Swaying on his feet, Sloan lumbers forward, swinging wildly at Lukas. Lukas swipes his feet out from under him, sending Sloan sprawling across the stones. Groaning, Sloan rolls over onto his back, glaring up at Lukas in the moonlight. A grin cracks across Lukas’s face as he takes a step forward, but dies at Sloan reaches into his coat and produces a sleek black handgun.
“No!” I scream, as the plaza erupts into motion before me. A gunshot rings out in the night, with a wailing cry on its tail. I stare down at the scene before me, struggling to piece together what’s just happened. Both men are splattered in blood, and the gun slides across the square, landing at my feet.
With trembling fingers, I pick up the weapon, making sure to keep it pointed away from me or anyone else. Lukas straightens up and looks at me in wonder.
“Are you hurt?” I ask.
“No,” he says, “This idiot shot himself in the arm.”
“You son of a bitch,” Sloan mutters, glaring into Lukas’s eyes. “You’re going to pay for this. For everything you’ve done to my family.”
“Shut up,” Lukas snaps, “I’ll have you arrested for trespassing.”
Sloan laughs. “Me? Arrested? Buddy, I’m bulletproof with the cops. No way anyone’s ever going to take your word over mine.”
“Bulletproof, huh?” I say trembling, adrenalin coursing through me. Sloan’s eyes turn to take me in, and widen in genuine fear. The terror playing out in his eyes as I stare him down over his own gun thrills me, I’m ashamed to admit. He’s caused me so much fear, so much pain. I could put an end to him right now. “Let’s see just how bulletproof?”
“No,” Sloan breathes, “Please.”
“Hannah,” Lukas says, “You don’t want to do this.”
“You fucking monster,” I cry, tears streaming down my face, “I've lived the last few years in constant fear of my life, I can't take it anymore. And for once, in my entire life, I’m not going to walk away.”
I close my eyes and squeeze the trigger. A huge bangs rips through the space, and my whole body is thrown to the side. Silence descends on the little patch of stone as Persephone looks on, contemplating what we’ve done.
Chapter Thirty-One
-Lukas-
I keep Hannah pinned beneath me as I survey the situation. Sloan is whimpering a few feet away, but I managed to tackle Hannah just before she could really take aim. She looks up at me as I grab the gun away, her face fixed in a mask of shock and horror.
“What did I do?” she whispers.
“Stay there,” I tell her, and move across the space toward Sloan. His leg is bleeding profusely, and he stares at it with wide, terrified eyes.
“Am I dying?” he gasps, reaching for my hand.
“No, you idiot,” I hiss, “She barely grazed your leg. Guess you’re just not used to other people causing you pain, huh? You’re much more experienced with doling it out.”
“Fuck you,” the man spits, embarrassed and hurt, “I’ve been shot, you son of a bitch. That whore you’re keeping around just shot me.”
I slam the butt of the gun against his temple before he can say another word. His face goes slack, and he falls back against the stones. He’ll be out for a while, now. But I doubt very much if someone won’t be looking for him soon.
“We need to get out of here,” I say to Hannah. She’s sitting on the ground, staring at Sloan’s unconscious body.
“I...I was going to kill him,” she says softly.
“I know,” I tell her, offering my hand.
“But...What kind of person does that make me?” she says, sitting stock still.
“Sweetheart,” I groan, “We need to fucking go.”
But I can’t snap her out of it with words alone. Tucking the gun into my coat pocket, I grab Hannah under the arms and haul her to her feet. She clutches onto my arms, looking at me in alarm. I wish there was some way to lead her through this gently, but we can’t afford that. Luckily, I know full well that she is more than up to the task of being tough when necessary.
“Listen to me,” I tell her, taking her face in my hands, “People are going to come looking for this jackass soon. I’m sure there are a whole mess of men who have a pretty good idea about the identity of Bill’s killer by now. We’re not safe here anymore, Hannah. We need to get the fuck out before anyone realizes what’s happened.”
“I thought you knew how to cover your tracks,” she says, “How can they have figured out—?”
