Helda guides me downstairs, the bodyguards close behind.There’s no way I’d be able to wrestle a gun off one of them and not get shot by bodyguard number two.They look professional and dangerous.Yeah, right, they’re protecting me.They’re guarding me like the kidnapped prisoner I am.
I want to scream, but I don’t.Instead, I take in my surroundings and weigh my options.A surge of adrenaline washes over me.Fuck it.
Once we reach the landing, I wobble and pretend I’m going to pass out but not before I take possession of a brass ornament on a side table.
Bodyguard One tries to catch me from hitting the floor, and when he does, I do a maneuver where I sweep my foot out and promptly trip the man.While he goes down, face first, I fling the ornament at Bodyguard Two’s head.With lightning speed, I divest Bodyguard One of his gun.
I have to make sure they don’t kill me.And since I’m not a killer and I won’t become one now, without a moment's hesitation I swing my arm as hard as I can and fling the gun over the chrome and glass balustrade.
My move takes them by surprise, and in that time, I remove Bodyguard Two’s gun from his holster and throw it up over the balustrade as well.I ignore Helda’s shocked expression as she takes everything in.
By the time they run up to get their guns, I’ll be out the door, which is so close I can taste my freedom.
I’m a quick runner, and despite it being cold, the ground thick with snow, I can survive these elements better than I would have at the cabin in the mountains.
I expected them to go after their guns.They don’t, and now it’s a fight.I need to get to the front door, and I have to fight my way there.The damn bodyguards keep getting in my way.I don’t back down and land punches on their jaws with all my might as I dodge them, trying to get to the front door.
One of them catches me, his arm around my waist, as he pulls me back.
“Please don’t, Ms.Cohen,” he begs while keeping me in place.It’s almost as if he’s scared to hurt me.Because I’m a girl?This infuriates me even more.Bodyguard Two tries to help him restrain me, and using Bodyguard One for leverage, I lift myself up and using my heels, kick into Bodyguard Two’s chest.When he goes flying down, I head butt Bodyguard One.
But the instant he releases me to tend to his bleeding nose, I make another run for the door.Bodyguard Two blocks me, and after a few karate moves, which he does his best to block, without touching me, I get him in the nuts, and that sends him sprawling over.And still they won’t stay down.Dammit.
“Madisyn.”
The voice catches me off guard.I’m sure I’m imagining things.It makes sense given the stress I’m under.But I’m not giving up; I will set my father free.I will.
Still for one minuscule second, I turn in the direction of where I thought the voice came from.My entire world comes to a grinding halt.
Am I seeing things?
Tristan leans against one side of a pillar, his legs crossed at the ankles, his arms folded.Kaiser leans on the other side, mirroring Tristan.Ren rests against a table in the foyer, his ankles crossed, his arms folded.How long have they been standing there watching me kick their bodyguards’ asses?
For all my tough girl act, my body melts, and my senses go into overdrive.This is dangerous.They can’t have that much of a hold on me.They make me feel too out of control, too reckless.
They can make my body do things; things so intimate no one on this planet should know about me.I let myself get caught up in my fantasies, my biggest mistake.
Still running on raw adrenaline, I’m not ready to give up.I’m furious now.How dare they keep me here against my will?I need to save my father, and I will not stop until I do, and no one is going to stand in my way.
I’m no match for them, but I’ll fight them until I have no breath left.
“Madisyn?”
I can’t be imagining this.I couldn’t possibly be this mean to myself.I shift my gaze in the voice's direction.But the longer I remain fixed on the man in the shadows, the harder my tears fall.
My father.He’s standing there, looking at me.Tears continue to drip down my face.My father.He’s thinner, his frame hunched over, but the expensive suit he’s wearing camouflages the hardship of the last ten years still prevalent in his eyes.
“Dad?”I whisper.My gaze swings from my father to Tristan, Ren, and Kaiser in complete disbelief.
Then it hits me.My father is here.I’m not hallucinating.He’s standing right there.I can see him.I close the distance between us and throw myself into his arms.
“Maddie girl,” my father murmurs and hugs me tighter.I sink into his embrace, and I’m taken back to being a little girl when my father’s hugs made everything better.
“Dad,” I say repeatedly.I can’t believe I’m holding him, talking to him, but without any iron bars separating us.
I don’t want to let go of my father, not even when Helda ushers us into a living room.We sit on a sofa and talk quietly, alone.My hand grips my father’s so tight I worry I’m going to break him, but I hold on to him, afraid he’ll disappear again.
“Dad, I don’t understand,” I say, although I think I do.“What does this mean?”Did they buy my father’s life from Ace?Will we now serve them?Did we exchange one prison for another?A more dangerous one?
