“I don’t know,” he cried.
I slammed my foot over his knee, hearing the bone crack. He howled, his face twisting in agony. “That’s not the right answer. Try again. Where’s your brother right now?”
“I don’t… know…” he chattered. “We used to live… together, up until last week. It was unlike him, but he suddenly said that he was moving out. He’s been renting… this place. It’s up north, an hour from here.”
That was all the information I needed. After he gave us the address, I silently motioned for George to stay behind. To keep an eye on Simon’s brother so there would be no communication between the two.
We broke all traffic laws, cutting the driving time from one hour to thirty-five minutes.
Please be okay, Princess. I’m coming for you.
As soon as I pulled into the driveaway of the address that was given to me, my gut churned with a sick sense of dread. The house was in the middle of nowhere, lonely and looking practically deserted. The closest neighbor was probably twenty miles away from here.
As much as I hated it, this was the perfect place to hold someone captive.
Instead of going through the front door, we entered the house through the side door, which was real fucking easy to crash open. The house was eerily quiet. My men rushed inside, checking every corner of every room.
I made my way upstairs, gun in one hand. After checking the bedrooms and finding them all empty, I went to the last door at the end of the hallway. It was closed and locked from the outside.
My chest squeezed as I opened the latch. Julianna had to be in here.
Please be in here. Please let this be the room.
I pushed the door open, eyes darting around the room – only to find it empty. I walked inside, fist clenching and my heart dropping to my stomach in dread.
She wasn’t in here…
SLAM!
Pain exploded inside my head.
I turned around, my head pounding. I blinked several times. It fucking hurt and I staggered on my feet. The world spun and my vision blurred. I was bleeding. I had to be.
My gaze caught Julianna’s wild hair and feral grey eyes, before drifting down to the metal rod she was holding in her hands.
Blood dripped down my temple.
“Jules…” my lips parted to say her name before my knees buckled and my world went dark.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Julianna
The moment my gaze met Killian’s dark one, I was too late to realize that I had attacked the wrong person. His eyes rolled back into his head and my husband slumped to the ground with a hard thud.
I didn’t hit my captor.
I ended up unknowingly attacking my savior.
God, how much of a fool I was!
I fell to my knees next to Killian’s body, shaking his shoulders. “Killian?” I said, heart in my throat. “Open your eyes.”
Frantically, I looked around the room and then peeked outside. The hall was empty. How long did we have before Simon came back? Did Killian come to rescue me alone? My throat went dry at the thought. I would hope not, because we were going to need back-up.
A bump was forming over the spot where I had hit him and he was bleeding. Not heavily though. It was a small wound, thank God.
Killian groaned and after much cajoling from me, he finally blinked his eyes open. Dazed and pained. But when his dark gaze met mine, I saw fear and wonderment. “I found you,” he grunted.
“You found me,” I whispered, sniffling. “I was so scared, but I knew you’d come.”
Killian sat up, wincing, but I saw the unmasked rage in his eyes. “I’m going to kill him. Simon is a dead fucking man,” my husband growled.
I shook my head. “It’s not Simon who wants me dead. He has been used as an alibi. A cover up. Like the maid.”
His chest rattled with a sound and his fists clenched. “Who would want you dead then? Who is trying to kill you?” he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
“I know who it is,” I confessed softly.
His eyes flared and his jaw tightened. “Who?”
It pained me to say it, but sometimes the truth was more bitter than lies and deception.
“My father.”
Two hours ago.
I woke up with a pounding headache, drowsy at first, but then my memories came crashing back to me. My heart stammered in my chest. With a gasp, I sat up. My eyes searched my surroundings, only to realize that I was in a windowless room.
The room was bare of any furniture except the bed that I was sitting on and the wooden chair across the room.
I had been captured, taken. By the person who had been hunting me. My hands shook and I tried to remain calm, but I couldn’t.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. No, this was not the time to cry. I had to figure out how to get out of this place.