“It’s been a long time since there’s been anyone else in my life, Hannah. I never thought that they could trace me through you.”
“It’s my fault then?” she asks, guilt creeping onto her beautiful face.
“No,” I growl, pulling her against me, “Of course it’s not your fault. The only people to blame here are your disgusting ex and his corrupt-as-hell family. OK? You’re a good person, Hannah. The best I’ve met. Nothing’s changed about that. Not even your taking a shot at Sloan. I’ve met few who’ve deserved it more than him.”
“How can this be happening?” Hannah asks, her voice filled with angry, baffled tears, “Things like this don’t happen to me, Lukas! I’m normal. I’m just a nurse with rent to pay and parents I don’t get along with. This isn’t my life.”
“It is, now that you’re with me,” I tell her, “And it will be, as long as we’re together.”
“It’ll always be like this?” she asks, looking up into my eyes.
“Probably,” I tell her, “Can you live with that?”
For the first time, it seems as though she might say no. We’ve had plenty of big talks about what it might mean for her to be my companion. But before now, everything’s been hypothetical. Before now, it’s all seemed like a far-off, exciting game—rather than a matter of life or death. But now, for the first time, she has to choose.
“Hannah,” I say, “I won’t resent you if you want out, you know. I’ll miss you like hell, but I’ll never hold it against you. If you want to go back to your old life, you can. I’ll get my ass out of town, you can tell the cops that I forced you to stay here against your will, and you’ll never have to deal with this insanity again. If that’s what you want, you can still have it.”
“Are you crazy?” she whispers, her green eyes blazing. “If you’re leaving, I’m going with you. You think I could go back to my old life, knowing that you were out there somewhere? Hell no. Just tell me what comes next, Lukas. I’m ready.”
“That’s my girl,” I grin, kissing her fiercely on the mouth. Hannah wraps her arms around my shoulders and gives it right back to me, kissing me hard and deep. We’d better be careful, or our escape plan might devolve into wild sex in the garden, instead. Not without effort, I pull away from Hannah and take her by the hand.
“Do we just leave him here?” she asks, looking down at Sloan with disgust.
“Yes,” I tell her.
“It’s...As a nurse, I’m supposed to help if I come across someone who’s hurt...” she says quizzically.
“I think you can make an exception,” I tell her, and pull her away from the scene. I see Sloan begin to stir under Persephone’s watchful gaze as Hannah and I tear around the green corner and away from the scene.
I break into a run, leading Hannah through the twisting maze. She meets me stride for stride, flying beside me. I can’t help but marvel at her, racing along with me in her ball gown and quickly-unraveling up-do. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as sexy in my entire life than the sight of Hannah right at this very moment. But there’s no time to appreciate her impossible appeal right now. We’ve got to keep moving. And fast.
Yanking Hannah to a stop, I press myself against the green hedge wall just before the entrance of the maze. I smooth town my tux the best I can and run my fingers through my short hair.
“Can’t be looking like we’re in a rush,” I say. Hannah grins, high on the rush of adrenaline undoubtedly coursing through her body. She reaches up and adjusts my bow tie for me, as if it were the most
natural thing in the world.
“If anyone asks,” she says, “We’ll just tell them we were back here fooling around.”
“If only,” I say, running my hand over the fine swell of her ass. Even now, in these insane circumstances, it’s impossible for me to keep my hands off her.
We straighten up and walk out the maze together, arms linked. I try and skirt past as many chatty socialites as I can. I don’t have time to get embroiled in a heated debate about which Virgin Island makes for the best vacation spot. I lead Hannah through the mine field of potential conversationalists, crossing the lawn as quickly as I dare. I doubt that Mother would have liked me to duck away from her party so quickly, but these are...special circumstances.
“Lukas!” says a cheerful voice from up ahead. I glance toward the source of the sound and groan. One of the women from my mother’s charity league is standing on the steps, waving me over. She’s directly blocking the path into the house. I’ve never wanted to hit an old woman so much before in my life as I do right now.
