I step away from the charred remains of the floor we’ve been sifting through for the past few hours, pressing the device up to my ear.
“How was your day, Little Menace?” I ask softly into the speaker, a grin on my face.
The little stutter of breath that answers me wipes that expression clean off.
“Mikhail, I need help.”
Those four words are all it takes to send my entire mood crashing down.
“Where are you, baby?” I ask, intensity lacing my tone. I storm back into the building, Ivan’s gaze immediately alerting to my panicked expression.
“Home. I’m at home. I need you to come help me.” Though I can hear a slight wobble in her tone, her voice is all forced strength and bravery.
“I’m on my way,” I say, sprinting full speed for my car out front. Ivan follows suit, matching my pace instantly without question. When I reach the car, I throw myself into the driver’s seat, barely allowing Ivan to slip into the front passenger seat before I’m pulling onto the road. Putting the call on speaker, I toss my phone onto the middle console.
“What happened, Cass?” I probe as calmly as I can, flooring the gas until my speedometer flies.
“I…I don’t know. My roommate—a guy thinks she…stole something from him. He attacked us. He said he’s got…more guys on their way.” Her heaving breaths break up the explanation into rapid patterns of words.
Trees and cars fly past as we speed down the highway, breaking every fucking traffic law on record.
“Where are you right now?” I ask helplessly.
I should’ve never pulled her security tonight to help with the explosion. This is all my fault.
“Locked in the bathroom. No windows in here.”
“Good girl,” I say, a small breath of relief flooding through my dry lungs. “Baby, where is the gun?”
A single sob seeps through the phone, and any remnants of my cold exterior fucking shatter at the sound.
“I left it in my purse. Fuck, I’m such an idiot.” Her voice comes out in a horrified whisper, and I immediately jump in to calm her down.
“No, not at all. You did such a good job getting into the bathroom. Do you hear anyone else in the house right now?” I ask, glancing at Ivan’s worried expression as I swerve around a nearby car.
“I don’t hear anything right now. But he broke the door down, so I wouldn’t be able to hear him leave.”
God, she must be so scared. At least she doesn’t seem to be having one of her panic attacks from being locked in the bathroom. The adrenaline is probably masking all the other emotions right now, but soon it’ll run out.
I eye the map beside the wheel. I’m still ten minutes away. A lot can happen in ten minutes.
“Okay, baby. Can you go look in the bathroom cabinet for something you could use as a weapon? Maybe a pair of scissors? Something sturdy and sharp.”
I listen carefully to the crushing static of her rifling through her bathroom, following my instructions so damn well.
A few minutes later, her voice returns, the sound a comfort to my damaged nerves.
“I found a pair of haircutting scissors.”
“Good job, baby. Just five more minutes and I’ll be there, okay?”
Instead of getting the sweet response of her voice, I’m greeted with the hollow shouts of men yelling in the background of the call.
“Cut down the side road. We can shave a few minutes off,” Ivan finally says, words clipped with tension. I don’t spend a single second questioning my closest friend, twisting the wheel to the right and barreling down the dirt slope beside the highway.
“Mikhail, they’re back,” Cassandra’s voice whispers out, filling the space with raw fear.
“I’m almost there, love. Get as far away from the door as possible in case it’s hit again.”
