“She doesn’t belong here,” Vaughn spits, every word laced with venom. “She’s not safe here.”
“You’re the one holding a gun to her head.”
“Please, Vaughn,” I beg, my voice a whisper. “You won’t get out of this alive unless you let me go.”
“Shh, sweetheart. Don’t cry. It’ll all be over soon.” His hand shakes, the barrel of the gun grazing my jawline as he adjusts his grip. “You’re mine to protect.”
“She’s not yours,” Arthur snaps, his finger twitching over the trigger. “Let her go.”
“No. I’m getting her out of here. Don’t follow. If you try, I’ll put a bullet in her head.”
“Not happening,” Arthur snaps, shoving the phone into his pocket, squinting down the gun’s sights for a target, but finding no safe shot through the human shield Vaughn’s made me into.
“You think I won’t do it?” Vaughn snaps. “She doesn’t belong here. She belongs with me! Dead or alive.”
“Vaughn,” I whisper, choking on my sobs, pulse roaring louder in my ears. “Please.”
My breaths come shallow and fast, each one burning my chest. I can’t stop shaking no matter how hard I force my mindto stay calm. Ryder’s coming. He must be close. He won’t let Vaughn hurt me. He promised.
“Let her go,” Arthur seethes. “You’re not getting out of here with her, and you won’t hurt her. Let. Her.Go.”
“She’s all I have left! Move out of the way.”
Arthur stands his ground, the tension in the air like a sparking electrical cable, every second stretching unbearably. “You’ll have a bullet in your head as soon as you turn your back on me.”
My heart skips, a jolt of panic slicing through me.
Vaughn scoffs, digging the gun harder under my chin in a demonstration. “You wouldn’t dare. Ever heard of muscle spasm? Shoot me and my fingerwillpull the trigger.”
The room feels like it’s spinning. I can’t stop these sobs from racking my chest. Where is Ryder?
Vaughn wheels us toward the door, the wheelchair’s tires scraping my legs.
“Everything will be fine,” Arthur says, his face blurring behind my tears. “You’ll be okay.”
My mind races. Ryder should be here by now. Arthur wouldn’t let Vaughn take me, would he?
A sob catches in my throat as Vaughn wheels us closer to the door. I dig my fingers into the armrests, nails bending against the plastic. My chest clenches when footsteps echo down the long corridor behind Arthur’s back.
They’re here.
“Vaughn!” Ryder’s voice thunders into the apartment, stopping Vaughn in his tracks.
Arthur steps aside, revealing four men marching with purpose, guns drawn, expressions lethal. The weight of Ryder’s wrath rolls over me like a wave. It bringsrelief, fills me with hope I haven’t felt since Vaughn arrived.
I sag against Vaughn’s hold
Arthur shifts again, forming up behind Ryder and Carter as they filter into the apartment. Broadway and Koby stay back, guns drawn.
Ryder’s eyes find mine, his fury melting into something softer, something grounding. “Are you hurt, baby?”
“Don’t talk to her!” Vaughn snaps.
“Please,” I whisper. “It’s over, Charles. Let me go. Think about Hailey. What will she say when she finds out? She doesn’t want you dead. You don’t have to do this.”
He stiffens behind me, his breath hitching. For a moment, his grip loosens like I’ve struck a chord, but the moment passes faster than I can blink. Whatever shred of humanity he had left is gone, replaced by this broken, delusional shell.
“I don’t have a daughter anymore.”