“Barbara,” I say through gritted teeth. “How are you? Enjoying the party? Good. Great. See—”
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your charming young friend?” the woman asks, eyeing Hannah pointedly.
“Barbara, Hannah Levy. Hannah, Bar—”
“Levy...” Barbara says, tapping her chin, “Your parents aren’t Stanley and Rebecca, are they?”
“Umm...” Hannah says, looking up at me. “They are, actually. But—”
“Oh my goodness!” Barbara cries, flattening her hand against her heart, “What are the chances? I know them from my days back up in New England! How on Earth are they doing?”
“Just fine I’m sure,” Hannah mutters, gazing around distractedly. I watch her eyes land on a point far across the lawn and freeze. Following her glance, I spot three burly men in spotless suits advancing through the sea of socialites. All their eyes are fixed squarely on Hannah and I.
“Babs, we’ve got to dash,” I tell the old woman, tearing Hannah away from her gossipy clutches.
“Oh, pooh,” the woman pouts, “We just got to talking!”
But I’ve got no patience for the hurt feelings of acquaintances, especially not at this moment. Hannah yanks open the French doors leading into the house and bolts inside. I edge up to the threshold and peer into the darkened estate. Hannah looks over her shoulder at me, her eyes wide.
“Lukas,” she says, “What the hell are you doing? Come on!”
It shouldn’t be this hard to enter the house again. I haven’t been back inside since Mother passed away. It’s as though there’s a physical barrier between me and the quiet mansion. I look hopelessly up at Hannah, paralyzed by my grief and confusion. She hurries back to me and takes my hands in hers.
“I know it’s hard,” she says urgently, “But you said it yourself, Lukas. We can’t let anything hold us back. Especially not our pasts. Now, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten this already, but there are some very suspicious men keeping a very close eye on us right now. And at the moment, we’re letting them gain. Am I the only one who thinks this is a problem?”
I shake my head, knocking whatever sense I can back into my skull. Hannah’s right, of course. There’s no time for being delicate right now. I throw myself into the house and slam the doors behind me, securing the locks as I do.
“OK,” I say, scanning the house for additional lurking men, “We don’t have time to grab everything we’ll need. We have to travel light. What do you have on you?”
“Uh...I have my wallet and phone stashed in my bra?” Hannah says, blushing.
“Good enough,” I say, grabbing her hand and leading her through the house, “I’ve got my wallet and keys. That should be enough to get us where we’re going.”
“And where is that?” Hannah asks.
“I...Haven’t figured that part out yet.”
“Are we...leaving for good?” she asks me, as we step into the bright kitchen of the estate.
“Most likely,” I tell her. My eyes fall on the metal sink, where Hannah first caught sight of me wounded after a hit. Then, as now, she didn’t even ask questions. She simply trusted that I knew what I was doing, and that I wouldn’t put her in harm’s way. It’s time that I started earning the trust she’s put in me. There’s no more room for sloppy mistakes or half measures. I need to do everything I can to give us a clean start, no matter how painful it happens to be.
“Mr. Roth,” says a voice from the kitchen doorway. Without thinking, I whip the handgun out of my coat and level it at the door. Thomas is standing there, holding a large tray of appetizers in his hands. He promptly drops the food as he spots my weapon, sending tiny quiches and deviled eggs flying all over the kitchen.
“Shit,” I mutter, dropping the gun to my side, “I’m sorry Thomas.”
“Business as usual,” he mutters, surveying the ruined spread of appetizers.
“Thomas,” Hannah says quickly, “We’re in trouble. We need to get out of here as fast as we can.”
As cool as can be, Thomas nods and awaits orders. This is not the first time that he’s been drawn into one of my dangerous situations. “Shall we arm ourselves, Mr. Roth?” he asks.
“Sounds like a plan,” I say, and nod toward the hallway. Hannah, Thomas and I tear down the hall towards the weapons lockers. My heart sinks as I approach to find the door cracked open. I step into the room and notice far too many blank spaces where weapons seem to have gone missing. Sloan and his men must have armed themselves with my own stock.
