Page 114 of Broken Promise
Just as I scrambled out of the elevator, the lights went out. It was time to get to work.
* * *
My heartbeat was too loud in my head.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
I knew the plan. Crawl through the foyer. Make it into the kitchen. One of the guys would be in there, lying in wait. There was also someone in the living room and stationed in the hallway. There was also supposed to be someone posted in front of the panic room as a last line of defense. But there was a problem with that plan.
My brothers were faster than I thought. Even though it was dark in the penthouse thanks to the blackout shutters, one of them had the wherewithal to reach out and snap a hand around my ankle. I screamed and thrashed and kicked. “Fuck you,” I panted, the cries ripping out of my throat.Focus. Calm down, you know how to get out of this. Think about your training.
I forced my body over so that I lay on my back, then kicked my leg up and hooked it over the one my brother held. With the quick, sharp movement, he had to let go.
But then I heard gunshots whizzing over my head. All I could do was keep my head down. I knew Rafe and company had night vision. I knew JJ and Lucia were supposed to be safe in the panic room. I knew all those things, but it didn’t help to quell my panic.
Crawl forward. One hand in front of the other. It didn’t matter if my brother was trying to drag me back into the elevator to hold me hostage. I was going to make sure my new family was safe.
Where was Dylan? He should have come up the back stairs by now. All I had to do was stay down, stay safe, and not catch a bullet. But then from behind me, I heard a gunshot. Not like the guns Noah and Rafe had with their silencers.
There was no wayI was going to make it crawling. I had to stand and run.And risk getting hit. It was worth the risk. Because I was not going to let my brother catch me.
I pushed myself to standing even though my bones protested. I knew the fate that awaited me if I didn’t make it to safety. And I was so not down for that. I shoved myself up and ran, heading straight for the kitchen.
I heard the heavy footfalls behind me but just kept running. And then out of nowhere, someone came out of the side of the kitchen and shoved me out of the way. I tripped and sprawled forward. Fuck, I was done for. But nothing came. No one landed on me. No one was dragging me back by my hair.
I could still hear the sounds of footsteps, but there were too many of them. Had Noah called in more backup? I pushed myself to my hands and knees and twisted my head around. I needed to find a weapon and quick. Thanks to the slivers of sunshine peeking in through the darkened shutters in the living room, my eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Someone had Hans. And it sounded like one hell of a fight. The grunting, the cracking, the breaking of bones.
The elevator dinged again, but this time when it opened, there were more men. Where the hell had they come from? I counted at least four even in my haste to scramble away.
But then I couldn’t move because Jakob was on me. He’d pounced on me, slamming my face into the marble. Pain exploded in my head. I tried desperately to remember what I’d learned in my krav maga classes as his hands locked around my neck. And then it came to me. I quickly brought my own hands up to my neck and sharply yanked his hands off my skin. And then I did the simplest thing in the world. I brought my knees to my elbows in one swift move. And my brother was off of me.
He fell forward but was on his feet in a moment. And coming for me. I attacked first, lunging right for him. I placed my thumbs over his eyelids and pushed. He screamed as his head went back, exposing his throat. I made a fist and delivered one swift jab to his Adam’s apple. Jakob doubled over, choking and gasping for air. I grabbed his ears and brought my knee up to connect to his face. His head snapped back again, and he flailed. I took that opportunity to run.
The living room wasn’t an option. I’d be trapped in there, so I headed to the left toward Noah’s office. He’d have weapons in there. With weapons I could fight better.
Even as I turned and prepared to fight whomever was coming, I saw that someone else had engaged with Jakob. The hand-to-hand was on. But my brother had a knife. “Be careful,” I called out to Ryan.
Hans had been fighting Dylan. He’d come up through the back stairs only to find the melee in progress. The other men who’d come off the elevator were now engaging the members of Blake Security. Everywhere I turned, punches were being thrown and kicks were being landed.
Suddenly Ryan went down in a heap. He was bleeding from his side, and he wasn’t moving. I didn’t know what to do, and Hans was coming right for me.
I needed to get to Ryan, but I’d have to go around my brother first. It was one thing for my brothers to come after me. To hurt me. But there was no way I was going to let them get away with hurting my new family. I had to get to Ryan. Was he okay?
I used the palm of my hand to strike my brother right in the nose. He howled, but his head did not snap back. Instead, he looked angry and like he wanted to kill me.Shit. I had no choice but to run.
As I darted back into the kitchen, I grabbed whatever I could find.The knives, yes.I grabbed one then tossed it at my brother. I’d never done much knife training, just how to defend against them, not throw. Even as I ran toward the bedrooms in the gym area, I heard Hans curse behind me.
Then someone else was in the kitchen. I couldn’t see who, but the shadows told me he was also big. That could be anyone, but when I looked closer, I realized it was Noah. And Jesus Christ, it was brutal. Hans was not playing around. He had the knife I’d thrown at him, and he’d already sliced through Noah’s shirt. There was blood.
I had to distract him. I had to find a way to help Noah.Something. And then I saw the copper pans hanging over the sink. As quickly as I could, I ran and grabbed one of them and slid my grip around the handle.
I tiptoed behind them. Noah gave me a firm shake of the head, but I paid no attention. And with a wide arch of my arms, I cracked the copper pan on the back of my brother’s skull. He went still. With his attention diverted for just one second, Noah delivered a blow to his kidney. I saw the knife too late. No, that wasn’t a knife. “Oh my God, Noah, he’s got a gun.”
The shot rang out, and Noah went down.
Oh God. No, not Noah. Oh God. Logic dictated that someone would be on guard at the panic room. Maybe Matthias? Where was Rafe?
