A stampede of blood-soaked women follow behind us, and though my heart breaks for what they've been through, I have to zone out their frenzied wailing to help myself. We're not in the clear yet. Not even close.
Guilt soars through my gut at the thought of leaving Roman to face those agents. Surely he's not going to kill them. They're innocent men just doing their job. But the thought of Roman being carted away in cuffs is more than I can handle. If it's him or the agents, I can't say that I'd make the honorable decision.
Where the fuck were Marcus and Levi? Surely they’d have his back. They’d make sure he got out of there.
I have to believe that they’re all going to be alright.
We break out through the top of the spiral staircase and race toward the big iron gates locking the tomb. My hands curl around the metal bars and violently shake them. Roman didn’t lock it after we walked through it, but I’m damn sure that we weren’t the last ones to come through here.
A hand curls around my arm and tosses me aside, sending me flying into the concrete wall. Glancing back over my shoulder, I see one of the creeps from down in the tomb pulling his gun to shoot through the lock. His foot comes up and kicks out the gates, and with self-preservation on his mind, he races out into the night.
Jasmine and I don’t hesitate, racing out after him with wild, erratic movements. I grip her hand, tugging her toward the Escalade hidden deep in the shadows, both of us stumbling over our ridiculous heels.
The gunshots deep in the tomb echo through the night, fading with each step we take, and as I glance back over my shoulder, I see men in uniform closing in on the bastard with the gun. The man turns and aims his weapon at the agents, but he’s taken by surprise when one man springs from the shadows and tackles him to the ground. The agent slams him onto his chest and pries the gun from his hand, waiting for backup to cuff the piece of shit.
I see agents looking toward us with interest and suspicion but with so many arrests to make down in the tomb, they reluctantly let us go.
We reach the Escalade in minutes, though it feels as though we’ve been running for hours. I hit the unlock button on the key fob and we dive into the car. Panting heavily with wide, terrified gazes, I lock the doors and hit the button to bring this bad boy to life.
The engine rumbles beneath me as I quickly adjust my seat to reach the pedal, then the second I can, I hit the gas and get us the fuck out of here, knowing the boys will come. They have to.
The momentum has Jasmine falling back into her seat, but she quickly adjusts herself and clips her seatbelt into place. I go tearing out of the old cemetery, having absolutely no idea where we are. All that matters is getting away from the shit show behind us.
We break out onto the main road and I allow myself a moment to breathe before glancing across at Jasmine who silently cries beside me. “Are you good?” I question, my gaze sweeping over her bruised body. “Did you get hit?”
She shakes her head and quickly scans over her body, the adrenaline pulsing through her veins making it impossible to feel a damn thing. “I … I think I’m good,” she rushes out, her eyes still wide and panicked as she continually turns to glance out the back window, making sure we don’t have a tail. “What the fuck was that?” she breathes. “I … I …”
“I know,” I murmur, my chest still viciously rising and falling with gasping breaths. “That was all kinds of fucked up, but we’re alive and that’s what matters.”
She nods, focusing on taking slow, deep breaths as she stares out the front windshield. “It’s over,” she breathes, the relief washing over her like a wave. “It’s really over.”
“Well,” I say, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news. “First off, I have no idea where we are or how to even get out of here. Second, we don’t know if your kidnapper was killed, arrested, or if he got away. We just … we don’t know, but we need to get somewhere safe until we can figure it out.”
“Right,” she says, letting the reality of my words begin to sink in as she sits forward in the Escalade and starts pressing buttons on the GPS. “My place. I need to get home, let them know that I’m okay.”
I cringe. “I … I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You said that’s where he took you from, so if he goes looking for you, that’ll be where he starts. We can … I, shit,” I sigh. “Before I was taken, I had an apartment in the city, but I was being evicted and I don’t know if it’s even still my apartment anymore, but it’s the best I can think of. Mrs. Brown down the hallway, she’ll let you use her phone. We can call your husband and figure something out until my guys come for me.”