She runs off and Damian drops down to help Slade. “Roman,” he calls, gently shaking his shoulder. “Talk to us, man. Who did this?”
Roman tries his best to look up at Slade but it’s me who his eyes lock onto. “He’s coming,” he murmurs, choking on his own blood. “He’s…coming. Your time is up.”
Chapter 20
“Oh, fuck no,” I screech as the room flies into action. The cop from the patrol car outside comes barreling through the door, clearing out the party as Slade desperately tries to keep Roman alive long enough for the EMTs to get here and do their thing.
Nessa rushes around as Shay panics and within the space of three minutes, the house is cleared out, everyone except me, Slade, Damian, Nessa, and Shay. Obviously, the cop is still here helping Slade with Roman while I stand in the center of the living room, completely unable to move.
He’s here. Lucien is here.
‘Your time is up.’
This is finally the end. He’s going to take me away. He’s going to force me to follow through on his disgusting deal and the rest of my life will be lived in hell. I’ll be raped every fucking night, I’ll never know love again. I’ll never see Slade. My brother, Shay. Damian and Nessa, they’ll all be gone to me.
I’ve built a life here, a family, and he’s going to take me away.
Lucien will punish me for running and it’s not going to be pretty. I could stand up and fight this but how am I supposed to do that? Look what he did to Roman. I can’t risk the same fate for any of the people I love. How could I? I have no choice. I have to go.
“Your mom,” I whisper, struggling to get the words out past the lump in my throat.
Slade looks up at me, his hands bloodied from holding Roman’s wounds together. “What?”
“Your mom,” I repeat. “You need to call your mom and tell her that he’s here. Obviously, he knows it was us who went to the police. He could be there right now.”
Slade’s eyes bug out of his head but he’s torn. He wants to look out for his family but if he was to get up right now and remove his hand from Roman’s chest, there’s a good possibility he could die.
Damian rushes to the door. “I got it,” he yells as he tears the door open and darts through it. With the way he runs, he’ll be at Slade’s front door, demanding Daniella’s attention within seconds and I don’t doubt that he won’t step out of that house until this is all over. He’d never leave Slade’s family at risk. He’s just as close to them as he is with his own family.
“What about Blake?” Shaylee panics, glancing around as we hear the faint sound of the ambulance in the distance.
Fuck. Blake.
I start for the door but Slade’s voice stops me. “Don’t you dare walk out that fucking door, Virago,” he roars.
I spin around, never feeling so lost in my life. “He’s my brother. I’m not about to leave him there, vulnerable and alone. He can’t even fight back. He’s as good as dead if Lucien goes for him.”
“And so are you if you walk out that door. You are not leaving.”
The cop glances up at me. “He’s right. You’re safest here behind locked doors. I’ll get an officer at your brother’s door. He’ll be alright.”
I shake my head, feeling that’s not enough. This is my baby brother. The kid I promised to always take care of. Kathleen was right. I’m a curse and now Blake is out there and vulnerable because of me.
Nessa steps into my side and squeezes my hand. “Stop it,” she demands, seeing me beginning to panic. “I’ll go to the hospital too. Blake is going to be fine but I’ll call you if anything happens. He’s not going to like being away from you right now but we’re all going to be alright. We’re going to make it through this.”
Geez, I fucking hope so.
Nessa takes off and by the time the door is banging shut behind her, the EMTs are pushing through with barrels of cops on their heels. They instantly spread out as the EMTs dive for Roman, finally giving Slade a little bit of relief.
He explains what brief details he knows and within seconds, the EMTs are out the door with Roman, desperately fighting to save his life.
The cops search my home and instantly start asking questions, wanting nothing more than to put Lucien away and after an hour of getting absolutely nothing, they leave with two patrol cars stationed on the street.
I don’t know why but despite the patrol cars, it does nothing to ease my worries. Shay starts cleaning up after the party as a way to distract her from everything that’s going on while I scrub at the bloodstains on the carpet as they’re a reminder of my own fate.