Chapter 43
Leda
Lucas pressed his finger to his lips and pushed me behind him as Emil started down the hall in a semi crouch, his gun ready. I hoped that it wasn’t Nico coming back or Rory even.
The sound of crunching glass caught my attention, and Lucas motioned for me to stay where I was as he crept up to cover Emil’s back, slowly making their way to the edge of the hallway, which would reveal the living room. I pressed myself against the wall and prayed harder than I ever had, begging for the big man upstairs to keep not only us safe but to protect my family as well. I didn’t know what was going on, but based on what we had seen, a fight had happened here, which meant they hadn’t left willingly.
I was about 99 percent sure that either my father or Adrian had been involved. And that thought was frightening enough.
When the gunfire started, I yelped and ducked to the floor, shielding my head with my arms. No, that wasn’t them coming back at all. It was whoever had taken them, and now they were after us.
Our father had put our own plan into action. He forced us to move, and now he was coming after the head.
Oh God, this couldn’t be happening! I wanted to raise my head to see if Lucas and Emil were all right, but I was too afraid that I would see something I didn’t want to, so even after the gunfire ceased, I kept my eyes averted, my breathing shallow.
“Leda!”
Lucas’s voice filled the air, and relief flooded me. I lifted my head. “Are you all right?” he asked, crouching beside me.
“I’m fine,” I said shakily, noting that Emil was standing nearby.
He helped me off the floor and walked to the edge of the hallway, where I saw the bodies of the men from downstairs littering the floor. There were five in total, their blood racing in lines along the tiled floor that Rory normally kept spotless.
“What are we going to do?”
“Elevator’s a no-go,” Emil replied, a frown on his face. “We’ll be sitting ducks for whoever is waiting for us on the other side.”
“Fuck,” Lucas swore, glancing at me. “Any other way out?”
My mind raced. “The stairs open to the lobby. But there’s a maintenance exit that goes out the back of the building.”
“How far apart?” Emil asked, looking at the dead men.
“I’m not sure,” I answered. I had only taken it once or twice over the years, wanting to avoid the media that had camped out front because of a celebrity in the building. “Maybe a dozen feet or so?”
Emil looked at Lucas, shrugging. “It’s worth a shot.”
Lucas looked at me. “Does Nico have any sorts of weapons here? Body armor, maybe?”
“The room is this way,” I told him, leading him to the small closet where Nico had locked everything up after his kids were born. Emil broke off the handle with the butt of his gun, and we opened the door, finding mostly pistols.
“Here,” Lucas replied, pulling out a Kevlar vest. “This will help.”
I pulled out another, frowning. “There are only two.”
The two men exchanged looks.
“I can take care of myself,” Emil stated, nodding to the vest in my hand.
“No,” Lucas bit out. “I’m not going to let you do that. I lost Rocco like this, I won’t lose you.”
It took all of two seconds for me to realize what Emil was saying.
“No, I can’t,” I started, shaking my head. “You have to take it.” He couldn’t sacrifice himself like that.
Emil gave me a tight smile. “I knew the consequences the day I started working for Lucas.”
“Fuck,” Lucas swore, looking down at the vest. “This shit isn’t right.”