Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by Nicole R Coverdale
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN-13: 978-0692472262 (Coverdale)
ISBN-10: 0692472266
Edited and published by: Nicole R Coverdale
Dedication
I want to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me through my writing, and who have been so patient with me through the years. Writing is a talent. It’s time consuming, and it takes time to get a finished project that you can be happy with. This story came from the heart, and I want to thank all my friends, my family, my co-workers who have put up with me through the years. Who have waited so long for this to finally come out. Finally, I want to thank my boyfriend, Clint, for pushing me to go after my dreams and finally get the finished project done. It means so much to me that you supported me in achieving this. Thank you all, and I so hope you enjoy this story.
Prologue
The darkness of the house surrounded her.
She gasped. Stumbling down the hallway, still half asleep.
Plop. Plop. Plop.
The sound of the rain hitting the rooftop echoed in her ears.
A cold breeze whipped through the air.
She shivered, goose bumps rising up along her skin, and she stopped. Turning to look behind her at the window that lay at the end of the hallway. The white curtain blowing in the darkness.
Thunder rumbled just outside the house.
She jumped, stopping in her tracks. Her eyes wide, as lightning lit up the hallway, staring at the red spots that lay on the banister just to her left.
Blood.
She froze.
Oh God.
She stumbled back a step.
Her back slammed against the wall.
She gasped, suddenly not being able to breathe.
Her knees shook.
She felt her knees buckle, not being able to hold her weight, and she slid to the ground. Leaning against the wall, her breath coming out ragged.
Another cold breeze whipped through the air.
She shuddered, a chill racing through her body, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Trying to warm herself.
Tears ran down her cheeks.
She stared at the banister, the red spots seeming to glow in the darkness.
A sob escaped her throat.
She slammed a hand over her mouth, muffling the sound. Turning her head, staring down the hallway, praying that she wouldn’t wake her sisters.
The silence of the house was deafening all around her.
Her ears still rung from the sound of the gunshot she had heard just moments ago.
It’s nothing, Elena. She thought to herself, staring out into the darkness of the house. You’re just imagining things. Everything is normal. Completely normal. Go back to bed.
And a scream split through the silence.
“Mom.”
She jumped to her feet.
I am not imagining things! She thought to herself as she raced down the narrow hallway. And things are definitely not normal!
Her feet raced down the hallway.
“Let me go, you bastards!”
Her feet took the stairs two at a time.
“Where are you taking me?”
Her hand gripped the railing tight.
“Who are you people?”
Her feet hit the soft, lush carpet, and she stopped. Lifting her head, watching as two men dressed in black pulled her mother towards the door.
“Mom!” she screamed, lunging forward.
“Elena, no!” Kiana screamed, jerking her head around, struggling against the men who held her. “Don’t come near me!” she screamed, tears rolling down her face. “It’s not safe. Something’s happened. Something bad. You have to run, Elena! Run now, before it’s too late! You have to protect your sisters!”
“Oh, but it’s already too late, Kiana.” An arm wrapped around Elena’s waist, and a dark, husky voice whispered in her ear. “It’s much too late to protect anyone now.”
She turned her head.
And screamed when she found herself staring into a black mask.
Kiana screamed. A cry of outrage escaping her lips.
“Let her go!” She screamed, struggling against the men. “Let her go, you bastard! She has nothing to do with this! Nothing! Dammitt, leave my children alone! They’re innocent!” Tears ran down her face. “Whatever you want. Whatever you’re here for, leave them alone and take me. Take my husband. For God sakes, she’s just a little girl!”
“Oh, but she’s part of your family, Kiana, and your family must suffer for all that you have done. For all that you have taken from me.”
“Mom, what’s going on?” Elena whispered, tears rolling down her face. “What is happening? Who are these people? Why are they taking you from us?”
“Because your father has been a very, very bad man, Elena.” The man whispered, speaking for Kiana. “He’s taken something from me. Something that I hold very dear, and that I will never be able to get back. He’s made me suffer, and now, I am going to take something from him. I’m going to show him what it’s like to feel real pain.”
“My father didn’t do anything to you!” Elena cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. “He’s a good man!”
The man laughed. “A good man? Elena, what lies have you been telling yourself?” he whispered in her ear. “Look at your mother. You see those bruises on her face? Just how do you think she gets those?”
Elena closed her eyes, refusing to look at her mother.
“And what about all the times you’ve heard your father yelling in the wee hours of the morning? You know who he’s yelling at right?”
A whimper escaped Elena’s mouth.
“And what about all the times your mother tried to teach you how to cook? What has your father always said?”
“I’m not meant to be in the kitchen.” Elena whispered. “The kitchen is for weak women. I am not weak. I am my father’s daughter.” Her father had told her that more times than she could count.
