and came right there at his mercy.
“I don’t know,” he replies, his voice curt and clipped. “But I’d bet that it has something to do with my brother.”
I shiver at the thought of it. I can’t stand the idea of Artem getting anywhere close to me, not after everything he’s done.
“We need to get out of here,” he tells me bluntly, straightening up and pushing the door shut. He scans the room, and his gaze lands on a window at the far side. He strides over to it and shoves it open, peering down to see how far the fall is.
“You want me to jump?” I ask him, eyebrows raising.
A loud crack sounds from somewhere deep in the house, and I nearly jump out of my skin.
Fuck.If someone really has attacked this place, then it sounds like the supporting walls are giving in, and I don’t know how much longer this place is going to stay upright.
I glance up, suddenly distinctly aware of how much danger I’m in. If this ceiling caves in, there will be nothing I can do to stop it...
A yell sounds at the far end of the hall, and the blood drains from my face when I realize that I recognize the voice.
It’s Artem.
“Where is she?” he roars. I can almost picture him, at the end of the corridor, surrounded by flames and smoke, uncaring about anything other than getting his hands on me and making me pay for whatever sleight he’s decided I’ve committed against him.
“Go,” Anton hisses. “I’ll be right behind you.”
I make my way over to the window, seeing no choice but to leap to my freedom. It’s maybe a ten-foot drop, not bad, but I have never been the most graceful person and I have a bad feeling that I’m going to somehow manage to land strangely and hurt myself or the baby.
I bite down hard on my lip, mustering up every bit of courage I can as I will myself forward.I have to do this. I have to do this...
Another crash sounds from inside the house, followed by gunshots, and I know I have no choice but to do as he says. I hook my leg over the sill, and he takes my hand, giving me someone to lean on so that I can scramble on to the ledge without tumbling too soon.
I crouch down on the ledge, still gripping tight to his hand, and stare down at the grass below. It’s going to be a soft landing, I’m sure of that. I just need to do this. I just need to?—
And then, I find myself falling. I’m not sure if I’m the one who jumped or if he just let go of my hand, but either way, I hit the ground with a thud, managing to keep my balance. And, as I turn to look back at Anton, my hand flies to my mouth as I see what has happened to the house.
Flames lick out from almost every window on the ground floor, trailing their burning fingers up towards the sky. I can hear yelling, cries of pain, as the guards and household staff caught up in the onslaught.
A few have rushed outside, but there are men in the driveway, most of them armed, picking them off as they emerge from the building. Bodies have collapsed on the front steps, and I pressmyself against the side of the mansion, trying to make sure that they do not spot me.
I need to get out of here. Now. Or I’m going to end up another one of those bodies stacked up in front of me...
A noise grabs my attention, and I nearly jump out of my skin when I realize that Anton has dropped from the window beside me. He grabs me around the waist, glancing around as he searches for the quickest way out of here.
“Come on,” he growls, and he pulls me towards the far wall of the garden, in which stands a small gate that I didn’t notice before.
My heart leaps with relief. Thank God, there is a way out of here. I do my best to keep pace with Anton, but my feet feel numb, the shock of seeing those bodies so intense that there’s almost nothing else I can think about.
I can feel the blood rushing in my veins, my heartbeat thundering in my chest, the sound of my feet meeting the grass below as Anton sprints to the gate. He keys in a code and unlocks it, pushing me through as he looks back towards the house.
And, for just a split second, I’m standing there on the other side of the gate, and I realize that... that I’m free.
I could run, run as far from this place as humanly possible, leave Anton and Artem to piece together whatever mess they have made of one another’s lives. I don’t have to be part of it. I could just go, here and now, running off into the sunset with my baby and never looking back...
But before I can consider if it is worth acting on those instincts, the scent of smoke chokes me, and Anton grabs my hand again.
“The car,” he orders me. “This way. Now.”
He leaves no room for argument as he leads me around the outside of the wall, our backs pressed flat to it to make sure that we are not spotted by any of the men currently making light work of his mansion.
I have no idea where the fuck he is planning on taking me, but I guess that’s a bridge we can cross when we come to it. Right now, all that matters is putting as much distance between ourselves and this place as possible, praying that we don’t get dragged into whatever nightmare Artem is enacting on his home.