Thomas takes a small pistol down off the wall as I snatch a switchblade and tuck it into my pocket. Hannah looks around, bemused. It occurs to me that she’s probably never carried a weapon before.
“Are you OK?” I ask her.
“What, me?” she says, “Oh, sure. Just, you know, going back on half my long-held morals and all. I’ll be fine.”
“Good,” I tell her, “Take whatever you want.”
She takes a deep breath and snatches up the first thing she can reach. It’s a hand grenade. I cock an eyebrow at her, and she blushes, setting the dangerous thing back down again.
“Sorry,” she says, “I’m new at this.”
She approaches the wall and takes down a long blade, testing the weight of it in her hand. I’d rather she be carrying a firearm, but I know that she’s skittish after what happened in the garden. I don’t blame her, and we don’t have time to be picky. I look mournfully around at all the weapons I won’t be able to take with me. I’ve been building up this collection for years, and now it will all have been for nothing. Still, I know that we can’t leave any evidence behind. Sloan already knows all about this room, and he won’t hesitate to lead the cops right here now that we’ve attacked him.
The three of us leave the weapons locker behind and head back toward the foyer. From the garden, jazzy swing music scores our every track. Funny. I would have chosen a far more intense soundtrack if I knew I’d be spending the evening running for my life. But, what are you going to do? Some things just don’t turn out the way you’d like them to.
“Thomas,” I say, “There aren’t any guests lingering in the house, are there? We sent them all right back to the garden?”
“Yes, Mr. Roth,” the butler says, “Everyone should be out back.”
“Good,” I nod, “I would advise you to hurry back to the servant’s wing and gather all of your important documents, Thomas. Use the back exit once you have. Don’t come back this way, do you understand me? And make sure that nobody comes back into the main house.”
“Understood,” Thomas says, and hurries away toward his room.
“What was that about?” Hannah asks, “Lukas, what are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can do to totally eliminate the evidence of my...professional life,” I tell her, “I’m going to burn the entire place to the ground.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
-Hannah-
“What?!” I screech, s
taring at Lukas in horror. “You can’t do that!”
“Why not?” he says, his jaw clenching tightly, “I don’t see any other alternative.”
“We could just go,” I say, grabbing onto his arm, “We can disappear, somewhere no one will even find us. So what if there’s evidence here? We’ll be long gone before anyone starts asking questions.”
“No,” Lukas says, “That’s not how I do things. We’re in this mess because I wasn’t thorough in my work. I’m not going to make a mistake like that again. We’ve got to burn it.”
“But this is your home,” I say, “Won’t you regret destroying it?”
“No. I won’t,” Lukas says, taking my hands, “There’s nothing left here but bad memories and ghosts, Hannah. I’ve spent the worst years of my life in this place, caged in by demons from the past. The two of us are going to set off together, start something entirely new. Why not get rid of my old life for good, huh? Why not finish the job?”
I don’t have any real argument for him. I look around the exquisite home, remembering the first time that I stepped foot inside. I’d been so taken with the Roth Estate from the start, so moved by its elegance and beauty. But now, Lukas is set on destroying it once and for all, and all so that we can be free to start a new, safe life together. Who am I to argue with that sort of devotion?
“How should we do it?” I ask.
“Let me take care of that,” Lukas says, “I need you to go into the garage, get my SUV, and bring it out front. Can you do that?”
“What, you don’t think my Buggy would be a good getaway car?” I ask with a wink. Lukas slaps me lightly on the ass, sending me off down the hall toward the garage. I pause to snatch the heels off my feet and race onward. Skidding into the garage, I fly at the SUV and climb inside.
I force myself to take one deep breath after another. This whole thing has unraveled so quickly that I haven’t even stopped to consider what I’m doing. There’s no turning back after this. Up until I fired that shot at Sloan, there was always some chance that I might go back and reclaim my old life once this was all over. But that plan’s shot to shit now. There’s only one way left to move, and that’s forward. Away. With Lukas.
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