Yet, he murmured one more sentence I couldn’t make out before he shoved the knife into the man’s stomach and then wrenched it up toward his throat so hard there was no time for the man to reply. He dropped to the floor with another loud thud.
Then, Jameson’s cold gaze turned directly toward a security camera like he was peering into my soul as he unrolled his sleeves and put his navy suit jacket back on. He was covering up the speckles of blood on that white shirt and was careful as he stepped over the bodies. He walked over to the rug and pulled it up. “Unlock the door, Ms. Darling,” I heard from above.
I shouldn’t have hesitated, although my body froze for a second. I was either opening the door to killers or I was staying locked inside.
“Ms. Darling?” I heard again.
All it took was a flick of my wrist to move that metal and for Jameson to lift the floorboards.
Light shone in as he opened the hatch, and Franny peered up, her blue eyes filled with happiness as she said, “Daddy! You found us. Told you he would, Ms. Darling.”
He walked down the steps and knelt at her side, his arms open wide and that smile just for his daughter back on his face. When he looked at me over her shoulder, though, his gaze was cold. “I’m taking Franny outside to her grandma. Archer will escort you out.”
With that, he scooped up Franny and told her to keep watching her tablet. I heard her laugh fading away while I stared at Archer. “I don’t think I should go up there.”
“Just keep your eyes forward, and we’ll get you out of here, okay?”
“No thank you.” I shook my head, but I didn’t have much of a choice as he reached in and grabbed my elbow to yank me up the stairs. I hated that my first instinct was to squeeze my eyes shut, that I didn’t want to see in full color what I’d only seen in black-and-white on a screen.
“Hey, it’s okay. Just …” Archer had that sweet voice again, like he was talking to one of the students. “Focus on what’s outside the window, okay?”
He turned my body toward it and told me I could open my eyes. When I did, I saw a car toppled over in the distance but, more importantly, I saw Franny standing stoically beside an older woman. She wore a black dress, pearls, and sunglasses. Her dark hair was done up in a smooth bun, and she smiled wide at Franny like this was a beautiful day filled with rainbows and sunshine.
“She’s safe and happy, Ms. Darling. You did great. Do you have any belongings upstairs?”
Safe. Happy. Great. Words that couldn’t describe the day at all. “Belongings?” I said as I frowned, not comprehending exactly what he meant. “I mean I have my clothes and a dresser full of things. I have my plants. Ms. Prim needs to be watered daily, and my bonsai finally has decided it likes me.” I stopped myself from going into detail about my plant care routine.
“Do you need to take them all with you?”
“Take with? I’m … no.” I stepped back, glancing around the room. “No. I’m not going anywhere. I need to clean—”
“What’s going on?” Jameson cut me off as he walked back in and frowned.
“She needs a minute.”
Jameson’s jaw popped before he nodded at me. “Do you have important belongings you need upstairs? You don’t have time to dillydally, Ms. Darling. Unless you intend for Franny to witness something she can’t come back from.”
“Can’t come back from?” I said in a high-pitched tone as my eyes jumped around the room, taking in the destruction. “Mr. Knight, I would never intentionally harm Franny.” I breathed out, feeling dizzy all of a sudden.
“I know.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Just … We can discuss everything later, okay? We have about eight minutes until four more SUVs come flying up the road. So, I’m trying to be understanding, but we don’t have time for you to go into shock right now. We need to get you out of here.”
I glanced at Archer, and my question sounded shaky even to me. “What if I don’t want to go with you?” He rubbed at that strong jawline of his in irritation. “I have a car. I’ll just go my own way.”
Now, Jameson closed his eyes for a brief moment, like he was actually annoyed with my antics. “You have nowhere to go, Ms. Darling. I know that because you wouldn’t be teaching my daughter if you did. You’re coming with us.” He looked at Archer then and said, “Get her in the vehicle while I grab her things.”
Jameson turned his back on me for a second, and that’s when instinct kicked in. I moved to run away, but Xavier walked in right then, clocked me, and was faster. He raised his gun and pointed directly at me. “Don’t make me shoot you, Darling.”
I gasped and Jameson spun around. “What the fuck are you doing?” He paced toward Xavier, moving directly in front of his gun and pointing his own at the man’s temple. “Don’t threaten my daughter’s favorite fucking teacher. She’s the reason Franny smiles every damn day. You cause her trauma, and I’m gonna kill you. Understand?”
“Jesus Christ. We don’t have time for this,” Archer grumbled, stomping toward the stairs and leaving Xavier and Jameson in a stare-off.
Suddenly Jameson’s hand gripped Xavier’s wrist and twisted. The man yelped while his gun fell to the floor. “Stand down, dumbass.”
“Fuck, Jameson,” Xavier bellowed, the grown man kneeling to the floor to alleviate the awkward position of his wrist before Jameson let him go.
“My men think before they pull their weapon. Or I blow their brains out. Understood?”
Xavier winced and nodded immediately. The man was using brute force and everyone was just going to listen to him?
