Surprise Bidder

“It’s too late now.”

What?

Suddenly, the door- the one I went through- opens. Two men dressed like the ones who took Gavin away barge in.

“Mr. Reed?” one of them asks.

Owen lowers his gun and pushes me towards the guards.

“Take her.”

As one of the men grabs my arm, I glance over my shoulder at Owen.

“You’ll regret this!” I spit at him. “Whatever it is you’re planning, you won’t succeed!”

He just gives a sickening laugh. The guard drags me out of the room.

“Stop it.” I try to free myself from his grip. “You’re hurting me.”

His grip loosens but remains.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask.

He grunts. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

~

I find myself in another office. This one has an older man sitting behind the desk. I spot the name Thomas Heath on a certificate hanging on the wall.

“Who are you?” I ask him. “What do you want with me?”

“I’m on the Council at Ambrosia,” he says. “I’m Elias’s friend.”

I see.

“What…?”

“Not another word!” He slaps his hand on top of his desk. “You will not speak unless spoken to.”

I frown. He sounds like Elias’s friend, alright.

He walks away from his desk. “I heard you’ve been causing trouble. Again.”

His eyes narrow at me.

“You escaped the place where you being kept and you tried to kill Owen Reed at his apartment.”

“What?” I gasp in disbelief at that last accusation.

He walks to the shelf in the corner. “Well, you sneaked into his apartment, did you not?”

“Not to kill him,” I say.

Does the Council assume everyone is trying to kill everyone else?

“Only to find proof that Gavin is being framed,” I confess.

“Framed?” Thomas chuckles. “Oh no. He’s guilty.”

My eyebrows go up. What?

“I have it on very good authority.”

He opens the cabinet on the shelf and takes out a bottle of scotch and a glass. I see another glass there as well, one with lipstick that looks both pink and purple.

Now, where have I seen that shade?

“He’ll pay for what he did to Danny and to Elias,” Thomas assures me as he pours his drink.

I stand up. “But he didn’t…”

“Silence!” He turns to me. “You will go back to the house where you were and you will stay there until you give birth. Then we’ll decide what to do with you.”

He walks towards me and looks into my eyes.

“If you try to escape again, you will be shown no mercy. Remember, you have no protector now.”

He presses a button on his desk. Again, guards come in to take me away. As they do, Thomas keeps his narrow gaze on me in warning. I glare back at him.

He says I have no protector now. He’s counted out Gavin so easily.

Well, he’s mistaken, because I know Gavin won’t go down without a fight.

I’m pretty sure he’s fighting even now.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gavin

The man in front of me grows limp after the side of my hand comes in contact with the side of his neck. I grab his waist and lay him gently down on the floor.

I guess it’s a good thing I asked Angelo for some lessons.

Another man down. That leaves only the two at the entrance. They seem oblivious, too.

I draw a deep breath. Ready…

When the two of them are next to each other, I make my move. I crouch on the floor and spring on the back of one, pushing him so he falls on the other guard. As they fall, I punch the other guard squarely in the jaw. When the man in front of me falls on top of him, I hit him in the neck just like I did to that other guy.

That’s the last of them.

I run out the doors and into the parking lot. I find a motorcycle and start that. Then I hop on it and drive off at full speed.

Next stop? Leah.

Luckily, I know just where they’re keeping her.

~

“Gavin?” Leah looks up at me with wide eyes as she lifts her head off her pillow.

“Shh.” I hold a finger to my lips.

I look around and listen for the sound of footsteps. None. Somehow, I’ve managed to sneak out of the house where I was being kept and into the house where Leah’s being kept.

So far, so good. Now, I just hope my luck continues and I can get us both out of here.

I pull Leah out of bed. “Come on.”

I lead her out of her room and down the hall I took. Just as we’re near the end, though, a guard appears. He freezes at the same time I do.

“Alert!” he shouts in the next moment.

I knock him down on the floor and take him out, but I hear footsteps running.

“Fuck.”

I pull Leah’s arm and drag her to one of the rooms. I lock the door and run to the window. It’s barred.

Now what?

I grab the gun I’ve been keeping at my hip, the one I took from one of the guards at the other house. I don’t want to kill anyone, but I will if I have to. I’m not going to let anyone hurt Leah.