Jack lowers the phone, and his expression darkens. “Whatever power you think you have is an illusion. Do I make myself clear?”
I glance from the phone to his face and back again, a sliver of fear settling in the center of my stomach.
I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me balk, even when I want to hightail it out of there.
He might not like me, but if I run away, it will only make things worse.
Breathe. Just breathe. If he wanted to do something to them, he already would have.
Katia materializes by my side, her face pinched in concern.
“I’m glad we had a chance to chat,” Jack says. “I’ll hold you to our understanding, London.”
Once he leaves, the air rushes back into my lungs, and my knees buckle.
Katia holds me upright and takes me to Miss Deveroux’s office.
There, she leaves the door propped open and helps me sink onto the couch. Wordlessly, she hands me a drink, and her eyes widen when I down it in one gulp.
“Where were you?”
“I thought you could handle yourself with Noah’s friend, but when I saw who interfered, I tried to step in, but his men wouldn’t let me.”
I grip the glass tighter, my heart still hammering wildly. “Okay.”
How far is Jack Payne willing to go?
Is it already too late for my parents?
“What did he tell you?”
I exhale sharply. “Nothing I didn’t already know. I’m ready to go back now.”
Katia sets my empty glass down and checks the hallway before I step outside.
In a daze, I follow her back to the estate, replaying the scene in my head. When I blink, I’m back in Mason’s room, and the ringing in my ears is back. The door shuts behind me, and Irace into the bathroom. I barely make it to the toilet before the contents of my lunch rise, and I empty my stomach.
My eyes are watery, and my stomach lurches when I’m done.
You knew your parents would be at risk.
But it didn’t dawn on me how selfish my decision was until I stood in front of Jack, desperate to get away.
My stomach is still roiling when Mason finds me standing by the window, looking out at the moonlit estate a while later. He draws me to him and murmurs something in my ear, and I sink against him, inhaling his familiar smell.
You can do this. You can find a way to get your family out and keep them safe. You have to.
Chapter Thirteen
Mason
I flip onto my side and reach across the bed for London, needing to feel her warm body against mine. When my fingers find cold sheets instead of London’s familiar curves, my eyes fly open. My heart is pounding as I sit up in bed and glance around, but I don’t see her anywhere. I move into the bathroom and flick on the lights, giving my eyes a minute to adjust.
Where the hell is she?
A brief image of London tied up somewhere in the house and at my father’s mercy flashes through my mind, and it makes my stomach clench. I shove the thought away and reach for the nearest shirt to pull over my head. I’m halfway out the door when I double back for my gun. In the hallway, I creep forward and quiet my breathing.
The house is eerily still.
