Closing my eyes, I clutched my stomach and took a deep breath. I felt sick and disgusted with myself for what I was about to do. There was no choice as long as my dad’s life was on the line. Maybe I could make myself sick and puke on him when he tried to fuck me. Either way, I had to figure it out. The door opened and closed, his footsteps drawing closer. My heart pounded harder with each passing second. He knew I’d do anything to keep my family and friends safe. How could I lay there and pretend to enjoy him fucking me?

“Please, Tristan,” I begged, “don’t make me do this.” Holding my stomach tighter, I fought the urge to vomit. I might need it later.

“Hadley.” Gasping, I opened my eyes and froze. “Hadley, are you okay?”

Slowly, I turned around, tears falling the moment I saw him. He approached slowly, staring at me as if I would break. Little did he know, he gave me all the strength I needed. “You’re here!” I cried, rushing into his arms.

His arms closed in around me and he held me so tight I could barely breathe, but I didn’t care. He was there. That was all that mattered. “I’m here,” he murmured. I didn’t want to let him go, but he pulled back and clutched my face in his firm grip, his gray eyes dark and dangerous. “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” I said, hoping he couldn’t see the lie in my face. His gaze narrowed and I looked away; he could see right through me. “Other than drugging me, he hasn’t had the chance to do much. But my father’s here somewhere and he’s in trouble. So is Connor.”

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me to the door. “Connor’s fine. He’s here with me and Nick.”

“Nick?” I hissed. “Why is he here?”

He stopped in front of the door and sighed. “He cares about you, Hadley. As much as I dislike the guy, he’s actually been quite useful. Now let’s go.” We snuck out into the hall, and he froze, pulling out his phone.

“Who is it?” I whispered.

“It’s Nick. He’s downstairs with your father. He needs help getting him out.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I followed him down the stairs. My father was still alive. “Where’s Tristan? He has two other guys with him,” I informed him.

Squeezing my hand, he jerked me into a darkened corner, his gaze on a security camera by the ceiling. “There’s only one now.”

“What happened to the other one?” I asked.

He glanced at me quickly and then averted his gaze back to the camera. “He’s dead. There was no other way.” Once the camera turned toward the other side of the room, we took off down the hall. “Nick said it’s the second door on the right.” We got to the door and he guided me out of the way. “Let me go in there first. It might be a trap.” Holding his gun in one hand, he turned the knob with the other. The room was half lit and the only thing I could see over Blake’s shoulder was Nick’s head. Blake glanced back at me. “We’re good, come on.”

We rushed inside to find Nick trying to get my father free from his restraints. His head lolled to the side and he was bound to a chair, clearly drugged.

“Dad,” I gasped, racing over to him. I tried to lift his head, but he was out.

Nick passed Blake the knife, then lifted me up in his arms. “Thank fucking God you’re okay. We thought you were dead.”

“I would’ve been if you two didn’t show up. There is no way I could’ve submitted to his wishes.” I shivered at the thought.

He set me down and went straight back to helping Blake. Once my father was free, Nick hauled him up by one side and I took the other. Blake peered out the door and motioned for us to follow him. We got to the main foyer and all I could see was the front door beckoning us closer. Almost there.

Blake grasped my chin and kissed me. “I want you to go with Nick and hide in the woods. I’ll be out there soon.” I started to protest, but he kissed me again. “Don’t, Hadley. Just do as I say.”

I didn’t want him leaving me, not when I just got him back.

“Hads, let’s go,” Nick urged. We started for the door, but it slammed open and we stopped dead in our tracks. Nick pulled out his gun, but we were in a standoff, and the other guy was most likely faster.

“Going somewhere?” Shades taunted, pointing his gun straight at Nick’s face.

Blake’s gun clicked from behind. “Drop it.”

“Maybe you should drop yours,” Tristan called out as he entered the room.

Shades smirked and walked around the edge of the room, while Nick followed his movements. Now we were facing Tristan and Blake, but Tristan was behind Blake who in turn had his gun still pointed at Shades. Tristan was in the clear.

“You lying sack of shit,” Nick spat. “How could you do this?”

Tristan rolled his eyes. “Pretty easy, actually. My only mistake was not killing you.”

Nick tensed. “So it was you.”

“Nothing personal, brother. You had something I wanted and I used you to get to it. Speaking of which,” he noted, turning his dark eyes to me, “you’re not in my bed where you’re supposed to be. I told you bad things would happen if you disobeyed me.”

“Tristan, please,” I begged. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll go with you.” Blake shook his head, but I had no choice. I couldn’t gamble with their lives. Taking a deep breath, I let go of my father and glanced at Nick. “I’m sorry.” One step at a time, I walked over to Tristan and stood by his side.

“Good girl. Now let’s make sure you don’t do it again.” Then everything moved in slow motion as he pointed his gun at my father and fired.

“No!” I screamed, falling to the floor.

My father hissed, but was still out of it from the drugs. Nick grunted with holding his weight and eventually dropped him to the floor so he could keep his gun trained on Shades. Blood oozed onto the floor from his thigh and all I could see was red.

“Bastard,” I shouted, glaring straight at Tristan.

“It was just a knick, love. A simple reminder to take my threats seriously.” He edged closer to Blake. “Now what am I going to do about this one? That is, if I’m correct in assuming this is the infamous Blake Evans. I heard you killed one of my guys. Not an easy task.”

“Two,” Blake pointed out. “The other one’s upstairs.” Tristan growled and slammed the heel of his gun down on the back of Blake’s head. Hissing, he fell to his knees, a trail of blood dripping down his neck.

I choked in terror. “Tristan, stop! I’ll go with you if you just leave them alone. I’ll do whatever you want.” It was a lie, but I had to get him away from Blake.

Turning his attention to me, he smirked. “So you’ll let me fuck you whenever I want?”

By the look in his eyes, he’d kill them all no matter what I did. I just needed to give them more time. Clenching my teeth, I closed my eyes and nodded.

“I can’t hear you, Hadley,” Tristan taunted.

My eyes snapped open and I shot to my feet. “Yes!” Adrenaline coursed through my veins. “You want me now? Let’s go.” He stared at me like I’d lost my mind, and maybe I had. All I knew was, I had to do something. Pulse racing, I stalked past him toward the stairs, not knowing what the hell I was going to do.

An idea hit me and I had a split second to act. Grabbing the antique Celtic cross Tristan had showcased on one of his tables, I turned and hurled it at his head. He saw it in enough time to duck, but it gave Blake the time he needed to act.

Then everything moved in super speed all around me. Blake and Tristan battled it out while Nick and Shades fought on the other side of the room. I didn’t know who to help or where to go. A gun fired and I screamed, but then I was dragged out of the room from behind and let go.

Breathing hard, Connor pulled out his phone and handed it to me. “Take this. I’ve already called for help, but it’ll take them a while to get here. Right now, you need to get out of here.” Another gunshot fired and he pushed me toward the back door. “Go, now!” He charged off into the fight, but I couldn’t leave them. Instead, I went right back into the line of fire.