“And what about all the time he spends in his office? Do you even see him anymore, Elena? What about those business trips he goes on? The boxes in his office? Have you seen them, Elena? What is he doing? What is your father doing?”
“I don’t know!” Elena screamed. “I don’t know what he’s doing.” She hiccupped. Another sob escaping her mouth. Tears rolled down her face, and she lifted her head. Opening her eyes, staring at her mother, than at the man who stood right behind her.
How did he know all of this? She wondered to herself. How did he know the exact things she had asked herself countless times only to end up brushing the thoughts away? Had he been watching them? Watching their every movement, just knowing when to strike? Had he been planning this for a long time? For what reason would he want to hurt them? To hurt their family? To take away everything that she held dear? To take her mother away from her so she would never see her again? She wasn’t stupid. She knew her father had a temper, but he was still her father. He was her family. She had to love him. You loved your family no matter what.
“He’s a busy man.” Elena finally whispered.
“A busy man who has access to all sorts of blueprints? Who has all sorts of different weapons hidden around the house? You’ve seen those, right, Elena?”
“He’s just trying to keep us safe.” Elena whispered. “It’s what fathers do.”
And she stared at her mother. Staring at the bruise that showed on her cheek, remembering the whispers.
“Abel, please don’t do this, your family needs you.”
&
nbsp; “I need to do what’s best for this family.”
“And this is it? This is what’s right? Come on, Abel, you know what it did to him. It destroyed him. It destroyed you. It destroyed your entire family. Do you really want that for your own children?
“It won’t be like that.”
“You’re right, it won’t, because I refuse to let my girls live like that. You have a choice to make, Abel, because so help me if you decide to go down this road. If you decide to put me, the girls in danger, I will not be here to watch. I will not stand by your side and watch you destroy everything around you. Instead, I will take the girls and we will leave you. We’ll leave you and you will never see any of us ever again.
“Don’t you dare threaten me, Kiana!” A thunk sounded. “Because trust me, you won’t get far. I know you. I know how weak you are, and I will scrounge this earth looking for you and my girls. You are mine. The girls are mine. You are all mine! Mine! And I assure you I will never, ever let you forget that.”
She blinked, staring at her mother.
“Your father, he’s a murderer.” The man whispered in her ear.
Elena shook her head. “No.”
“He shot my wife right before my eyes.”
Elena closed her eyes, shaking her head.
“He slit my little girl right across the throat.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“He strangled my son in his sleep.”
A sob escaped her throat.
“Blood was coated all around my house. The bodies of my family lying all around me.”
“Stop it!” Elena screamed, not wanting to hear it.
“Your father’s a monster, Elena.” The man whispered in her ear, ignoring her plea. “A cold blooded monster and he must pay for what he has done. For what he has taken from me. For how he has made me feel. He must pay, and so help me, if it’s the last thing I do I will make him suffer. I’ll make him cry. I’ll make him beg, and it all starts right here with taking something very important to him. Taking you and your mother.”
“Over my dead body.”
Elena froze. The voice echoing in her ears.
She turned her head.
Watching as her father appeared from out of the darkness at the top of the stairs. Watching as he took step after step down the staircase. Her eyes landing on the splash of blood that was smeared across the side of his shirt, and she bit her lip, to keep from crying.
This was crazy! She thought to herself. This couldn’t be happening!
And she watched, as her father stopped in the middle of the staircase, lifting the rifle he held in his hands, and pulled the trigger.
The sound of the gunshot echoed in her ears.
She screamed.
And watched, as one of the men holding her mother suddenly fell backwards against the wall. Blood splattering across his chest.
And she screamed again.
“Elena. Shh. It’s alright.” Kiana raised her head, looking right at her daughter. Her eyes calm. Elena stared back at her. How could she be so calm? She wondered to herself.
Than the moment was gone.
Her mother looked away.
She spun on her heel, slamming the heel of her hand into the throat of the man holding her other arm.
Elena gasped.
The man stumbled backwards, letting go of her mother.
“Abel, now!”
Another gunshot echoed through the air.
And the bullet hit the man right in the center of the forehead.
She gasped. Watching as the man fell in a heap on the ground. Suddenly not being able to move, completely frozen in shock. What was going on here? Who were these people? When had her parents learned how to fight like this?
“Stop!”
She jumped, the word echoing all around her, and she felt something cold suddenly pressed against the side of her head.
“No!”
She heard Kiana scream.
And she turned her head, staring into the cold, dark barrel of the gun that was pointed right at her head.
“No!” Kiana screamed again, and Elena turned her head once more, watching as her mother fell to the ground. “Abel!” she screamed. “He’s going to kill her! He’s going to kill her!”
“Let her go.” Abel dropped the rifle he held in his hands, his voice shaking as he stared at the man holding his daughter. Staring at the gun that was pointed right at her head. “That’s my daughter. My baby girl. Please don’t hurt her. Please.”
Elena jerked her head up, staring at her father. It was the first time she had ever heard her father’s voice shake. The first time she had ever seen any real emotion from him.
Behind her, she heard the man in the mask laugh.
“Let her go?” the man whispered. “Oh, Abel why should I spare you any pain? You certainly didn’t when you murdered my family in cold blood.
He stared at Abel, his eyes dark and cold.
“I will spare you nothing.”
He raised the gun over Elena’s head and pulled the trigger.
Elena screamed.
Abel’s eyes widened.
He froze. His body jerking, as the bullet hit him, a splash of red spreading over the front of his shirt.
He fell to his knees.
Slowly raising his head, staring at Elena. Than at Kiana, and finally the man in the mask.
His eyes glazed over.
“I’m sorry.” He whispered, just before his body tumbled down the stairs. His body hitting the floor with a loud thump, blood pooling all around him as he lay there completely motionless.
“Dad!” Elena screamed. Sobbing, as her father lay there, not moving.
Oh God, she thought to herself. Oh God! Her father had been shot! Oh God! Oh God! Oh God!
“Abel!” Kiana screamed, lunging forward, falling to her knees next to her husband. “You killed him!” She screamed. “You killed my husband!”
The man sighed, shaking his head. “Oh, Kiana, would you stop being so dramatic? He’s not dead. If I wanted him dead, he would be. Trust me.”
A groan sounded from Abel’s mouth.
Kiana’s head jerked towards the man who held her daughter.
“What do you want?”
“You.” The man whispered. “All I’ve ever wanted was you, Kiana, and the way I see it you only have two choices. Choice number one, you can stay here, and watch as I pull this trigger. Watch as your daughters brain splatters all over this floor and you suffer just as I did. Or choice number two, you can come with me and save everyone. You can spare your family the pain that mine went through. You can be sure that no one gets hurt. No one dies. You can save them, Kiana. You just have to make the right choice. The choice, Kiana, is yours.”
“It’s my choice?” Kiana laughed, rising to her feet, wiping away her tears. “That’s not a choice.” She whispered, taking a step forward. “I lose either way.” She lifted her head, stopping just a few feet from them, staring at the man who held her daughter. “But this is my family. I love them, and I would do anything to protect them. I would die for them if that’s what it meant.” She whispered, her eyes dark, cold, and sure. “And I will go with you, on one condition. You let my daughter go.”
“Of course.” The man released Elena. “She was never part of the plan.”
“Mom!” Elena screamed, racing towards Kiana, lunging into her arms. “Mom, don’t go!”
“Oh, honey, I don’t want to.” Kiana whispered, brushing a lock of Elena’s black hair out of her face. “But I don’t have a choice. It’s the only way to keep you girls safe. This world, it’s a crazy, cruel place, Elena. Not everything is as it seems, but I need you to be strong. I need you to be brave. And I need you to take care of your sisters. They need you now more than ever.” Kiana smiled, wiping away the tears that ran down Elena’s cheeks. “Elena, you’re the strongest girl I have ever met. You’re so smart and never afraid of anything. I envy that about you. You have so much hope, and you’re so full of drea
ms. Don’t you ever let anyone take that from you. They’re important, Elena. They define who we are, and you my girl, are meant for great things in life. I love you. I love your sisters. And I will never forget about any of you.” She clasped Elena’s hand, holding it against her heart. “You will always be right here. I love you, Elena.” She whispered, leaning forward and pressing a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “Remember, be brave.”
Elena felt the tears roll down her cheeks.
She watched through a haze as the man and her mother walked towards the door, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing in her ears.
“Mom!” she screamed jumping to her feet and racing towards the door.
Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, pulling it open. The door seeming much heavier than ever before.
She stumbled out into the night.
The silence echoing all around her.
The rain had stopped.
She lifted her head.
And a boom echoed all around her.
The ground shook.
She fell to the ground, lifting her head, watching as flames lit up all around her.
“Be strong, Elena. Be brave.”
Her mother’s words echoed in her ears.
She pushed herself to her feet.
Another explosion rippled around her.
A piece of the roof shattered above her, falling next to her.
She jumped.
A scream escaping her throat.
And something sharp jabbed into the back of her neck.
Her throat went dry.
Her eyes went blurry.
She fell to her knees, her muscles suddenly feeling very weak, and she lifted her head. Staring around her as the flames lit up all around her. And she saw a black van pull out onto the road, disappearing into the darkness.
“Mom.”
A sob rose up in her throat.
She was gone. Her mother was gone, and now nothing would ever be the same.
Behind her footsteps sounded.
She turned her head.
A shadow loomed over her.
The darkness creeped closer.
And she heard a voice whisper in her ear.
“Life as you know it is about to change, Elena. Everything is about to change.”
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